Introducing A New Piece

Hi my lovelies!

Hope near-spring is treating you well.  Or near-autumn if you are down under.

Here in Pout World it's been pretty much loop living for me.  More decorating, more de-cluttering, more dealing with family matters.  And the new bed arrives tomorrow so that will be mega exciting!

So it's been house stuff and family stuff on repeat.  Most days I've been in my scruffies, so its rather nice to sit here with a cuppa and talk outfits with you today.

Introducing a new piece into the wardrobe is quite a scientific process.  The test of its adaptability is to see how it can integrate with the existing pieces in that wardrobe.

The unwritten rule is that it needs to fit into at least three outfits.

So, I put a leoprint shirt to the test. I  bought it last autumn in Zara's and didn't really start wearing it until earlier this year.  I think it may have been because I ended up with a glut of Zara shirts (a glut, is that the collective noun for Zara shirts?).

My Zara shirts were various plays on red print and so they came out a lot in the lead up to Christmas.

But now it is the turn of the leoprint shirt and it needed to be put through its paces.

Outfit #1.

The first testing is a repeat on the blog but it makes the point without me having to go into repeat outfit changes!

The shirt is still in stock at the time of writing, 

LEOPARD PRINT SHIRT, HERE

Worn loose and long with a leather skirt it is quite forgiving (read slimming)

Simply adding a belt creates a sassier look, IMHO.

Or a sack tied in the middle look in TP's less than humble opinion!

And adding a jumper over the whole lot with just a hint of the shirt peeping through gives the outfit a more casual feel.

So Test #1, it works with a skirt.

Outfit #2

Coated jeans next.  And a cardi.  (In this pic I was pleading with The Photographer to allow me another change of clothes just before we went out.  My pretty-please pleading did not work.)

So I left home wearing coated jeans and a modal vest with the shirt, and a layering of gold necklaces.

Leoprint.  Faux leather.  Gold.  Is this just tooooo much?!

So, Test #2, coated jeans and  Bet Lynch vibe, done.

Outfit #3

On yet another day, I put the shirt through its paces with plain black skinnies, black polo neck and the ubiquitous leather jacket.

It was a no-makeup/third day hair day.  The hat should have stayed on.  Or quite simply, I shouldn't have offered myself to the camera!

But there will be days like this in one's life eh?  And I though the shirt worn over black skinnies and a polo neck called for very little else.  Or the truth - I had no time nor inclination for make up on this day, and if you'd told me ten years ago that I would be uttering those words I would have laughed you out of town, or at the very least out of the room.  But here I am, no make up and I went out the door like that …  AND posted the evidence for the world to see!!

Test #3, leoprint shirt with leather jacket and no make up, done.

Now this one was the real test.  I'd tried the shirt with skirt, coated jeans and skinnies and leather jacket.  But they were all black and quite safe, given the print.  But jeans is the real test.  If something doesn't go with jeans then it really does not deserve a place in my wardrobe.

Outfit #4 (yes, I made it to #4!!)

Here I wore the shirt with distressed jeans and taupe boots.  The choice of boot colour was an attempt to anchor the shirt's colours, top and tailing the brown hues around the jeans.

At first I thought that teaming this leoprint shirt with plain blue jeans was a test too far for this print, but the longer I wore it, the more I adjusted to the mix. 



What do you think?  Test #4, shirt with jeans done?

So this shirt has passed  its testing, creating not three but four different looks.  And there are more that I'll come up with over the next few months.

I have felt that this print is a challenge.  The brown/caramel/black print colourway I felt was quite limiting.  I felt that it would only work with a black backdrop.  However, I am drawn to the jeans look now and I think that the denim brings the glam style of the print down to a more day to day level. 

And I think that the shirt will work well with chinos in a month or two and I'm quite looking forward to that road test. 

In summer I think it will work well with white, maybe over white jeans or draped over a white linen dress. 

Yes, I'm conjuring up more possibilities for this leoprint shirt so I think its been a successful testing of its integration into my wardrobe.

 

What about you? Do you find a leoprint top quite limiting? 

Do you find leoprint works best as an accessory rather than a main event? 

And do you run a new piece through the minimum three way testing? 

A la perchoine,

Mary x.



Retirement Dressing - Leoprint and Leather

Hello my lovelies.  How's it going?

I'm guessing you're busy like me.  There seems to be so much going on right now that I can barely find time to string a few paragraphs together on paper, figuratively.  But here goes ...

This post creates a bit of a dichotomy.  It's not sure which way it's headed.  It has a dual identity.

It could be about the versatility of a classic black leather skirt.  It could be about the versatility of animal print, which can be considered a classic print.  It's probably both, truth be told.

A plain A line leather skirt is infinitely versatile.  I'd have shown you exactly how versatile if I hadn't accidentally deleted 105 photos a few days ago.  Fortunately I'd already copied the animal print themed shots onto this post.  All the others showing how beautifully a variety of jumpers with the skirt can create casual or posher looks are lost forever so you will just have to trust me - a black leather is the very top end of versatile and a perfect piece in the retirement wardrobe.  I reckon I could live for a month just wearing this skirt ... now there's an idea for a post!

So let's see what happens when leather and leoprint mix.

It has all the makings of a Bet Lynch barmaid look but done right, I think we can swing it in the direction of Retired Lady does Left Bank!

Take a Leoprint blouse

A black cocoon cardi and blouse in grey, black and ecru.
Maybe for lunch in a smartish restaurant?


Next up, a leoprint shirt

A longline print shirt, worn loose.  Supper with friends?

Then belted for a more vampish look.  Perfect for a date night methinks, TP would love this!

A black jumper slipped over the shirt creates a more casual  twist.

If you're unsure about how to dress for your night out, a jumper creates Bohemian-arty smart casual.  Then simply take off the jumper and stuff it in your bag if you feel the need to ramp up the vamp!

 What about animal print knitwear?

Take a cheetah print knitted tunic and wear it as it comes to create something akin to 1920s style line and proportions. 

Perfect for smarter daytime wear.  Like a family lunch.

And again a waist cincher belt creates more of an after-dark look.

Another animal print jumper works just fine as it is, no belt trickery required as the line and length are a perfect balance for the skirt.

So what's my point here?

Well, what I'm trying to rather hurriedly get across today is that when putting together some smart casuals at this time of year, a simple black skirt forms the perfect alternative vehicle for a whole range of smartish jumpers and shirts.  Step away from the jeans and trousers, haven't we had our fill of those by now this winter?  I know I have!

And if that skirt is leather, it brings a slightly edgier feel to the outfit, gives an outfit a Left Bank touch.   I don't think leather should be ruled out as we get into middle age.  Provided the skirt isn't too short or too tight, it works in the retirement wardrobe, IMHO

But here's the thing.  This skirt is coming up for its 20th year soon.  If it were made of fabric, I don't think it would have lasted this long.  It would have got to look a bit tatty, worn and tired.  Leather actually improves with age (rather like us, eh ladies?!).  So buying a good quality leather skirt in a classic line and neutral colour makes for a good investment over time.  

Do you have one?  Maybe one you'd forgot about, like I had with this little beauty?

And then there's the animal print.   I quite surprised myself when I put this little suite together.  I didn't know I had this much.    Perhaps you've experienced leoprint creep into your wardrobe these past few years too.  It's infinitely versatile and manufacturers seem to like to roll it out, so perhaps you'll find you actually have several shirts and tops too.

Try them with a skirt instead of your usual jeans or trousers.  It may be my mind playing tricks on me but it is my humble observation that switching to a skirt turns our favourite animal prints into something a little more, er, dare I say it, sophisticated?  A little closer to the parisienne style many of us hanker after?

Then add a waist cincher belt into the mix and we're talking a whole new ball game for the humble black skirt and leoprint top.

N'est pas?

A la perchoine, 

Mary x.

2 Years + 2 Acts of Bravery

Hi my dearies, hope you are well.  I thought I was well, until I realised that I'd missed my second anniversary with you. Ooops.  This was MY FIRST TIME HERE..  Yes, I missed it by two days.

So I've been blogging for 2 years.  And 2 days.

It's been an amazing journey, to coin that over-used cliché. Or should I say it's been amazeballs?  Because I've picked up a few Americanisms along the way.  But what can I say, language is my jam - oh, and there's another!

 Many many MANY MANY times in the past two years I have thought to give up, to stop blogging. I'll tell you about that sometime.  But I'm still standin', as my mate Elton would say (yes, my mate, I met him in Stockholm BITD, such a nice guy)

To celebrate my 2 years and 2 days anniversary, I'd thought I'd go a bit out of my comfort zone with my garb of the day

With a white shirt!

White shirts don't suit my shape and my colouring.  But I had a whizzo idea of softening the blow with a jumper.  A leoprint jumper, bien sur. I chose one of the two white shirts I've attempted to make work for me in the past 10 years.  This one's a Next long version which I let show below the hem of my jumper.  It has tucks and seams going on so it frills a little at the bottom - I kinda liked that.

I added pearls and I think they bring a lady-look to what could be viewed as something a little on the edgier side of pensioner. 

What do you think my dearies?  Do you think I could be brave enough to show you me in this shirt without the woolly camo?  Maybe let you decide if I can do white shirts or not?

My 2nd act of bravery to mark this special 2+2 anniversary was my first choice of skirt.  Leather.  This skirt is coming up for 20 years old.  I've never worn it on the blog before because I stopped wearing it; I thought it looked too short on me.  And TP certainly agreed with that.  But today I manned up and wore it.  And y'know, TP said "Maybe it's not too short after all". 

And I think I've worked out why we both softened to this skirt today.   Opaques.  Gabor Pollyanna boots.

My view is a leather skirt needs the right backdrop, the right leggage.  And this was it.

What do you think, dear reader?  Can I get away with wearing this M&S so-soft leather skirt again?

But perhaps leoprint + leather was a step too far for this old bird.  So I then went for safety with a wool skirt, also old, also from M&S.

The extra length and little side kick pleat thing going on make it comfy. And it is an old faithful.

What do you think, sweeties?

Is a leather skirt a little "trying too hard"?  Maybe a little mutton dressed as lamb?

Is leather AND leoprint just laying things on a little too heavily?  A little too Bett-ish?

Is a longer wool skirt where I should be at, given my pensioner status?

Should I not be going for safety in my garb?  Every.  Single.  Time.  ?

And for those of you non-Brits who haven't got a clue what Bett-osh is, here's our Bett.

Bett Lynch was a barmaid in the Rovers Inn, a pub in a soap called Coronation Street.  She was your archetypical warm and friendly barmaid and became a national treasure.

She was also known for her leoprint style of dressing.  It's her legacy.

So I may be Lady Leoprint, but Bett is forever the Queen of Leoprint!

A la perchoine.

How To Overegg Your Leoprint

Is it possible to overegg your leoprint?

Well, I believe it is and I believe I may just have done it.

You see, sometimes I can become a tad obsessive.  With clothing and most probably with pretty much everything else.  Except ironing :-).

I bought my leopard print scarf last autumn here.

 It soon became my go-to-scarf.

Being innovative (read: too lazy to use two words when one will do), I quickly called it my leoprint.  I wore it.  And I wore it.  It did get a summer break when it became just too hot to wear it (though I did use it as a beach sarong on more than one occasion - that doesn't count, eh?).  But it was back in service again some weeks ago.  It's quickly become a 3-and-a-bit season item in my wardrobe.

Whenever I wear something black, grey or beige, I grab my leoprint.

So that's pretty much every day then as those colours are my only core wardrobe shades.

But I do have another scarf in those same hues in my suitcase, so as I felt I was becoming a tad formulaic in my dress, I switched.  I asked The Photographer With Fashion Views which he thought was best.  I do this sometimes to allow him to feel engaged with the process, to let him believe that he is more than a clicking finger in this "model"/photographer relationship. He chose the Tie Rack silk square.  I agreed with him.  That does sometimes happen.  Not a lot, but sometimes.

And it suddenly dawned on me that I may just have been overegging my leoprint,  as magically my ancient silk square looked somehow fresh.  New.   Perhaps overegged starts to feel simply tired and stale over time.

And that, folks, is how you overegg your leoprint. 
Wear it solidly for 3+ seasons.   Wear it with everything.    Including a swimsuit!

So I really have been trying to burst out of my leoprint cocoon this autumn, before my obsession takes hold again for the another 3+ seasons.  Here I dipped my toe in the water with a blue/grey print scarf from the National Trust shop.

It felt a bit cold turkey.  But I lasted another day without my leoprint.

I'm going to tackle it one day at a time.

When I look back on posts from the last 12 months, I do wince a little when I see how quickly my leoprint took hold of me.  I became obsessive, but I think it's because it fits with so many of my neutrals.  Indeed, I have read many fashionistas say that animal print is a neutral, and I guess it is, as provided the print colours are vaguely in the colour range of what I'm wearing, it works for me.  And for others, just about any colourway goes with animal print.

So although I have perhaps overegged my outfits with my Zara leoprint scarf since the very day I bought it, well hey ho, I'm just being fashionista.

For the record, this is what absolute cold-turkey-padded-cell looks like in Pout World.

Gosh, I felt so naked on this day!

And just to prove that I don't spend all day at home obsessing about scarves, look, I did get down to the beach!



This was not a good visibility day but on the horizon in the middle of the picture you can just make out some headland, that being Eastbourne and the very tip being Beachy Head.  I show you this as the lovely Canadian blogger Susan of High Heels in the Wilderness recently visited Eastbourne.  It rained.  And it was damp and dreary.  So the day after I saw her IG post I took these shots because I wanted to show her that it doesn't always rain in Eastbourne.

So this one's for you, Sue!  Hugs, x.

(Hey, who put that leoprint around my neck?!!)

Now, dear readers, it's your turn.  Please tell me that you too have become obsessive about an item of clothing too.  Something that maybe sneaks into so many outfits, perhaps on most days and over several seasons?  Something you start to feel just plain naked without? 

Please don't leave me feeling like it's only me who wore a grey turtle neck jumper solidly every weekend for three whole seasons when she was 14!  And now, repeatedly wearing a leoprint scarf for 3+ seasons at the age of, err, oops, selective memory loss again!

A la perchoine.