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Summer's Green & White Dress, F and F for Fun. Dress of the Day number ... by Angela Lansbury.

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Buying Bargains  I bought this, caught this, in St Luke's charity shop in London. Pre-loved as they say nowadays. New words are created all the time. Euphemisms. Enchanting words. Words which add pleasure to purchases. Gaining a bargain, a gift to oneself. Not second hand, but first love, new to me. Dress of the Day.  First I look for colour. When I look down at my skirt, or sleeve, of my cuffs, what excites my eyes!  

Tesco Beanie hat and scarf sewn together. Dress of the day 750 by Angela Lansbury.

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  Shop Selling Scarves, Hats & Gloves I bought the hat, and the scarf, sold separately, from St Luke's. The series of shops raises money for hospices. Cost of the Hat and Matching Scarf The items both cost £1, so £2 for the pair. The Label - F and F I found the scarf first and quite liked the pale pastel rainbow. It  might match  raincoats or jackets in both pale pink and pale blue. It would also add jollity to black or white.  But I usually go for brighter colours. Besides, the tassels were a bit bedraggled. The scarf had no label. I hesitated. Where was it from? Then I saw the matching beanie hat. Hurray. A set!  What's more, the hat had a label. The heading of the top of the double layer label inside the hat said F & F. Who was that? A supermarket, I was sure. Which one? Not Sainsbury. I recently realised that the manufacturer or seller puts their company name and address at the end of the label. Way down, beyond the ten language instructions on how t...

Why Buy Socks, Bedsocks and Slippers? Post 749 by Angela Lansbury.

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Socks prevent shoes, sandals and boots from rubbing your feet. When you develop blisters on holiday, it's not just the extra walking. It's also going without protective socks because you are in hot weather.  Socks are also required by some restaurants and clubs in hot countries. So others don't get bothered by smelly feet. Because it looks neater. You can sometimes wear shorts, go topless, or wear a swimsuit, in a poolside bar. But covering up is the rule in the smarter restaurants. It looks neater. More formal. So that is the reason for wearing socks in the day time.  But why wear socks at night? Surely in the dark, with your feet under a dining table, nobody would notice? Why Wear Bedsocks? You wear bed socks for warmth at night. Especially nowadays, when we have duvets instead of blankets. They keep you warm if you turn over and stick your foot out. Or your sleeping partner rolls over, removing the duvet from your side of the bed. Bed socks also keep you feet warm if you...

Buying slippers - for houses where you take off your shoes. Post 748 by Angela Lansbury.

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 Last week I went to dinner at a house where I was asked to take off my shoes.  On the way I stopped at another house half way to get a lift.. They also preferred guests to remove shoes. They had a child under five years old who played on the floor, and new carpets. They had stairs. Backless slippers are not safe on stairs. Backless slippers can slide off when you lift your legs. Dangerous. In Asia a lot of people have spare slippers for visitors. In the UK you are more likely to need to bring your own shoes At the second home I was offered a pair of slip on shoes. This meant have shoes which were tight on my toes, or large so I risked losing one, or falling over. I thought, I'd rather wear a new pair of shoes, once in a while, rather than other people's old shoes which are less elegant, not co-ordinating colours, other people's foot sweat, could even be giving me verrucas or other foot problems. Sometimes I remember to take with me a pair of Crocs or cheaper \Croc-style sh...

Lady at lunch in red Anthony Sicari Jacket. Dress of the Day 747 by Angela Lansbury.

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A Green Man's Shirt From H & M For A Woman - Just Fix The Collar & Cuffs. Dress of the Day 746 by Angela Lansbury.

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  H &M label. I bought this large man's shirt from St Luke's shop in Hatch End. Why? The shirt  was large. Why did I buy it?  Because I loved the colour. It was new to me, a change  cheap at £1.  I had various thoughts of what to do with it. 1 I could turn it into a tunic or dress. Turn it indide out and make it tighter down both sides. Cut off excess fabric to make a belt. Turn it into s caftan by slitting the sides. Remove the sleeves. Make two vertical lines of stitching. Remove the collar to make a V neck. 2 Make a smaller blouse.  3 Give it to my husband or son.  4 Or use the fabric for a hair band, belt, and choker, or cravat.  5 Or a shoulder bag or tote bag.  6 Or a scarf,  7 Cover a baseball cap.  8 Make simple large square patch pockets on a multi colour thin jscket.  9 Remove the buttons and sew up the buttonholes, add shoulder pads, to make an edge to edge duster coat. I had it in an untidy pile of items to be a...

Sequin collar converted from a tight top. Dress of the Day 745 by Angela Lansbury.

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 I bought this top from St Luke's charity shop which raises money for hospices. I am a regular customer. The prices are great. There's always something new. The money goes to local people. I bought it because of the sequins. I thought it would be too small for me. It was. What could I do with it? 1 Add Fabric To The Sides Of A Small Garment Slit the vertical side seems. Insert a wide ribbon on both sides to increase the size so it would fit over my bust. 2 Convert A Small Garment Into A Large Bag My plan was to sew up the skirt part's hem. horizontally, to create the base of a large sequin evening bag.  The result would be a thin, flimsy bag. Not very strong.  But much better than the usual evening bag sizes designed to hold one lipstick alongside a pocket too small to hold anything. The top part of the micro skirt and apron top could hold down as a flap. However, I delayed doing the sewing.  Small Skirts Converted Into Collars The next time I looked at it, I thought...