Dress of the Day 122 Red long skirt 4 piece suit, modelled by Angela Lansbury, the author. UK flag.

 I found this lovely item by looking for a 'long red skirt' on Ebay, then trying '4 piece skirt suit. and looking for red. The Jacques Vert company makes clothes which suit me. The colours are vibrant. 

Fabric Negatives

Let's look at this suit. Let's start with the negative and end on a positive note.  The fabrics is not cotton or natural and not soft. 

Positives

People who go for suits, and jackets with sharp edge collars, are generally more concerned with how they look than how they feel. (I think of Cher, who I heard had ribs removed to accentuate a slim body and waist. Her attitude was no pain no gain.) A synthetic fabric might feel a little rough, if you run your fingertips over it, but it is crease-free, so it travels well, looks good on arrival, needs no time ironing. 

The fabric repels stains. It comes up clean when washed. 

The styling is great.

The Scarf

I love the pattern. I love how it co-ordinates. Why bother spending a day trying to match up a skirt and scarf and blouse when you can hunt on line ofr four piece outfit, three piece skirt suit, dress and jacket, or matching scarf.

Negatives

It arrived with a wire sticking out. I went to cut it off, maybe with pliers so as not to damage scissors, but found that it was pulling out a whole further length down the long side of the scarf. 

What was the wire's function. I had never seen such a thing before.

Fortunately, when I wore if for a photo and afterwards, the protruding wire was kept away from my neck by being at the back of the jacket. Also I could tuck the scarf under the collar, even sew it in place at the back. 

Positives

The purpose of the wire is to stop the scarf creasing and keep it taut and showing the scalloped edge.

After the second photo was taken, I asked the photographer, Trevor Sharot, my husband, "Is everything horizontal and level?"

I looked down and found that the two short ends of the scarf were not level.

One solution is to match up the inner corners and fix them together with a temporary safety pin, hidden underneath. What else?

1 A fancy brooch, or 

2 Two pieces of ribbon tied in a bow, or 

3 A button and loop, or

4  Knot them together, or 

5 Fix together with fabric glue, or 

6 an iron-on patch attached to both sides, or

7 Sew together or both ends held in your hands, or 

8 One end thrown over your shoulder, or 

9 One end tucked into your skirt waist band, diagonally, up over the other shoulder under the jacket, or 

10 Without the jacket, scarf diagonal fastened saree style, 

11 Press stud or hook and eye or Velcro.  

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