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Showing posts from January, 2021

Dress of the day 190, smile with Angela. Red dress and scarf with red sails, double width fastened with fixed buttons

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  The scarf The scarf which I wore in my previous post, was worn showing it had three buttons down the front and three down the back. The Scarf - Shopping Scarf by Thomas Calvi, ten pounds, from a UK motorway service station shop between London and Swanwick, Derbyshire, driving back south. The Print You have to stand as I did in the previous post, arms out, to show the full effect of the print. Yesterday I chose a plain colour jacket in pale coral pink, picking out the colour of the scarf, plain rather than print to show the print on the edge of the scarf.  The Scarf Fabric The fabric is see-through and light-weight. It does tend to run easily. If I see a thread hanging, I cut it off before it can catch on something and pull tight. The Buttons This scarf is the same construction as the one in the previous photo. Two long oblong scarves hang, one over each shoulder. The two scarves are fastened together, down the front, by three buttons, down the back by another three. The buttons are s

Dress of the Day 189: Coral Pink Scarf with 6 buttons, down front and back, by Thomas Calvi, over Coral Pink cape blazer

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  The Scarf - Shopping Scarf by Thomas Calvi, ten pounds, from a motorway service station shop between London and Swanwick, Derbyshire, driving back south. The Print You have to stand as I did, arms out, to show the full effect of the print. I chose a plain colour jacket in coral pink, picking out the colour of the scarf, plain rather than print to show the print on the edge of the scarf.  The Scarf Fabric The fabric is see-through and light-weight. It does tend to run easily. If I see a thread hanging, I cut it off before it can catch on something and pull tight. The Buttons This scarf is the same construction as the one in the previous photo. Two long oblong scarves hang, one over each shoulder. The two scarves are fastened together, down the front by three bottons, down the back by another three. The buttons are simply sewn to fasten the two scarves edge to edge.  The buttons are four and a half inches or eleven centimetres apart, buttonhole to buttonhole.  The Cape Blazer Coral pin

Dress of the Day 188 Singapore Airline Umbrella and Pink Cheongsam

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Dress of the day 187. Smile with Angela. Wine colour t-shirt, upgraded by scarf turned with pearl buttons down the arms

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  The scarf is now worn over a wine clour tee-shirt. The look is upgraded by the scarf timmed with pearl buttons. I have turned the scarf for a new effect, instead of pearl buttons down the front, the buttons are now down the tops of the arms. To complete the colour co-ordination I have a tote bag with dark red handles.  Here's a close up of the back of the buttons. You can see they are fixed through both edges of the scarf. On the back is a tiny round stud. This was the dress of the day 186 with the 3 pearl buttons down the front (and three more down the back). Underneath is a tight wine colour jacket with sleeves. Useful Websites ebay amazon See previous post for more details of buttons. About the Author Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot. Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs

186 Burgundy Wine Button-up Scarf over wine colour jacket. Dress of the day 186. Smile with Angela.

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  Dress of the day 186. Smile with Angela. Burgundy wine colour jacket, and wine colour button-front, semi-see-through scarf.  I love button-front scarves. They look like elegant jackets. They don't slip off.  I bought one expensive one in silk at the Botanical gardens shop. Then I found these cheap chiffon ones from China on the internet.  You could buy two and add three pearl buttons on the front, fasteneed with a ribbon loop. Add three more at the back to look elegant and keep it in place.  You really need large scarves. Mine measures, each scarf 19 inches wide. I took the scarf off to look at it.  The buttons are not attached by buttonholes nor ribbons. No need to go to the trouble of either. They are fixed with a back fastening stud. You can buy sets to do this, but they may be heavy for a light fabric.  An alternative would be a magnetic button. Or tie pins. Comments and captions please. Useful Websites https://www.amazon.co.uk/PULI-Knitted-Blanket-Cardigan-Burgundy/dp/B07CJG

Cats as props - where to buy statues, scarves and more

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The British Museum in London, England in the UK has a wbsite showing several gifts featuring cats such as cat bookends, ear-rings, cat scarves, a cat design umbrella. the replicas of an Egyptian cat vary in price from 50 to a 100 and 200 pounds. Cat ear headphones , such as cats as bookends. You can also buy scarves with cats and other animals. Key rings with cats are popular. Draw A Cat On A Tee-shirt If you have an old white tee-shirt, you can smarten it up, make it more itneresting, and cover stains, by drawing on it, painting on it, or adding a piece of cloth in another colour. For example, if you have a white tee shirt and a black tee-shirt, you could cut identical size pieces from each and sew onto the other. Result, a white cat on black and a black cat on white. You could make a his and hers outfit, or two for Saturday and Sunday, or mother and daughter, or two for twins or siblings (brothers and sisters).  Cats are very easy to draw. A figure of eight. Draw around coins. Or cup

Dress 185. Black and black cape with white double braid (made from a skirt).

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   The skirt was from a child or a much smaller person. But the elasticated black waist is just right for a neckline. This skirt is the circular type which is roomy enough not to constrain the shoulders and upper arms. I was astonished how sophisticated it looked. The cat is one of a pair bought from a UK museum. One is black. The other is white. I had two in the picture, but that was a distraction from the dress. Pluse too many bits of futniture. Useful Websites About the Author Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot. Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge. Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore.  She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of t

Pretty purple parrots on jungle print and Blue Top from GG and the mathematical GG>5 sign. Oops. No. Dress 184

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  Blue polyester top from GG>5. Oops. I typed it the wrong way round! It's a good thing I photographed the label. Their Letters GG in their name stand for Generation Gap.  (A bit like Next, which was to bridge the gap between clothes for the young and clothes for the older buyers and wearers.) The Letters GG are followed by a sign like an arrow head pointing forward pointing. I wondered, how am I going to type that? For you, my reader. The clothes company websites explained that the forward arrowhead is a mathematical symbol. I copied the sign and googled and a website said it is the sign for narrowing in mathematics, and a keyboard symbol. I looked at my keyboard and found the sign  above the full stop (Americans say period).  What That Arrow Head Means In Maths (Americans say math) My husband drew the sign with the v on its side. The fat end is the bigger one. With the arrowhead pointing towards the five, what preceded was larger. It means greater than 5. You can write it in m

Dress of the day 182, Green flower-print caften with green shoes and blue umbrella or orange hat and shoes

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  Dress of the day 183, long green caftan with flower print. The caftan is labelled Indah Sari Solo Indonesia.  Advantages of This Caftan's Style The advantage of the length from a style point of view is that a long dress adds height.  It not only conceals me from the gaze of delivery staff and workers fixing the buildings. It protects me from insects.  Advantages of the Belt However, if I want to show off my bust or pull in the dangling sleeves or pull up the hem to avoid tripping over, the design includes a handy drawstring ribbon around the waist.  How The Belt Is Made The drawstring is made of the same fabric. A long strip, long enough to go around the waist. Add the length enough to tie in a bow with the two straight pieces hanging longer than the two circles. Turn the dress inside out and you can see the ribbon is held in place by a band of the same dress fabric, about the width of a ruler. An edged slit in the centre front of the dress allows the two ends of the ribbon to be

Coffee cups as props for Dress of the Day 181: Denbyware

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Dress 181. Coffee Colour and Coffee. Photo by Trevor Sharot.  I used my Denbyware cup and saucer and milk jug as a prop. I have twice used cups as a prop.  Denbyware Seville, a brown pattern, heavy dishwasher proof. We had it on our wedding lists. Seconds. Even the seconds are expensive.  Denbyware Cutlery We had knives and forks to match. Expensive. They did fine on carpeted floors. A disaster when falling on a tiled or even lino floor in a kitchen in the UK. A disaster on a marble or even mock wood floor in Singapore. The same would apply to floors in the USA, especially in the hot south with heavy floors, France, Spain and Italy and other hot countries with tiled and marble floors. Oxfam and UK Charity Shops I bought some Denbyware seconds in blue from a UK Oxfam shop. I have to confess that there was a time when I went into the shop three times a day. I passed it daily as I walked up and down the high street. the shop in Hatch End closed and became St Lukes. At least two services i

Ear-ring clips for those without pierced ears - what to buy and where to buy them

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  Ear-ring clips  Most of the ear-rings you buy on-line and elsewhere have tiny clips.  Two styles are sold. One sort has hinges. Another type has a screw. I have tried buying the clips alone from: 1 Craft shops and  2 Online jewellery making suppliers and  3 A jewellery sales and repair shop on the St Ann's mall opposite the railway and bus stations in Harrow. The jewellery shop is upstairs on the first floor. (Americans would say second floor. The British have ground floor so the first floor is the upper level). As a result, when I have time to spare and I am in a shop or department store, or second hand shop, I often look at the ear-rings. If a pair of ear-rings is cheap and has a large ear-ring clip, I buy them. Even if I don't like the style. The latest, fourth idea is magnetic ear-rings. How do they work? Just two round magnets. One goes behind the ear lobe, the other in front. Amazingly the magnet works through your ear lobe. You can stick a button, or any decoration on

Coffee Colour Dress of the Day 181. Coffee stop, coffee cup.

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  Chocolate colour sandals. By Josef Seibel. Expensive. Beyond my budget. I bought them second hand on ebay. Denbyware coffee cup, saucer and jug. Bamboo table. Welcome mat.  Wish you were here. I expected orange, in the hat, to go with brown. I was not expecting the pink jacket to go with the brown, but my red jacket was too strong a colour and the pale pink looked just right. Coffee break outfit. Coffee coloured dress. Coffee coloured coffee cups on a lightweight, light brown bamboo table. Smile with Angela. Welcome mat. Wish you were here. Comfortable touch and close chocolate brown shoes. Sit down and relax. Comments and captions please. Close up of top of the dress without the jacket. The dress is pale brown but I have enhanced the colour using AUTO on my mobile phone. The ear-rings are brown, large and heavy, with big clips.  Useful Websites Denbyware Seville (brown colour) Similar caps are in blue.  Denbyware is heavy. https://www.tablewareforlife.co.uk/DenbyIdentification. Upda

Dress 180 Orange top and orange skirt fishing for compliments.

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  Orange colour theme: The Tee-Shirt Top The orange tee-shirt's label is No Problem Teen, 100% cotton, made in Thailand.  The tee-shirt has an embossed paint pattern of three pairs of flip-flop (thong) beach sandals. I have reversed the top to show the plain side. Why? Because the two patterns on the top and skirt did not match. I thought, maybe beachwear and fish go. But I looked at it. No. I put the tee-shirt face down on a flat surface. Next the the skirt. The top was plain. I thought, maybe it is cut with room to expand over the bust, and tight on the front. It wasn't cut to fit. It just stretched. What if it is too high or high at the neck. I was prepared to cut a slit below the centre of the neck. I could edge it with ribbon. In a hurry, I could temporarily hide it with a scarf.  I put it on, back to front. Perfect. From the front, as in this photo, I am co-ordinated.  When I am seated at meals, you cannot see the back of the top, hidden by a solid chair back. When I am s

Dress 179 Shoes are news. Thongs or Flip-flops? What do you call them?

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The Orange Tee-shirt With Shoes The Tee-Shirt Look carefully and you will see three pairs of beach sandals on the tee-shirt. The Skirt The skirt has shoes in several styles. The background colour is yellow, which goes well with orange. The Black Waistband The black waistband is a wide black satin effect ribbon from a roll of ribbon sold by hallmark, the gift card people.  I normally avoid waring belts if possible. They cut you in half and make you look shorter and draw attention to a low or unsupported bust. You can see that I have tied another piece of the ribbon around the hat, to co-ordinate.  The next outfit, dress 180, shows the tee-shirt top reversed with a different skirt. Useful Websites On Clothes Amazon Ebay Wikipedia About the Author Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. She evaluates speeches, judges speech contests and runs language workshops. She also draws caricatures. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts with your co

Dress 178 Pink cat ear headphones, cat statue

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  Pink blouse with white vertical stripes by Miss Valley. Size ten. Fabric 100% polyester made in China. Roomy sleeves.  Lace up neckline, using ribbons from same fabric ending with white tassels. I love the long bell cuff sleeves with white laced edging. Worn over blue Patra vest, from London, England. Size XL.Hand or gentle machine wash at 30 degrees C. Black slip by St Michael (Marks & Spencer). To fit bust 34 in. Tour de poitrine (French for bust size) 88cm. 40 taille (French for size 40). 100% Nylon/polyamide www.patra.com White cape blazer, label White Bird. Large. Nowhere near meeting in the middle.  White toe post shoes by 9West. Pink cat ear headphones model BT028C. Useful Websites About Clothes www.patra.com About the Author Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. She evaluates speeches, judges speech contests and runs language workshops. She also draws caricatures. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts with your colleagu

Dress 177 Blue with cream orchid. How to use ribbons as hatbands, belts and more

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WHERE TO BUY RIBBONS I have three spools of satin ribbon bought from Daiso the Japanese budget one price store.  大創 ( daiso ) = large creation. WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH RIBBONS They are in blue, red and green. I looked at the blue dress and wondered, what have I got that's blue to go with this. My eyes discovered the spool of blue ribbon.  I cut a piece of blue ribbon to tie around the brim of the hat to go with the dress. A shorter piece of the blue ribbon tied around the pigtail helps to co-ordinate.  A further piece could be added to the wrist. Another ribbon, longer, can tie around the waist.  It is a trick you could copy with a length of ribbon. Black and white would be the most useful. If you wear a lot of a colour, such as red, blue, turquoise, or silver and gold for evening, a length of ribbon on a spoon or loose would come in handy. An old tee-shirt or pillow case cut into strips would give you several pieces of ribbon to tie up as belts, headbands, wrist bands, chokers and ne

Dress 176 Artistic Angela in an Anthony Sicari dress and scarf with watercolour pencils. How you can buy, make, and pose.

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Published on Facebook Dress 176  Artistic Angela - in an Anthony Sicari dress and scarf.  VINTAGE ANTHONY SICARI DRESS & SCARF Anthony Sicari outfits are vintage. What I like about Anthony Sicari outfits is that they are co-ordinated and usually have a scarf to match the skirt and top or dress which is very elegant and colourful. However you often see on ebay just a top, or the top and skirt without the scarf, which I presume has got separated over the years.  Most of the outfits are from the USA. Some are from people having a clear out, especially if they would rather wear the latest fashion. Other vintage outfits may be from people who are in their seventies who no longer need smart clothes, or have moved into a home, or their children are clearing out when parents are elderly or dead.  A few outfits come from second hand or charity shops. Americans call them thrift stores.  POSTAGE SAVINGS If you live in the UK or Singapore the postage can cost as much as or more than the outfit