Dress Of The Day with Angela

  Green top's label is Goodwill. Why do I have this open mouth, gasping, Marilyn Monroe sexy look? Because I have to look up when wearing my spectacles to avoid the reflections in the glasses. If I don't look up this is what happens. How To Recycle A Child's Outgrown Outfit I had rescued ready to recycle a set of child's skirt with attached leggings. I thought it would make a cape with sleeves. I had done that before. You can leave the elastic waist intact for your neck. I have done this before, successfully. Cut upwardsfrom the base of the skirt. Cut up one side of a seam so the edge is already seamed neatly on one side. This garment was much smaller. I had to cut the elastic.   However this time the seams were not neatly in the centre. I ended up with an asymmetrical cape. I know. You know. My husband never noticed.  Tricks and Tips on Night Portrait Photography He was more concerned with taking the photo in daylight, but not having the light behind me and none in ...

  Props We boiled up the egg, the small chicken's egg, for the small egg cup. I looked around the living room and saw a giant ostrich egg, souvenir of South Africa. Just thing for an impact in a photo and on zoom for a speech about cooking eggs.  Clothes and Hat The Apron   I had the chef's apron in wide blue and narrow white stripes. I bought it for my husband who felt and looked silly in my girl aprons decorated with flowers. It is waterproof and handy for protecting clothes from water, juice and coffee, more often than for cooking.  How To Make The DIY Paper Chef's Hat You can buy chef's hat from cookware suppliers. But I needed one instantly. For a speech about cooking eggs I thought I would switch my baseball hat to something else. What?  I had no chef's hat. But I did have a pillbox hat. So I took White A4 paper from the printer, or the pile of discarded paper, or the waste bin. I folded parallel strips using a ruler.  Then I folded  them ba...

  Photo by Trevor Sharot. Photo by Trevor Sharot. 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 the following: travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com translateforfun.blogspot.com  Please share links to your favourite posts.

Dress of the day number 207, in royal blue, converted from trousers (Americans say pants). Photo by Trevor Sharot.  The pretty fabric of the royal blue trousers meant that they stayed in my wardrobe for months, years. I  never wore them. I rediscovered them when I had a sort out, looking for a new outfit to wear, and found them.  Why don't I wear trousers any more? They are too hot, too constricting. Especially in summer and the tropics. Life is easier when you wear a skirt because you can wear a slip underneath and wash that out and dry it overnight. You can wear the skirt two or more times before washing it. How can you convert a pair of trousers into a skirt? Simple. Just slit up the inside seam of both legs towards where they meet at the crotch. Since the legs of the garment reach the ankles, unlike shorts, you end up with a long skirt, which is what I like to wear.  You can wear the new skirt with a slit at the front and a slit at the back. Or you can turn the s...

  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Selfie. Red and white false collar, White Bird cape blazer, red catran by Label Elok, traditional batik from Indonesia. How to create an attention getting neckline for your appearance on Zoom. Dress of the Day 206 Red and white Trio neckline  Cape Blazer White Bird label white cape blazer. Glossary Cape blazer  A cape blazer is a-jacket with cape effect and opening for the arm, no front sleeve. Can be buttoned across the front or loose like this one.  I have ordered some double clip fasteners. I hunted everywhere for clip fasteners a year ago and could not find them. So I sewed on pairs of ribbons to tie in a matching colour. In Feb 2021 whilst I was looking for fake collars and applique up popped links and ads for fastenings.  The Red Caftan Dress The red caftan dress is loose and short and I wear it around the house. It is loose on the arms and waist. I don't need to match up a top and skirt. It is quick to put on if I am hurry...

  Dress of the night, pink delight. Dress number 205.  The White Dress The rescued dress is white cotton with thin white muslin lining.  the embroidery is pink, green and orange shy satin stitching, pink net for the large flowers and pink sequins with tiny seed pearls in the middle. The dress has no maker's label nor sizing. It is to fit either for somebody much slimmer, and smaller, possibly a child. The zip does not do up at the back, but the waist tie holds it in place and the gap is hidden by the cape blazer, and leaves me cool. White Cape Blazer The white cape blazer has the label White Bird. The fabric is light, unlined. The size is large and it is a long way from meeting in the middle. I thought of adding white ribbons at breast or waist height to fasten it but I wore it a lot and it didn't slip off. The flat shoes are deep dusky pink and purple. The brand is Brevitt. Touch and close. The pink cup was a free gift when you bought two or four cartons of drink, before...

  Orange wedge sandals with fabric flower by Castaner, vintage, owned by Angela Lansbury. Photo by Angela Lansbury. The good news is you can still buy wedge heel rope edge shoes from Castaner - notice the diacritic over the n, making a ny sound, as in manyana.  My favourite orange shoes with the fabric flowers with two layers of five petals. Open toe. Orange lining to match. So jolly. They make me happy. The latest designs are rainbow colours. The fabric is canvas, they say. Sold in London and Singapore. And franchises worldwide. Useful websites Castaner shoes in rainbow colours, on sale online from at least two sources, Feb 2021. In UK https://www.castaner.com/en-int/woman/sandals?___from_store=en-uk In Singapore https://www.mytheresa.com/en-sg/designers/castaner.html 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 ...

  Dress of the Day 204. Orange Apart Impressions Jacket. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Jacket Orange Apart Impressions, size 7. I can wear it but it is uncomfortable so I have slung it over my shoulders. However it goes well with the blouse.  The blouse is a sixties style tie-neck blouse.  The label says Lady Lichfield, N Z made, size 36, polyester blend. When you look at the colours closely you can see two shades or paler and brighter orange circles, lavender, pale olive green, yellow, pale grey and charcoal grey.  Multi-coloured blouses Such a busy pattern. Five sizes of circles. The fabric is in strips of smooth alternating with a raised material. Making Matching Material Buttons  The buttons are self-covered in the same fabric. If you are interested in making clothes with matching buttons, you can buy buttons with a clip on top which you cover and push on. Sometimes there is a hidden spike. You could also take one of those tie pins with a spike and cover the top w...

  Photo by Trevor Sharot. The green dress by Paraphrase is made of cool cotton. The batwing sleeve and short skirt makes it extra cool for a sultry, sweaty summer, a well-heated winter room, or the tropics.  I was pleasantly surprised that I did not look daft in such a short skirt. What with my age, which I cannot change, my height, which I can only vary with high heeled shoes, and my weight. But now that I have lost a lot of weight I can wear outfits which never fitted or suited me before.  For the photo, to continue the green theme, I picked up a glass with a green lid (saved from aplastic bottle) which is used to keep dust and fies out of my water glass. To echo the orange pattern on the tee-shirt, I added an orange belt, made from tying on a large, orange thin scarf. I shoe orange open toed sandals to complete the orange and green summery look.  For the background I had some green plants, rather than a white wall. I dream of cropping the photo and adding a miniat...

  When you are seen head to foot you have more to match. On the other hand more options.  When you are photographing just your top half in a selfie, or appearing seated on zoom, the face and hair or or hat and hatband need to match up with your top half. The blue background of the dress matches my eyes. I had to move a couple of times to take this photo. I stood so that the distracting light switch was behind my head. Sometimes all it takes to look co-ordinated is matching lipstick and rouge. For a man to be all matching, a tie to match the shirt, or a cap in the same colours or match socks and hat.  You have a choice of two ways to co-ordinate clothes. The easiest method is to buy the matching item when you shop for the clothes. It is much easier to buy a hat to match the skirt you have just bought when the skirt is already in your bag, than to have to take a second trip to the shops. What if you have so many clothes you cannot match them up in a hurry? Match them up the...

Angela Lansbury wearing pyjamas, with pyjama bottoms slit to make a skirt. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Why convert trousers into a skirt? I didn't want trousers. In hot weather I like to feel free in a skirt. I hesitated. Would I wear the garment? I told myself, Go on, wear it. My internal dialogue went like this:   No. I am not interested.  In that case, it is just taking up space. You have nothing to lose. You might as well cut the bottom half.  If it goes wrong, I still have lots of fabric Or could sew it back together.  The decision was made. How To Cut? I took the trousers and a pair of pinking shears. The material was catching. I used ordinary sharp large scissor, holding the join of the fabric very carefully a short distance from the blade.  I slit the trousers from the ankles to the crotch. Where to cut the hem? I had previously realised that if you have a large hem it is worthwhile separating the two sides by unravelling the sewing along the join to gain a ...

  Dress of the day 200. Photo by Trevor Sharot.  You can brighten up an old outfit with a new collar. It makes me feel good. I have a new look. I feel it is a way to create variety for the family. Something new for them to see every day. I have made a collar or cape from a child's skirt previously. On one occasion I had to cut a slit to make the collar lay flat. I left the elastic waistband intact. I slit the cape so it would go over my shoulders and allow me to move my arms comfortably. This garment had another design. Matching tights were attached. Clearly I had to remove the tights completely, or slit them to make  hole for my head to get through. I cut cautiously. I try to cut as little as possible. You can always cut more. As the saying goes, measure twice, cut once.  I think, save cutting and save sewing. I cut the slit down one side of the leg seams, only to about a third of the way along. This left me with two hanging tubes of matching material. I tied them t...

Dress of the day, outfit 199. Pink fan, Pink Patra top and pink Barbie tunic. The Pink Clothes Patra printed pale pink top. Worn over a pale pink barbie tunic with spaghetti straps. Dark pink brim hat. Dress of the day 199. Valentine's Day. Fan of Pink. I love pink. I am a fan of pink. You may have seen the pink fan previously and the hat previously with another outfit.. The Pink Fan  I am holding a pink fan. The pretty pink paper fan, edged with gold, had torn in two. I restored it with a concertina of A4 white paper as backing.  I took two pieces of white A4 paper from a pile of used paper printed on one side. I folded together the printed sides so that that the clean white was outside.   To make the concertina creases, I folded one piece in half along the long side so the crease was parallel to the short side.  I then continued. If the crease was too loose, I firmed the crease by folding the paper the other way. I used a metal ruler as a guide.  I attach...

 My pink Cheong Sam (Dress 193) comes out again for the Chinese New Year Dinner. We had a Chinese New Year lunch. Usually a New Year Dinner is held on the evening of the holiday.  The evening before? Yes. A bit like Christmas Eve or more like New Year's Eve in the common calendar on Dec 31st. Once again I matched up pinks. I wore pink lipstick.  This time the dress is worn with flat pink and purple shoes. The shoes might rub. I found white socks. For lunch time in the sunlight white seemed more suitable than sophisticated black for the evening. The pink cheongsam fastens diagonally from the neck with press studs and a pink double loop and a pink knot which goes through one loop.. The diagonal slit ends under the arm, but is extended by a invisible long zip down to hip level. I thought the shoes would rub my feet so I wore socks. UK J D Williams have a good selection of Brevitt shoes and similar ones. The Brevitt and other similar shoes are flat with a wide bar touch and c...

  Attaching A False Collar The white collar with the red embroidery is my favourite dickey. A dickey is a false shirt-effect which is just a removable collar. Here the tee-shirt sleeves in white match the collar and create the illusion that the collar is part of undergarment.  For a winter outfit, you can buy fake turtle necks to add to your outfit which add a matching or contrasting colour. They keep you warm. An elderly person wanting to conceal a scraggy neck might also find this looks more elegant and younger. The same concealing effect helps to hide age spots or a double chin. When travelling or dealing with strangers working in the home or office, the falso collar can conceal your jewellery, either to prevent theft.  For travelling light, with a plain colour dress or shirt or tee-shirt, two or three fake collars can create different effects for business meetings or to create variety for your family or yourself. Dress Up Or Dress Down Another advantage is that you ca...

   The red dress I have worn before, but this time it looks different. I was asked to wear red for a Toastmasters International meeting online, from a club based in California USA. Their dress code was red. This fitted in well with Chinese New Year which is next weekend, but starts on Thursday for those whose workplaces have given them a day off in lieu of a holiday day which would anyway be a day off at the weekend. (In other words, if they have a five day week, to get the two days off for Chinese New Year, they get Thursday off as well as Friday.  However, the USA group, saw red as the appropriate colour for another upcoming holiday, Valentine's Day..    So, here I am in red. Online only my top half was visible when I stayed seated. So not so much of me looked red. And two other ladies wore red hats. So I dashed off for a red hat. The Belt The belt is a scarf. I think the fringe adds a touch of glamour. It makes a change from the plain dress. My real reason fo...