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Showing posts from March, 2021

How to convert a child's dress into an adult's top or dickey and a skirt. Dress of the day 222. Skirt in tiers. Pink, yellow and orange. With pink cape blazer and embroidered collar.

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   This is known as recycling or upscaling.  The Collar I was originally looking for a plain top to show off the new double embroidered collar which can be seen better in the previous day's outfit number 221 and in 220. The Top The top is reversed back to front to show only the plain pink. It is Disney princess. The Skirt The skirt is rescued from a child's dress. The top which was too small was cut and slit up the sides to make a dickey or false front to fill in a V neck outfit. The skirt was cut above the waistband, and slit at the back. The tie of the waistband holds it in place and the gap is hidden by the jacket. The Jacket The jacket is coral pink cape blazer, made in England, as in the previous photo. The long under slip is a black slip from Marks & Spencer. Coral Pink Cape Blazer Brand name, Pretty Little Thing, from the UK. Size UK 16, AUS 16. EUR 44, US 12. The label says 95% polyester 5% elastane, made in UK. I sewed pink ribbons onto the jacket to fasten it. You

Dress 221, In the pink. Pink paper parasol which you can buy online

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  Dress 221. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Angela is wearing a pink cape blazer. Multi colour collar (see in dress 220). Pink paper concertina fan. Rescued folding stool. Live orchid growing in pot on balcony.  Coral Pink Cape Blazer Brand name, Pretty Little Thing, from the UK. Size UK 16, AUS 16. EUR 44, US 12. The label says 95% polyester 5% elastane, made in UK. It doesn't meet in the middle and is inclined to fall of my shoulders, maybe because I broke my right collar bone in a pedestrian road accident in Corsica in 1984. I solved the slipping jacket problem by sewing on a pink pair of ribbons one each side, which have the lettering dote. The ribbon brand name has a lower case d and an upward accent on the e. The Pink Paper Parasol I wanted a parasol in pink and the cheapest was made of paper. No good in the rain. But great for a sunshade or accessory or photo.  I liked it so much I have ordered another in orange. A bit small. Super for a small child who is not keen on brimmed hats

Dress 220. Short caftan enhanced by White embroidered detachable double collar. Collar with flowers in multi-colours: wine, orange, pale blue, green.

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  Selfie by Angela Lansbury. Double Collar from Ebay. From China.  This collar is pretty. Ideal for an afternoon or evening out. On the other hand, to look businesslike on Zoom you might prefer plain white with a pointed collar. If you are travelling, having two collars enables you to change your look from businesslike for daytime meetings to pretty for the evening. Useful Websites ebay.com Item shown listed as: Embroidered Women Ladies Detachable Doll Collar Elegant Fake Half Shirt Blouse Q Seller https://www.ebay.com/usr/queenmade US$8.66 Free international shipping. .... In March 2021 looked online for Elok of Indonesia. I could not find any current company there. However I found eight second hand dresses being sold on ebay, mostly in the UK, with asking prices of over 30 US dollars (plus postage). https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-ELOK-Traditional-Batik-Indonesia-Large-Shift-Dress-Caftan-Red-Floral-Tropic/ Dress of the Day 202. Short caftan by Elok of Indonesia. Black cape blazer. Gold

Dress 219 Bolstered by a bolster cover, upcycled into a dress, in Pink, Green and Blue.

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  The Bolster Cover Dress I have several bolster covers, more than I need. Some fabrics are thick and stiff. Others are thin and soft. Firm fabrics can be cut into tailored clothes. Soft fabrics drape well and feel soothing. My preference in a hot summer or hot climate is  fabric which is soft and soothing. I was really looking forward to wearing my new dress or skirt.  The bolster cover could easily be cut down the single long seam. I thought of unpicking it but could not find my seam picker which was not in the usual place. Impatiently, I simply used pinking shears. Both ends of the bolster had thin white string ties threaded through the end seams. Just too short to tie around under my arms. So I added more white string.  For a one-off wear at home, this was fine. I wore it over a long ankle-length under slip. The top back is covered by the co-ordinating cape blazer which looked smart for a zoom meeting.  If I ever want to improve it, I can add another bolster to fill the gap at the

Sunshine Yellow Dress of the Day 218, caftan from Indonesia and yellow bow hair slide

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  Batik, scoop neck, flutter sleeve, batwing sleeve. Useful Websites You can find some vintage Elok kaftans on ebay. Not cheap. Asking prices about 30 dollars for second hand clothes but some sellers say,  Best offer. You can also search in the left hand column for sellers who accept best offers. When doing the search by the brand name, add search category : clothes. I kept searching on the ebay website and dropped the brand name. I just used the search words kaftan and batik. I 'selected lowest price and shipping' in the box top right of the screen.  Then I hunted down the categories on the left column. I found under 35 US dollars, and free shipping! Useful Websites https://www.ebay.com/itm/Woman-Maxi-Kimono-Kaftan-Tunic-Kaftan-Dress-Free-Bold-Tribal-Print-Design/293972801690?hash=item447224f89a:g:brkAAOSw5BVecyt3 About the Author Angela Lansbury is a British author who has lived in the USA. Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Angela Lansbury teacher of English (a

Ear-rings to match lace collar with glass beads - how to match accessories and fix fly away hair. 2017c (Selfie, head and shoulders.)

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  Why Add Ear-rings? Do the ear-rings complement and complete the outfit? Or do they distract? I thought they completed the outfit perfectly. You have to look in the mirror and keep trying accessories, removing them, replacing them, until you get the effect which makes you feel good and happy and smiling. Use Your Mirror The effect when you are seated showing only your shoulders and neckline and cleavage on Zoom or in a head and shoulders portrait is not the same as when you are standing. To see the effect of the selfie, your camera is your own mirror. Why Add A Necklace? Does the red and black necklace distract? Maybe. I wore it because with a full length picture the red picked up the red colour of the underskirt and red evening shoes which have glass sparkles. The bulky red necklace also covered the cleavage. Hope for Fly Away Hair - Moisturizers My skin has dried out and sagged on my face and my hair has dried and become fly-away. The cure for fly-away hair is conditioner. Ideally,

Dress of the day 214 . Double lace collar over red Sensations blouse. (With shiny gold, star pattern, brimmed paper hat.)

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  red

Dress of the day 216. White double lace sparkle collar with dark blue dress.

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  Useful Websites (alphabetically) For fake collars Amazon https://www.amazon.sg/PRETYZOOM-Cotton-Collar-Detachable-Neckline/dp/B08Q7M58RP/ Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/Women-False-Collar-Lace-Collar-Detachable-Lapel-Choker-Necklace-Shirt-Cloak-Accs/174645187162 Etsy Wish  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 217 a b c White double lace collar with shortened full length white lace fringed outfit (skirt and jacket) from affordable Tempt

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  The white lace skirt and jacket are a matching set. The brand name is Temt. They are an 'affordable' shop, just what I like. I must have seen this at a bargain price. I would have thought, that looks great for a bride, but not for me. Besides the white will easily get stained if I drink coffee or eat a curry. How to Shorten A Skirt When I put the outfit on it consisted of a long skirt and jacket. The skirt was too long. I considered cutting off  a wide piece from the hem. I could use the strip as a headscarf, bandanna, or neck scarf. More usefully, I could use it to extend the skirt upwards and make a top. How to Make A Top Piece 1 I could have attached the cut-off piece to the skirt.  2 Or kept the top as a separate bandeau like a bra, 3 Or short, shoulder covering, short sleeve bolero.  The simplest way would have been to make a bandeau.  If that was too short to cover my bust, I had two further choices.  4 I could use a second strip above the first, maybe by cutting more o

Dress 214. Fake detachable White collar Of Double Lace with sparkles and elastic loop fastening. Over red top.

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  The Collar Of Double Lace & Sparkles White collars look most effective against red. The collar is in two layers. At the back it fastens with a button and a tiny loop made from a piece of white tubular elastic. The white jacket is a cape blazer. The cape is fixed across the top of the shoulder and a few inches down the arms to create the tailored military look at the top. However, it leaves your arms free, revealing the arm or contrasting blouse sleeve  and looks elegant. The gold hat is saved from New Year's Eve. I am wearing it because I wanted a glamorous dressed up outfit, suitably festive for my picture with my birthday cake. Useful Websites (alphabetically) For fake collars Amazon https://www.amazon.sg/PRETYZOOM-Cotton-Collar-Detachable-Neckline/dp/B08Q7M58RP/ Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/Women-False-Collar-Lace-Collar-Detachable-Lapel-Choker-Necklace-Shirt-Cloak-Accs/174645187162 Etsy Wish  About the Author Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a

Dress 213: White semi-circular fake collar with frilled edge and ribbon tie. Over red silk top.

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Hairband for a child with attached red triangle and mock dark thin plaits. I have a broken collar bone from an accident when I was a pedestrian leaving the broken down coach in Corsica. As a result a detached collar such as this is inclined to slip sideways. Anybody who has a similar problem to mine, lop-sided for any reason, arm, neck, collar bone, back, might consider adding a clip to secure the collar and keep it straight. Other dickeys (false fronts) have straps which go under the arms. But to hide the strap the dickey has to be worn underneath the garment with the V neck or other shape you are filling.  Accessories: Doll Rescued rag doll with plaits. The dolly is there to match the colour red.  White Dynasty find bone china coffee cup and saucer, bought from department store in Singapore, similar to Thomas ware, originally a German brand, which we bought in the UK. Blue Seville Denbyware cap and saucer, seconds, bought in the UK from a charity shop. Red Blouse Worn over red blouse

Dress 212. White dickey with red collar over red silk vest and black Marks & Spencer full length lace insert slip.

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  Photo by Trevor Sharot. instead of the caftan with pink fuchsia colour flowers, (in the previous picture of dress 211) which looks okay at night on Zoom, this time I have matched the red of the collar to the red sleeves of a silk vest. Label Useful Websites RED (on white) Collar https://www.amazon.com/Collar-Fashion-Butterfly-Embroidery-Detachable/dp/B07YX6S5HK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=fake+collar+butterfly+red+women $18.99 plus shipping  RED OR BLUE ON THE SAME PAGE On Lazada at $19 and under two dollars shipping: https://www.lazada.sg/products/yizunzhiduo-detachable-collar-children-all-matching-fake-collar-detachable-collar-autumn-and-winter-embroidery-lace-collar-fake-collar-sweater-accessories-collar-lining-collar-i1369680724.html BLUE (on white) Butterfly From Cleanto seller on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sweet-Sweater-Decor-Fake-Collars-Blouse-False-Collar-Embroidered-Half-Shirt-CO/392714656538?hash=item5b6f9e1b1a:g:oWMAAOSwIYdcagqT PLAIN WHITE EBAY White lace false c

Dress 211. White dickey with red edge collar (on short caftan with large fuschia pink flowers)

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Angela, selfie. Dress 211. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Collars I hunted all over the internet for days for collars. I have some plain white which will go with anything. The red edge one looks wrong with patterns, as you can see from the larger picture.  I wore it at night when I was on the internet and only my shoulders were showing on Zoom. A patterned collar looks perfect over plain red. You may need to match up the type of fabric.  Cotton goes with cotton. Lace  goes with lace. Useful Websites RED (on white) Collar https://www.amazon.com/Collar-Fashion-Butterfly-Embroidery-Detachable/dp/B07YX6S5HK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=fake+collar+butterfly+red+women $18.99 plus shipping  On Lazada at $19 and under two dollars shipping: https://www.lazada.sg/products/yizunzhiduo-detachable-collar-children-all-matching-fake-collar-detachable-collar-autumn-and-winter-embroidery-lace-collar-fake-collar-sweater-accessories-collar-lining-collar-i1369680724.html BLUE The same butterfly design as th