Dress Of The Day with Angela

  Union Jack chair at Heathrow airport. Angela is wearing a yellow caftan. Photo by Trevor Sharot. A chair in flag colours. What a great idea. And a great photo opportunity. the bright red, white and blue enhances my bright colours, the yellow caftan, red sandals, and the neat straw hat. You can make yourself a caftan. They use a lot of fabric but are easy to make. See my previous post 448 on how to copy a caftan. This quick-wash caftan was added at the last minute to protect my other outfit worn underneath. I am wearing a pink broderie anglaise top. I was travelling light, with a carry on bag checked in. If my luggage went missing, I would still have two outfits.  I thought my outfit was rather a melange of colours and fabrics and styles. However, two people complimented me on my bright, colourful outfit. Admittedly one was in the perfume area, probably hoping to sell me perfume. Bright yellow keeps me awake and lively when travelling. If my husband loses me, he can ask if an...

  Angela Lansbury Dress 290. Photo by Trevor Sharot. New (to me) Open Front Wrap Top With Black butterfly Pattern Chiffon white waterfall front and sleeves. Knitted black back. Brand 1 - X London Size 10. 100 % polyester. 95% polyester 5% elastane. 2 gold colour metal zips. They open but perform no function. Black Cape Blazer Black Skirt White Blouse with Ruffle Front and Flared edge cuffs Japan New Mode. Vintage. 6 metal edged pearl white buttons down the front and one on each cuff. Brown Sandals

5he white collar and cuffs button onto the dress. The White Detachable Cuffs Each white cuff  has only four teeny pearly buttons with four sunken holes. The White Detachable Collar The collar has several buttons. I picked up the collar after I had put on the dress and cuffs and did not have the time nor the energy to take off the dress and button on the collar. So I pinned it together with a safety pin inside. I did not want the safety pin at the back where it could come apart and dig into the back of the neck, nor at the front. i turned the collar to the side, which had the added advantage of hiding the collar join under the jacket. More details later.  See also outfit 414, purple stripes.

 Angela Lansbury wearing Boss Lady t-shirt label J5, bought from St Luke's. Photo by Trevor Sharot, edited by Angela Lansbury on a Samsung mobile phone. Angela Lansbury wearing a Boss lady t-shirt. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Gold Foil T-Shirt I bought my Boss Lady t-shirt from St Luke's for one pound. Now that many customers are on holiday or have returned from holiday and no longer need new clothes (or bought whilst on holiday - and are now post holiday budgeting - the summer sales are on. Is boss lady an oxymoron. Is a boss lady different from a lady boss? I bought this bargain for only one pound in London.  To make it more suitable for an evening event, I added a gold sequin collar. First I tied the collar. But it hung down over the lettering. I turned it to throw one end over my shoulder. It still hung down. Finally I tucked it in. Gold Shoes I bought the gold shoes for three pounds from the same shop. The gold went with the t-shirt. Unfortunately they are too low on the toes...

You might have seen this green, sleeveless dress previously under the blue blouse, acting like a skirt.  The dress is under a blue jacket in post 478. The green dress is in post 480, about the silver necklace. Today I am wearing the dress over the blue blouse. My dress is so handy, goes with lots of blues. Does not crease. Good length. Slightly shaped, not baggy but loose enough to be comfortable. I wondered of Karen Millen was a made up or changed name. At first I kept typing Miller. Then I got to know the name. Karen Millen is a real person. Wiki told me the whole story. I shall condense it here: Karen Millen studied fashion at the Medway College of Design which is now known as  University for the Creative Arts . [3] The company was founded in 1981 when Millen partnered with Kevin Stanford.  Karen Millen acquired the assets of its sister company, Coast, out of administration in October 2018. [9]  In August 2019, the two companies' online businesses were bought out ...

An American Woman's Hair Routine  In the USA on a travel press trip, a glamorous lady who edited a travel magazine had long shining hair.  We enviously asked her, "How do you get such lovely hair?" She replied, "I wash it every day - in the shower, when I have my morning shower." UK Hair Washing Habits That was back in the nineteen eighties when in the UK most people had baths, and washed their hair once a week, on a Friday night, ready for the weekend, in a wash basin. Now, living in Singapore, humid Singapore, where you shower at least once a day, in the morning, and if you are at home, often morning, lunch time, evening, even four times a day, in a cold shower to cool off,  I often wash my hair in the shower. Having wet hair helps me stay cool at home at the desk or out on holiday In summer in the UK, Washington DC and the USA, beach holidays in Europe, out for the day driving around Cyprus, and Singapore all year. In any case, since Covid, I have been swimmi...

A new way to make money. You don't have to stop buying clothes. You don't have to sell your favourite outfit. You just have to hire it out.  Australia A company doing renting out designer labels for individuals in Australia is called Volte. I wondered how the seller on Volte deals with items which are not returned or come back stained or smelly. The issue of non-returned items, as in many hire businesses, is dealt with by a non-returnable deposit. One seller revealed that she would not ask items to be returned impeccably but would get them steam cleaned and this cost was factored into the price. She takes items to the post office. If you do this regularly, it becomes routine rather than a chore. The interviewee allows occasional pickups. I would be more inclined to have pickups. However, I can see that if you are out and about with children, or other work or shopping or posting some items, you might find having to be home is restricting. Impeccable clothes shop in Hatch End, Pi...

  Meryl Lawrence, wearing a colourful butterfly jacket fro Boohoo. Photo by Angela Lansbury. This beautiful butterfly top was worn by my friend at Writers' Summer School at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, England, UK. I stopped to compliment her on it and ask her where she got it. She said from BooHoo.  The colourful loose jacket upgrades a pair of pale blue jeans into an evening outfit. BooHoo I typed butterfly into Boohoo and did not find this item. However, I found 50 items featuring butterflies, from jeans to bikini tops. I found more on Amazon and Etsy.  Search Words - Such as Kimono I tried searching the word kimono which brought up something which had eluded me for years, how to find ankle-length outfits with wide sleeves to be sure they were large enough to go over my upper arms. Other magic search words are batwing sleeves, beach cover-up.    On ebay you can buy second hand items. I search from low to high prices. Alternatively, to ...

  A friend's fun fan at Writers' Summer School in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Photo by Angela Lansbury. In the hot weather in August in England we kept falling asleep in the conference centre rooms. The local staff told us they were tired. Despite the electric fans which whirred  away noisily, several people had trouble staying awake. Others resorted to hand held fans. This fan was bought by my friend from a market in Spain. Markets are good places to look for fans. And supermarkets in hot countries. If you want to make your own fan, or recycle an old one which is wearing thin, check this fan. The pattern is one you might find inspiring. It consists of seven circles, roses or  spirals in three repeating colours.  They are summery colours, green, yellow and a warm colour. Note the curved edges. On eBay I found fan design ear-rings from France. See my dress of the day 199 about making concertina fold fans. Angela Lansbury with a concertina fold pink paper fan with gilt edges...

Angela Lansbury wearing a pink, straw, fraying, beachcomber hat. Photo selfie by Angela Lansbury.    I thought I wasn't wearing my glasses. My hat straw got in the way.  The straw was over my eyes and so my glasses focussed on the straw. I had to tilt my head to see under the straw. I thought I wasn't wearing glasses. Those annoying straws interfered with my vision. I didn't like those prickly spokey, spikey straws on my face, near my mouth and nose and eyes. And on my shoulders.  I took off the hat. I looked it up online. It was a style called Beachcomber. Plenty like it.  I hunted for fixing it. You can make them waterproof with a spray of Shellac. But nowhere were instructions for plaiting up the edges and sealing them down. It would take hours. Then clear nail varnish? Or sew in a circle? Then cut back the protruding spikes? I tried it on the other way round. Ah! The hat was not stupid. I was stupid. The hat bent upwards over the forehead and hung down at th...

 Warning: I got bitten on my arms and legs. Where? Out by the bushes, cutting them down to reach blackberries for British blackberry and apple pie. So, I got bitten?  Does it matter? Yes. Here's why.  1 Visual It is unsightly. I saw a girl on the Singapore MRT train. She was wearing a fetching outfit of shorts and a crop top. Unfortunately, her legs were covered by pink pimples. It looked horrible. Her sour expression suggested she was feeling irritable, irritated.  If you scratch the bites, the blood stains your clothes. The blood attracts other insects, mosquitos, leeches, bed bugs. 2 Distraction From Work The constant annoyance distracts you from work. You keep thinking about insect bites. 3 Disease Mosquitos carry malaria.  Singapore/UK/Europe/USA/Australia What is the prevention? What is the cure? 1 Visual  Cover with bandage and/or sticking plaster. Wear stockings or socks which hide bites and prevent scratching. You can also get fingerless gloves. ...

My silver necklace with the teeny blue heart..  Photo by Angela Lansbury. To show the size of the silver necklace. Photo by Angela Lansbury. I have lots of little pendants and charms which need necklaces. Do you have the same problem? Your solutions are: Metal Fabric Ribbon Advantage The simple solution is to tie them on bit of ribbon. Quick pretty. Inexpensive to buy. No great financial loss if lost, or stolen. Not likely to attract thieves. Disadvantages of Ribbons Ribbons get wet in a bath, shower, or rainstorm.  But ribbons come undone.  Unless you can tie the ribbon to a quick release clasp.  Ribbons can also fade,  And fray. Knots can look untidy. Tie it too tight, to be sure it is secure, and you might need to cut it off.  Wearing a ribbon is not as classy or neat or formal or elegant. Metal Cheap metal discolors. It can be sharp. It can rust in the wet. Plating can wear off. Solid silver is cheaper than solid gold. I bought a necklace on ebay. ...

  From Shein: Angela Lansbury is wearing a red cape blazer. Selfie photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Red Cape Blazer  The fabric meets all the way across to button up. It has two large central buttons. No spare button. The collar is lined. The lining goes down the front under the buttons and buttonholes. The shoulders are padded.   The two deep flaps are false pockets.  The narrow neck label with the name Shein is sewn at the edges left and right only, so it could be used as a hanging loop. However, given the creasing, I would hang it on a hanger. Style  This really is a cape. The sleeve is the edge of the cape, sewn down across the front of the shoulder. (Unlike my other jackets,  97% polyester, 3 % elastane. Creases badly. But I like it. The vibrant red seems to glow. My white nail varnish looks terrific against the red. Size Size M. EU 38. US 6. Made in China.  White Nail Varnish White nail varnish from Tesco Express was only about 2.50 GDP (Grea...

Angela Lansbury wearing a royal blue, cut-sleeve jacket. Photo selfie by Angela. (Taken from a windowsill.) A beautiful blue jacket from Shein. Who are they? Shein is, and was recently, according to sources quoted by Wikipedia, the largest online retailer, outdoing Amazon. Shein sells affordable clothes, very popular with teens. The company is based in China but sells to more than 200 countries.  (220!) The name was originally Sheinside, but that was shortened to shein. (Not Shein, rhyming with German ein nor wein.) Chinese 希音 Literal meaning "sound of hope Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xīyīn I used translate Google and tried reversing to English- Chinese, and back to Chinese-English. I split the Chinese visual phrase into the two separate words or sounds. I struggled with that. Never mind. It's okay, so long as I can get it sounding right in English, she-yin. Style I love cape blazers. This one does not have a cape effect covering the back of the upper arms. However, I still...

Angela Lansbury wearing a green cut sleeve jacket from Shein. Photo by Trevor Sharot. After receiving the green jacket in my last  post, I looked up my points. You get Shein points on purchases and reviews. Also other things. Maybe signing up for newsletters. One hundred points gives you one dollar off any item bought (not off postage and others bits and pieces).  Unfortunately the points expire in as little as 7 days. If you have a small item which you want to buy, it  may be worth your while to do so whilst you can cash in your points. Or postpone writing the review until you need the points.  Useful Websites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shein_(company) / www.shein.co.uk

  r Angela Lansbury wearing a green, open front, split sleeve, jacket from Shein. Photo by Trevor Sharot. What's wrong with this outfit? The size of the jacket is large, EU40. US 8/10. (That would be a size larger in the UK, 10-12, or 12-14.)  Have I really got that small? Is it the size which causes the creasing? Disappointingly, the creases cannot be removed by cold water. It will not drip dry and lose the creases. I tried that. They should pack it on a stiff backing, like many men's shirts.  Red Shoes - Need Matching Accessories The red clogs match the lipstick, but are too far away. Instead of squinting into the sun I should wear a red baseball cap or pretty wide-brimmed sunhat. A red belt would split the dress and make me look shorter, but would tie in the new shoes. Alternatively, I should wear neutral beige or brown sandals, my hook and loop ones.   Creases The green jacket, just delivered, is horribly creased. Maybe, if I washed it and drip dried it would loo...

  I have two favorite types of shoes for travelling. I mostly wear sandals which have hook and loop (Velcro or touch and close). You can take them off fast. But now I am adding slip on shoes, synthetic clogs with pull forward, pull back, straps, flat mules At Airport Security Checks I have to take off shoes or sandals at security. Put them in the box which x-rays them. Or remove them when something goes ping because of a metal buckle on my sandals, belt, or bra. You can put them back on fast. They expand when your feet swell in the heat when going for a summer holiday. Or when your feet shrink, you can tighten. The real deal, Crocs, can be expensive, if you want full price this year's latest design and colour. They are expensive in department stores in Singapore, even last year's model and colour, in the sale. I looked on ebay and Shein. Their marketing has me, my email, in their sights, for emails, imploring me to buy now, during sale time. Guess what colour I was looking for?...

Orange skirt and all charismatic colours on eBay from doorwaytofashion. 11.99 and 12.99 pounds. Half length lining and pattern /embroidery on front only. This is a pinky coral pink. Not the same as my yellowy mandarin orange top. Useful Website  https://www. ebay.co.uk/itm/132879225183?var=432177279101&hash=item1ef038115f:g:O3AAAOSwU1hgVPRh Please share links to your favourite posts.

 The eye-catching eyelet dress in mandarin orange with a wrap skirt and long sleeves was worn by an elegant young Indian mother in the ice cream shop in Hatch End. I stopped her to say, I love your broderie anglaise dress - where did you buy it?" She replied, Zara.  I should have asked "Recently?"  I went online, checked Zara, and Google, but could not find it. The nearest was this https://www.chicme.com/product/-Women's-Chic-Me-Square-Neck-Cap-Sleeve-Flutter-Sleeve-Shirred-Bright-Casual-Skirt-Sets--Orange-L/cdf5ebe0-5d8b-4d00-be49-bd7cf75fbd27.html?utm_sku=ODF1601-or-L-ichic&utm 23 pounds from chicme.com I save https://ww w.chicme.com/product/-Women's-Chic-Me-Square-Neck-Cap-Sleeve-Flutter-Sleeve-Shirred-Bright-Casual-Skirt-Sets--Orange-L/cdf5ebe0-5d8b-4d00-be49-bd7cf75fbd27.html ?utm_sku=ODF1601-or-L-ichic&utm_currency=GBP&country=GB&utm_locale=en_US&geeko_ads=2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=135910673180&utm_campaign=yangweihua?gc...

  Photo by Angela Lansbury The Blue Blouse It's a short sleeved blouse. I used think that short-sleeved blouses looked cheap. Like both the buyer and manufacturer were short of money. Cheap uniforms for shop girls. However, the pattern is irresistible.  The weather is hot. The blue looks cool. The green is fresh and suggests shade. The blouse goes perfectly over the sleeveless turquoise dress. The dress is a mystery. No label. However, I have a similar  slip, or dress, turquoise, rough fabric, single thickness, with spaghetti straps, label Karen Millen England. Size 12. Made in China. The label says 100% silk, lining polyester.   Sandals with hook and loop closure Hotter. Style Easy Toe Nail Varnish White from Tesco Express in London. Useful Websites https://www.karenmillen.com/ Please share links to this post and your other favourites

A plain selfie.  If you just hold your camera at arm's length, this is the sort of result you get. Angela wearing a blue slit sleeve jacket from Shein. Close-up, selfie. Photo by Angela. This close-up has some advantages. It shows my blue eyes matching the jacket. It shows the teeny blue heart matching the jacket. However, I also wanted a distant shot to show the whole outfit, head to toe, or at least from the ankles, or calves, or hips, or at least from the hem of the jacket. So I set the camera up on a window ledge. Indoors -Adjusting the camera Stand your mobile phone on a worktop such as a kitchen peninsular unit which is high. You might need a box or large, firm device to raise the height of the camera. Or hang the camera over something, with a towel underneath in case it falls off. I bought a phone with a cover which has a square ring in the centre of the back. You have to adjust the angle of the ring so that you can see yourself head to toe, unless you want a waist up or hea...