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Showing posts from August, 2023

Bargain Basement Angelic Dress 607

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I like to describe myself as Angelic Angela. I think it helps people to remember my name. I saw the word Angelic above a rack of clothes and had to stop. The clothes included some at bargain prices. A rack of clothes at prices from 5 Singapore dollars ninety cents in the basement of Singapore's Bupit Panjang Plaza shopping mall atrium, near the MRT railway station, at the end of the line.  The bargain rack had four prices. The lowest was angelic at $5.90. That was the price in my mind. The next price was Blossom at $9.90. The third was C at $14.90.  The next was Divine at 19.90,  Only when I got home and looked at the photo did I realise that the letter were in alphabetic order. A angelic, B blossom, c , D divine. Noona clothes racks. The clothes are not arranged by price. The price is on the ticket, as explained in a card above the rack. Photo by Angela Lansbury. The sleeveless grey dress with a black cape blazer jacket and black lace top, plus silver bag to add a touch of class a

The Secrets of Spotlight Stores - what makes them special? Post 606

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 I have been going to Spotlight stores for years. I buy pinking shears. Picture frames, Table mats. Items for sewing. Items for craft work. Spotlight Spotlight Spotlight is an Australian business in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. (Singapore and Malaysia.) Spotlight in Singapore Then I tried searching for instore. I found Spotlight in Singapore, a sewing (wiki says fabric), crafts and household shop.  I found a long pink zip. But they would not accept any credit card. Greyed out. I would have to visit. When I further researched Spotlight on Wikipedia, I found some amusing facts. It was started by a couple of Israeli brothers who immigrated to Australia and whose surnames were spelled differently because of a teacher's error. The company is now huge. They also own a cmaping and outdoor business.  https://www.ebay.com.au/str/spotlightstoresaustralia https://www.spotlightstores.com Spotlight in Singapore https://www.spotlightstores.com/sg https://www.spotlightstores.com/sg/sewing-fab

Ordering a long zip should be simple - I tried Amazon, Ebay and Spotlight. Post 605

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I wanted a long zip. About 36 inches. To turn a wrap around towelling bath or beach robe, for the swimming pool, into a zip up version by sewing in a zip. I measured in inches and centimeters. I tried to buy on Amazon.  Amazon I could buy a set of about 8 zips in assorted colours. Great.  But the price of postage etc bumped up the price. Meillia 8PCS 36 Inch Separating Jacket Zippers for Sewing Coat Clothes Jacket Zipper Heavy Duty Plastic Zippers Bulk in 8 Colors (36" 8pcs) Meillia 8PCS 36 Inch Separating Jacket Zippers for Sewing Coat Clothes Jacket Zipper Heavy… S$16.26 Only 1 left in stock - order soon. This is a gift This is a gift  Learn more Size:  36" 8pcs Qty:                      0 (Delete)                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+                  Qty: 1                 Share Then I tried ebay. Ebay On eBay I found single zips. But they would not delivery to the country I registered.  The postage for the  item was 'for free'. I have wasted more than an hour on

How should you safely eat soup, or a croissant, or curry? To Prevent Stains! Aprons, Bibs and Scarves Post 604

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Traditionally in the UK you eat soup by tilting the plate away from you. The reason is to prevent soup being scooped up and dripped onto your clothes. Very sensible.  Out at a restaurant, last night I heard a commotion when other people knocked over drinking glasses and got liquid on a lady's dress, her chair, and her bag on the floor. The important thing is to avoid getting stains on your clothes. Or your bag. Or the tablecloth. Or the upholstered chair!  Or the carpet. Drinks and Glassware To avoid knocking over glasses, don't over-fill them. Given a choice, and no preference, drink water rather colourful drinks. When catering for an event, buy or supply white wine or pale drinks. Use heavy tumblers rather than stemmed glasses.  To prevent items falling off forks, or out of your hands or dripping. Bring crockery together. Move food away from the edges of tables.   The Indians eat with their hands, which is their tradition. The French dunk their croissants in coffee, which is

Aromatic Coffee Candles From Bailden, Derbyshire, England, and Unusual Jewellery in Polymer Clay Post 603

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I prefer drinking water and milk, to avoid staining my teeth and clothes.  No need for me to mess about making strong coffee. I can enjoy milky coffee or milk and still enjoy the aroma of coffee. I can light a coffee candle to spread a delightful coffee smell.  Photo by Angela Lansbury Behind this lady assistant, I discovered a shelf of jewellery. I bought clay jewellery, a pendant and a matching brooch. I could have bought ear-rings. But they were the slot through or stud type. I should have bought them to make a complete set. You can buy clip on backs to which you can attach other ear-rings. Sometimes you can stick on the decorative part, after removing the hooks or studs. Sometimes you can hook the hook through the clip-on part. If anything is ugly and showing, you can cover it with nail varnish, or sequins, or stick on or sew on tiny ribbons or fabric bows or a tiny piece of fabric cut from the him or inside seam of the garment you wear most often to make a match.. I liked what loo

Repairing damage to second-hand clothes - a blue skirt hem of embroidery eyelet circles, 602

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 Delicate eyelets and lace may have hanging threads or missing sections. Repair needed for damaged hem on blue skirt. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The Blue Linen Skirt The skirt has the label Minuet. the fabric is linen with a cotton liner. The colour is blue.The skirt has an invisible nylon zip. The Repair Needed I bought this from the Cancer Research shop in Ilkley, Derbyshire, England. The skirt wasn't marked as damaged, nor 'as seen'.  Sometimes, if the assistant is benevolent, and you are buying several items, the assistant might make a reduction if you point out a fault. However, once I was at the large Tesco supermarket in Borehamwood, north west London, when I pointed out a fault at checkout, the assistant snatched the beloved item away and said, 'We can't sell it to you'.  I was upset. I asked, 'What are you going to do with it?'. She said the supermarket would give it to a charity shop.  So, in a charity shop I have the same fear, that

Tie on collar with jolly embroidered red cherries, dress of the day 601

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I wrote my feedback on ebay and copied my text. Unexpectedly the collar is see-through. This might be good over some tops showing the colour or style underneath. Great bright red colour of the cherries. Good long black ties to make a bow. You need still need to anchor it in place..A useful extra and a small item to brighten the day without breaking the family budget.

The Risks of Buying Second Hand Clothes, Sandals & Shoes, post 600

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Out of Date Clothes  The first risk, the obvious one, when buying cheap second hand clothes is that you are buying last year's fashion, or something from an earlier decade. Does it matter?  You might be happy. But you might be unconsciously conveying the impression that you are out of date, poor, not on trend, nor with it, old fashioned. Obvious Faults A further problem is that the item might be at the end of its useful, wearable life. I am not talking about obvious faults. You might spot that a garment is faded, missing a button, has a stain, snagged weave.  Pilling or Balling Another fault which often deters me is balling. The smooth surface feels knobbly and looks untidy. Yes, you can recover it, but that takes hours.  Pilling or balling of old clothes. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Dirty Edges I have bought an orange suede or imitation suede jacket with a little greying at the edge. I did not get much use out of it. I hesitated to use a household rubber (Americans say er

More Author tee-shirts 599

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 Etsy tee-shirt slogans are amusing comments on black background tee-shirts. For example, I'm not quiet I'm plotting. I suppose that the assumption is that you are advertising yourself as an author and a wit, an amusing person to talk to. Eventually or immediately the onlooker will ask you, What do you write? Useful Websites https://www.etsy.com/market/i%27m_an_author_tshirt this is not quite so focussed or sales-y as I am an author, ask me about my book. Angela Lansbury with books and I am an author tee-shirt. You can also buy scarves with book patterns. Best worn with plain colour clothes to make the scarf the feature without distractions from other patterns and colours. A book patern scarf might appeal to you or one of your friends in a writing group or a book club. Useful Websites https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/248844151/book-scarf-literary-scarf-infinity-scarf?click_key=cab7ed0f4b4ae624cf7ac5734

Weird cut, red top, label Atmosphere from Primark, dress of the day 598

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  Angela Lansbury wearing Red top, label Atmosphere from Primark, dress of the day 598. Photo selfie by Angela Lansbury. The Camera and Pose I stood the mobile phone camera on a kitchen work surface, supported by a cutlery rack. I set it to ten seconds of delay. I stood back and moved backwards and forwards and side to side to get correctly positioned. I chose to feature just my top half. The Red Top The red top has the label on the inside centre neck revealing the brand label atmosphere and the size 10/38. Size ten is English and size 38 is European. According to the washing label, the fabric is 62% viscose and 38% cotton. Here more detail is given on the sizing. UK/IRL (Ireland) size 10. Size 38 ES/PT (Es for Espana, Spain, and Pt for Portugal. 36 for D/NL, Dutschland (Germany) and NL (Netherlands).  It is a gappy design. I am wearing it over a Patra silk vest with short sleeves.  The shoulder is held together by the circular piece around the neck, with a decorative non funtioning re

Union Jack Dress of The Night, Fancy Dress Costume In Flag Design, Dress of the Night 597

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  Angela Lansbury wearing a Union Jack dress. Union Jack Dress The dress is a pull-on, stretchy, sequined dress in red, white and blue, the colours of the Union Jack flag of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  You can buy this or similar ones on Amazon for a penny under twenty pounds in British currency. You can reset the website to your preferred currency. I wore this for a second year running at an annual conference. It seemed popular. Half the people were different and had not seen it before. I got lots of compliments and raised eyebrows and smiles. The Wig The wig is also in red, white, and blue. The British people say fancy dress party. Americans say, a costume party.  Useful Websites https://www.fancydress.com/collections/usa-costumes https://www.amazon.co.uk/BRITANNIA-SEQUINNED-DRESS-FANCY-PATRIOTIC/dp/B I like this version with sleeves, if you are willing to spend about 23 pounds and something pence. Some reviews said the fabric ones were light weight or nearly see-through, bu

Jacques Vert blouse from the Cancer Research Shop in Ilkley, Dress of the Day 596

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  Angela Lansbury wearing a Jacques Vert blouse. Photo by Trevor Sharot. The Jacques Vert Top I was attracted by the bright red colour. I thought it would go with my skirt. The red and white is yin and yan. Suitable for Singapore's Natuonal day, August 9th, which features the red and white Singapore flag. The company  was founded in 1972 by Jack Cynamon and Alan Green. They combined the first name of one with the surname of the other and made it French to sound more exotic and sophisticated. Their clothes always suit me and usually last and last. The fabric is not cotton but polyester, which means it resists creasing. Although polyester fabric always strikes me as cheap, the cut and style of their clothes and the attention to detail, such as the fabric covered button fastening the neck, always makes the garments feel and look good, and seem stylish. The Long-sleeved White Blouse The blouse is white. The fabric is faintly striped, iridescent,  and stretchy. It feels comfortable. I f

Black Quiz top with Red Embroidery from a Cancer Research Shop, dress of the day 595

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  Angela wearing a black top with red embroidery. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Label Quiz. Please share links to your favourite posts. I bought the top from a shop in Ilkley in West Yorkshire. Ilkely is a lively little town with historic sandstone buildings, the green sloping hills of the Yorkshire moors, Ilkley Moor, and more. Cancer Research is just near the famous Betty's tea room. Other charity shops down side streets offer more chances of finding bargains. The top The top is from the company called Quiz. The background is sophisticated black.  The vivid red embroidery is on the front, back and sleeves.  The front is lined. The sleeves and back are not lined.  It has a shirred elastic waist. The sleeves have a narrower shirred elastic edge. so it fits any waist size and any size arms.  The boat neck has elasticthreaded through invisibly. The size is GB 12, E 40. (E for Europe.) The garment has two long black loop hanging ribbons inside. When I saw it hanging on the hanger in the sho

Orange dress from Marks & Spencer, 594, outfit in pale orange teamed with soft green

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  Orange dress from Marks  & Spencer. Other items were gifts to the wearer, including the home made necklace. Photo by Angela Lansbury. I wear a lot of red, white and black. However, the soothing creamy green and orange combination worn by my new friend appealed to me. If you are looking for dresses in Marks & Spencer, in August (the Harrow branch in St Anne's outdoor shopping mall) had dresses for sale. I thought the prices were quite high, some reduced by as much as 70%, others by 30 to 50 per cent, several around forty pounds, others around thirty or about twenty. But tee-shirts included  an atractive one in white wiht a plam tree pattern in the centre, at under twenty pounds.   The sale was in August 2023. I expect that every year August will be the time to look in the sales.  

Maggie Corbett in Bon Marché red, white and black outfit 593

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  Maggie Corbett wearing a Bon Marché outfit in red, white and black. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Such a smart suit,in colours which keep her happy. Useful Website https://www.bonmarche.co.uk/homepage/ https://www.bonmarche.co.uk/storefinder/ Please share links to your favourite posts.

Orange outfit worn by Sumaira Wilson dress of the day 592

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 Photo by Angela Lansbury. Sumaira, of Spellbound books bought the jacket from Shein. She buys a lot of lovely clothes from that company. The orange dress was bought on her holiday in Europe.

Dress of the Day, I am an author, how I edited the photo, dress of the day 591

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  Angela Lansbury wearing I am an author tee-shirt, with her books Improve your English with alliteration, assonance and rhyme, and Quick Quotations. Photo by Trevor Sharot Buying Author tee-shirts You can buy similar t-shirts in various colours from at least two different suppliers on Ebay and Etsy.  Vistaprint in the UK and others worldwide allow you to upload text or photos onto tee shirts of different colours. What if you are not an author? Customise a t-shirt with your trade or profession. Alternatives. You could have I am a plumber, I am a stand up comic, I am a hair stylist, I own such and such a shop, I sell tee shirts like this customised with your message. Or simply your company name, or the cover of your book.  Or the name of your sports club. If you buy in bulk, for your club or business, you can get discounts. I took a second set of photos, turning my book to face the camera, so the title could be read, and cutting my long hair which was obscuring the message and distracti