Dress Of The Day with Angela

  Ask in your local shoe shop, or shoe repair shop. Or look online.

  Angela wearing a Santa hat by a holly bush. Photo by Trevor Sharot. The Background This photo was taken on Xmas Day 2023. The holly grows all year but is suitable for a seonal picture. The Skirt The skirt is silk. It is soft. One of my favourites. From Patra, the UK firm which specilises in silk. The skirt is thin with a think black lining.  The Vivid Orange-Red Tee-Shirt The tee-shirt is an orange-red tie dye pattern. Soft and stretchy. From Primark. Size large. Primark is always such good value. UK size 14/16, The Orange Sandals The orange sandals with hook and close on the ankle strap and across the toe always fit. They don't protect you much when it is raining. I love the flower effect on the toe bar. Fancy. Smart. The decoration upgrades the sandals. Cushion-Walk. Leather Lined. Size 4. The Blouse You may have seen this before in previous posts. It dries out fast, 1-2 days. I lost a button. An inconvenience. But found I had a spare button on the lower left label. Then I disc

  Elasticated Caftan I saw this dress in the main shop in Katathani Phuket Resort, Thailand. I had three days consider buying it. I was torn between buying a plain caftan and this elasticated version. The elasticated version was dearer. More unusual. It had a tie at the neck.  I could copy a plain caftan with two rows of stitching, even hand sewing. I did this once years ago when I first arrived in Singapore in 1993 and could not find clothes my size. To make a dress with an elasticated waist, a matching drawstring and matching tie to make a bow at the neck would take a lot more time. It was a different look. it felt a bit tight. Hot and sticky in humid Thailand. Constricting. On the other hand, eventually elastic goes loose. In cooler weather my body would get smaller. I should have bought both dresses in turquoise.  Why didn't I? Because I had already bought the rainbow dress. And a scarf. I had a small weight allowance on Scoot, the budget airline related to Singapore Airlines.

  Angela Lansbury in Holly pattern jumper. Angela Lansbury in red, white and green with white snowball pompoms. Angela Lansbury in a red Santa hat with white edging. Angela Lansbury with a headband supporting two green seasonal fir trees. Angel Lansbury in the phtoto booth at the Tnaglin Club in Singapore, wearing her red hat, and a big red bow from the table of accessories supplied by the photography company.

Harrovians toastmasters club. This year I went to Harrovians. The two leaders of the meeting, husband and wife, were in matching jumpers. I thought that was very effective. I then received a notice from the sister club of which I am also a member. Time for me to get out my Xmas outfit. Years ago I would not have bought a seasonal outfit. I thought it was a waste of money to buy seasonal items which you only wear once to a party. Too twee.  Might offend non-Christian friends. Then, one year I saw one in a sale.  Now, when asked to dress in Xmas theme, I can oblige.  In theory I should keep it in a suitcase up in the attic or an outroom such as a store room, maid's room, scullery/utility room.  The suitcase would be labelled Xmas with a all the decorations.  However, I tend to keep most things out. This works well if you want to find it in a hurry. I did. iwent to my cupborad of thick woolly jumpers and found it immeditely on the top of the pile. Xmas jumper Background is black which

Red shawl for dinner. Photo by Trevor Sharot. I was wearing a white silk night dress, brand Patra. I had an aftrnoon nap and decided not to crease and crumple my day dress but to get back into my night dress   I transformed it in half a minute into an evening outfit by throwing on my red evrning shawl. I had had the foresight to hang the shawl on a bedroom hanger in order to dress quickly. On a previous evening on my long  weekend trip to Thailand I had left the same shawl either in the suitcase or a bedroom drawer and when we left the bedroom in a hurry to join the family for dinner I could not find it in a hurry  They say you learn by your mistakes  I did  Theory is to have the evening's outfit all on one hanger in one place such as the far right of your bedroom wardrobe at home or on holiday. I remember somebody gave me a whie hanger painted with the words mother of the groom (I think they bought a set of six for bride and groom and parents of the bride and parents o

I found a suitcase cover inside a suitcase. I had bought two or three and the cover either covered the suitcases outer picket or was the wrong size or the holes for handles did not align. I took it out of the plastic bag and removed the cardboard shaper like the sort you find inside shirts bought folded, to save weight. Now, I thought, I can use it. But putting it on a suitcase was a conundrum. Which way up? Which side is the hole for the handle? DO I slide it down or leave the suitcase horizontal on the bed or floor? Eventually I gave up. Now what to do with it as the suitcase was shut and the zip was ready to burst. It looked like a top! I could wear it. Which was round. Either way. It was nearly midnight and I had spent all day packing enough items for six suitcases into three. I put it on. It did not hang right. But most people at airports look like they are wearing outfits constructed from voluminous fabric cut to cover deckchairs or as skimpy underwear. This week I ha

Braids or plaits. Photo by Angela Lansbury. I saw heads of braided hair which I thought were wigs in Phuket, Thailand. But they were examples of effects which could be produced by the shop braiding your own hair.  Braiding, as the Americans say, or plaiting, as one says in the UK, is easy. The professional part is securing the end of the plait, spacing a series of plaits, using a comb, and threading a contrasting ribbon of an appealing colour.  I tried out a couple of thin plaits either side of my face to see whether I liked the effect. I did. With unlimited time and money I would have had my hair done.or bought a couple of ready made plaits on clips.

I love the vibrant rainbow pattern of this caftan. It can coordinate with any colour of sandals, bag, or hat. Angela Lansbury in rainbow pattern dress. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Copyright. Rainbow Pattern Dress Dress bought in Thailand at Phuket from shop in the short high street.

Turquoise caftan. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The Turquoise Caftan Colour & Pattern I considered this dress in pink or blue but the pale turquoise blue matched my hat. Another style was more shapely than the loose caftan and had an elastic waist and a tie at the v- neck. It was slightly more expensive. I decided the loose caftan was more comfortable in the heat.  The shop, in Katathani resort (Hotel), had two slightly different batik dresses in the turquoise. I initially rejected the one which had a dark splodge on the right of the V as I looked in the mirror. (This would appear to onlookers on the left.) I thought the pattern distracted from my face.  However, on second thoughts I decided that it was more interesting with the patch of darker colour than the all pale effect which was insipid. More importantly, I like  a slight pattern because otherwise when you get a stain of coffee or curry and try to remove it and with bleach get a paler patch on a completely

\\\\ Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright Thai elephants in black and white. I bought the trousers with elastic ankles to fight off mosquitos in a supermarket Matching Sets The elephant pattern is very common. Then I found a co-ordinating shirt in a nearby shop. When we looked through the pile of folded shits in packet I spotted one with a red central stripe. I bought it in a hurry. I was very pleased to have a matching set, and the red to brighten up the outfit. Mismatched Pattern However, when I got back to the resort hotel and tried it on, my heart sank, I found that the left and right split the elephants in half.  Buttons and Buttonholes Worse still. the two sides were not horizontal. I looked at the buttonholes. When you lined up the pattern, the pattern was horizontal both sides but the buttons and buttonholes did not match.  Buyer Beware The moral for the customer is try on the garment, even if you are not fussy about size. The garment might be unsatisfactory. Or you migh

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The tote bag is navy colour with silver elephant patterns.  The scarf is a co-ordinating pattern of elephants, bought at Phuket in Thailand in 2024. Please share links to your favourite posts.

I went into the shop looking for an elephant pattern scarf. The elephant is the Thai symbol. This red pattern matched my lipstick and shoes. 

 Amazingly the Egyptians had toe socks back in around 300 A>D>. The Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington in West London has a pair. I found a picture of them in Wikimemdia Commons. More details The description reads> Pair of socks 300-500 Egypt Wool (knitted) These socks are the earliest knitted items in the V&A's collection. Made in 300-499 AD, they were excavated in Egypt at the end of the 19th century. They have a divided toe and are designed to be worn with sandals. The socks are knitted in stocking stitch using three-ply wool and the single-needle technique. This type of knitting is a slow technique more like sewing. It was a forerunner of the faster method of knitting with two or more needles. Textile historians often find it difficult to tell whether early knitted objects are made using a single needle, as here, or using more than one needle, as the finished articles are so similar in appearance. Given by Robert Taylor. On first reading I thought the informa

  Autumn leaves pattern shirt. Photo by Angela Lansbury. My friend from Toastmasters International in Singapore is wearing a smart and seasonal shirt with a pattern of leaves. The background is a clean white which enhances the colours of dark green, orange and mustard. Autumn leaves shirt pattern close up. Photo by Angela Lansbury. The brand label of the shirt, Maple club. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Please share links to your favourite posts.

I had a pair of toe-post shoes. They were a size too large. But the main problem was that the toe post was uncomfortable.It rubbed. Why? It was not plastic. It was stiff fabric.  When I inspected the toe-post to try to diagnoze the problem, I saw that it had a ridge along the vertical seem. I wore the shoes for three minutes between the bed and bathroom. Later, the next day, I came home early evening wearing white socks. I thought, I can wear the shoes again briefly before bed. I went to put on the toe post shoes. Then I realised I was still wearing my socks. Oh no!  Maybe I could cut a slit to divide the socks' toe along by the big toe. So that they would look like mittens. I have seen socks cut like that, or constructed like that. I put my foot into the shoe. But maybe I could wear the socks intact, stretching them between the big toe and the next toe. This required some pulling of the socs' toes to make room for my toes. Serach words include yoga sock

  Seat on a shoe rack. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Seat on a shoe rack outside the front door of a home in Singapore. The seat is handy for taking off shoes when entering a home. Also for putting your shoes back on when leaving. Seen in Singapore at the Tanjong Rhu apartments near the Stadium. You can buy all sorts of shoe racks. Why not buy one with a seat?  The only objection is that you lose the top level for shoes. Two levels for shoes and the top for the seat, rather than three levels for shoes, with a solid or fold-up seat beside the shoe rack.  Unless the rack is solid wood, strong enough to sit on, but dual purpose top level.   But I like a padded seat. Make it easy for yourself every day. Make it easy for visitors. On Amazon and elsewhere a shoe rack with a seat costs about 89 Singapore dollars. The shoe rack would be cost only 49 dollars without the seat. You might need to pay for delivery.   The cheapest model has the cushion on top unattached. You could stick it do

Waterproof Bags - Protect Against Rain I had two plastic handbags. Their advantage is that they are waterproof. That is handy in tropical Singapore. In autumn it rains most afternoons. Waterproof bags are also handy in the most visited South East Asian tourist destination, Thailand.  Waterproof  bags - Protect Contents The waterproof bags are helpful if you gave to carry something wet. For example, a wet swimsuit. Or food and drink.  However, they have fabric linings.  The bags feel heavy, even without my adding contents. I have to travel with only my big suitcase, my pull along bag, handbag and heavy laptop. That is without any duty free purchases. The bags look cheaper than my embroidered fabric shoulder bag. The weight is the deciding factor. They have to go. In the bin. Hotels should have a leave and take corner for surplus bags and boxes and suitcases. Scissors Before I reluctantly say goodbye to the bags I fetch a large pair of scissors. I cut out the fabric linings. At home I ha