Dress Of The Day with Angela

  Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.  Anthony Sicari Top The sleeves are a shiny white fabric. Printed with large black dots. The black cuffs and black body part are knitted. The waist is ribbed like the cuffs and pulls tight on the wearer's waist creating a neat fitted look. Knitted and fitted.

  The pendant and ear rings make a matching set although they were not bought together. The pendant was a brooch which the wearer converted into a pendant because she does not wear brooches.

  Angela Lansbury in Anthony Sicari drak pink top. Photo by Angela Lansbury. copyright. I needed an outfit to go out to a wine tasting. I would be seated all night so the skirt was not important, only the top. I would be drinking wine, white, orange, and red wines. So I needed a top which would not get stained. Synthetic fabric. Not white. Preferably patterned. I have several Anthony Sicary outfits, mostly tops, a few with matching skirts, one of two with the matching scarf, and one red jacket. Most have some red or pink. One or two are mostl black or navy. Warm Colour, Warm Fabric  I wanted to wear a different one. And not the dark colours. Something in a warm colour. But not bulk sleeves. Why? Because I was wearing a black woolly cardigan. Why? Because I was going to be sitting in a large hall which was unheated and cold last year. The sleeves of the Sicari top were thin fabric, not knitted like the bodice. So I wore a blouse underneath. Another layer. The White Blouse The w...

  This lovely contrast of black enlivened by a green jacket was worn by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex,  near beautiful Brighton in West Sussex on the coast south of London. England. I am specifying London,  England because when I lived in the zUSA PR people from zUS cities later wrote to me using London in the address and my post was delivered to the nearer London in Canada. Back to the point about the green and black and contrasting collars. I was thinking that if you or I wanted to buy or make a jacket or blouse with a contrasting collar, one could save sewing time with a detachable collar. Velcro might scratch your neck or delicate fabrics underneath, so an alternative fastening would be small snaps (the shortet American word) which in the UK are called and sold as press studs. You could also make a detachable collar. Or add a neatly pre-tied and sewn together cravat. Sew press studs underneath on one side for getting into the garment. For a change of...

 Have you ever needed to dress in a hurry? To answer the door of a hotel bedroom, or home, in the morning? After taking an afternoon nap? When called to breakfast or a meal. How to dress quickly? Find a high neck long dress. One which is loose or stretchy. Put it on over your night dress. Now you look respectable. Just add shoes. The Red Dress Stretchy red ribbed dress. Label Atmosphere. Must Have Midi Dress.  UK/IRL size 8 (UK and Ireland) ES/PT (Spain, Portugal) 36 D/NL  (Germany, Netherlands) 34 Atmosphere ia the brand of high street retailer Primark. They sell fashion at affordable prices. The stretch makes it comfortable. The colour is warm, red, like my night dress. Dress over a night dress. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.  You may want to have a quick wash, rather than stopping for a shower. A quick all over wash can be done in several stages, as you have time. You might wash and add clean underwear after answering the call to the door. You can put a scar...

  The Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex wore black to and green jacket, for her address to the alumni. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.  Bright Green Jacket I love the green on black of this outfit.  From a distance it looked as if the green jacked had a black collar or black lining to the collar. I thought that was a great idea, especiallhy when worn over black clothes. Then, close up, I relised that it was a trick of the light. The black was the top worn underneath. However, I had gained a new idea. To add a black lining to the collar, or to add a black contrast colour collar, to a brightly coloured green or red jacket. To make a jacket co-ordinating with a black top underneath, a whole black outfit, or black accessories. How to Add A Black Collar Next time you are repairing, re-modelling or sewing a jacket from scraatch, consider adding a black collar.  What if you are good at sewing but not confident about cutting a collar or sewing a jacet from scr...

  Angela Lansbury wearing red Anthony Sicari outfit. Photo by Sharot family. Copyright. 

  See outfit 484. Blue Indigo Moon Top The blue top is one of several vintage outfits I bought on ebay, mostly odd jackets or tops. I spent a week bidding on several and waited to see which, if any, I won at reasonable prices. 3 XL so fewer bidding for it. The embroidery colours are pale pink, pale blue, white and black. The thick matt almost felt like fabric is mostly cotton,  with some polyester. The trim different.  Plus beads and sequins.  Iron on warm, it says. Then, don't iron. Reading carefully, I see it says don't iron on decoration. You would have to be very careful. Or place fabric over the decoration so your oscillating hand movements on the iron don't go fruther than intended. This time I am wearing the long top with a black skirt and white blouse. The White BHS Blouse White. Vintage. Eighties style bow at the neck. Shiny and elegant, so it goes with the glitter of the teeny sequins and teeny tubular white beads of the blue top. The plainness of the black...

  I wore my Union Jack hat as a prop in my speech about the English language for a humorous speech contest at Harrovians club in London. The hat had no retaining ribbon. The hat fell off when I leaned forward and was likely to be blown off in the wind, and it was a gusty day. I needed a ribbon. I had known this for some time. I periodically thought about this when I looked at the hat, while the hat sat around unusued, waiting for an outing. But I hesitated to make a hole in the hat in case it split.  However, on a windy day, I knew I needed to secure my hat. Especially as I was walking with a walking aid, and a heavy, bulky bag, and did not have a hand free to hold my hat. The Ribbon I have lots of reels of ribbon. I would have preferred red or blue. Less likely to show dirt or get stained. but the white was to hand already cut so I took that. I chose a wider ribbon, rather than a thinner piece. I  wanted it to be comfortable. The Hole Next, the hole. What could I use to ...

Second rail installed half way down the wardrobe. Pliers to hold the screws in place.   Done. As the Americans say. In the UK we might say finished.  Well done! Now I have to add the clothes.  Finding and Choosing A Clothes Rail The first step was measuring.  I measured the width of my cupboard outside, then checked inside, looking at the existing rail.  I measured in both inches and centimeters. Adjustable Clothes Rails I wanted an adjustabe rail, in case my measurements were inaccurate, or the available rails were not the right length for my elderly built in wardrobe, which might not be a standard size. I searched online both Amazon and Ebay. I first wanted the sort of rail. you can insert and change height or remove. Instant result.  No Drilling However, I have a shower rail like that. When you add heavy clothes it tips to one side and eventually falls off. Chaos The deciding factor was the price. To my surprise the sort with nails was cheaper. What abou...

  Pink Patra top.  My favourite fabric, design and colour. Actually bamboo fabric.  30%% cotton. Ribbed. Very soft.   Pink colour. Lace V neck and lace edged sleeves which reach just below the elbowthe front waist has the decorative feature you find on Indiho moon clothes. Painting and glitter.  Small painted darker red almost invisible flowers.  Single small sequin centre of each flower gleams, add a touch of elegance, class. Interest, luxury, design  Teeniest round bead at the centre of each small seqin The skirt is pillar box red. What is an indigo Moon? A blue moon. I looked up the colour indigo. It is between blue and purple,  a slightly purple dark blue.  Useful Websites www.patra.com Please share links to your favourite posts.