Dress Of The Day with Angela

 This is the latest craze for children. Jewellery making, beads for bracelets and necklaces. Teeny beads with letters for your name. For age over three, since under threes might swallow them. But under fives are capable of threading beads onto a thick thread, and delight in choosing colours and making things, and wearing the product. Popular as a gift in the going home bag at parties. Don't take them to restaurants. The beads can roll all over the table and floor. When in used, best kept on a tray with sides. I bought a big set second hand in St Luke's in Hatch End. I looked at the bracelets and necklaces supplied. Could I buy multiple bracelets or necklaces with lobster clasps to repair my jewellery?  One in each colour to match my outfits?  What about a plain silver, gold or black choker necklaces for pendants? I found offers on Amazon and Temu. I would want a matching bracelet and necklace. You can buy single set ready made. But what about an assortment?  When I w...

 Red Dress from Boohoo Size 12. It has a handy zip at the back. A nylon invisible zip.  The fabric is slightly stretchy. The Cut Large bell shape cuff. Semi circular frill on both left and right of the V neck. Ribbon across the top of the V neck.  Made in China. 100% polyester. Do not dry clean. The colours go with black or white accessories. Who Are Boohoo? The Boohoo group sells clothes online with the names Debenhams, Boohoo and more. Handy Wiki reveals Boohoo Group plc   trading as Debenhams Group , is an online retail platform that operates five core brands, Debenhams , Karen Millen , boohoo, boohooMAN, and PrettyLittleThing . The Boohoo brand started in Manchester, England, UK in 2006, aiming at the 16-30 age group, offering affordable, trendy clothes. The name was chosen to be unusual and memorable.  It is all one word, no space, nor hyphen. Useful Websites on Debenhams and Boohoo Please follow my blogs and share links to your favourite posts.

 Get lots of complimenrs. Sahara Dresses Ladies who wear Sahara dresses are delighted to report they get lots of compliments. Dresses With Pockets What's is special about Sahara dresses, from the wearer's point of view? Two ladies at lunch sitting beside each other, discovered they were both wearing Sahara dresses. Dresses with pockets. Pockets are useful to the user. Pockets can take a hanky. But even when empty, pockets are a place to put your hands. Hands Off The Table In England We discussed hands on the table. In England you don't put elbows on the table, nor your hands. You might be tempted to extend your arm. Why not. Firstly you obstruct the view of the VIP at the head of the table, their speech, or the person toasting them. You exclude the person on your right if your right arm is on the table and you are half turned with your back to the person on your right. You don't include them with your eyes, or see if they open their mouth, trying to speak and join in.  ...

  I asked my husband, 'Does it matter that I'm lopsided?' He replied, 'Only to you. Everyone is lopsided.' The Pink Dress & Jacket From Temu. The Dress  Pink flower pattern. On paler pink background. Black flower stalks. The Jacket Sleeve length, over the elbow.

 Multi-colour pearls Very classy. Different. The wearer said she could not remember where they came from. Pearls, and mock pearls, can be the classic white, dark shiny grey, pale silvery grey, or dark pink. She was wearing matching single pearl ear-rings. A single one colour pearl. You can also buy ear rings in drop styles with pearls of two contrasting colours. Years ago, the late nineteen sixties, on a student trip to Japan, I bought a grey pearl bracelet on sale. At that time grey pearls were second class and unwanted by buyers, and cost less. Forty years later, the grey pearls were prized for being different, exclusive, and cost more. Then along came triple colours. Instead of boring plain white. A classic necklace can be all pearls evenly matched in size. Or very slightly different, from the smallest at the clasp, each slightly, imperceptibly different, with the largest hanging down at the centre Budget Buys In Necklaces If your heart is set on multicolour spherical bead neckl...

All in blue. Beautiful blue. At the fond farewell to writers at Writers' Summer School. August 2026. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Useful Websites On Marks & Spencer https://www.marksandspencer.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marks_%26_Spencer Please share links to your favourite posts.

  The Label and Seller British Home Stores. We all mourned its passing. Lovely clothes which, like those from Marks & Spencer, stood the test of time. Now in 2026 I can find British Home Stores back online but selling only homeware and no clothes.. The Salmon Pink Top Pink or orange? Lovely neckline. You can buy similar tops from Amazon, Ebay, Patra and Temu. Temu had lots of colours and styles in August 2026. The cost was mostly under ten pounds with a couple of items slightly above that price. Do an image search or Google or AI the colours and words, such as, sleeveless top, orange top, salmon pink top, lacey neckline, women's tops, summer top, cotton vest, silk vest, bamboo vest.  Useful Websites https://www.bhs.com/new-in/all-offers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Home_Stores Lace top https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800314210839? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/298297833906?_trkparm Please share links to your favourite posts.

  Dress of the Day by Angela Lansbury. But also for the evening. Dress rehearsal for a one act play in which I play a tree-hugging type. So I am wearing peaceful green and white.  The long white dress White is not a colour I like to wear when eating, unless I have a large white napkin or waterproof apron. However, these dresses are made of synthetic material and dry fast. The pattern is dragonfly.  The green colour is very restful. Smart yet casual. Floaty and light, comfortable, The green goes well with my blonde hair. If you don't have blonde hair, a pale yellow scarf or hat or bandanna or headband would create the same effect. The Orange Necklace  The orange necklace is made up of strings of orange beads, with a section of  black and white beads. It adds a splash of colour to the more neutral pale green. |My husband bought it at an airport shop in Indonesia. I asked him which airport and which shop. When I looked up orange necklace on the internet I discovere...

Why Red? Red colour is stimulating. It keeps me awake. At my conference I had late nights. Also early mornings. The writing programme started before breakfast 8 am. I had to get up at 7 am to take my pills and note the time taken, shower, and dress, and get to the venue. that left me tired. So, despite my plan to wear a variety of colours, I kept wearing the red, orange, or pink outfits. In addition to bright colours keeping me awake, I thought I would look livelier, despite being pallid from lack of sleep. Compensation.  Red and White Dress Quick to pull on stretchy red and white dress. I have three similar in reds and oranges, one in turquoise. The red jacket has no ties. Less to dangle and get in the way. I have several of these dresses from Temu. I bought them over several months in pink, red, orange, turquoise, and pale green. I waited until one came up in my size at a good price.  I spent hours checking the style of the dress, often hard to discover, when the main pictur...

  The Chairman in pink shirt and perfect tie. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. A conservative grey suit to show you take your job seriously. A bright eye-'catching tie, so striking that you hardly notice the pale pink shirt. Diagonal stripes. This tie got lots of compliments. The tie is from Samuel Windsor. Regrettably no longer in business. Please share links to your favourite posts.

  Cute book ear Rings from The Literary Gift Company.  Worn by Liz Horrocks, at the Writers' Summer School, held annually at |The Hayes Conference Centre, Derbyshire.. Useful Websites https://www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/ Please share links to your favourite posts.

  I bought a scarf, second hand, pre-loved, whatever you want to call it, which had the label 100%. But 100% what? It felt soft. But not quite as soft as silk. I had hoped for silk. Was it a good modern imitation? I tried googling lists of words for silk in all languages. It was not silk. \What was the language?  It looked like Russian. I worked out from another Russian word that the first letter was L.   What was the E with the two dots? The e pronounced like ay. The last letter looking like an H was N.  Lane/  The French for wool is laine. The word was not Russian for wool. I had invited a friend to lunch with me at a restaurant. I showed her the scarf. She suggested linen. That sounded like the letters L A for ay, N. But the scarf did not feel thick and heavy and tightly woven, like linen suits which are stiff, resembling denim jeans. Linen. An image translate app gave me the answer. However, a search for the Russian word for linen produced a match. So d...

  The label, of the merino wool and cashmere scarf. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Scarf in merino and cashmere. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. I was in St Luke's charity shop in London looking for a brightly coloured scarf, and at the last minute decided to  try on this scarf with its subtle colours. In the end I bought this scarf because it felt soft and soothing.  When I got home I looked at the label. It said Cashmere and merino wool. Cashmere! That sounds expensive, exclusive, exotic. Cashmere is a different spelling of what English-speaking people call Kashmir. The technical term for changing the spelling is Anglicization. Cashmere is not sheep wool but from a goat. To sum up a long article on Wikipedia, the goat moults in spring, loses the hair it needs to keep warm in winter. You can do machine sheering, or comb it by hand. The tougher hairs are used in brushes and the softer ones for clothing. The goats have ...

Open Top Tote Bag Problems When I put a tote bag under my seat at a meeting, or a hotel airport, when I pull the bag out, the contents scatter. There's a delay. I feel foolish. My companions are annoyed. I shall lose my place in the queue to board. I look under the chair again from the other side and find I nearly lost a pen. I vow that I shall do something to solve this problem next time. Temporary Tote Bag Solutions There are two temporary last minute solutions to this scattered souvenirs problem.  Carry a stapler.   Or string or piece of wool to tie up the handles of your duty free bag and attach it to your main luggage, with the top held together. Permanent Solutions - Zips and Press Studs Put zips in a tote bag, which you use for extras you buy. Or, after boarding, put the duty free bag inside the zip-up tote bag. Today was next time, to find a permanent solution. As usual I have my mind on packing for my next holiday. Check every item of clothing. Stains. Looks seam...

  Dolls' House with DIY bedding. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. What can you do with small pieces of cloth, cotton or towelling, saved from torn, stained and thinning garments? Turn them into dolls' clothes and dolls' house bedding, curtains and furniture covers, rugs and bathroom mats and tiny towels. You might also have small pieces from dress making. Or cutting off hems, or unwanted bandannas and scarves, tote bags, tea towels and caps and old curtains and nets. I had scraps of towelling. No sewing needed. I fastened the edges of the pillow on three sides with staples. I raised the towelling duvet or sleeping bag or Japanese roll-out bedding, by sliding three toothpicks underneath. A white toothpaste cap is a bedside mug. It could be a mug for a kitchen table, sofa side table or bathroom sink.

 I had this in mind for a humorous speech. Or a stand up comedy act. Or a fancy dress party. What about a clown hat? Clown hats are available from Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, Joom, Party Picks, and other party suppliers. Useful Websites Amazon ebay Etsy Joom Temu https://www.temu.com/uk/-colored-clown-style-t-shirt-cartoon-design-short-sleeves-and-round-neck £6.53.  Postage free if your order reaches a certain amount. Party Picks. Please share links to your favourite posts.

  Joom cat beanie knitted hat. Cat and Animal tee shirts and caps  1 The first funny tee-shirt which I love is the peek a boo cats from Eleven Forest.  Twenty three pounds seventy pence plus postage. A closer view. Reminder to myself and anybody in the UK - New users 10% off any order. (Code EL10). Orders costing 0-68.99 pay postal fee of $9.99. Orders over $69 get free shipping. The same cat peering over at you is on a hat. From Eleven Forest. £18.53 plus postage To go with your cap, is a dress with a cat. It is a minidress and cost £27.41 . Here is the cat in close up.  I tried searching for them on ebay to see if I could find one second hand. No luck. And I got lots of tee-shirts with the number eleven, age eleven, plus ads from convenience store Seven Eleven. 2 Shein has the hat, with a limited range of colours still in stock. About £3. You might need a minimum order to get free postage. 3 Joom has a knitted hat with a cat, at only six pounds plus postage. Anothe...

I have always liked the Welsh or Scottish aprons and tee-shirts showing dozens of white sheep and one black sheep. Today I looked closely for the first time and realised that the white sheep on the right is looking suspiciously sideways at the oblivious, unconcerned black sheep. Red apron with white sheep and one black sheep. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. This came from Ulster Weavers many moons ago. You can buy woolly winter jumpers with sheep designs showing multiple sheep. My second apron features cats.  All colours of cats, black. Four black, one white. Nine grey, some plain and others partly white. Six deep orange. Nine pale orange. I never looked closely before. Now I see so much more. One cat has turned its back. Refusing to be photographed or painted? Maybe it is looking for its kitten. The matching kitten is hiding, or hidden, the other side of the grey cat to the left. Look again and you see that some cats have a kitten sitting alongside. Some kittens are the same ...

 I bought a large dolls' house from St Luke's hospice charity shop. Empty dolls house. Furnished dolls' house, by Angela Lansbury. Dolls' Dresses Later, I was give a small one by a neighbour who advertised it going free. The message popped up on the road's WhatsApp group.  I wanted it for my grand-daughter. She comes to visit frequently. If she likes something, she might want to take it to her home. I plan to take little paper doll-size figures from magazines for the faces and hands and feet and cover the bodies with dresses made with tiny scraps of fabric, or ribbons. A 1:12 scale figure is roughly 6 inches high. Dolls' Bedding Meanwhile, I thought I had nothing to furnish it. The videos on You Tube showed how several hours work with glue guns and lathes and paints could produce top quality miniatures. I wanted something ready in an hour for her visit. No messy glue. No skill. No equipment. Quick and easy. This is what I found. Toweels and bathmat set for a dol...