Dress Of The Day with Angela

  Angela Lansbury in green outfit. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Mother's Day Card from Marks & Spencet. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Green Blouse Label TRU.  Fancy Buttons 3 buttons, one at the neck, one on each cuff. Multi facet glass(?) centre on small silver-colour flat backing plate. Green long jacket From Temu. From a two piece. Dress and jacket set. Scarf The pink and green scarf Is from the £1 scarf basket in St Luke's shop in Hatch Rnd north-west London. Please share the link to this post.

Today yet another item arrived in the post for me. What was it? It was small. A scarf. Low cost. I have half a dozen items in my watch lists on Ebay. Different colours, sizes, all with this month's trend, passion, serrated edges. Inexpensive vests and tops, a dress, jackets. Should I ask for one for my birthday? Let's admit it. I am addicted. To shopping. Every day I look at Ebay, pay for anything which I bid on, or made an offer on. I see in whatsapp what is about to be delivered. I am inundated by notifications.  Ebay tells me you won. Ebay tells me pay now. Ebay tells me you have paid.  PayPal tells me you have just paid. Paypal tells me my week's spending total. Royal mail tells me I have a tracking number. Royal Mail tells me the item is about to be delivered. Royal mail sends a picture of the item being delivered. Each one makes me go back on line. I can't walk past a sale sign. Or a Marks & Spencer's, or a supermarket such as Sainsbury's with sale clo...

  Red Anthony Sicari top and scarf with white blouse. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Red Anthony Sicari top and scarf with white blouse. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Anthony Sicari Red Suit Outfit Worn In Winter I added a thick skirt for warmth when travelling in the British winter.  only when I did a search for a picture of the outfit on this blog did I discover that the outfit came with a thin pleated skirt, which had become detached from the top. Slips for Warmth I added a red satin half slip. It had a zip. It was converted from a pair of red satin wide leg trousers I had never worn. Jolly red. Pretty. Elegant. Then I added another slip in black. Bulky, admittedly. I was more concerned about getting cold walking to and from a station, sitting on a station platform, and walking to my destination from the central London underground train station. Blouse For Warmth The white blouse also adds another layer for warmth. They say, dress in layers. If I got too hot, I could remove one or b...

  Angela Lansbury wearing a warm beanie hat and sewn on scarf. Selfie photo by Angela Lansbury.  Primark pink beanie hat. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Scarf hand sewn onto beanie hat. Slot created by folding one end of scarf over another. Photo by Angela Lansbury. How To Sew A slot In A Scarf M first thought was that a slot is created by cutting a slit in the fabric. A slot in the left side wide enough for the right hand side of the scarf fabric to lay flat would cut the left hand side piece in two. The left hand side was hanging down when I lifted the right hand side. How about foldinng it up? You could not sew it up both sides of the left as that would stop the right pulling through. How about just a centimetre or two of firm stitching? That worked. I wanted to be sure the slot was wide enough. The end you thread through could be rolled up but I thought it would look neater laid flat. I have seen similar items, ranging from about six pounds and fifty pence on Amazon, not white,...

 I wanted a new warm headscarf made from a learge scarf with a hole or slit cut in the middle.  My first thought was to vut a semi circular hole using  a saucer, then a slit vertivally in the centre front. Then I though that an existing hat . What could I do with the cut out circle? Make two half moon pockets? Or rabbit ears? Would the circle be large enough? I used a pink knitted beanie hat as a template. But why spoil the scarf by cutting out a circle? A straight line cut is easier to sew inconspicuously if you want to shorten the slit or cancel it completely. I thought of using newspaper to create a pattern, held together with sticky tape. That what I learned at the Australian women's association sewin.g group in Singapore. One of the members was malaysian. She said that in Malaysia, the average or poor family does not go to the expensive of buying comercial paper patterns, which in any case are Western style. Malasian clothes for women are ankle length.  This has...

 I broke my clavicle in a car accident. The hospital gave me a large triangle of cream colour cloth to tie around my neck as a sling. One evening I want out with a scarf and wanted to wear it draped over the sling to hide it. Then I thought I could use it as a decorative outer piece, with the hospital;s scarf underneath like a lining. Then I realised the scarf was strong enough to bear the weight of my arm without the hospital's cloth. In an emergency, to protect your arm, or somebody else's, you might need to create a sling, or some kind of bandage.  A large scarf or sarong would be very handy. Using a pair of scissors, and a needle and thread, (both in some small sewing kits) you could create a sling, a headscarf, a head bandage, a headband, a swimming cap, a mask, even a bandeau top and a pairt of shorts or swimming trunks. A poncho, with a t shape cut in the middle, is easy and quick to make. Several videos on YouTube show you what to do. I have saved some of my favourite ...

  Angela Lansbury wearing a white and black skirt suit. Photo by Trevor Sharot, edited by Angela Lansbury. This suit consists of four items. 1 Jacket. 2 Skirt. 3 Blouse. 4 Scarf. The White Jacket, with Black Edged Collar 1 The horizontal label under the back of the collar says Saks Fifth Aveue. A second vertical label on the inner right hand side says David Hayes.   The white jacket has a black pinstripe. The collar has a black edging strip. The dame black fabric is used to edge the buttonhole. The Sleeves Instead of cuffs, both sleeves have two parallel lines of black fabric.  The shoulders are padded. Does that date the jacket? The Pockets The two semi-circular pockets are curved and edged in black. In the centre of the semi-circle ia an arch, as if the whole pocket is cut from an oval serving dish. It has one large button. The jacket is size ten and too small to do up. That does not matter as the blouse is co-ordinated. The Short White Skirt 2 The white skirt has a bla...

Angela Lansbury in beige and burgundy kurta outfit. Photo by Trevor Sharot.   The scarf is long and thin. Gossamer. Chiffon? Floaty. Photo by Trevor Sharot. The scarf needs pinning. Otherwise it slips off one shoulder and falls to the ground. Photo by Trevor Sharot. I bought this dress second-hand for five pounds from North Harrow Library. The library sells books at the front of the library to raise funds to keep the library open.  For the first time they had Indian-style outfits on sale. This type of outfit has three pieces.  The Tunic The long, kurta or tunic, is ankle length on me. The skirt has slit sides. The top fabric is lined with a plain colour. The Trousers For trousers Americans say pants. The slit sides I imagine are one reason why it the outfit includes the pants. The pants are baggy with a  drawstring waist. The fabric is light and thin.  They are pulled in at the ankle. The trousers are a plain buff or beige colour. The Scarf The scarf is very lon...

I wear a lot of scarves. What to do? I have scarf brooches but I loose them. The moral is, a place for everything, and everythign in its place. Maybe keep them in the drawer with the scarves. I watched a scarf tying video. It goes very fast. A good idea  is to pick a scarf and then watch the video. Practice on that scarf.  One easy tip is threading a scarf through the top button hole. This requires a very slender scarf. Thin silk.  You also need a neatly sewn buttonhole which won't catch the threads of your precious scarf. A good alternative to a brooch with a big pin which could tear a delicate scarf.  Practise the neat knot on a day when you are not going anywhere, perhaps with a friend. Like tying a school tie, once you have learned it, if you do it every day, it soon becomes easy.  Negatives\ - warning on long scarves Another warning, caveat. I do not like scarves circling around the front of the neck and then hanging back which could catch in machinery, or ...

Angela Lansbury, wearing black for the funeral and funeral tea for Stephen Kennard. Photo by Angela Lansbury. This week I went to a funeral. I wore black.  Everybody else wore all black. The invitation said nothing about the dress code.  I know lots of funerals nowadays people were mixed colours. Some specify wearing jolly colours. My friend at the funeral told me, "Always wer black. Unles it specifies otherwise, the rule is, wear black." I had my usual blue anorak with the hood with me. I left it in the car. In the boot of the car, in case anybody broke into the car hoping to find money in the pockets or because they wanted a coat to wear or sell. The safest thing is to leave a completely empty car. At least everything in the boot so the car looks empty. I could have kept the blue anorak in my black tote bag. As soon as we drove into the chapel driveway, I looked at the other guests and their clothes. I saw all black. Off came my blue anorak. Thank goodness I had a black coa...

 The Hem Cut off the hem. The hem now has one side already machine sewn.  The cut off hem. Photo by Angela Lansbury. The piece you cut off will have straight or slightly curved edges. I had two long wide pieces, from the hems at the front and the back of the caftan. I made one into a scarf and the other one into a belt. (Or a hairband and a shorter belt.) The Scarf You only need to hand or machine sew one long side and two short ends for a scarf or tie belt. You now have a wide piece for a scarf.  The Belt Fold it in half lengthways to make a belt. The belt can, in theory, be sewn inside out. Leave one small end open and pull it through with a safety pin. The sewing is then on the inside with a hidden seam along the long outside edge. Cut two slits at waist level for the belt to pull through. Tie it at the front, so that the back of the garment hangs free. If you wear a jacket, the slits cannot be seen. You must need to reinforce them so that the slits do not split furthe...

 Known your good side, the good side of your face. Or take three photos or five every time. Face forwards, left, right, and three quarters in both directions. Try the same looking up and down. Pose leaning forwards and backwards. What do we need to hide? Untidy hair, bald patch, roots which need tinting - under a hat or hair band, or a pony tail. Frown lines - under a fringe or brimmed hat. Lined neck or Adam's apple (thyroid cartilage)  - under a polo neck or high neck or scarf or choker.  Tummy Hide a tummy under an A line dress, or a long scarf. Hold a bunch of flowers. Stand behind a table. Stand half hidden behind somebody else. Place a partner seated on a chair and stand behind them. Hide half behind a door or wall, peeking out or waving or holding out a banner or welcome sign or greeting. Sit with a pet on your lap, or a soft toy. Arms and Hands Hid crepey arms under long sleeves. Lack of nail varnish - hands behind back, or holding a bunch of flowers, or a cup, or...

  I ordered this from Shein. It is larger than I expected. thick. A winter scarf. Brightens up a black outfit. You have to play around to get it to hang nicely because it is an infinity scarf. You could just hang the red part in a U down your front and the black part in a U down your back, but as soon as you stand up or walk about it is likely to shit, unless you pin it with a brooch or large safety pin. The phone pocket could be handy. Phones can look untidy when hanging from lanyards. But don't forget where you put your phone! I suppose you could invest in find my phone. I am not convinced that it hangs elegantly. But the colour is great. And the idea is intriguing. I'm sure I shall find a use for it and grow to like it. Two Tone Hidden Pocket Infinity Scarf Multicolor GBP£5.50 With two pounds for shipping, the total cost as 7.50. Useful Websites ps://www.shein.co.uk/ https://www.shein.co.uk/plussize https://www.shein.co.uk/campaign/sheglaminfluencerprogram https://sg.shein.c...

  The bright lights were a photo opportunity and created a halo effect on my blonde hair. Lights are excellent if you are wearing sequins. I went out for the evening wearing a sequinned scarf. 

Angela Lansbury in mustard yellow colour dress. Photo by Trevor Sharot. I found this dress online when I was in London. I was looking for something like my Ann Balon dress which I wore at our son's wedding. Ann Balon dresses, even on sale in the shops and online, are expensive, and heavy.  I looked for dress and matching scarf, lace dress, two piece dress.   I found this dress listed under boho which is short for bohemian. It had several features which I liked. The matching top and under-dress. The lace inserts, known as godets.  The long sleeves which hitch up.  I was disapointed in the colour because I was wearing vibrant reds and royal blues and green. However, the mustard goes perfectly with blonde hair. And with gold-rimmed glasses. I thought the dress was dull and the sleeves were too heavy for Singapore. However, in Singapore you can be quite cold indoors in an air-coonditioned restaurant. Outdoors, you might want your arms covered to protect yourself fro...

  Angela is wearing a cool blue and white striped DIY dress made from a scarf. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Scarf Source I bought this large scarf from a charity shop in Hatch End, N W London, UK. They usually have several scarves at assorted prices. You can buy scarves from cheap shops or online. Whenever I see scarves in great colours or sold at great prices, I take a look. Size  I looked through the hanging scarves for large scarves. This one was the right size, super sized, sufficiently large to make a dress. First, I check whether a scarf will match lots of outfits. If so, I keep it with my scarf collection. However, in this case the stripes would not go with my dresses which had patterns of flowers. If a scarf matches nothing, consider turning it into a dress. Alternatively make a top and find a plain skirt.  Cool Colour  I loved the colour. The vibrant, bright, royal blue, contrasted with the clean, iridescent white.  Style - Fun fringe Fringes can be untidy. ...

  I found a large piece of fine fabric, the size of a small sheet. A bedcover? It looked like a throw to brighten up a faded or threadbare sofa. But a rather thin fabric. Not suitable for sitting on.  What was it for? I bet I bought it from a charity shop in the UK just because of its colours.   Just the thing for a new outfit.  Size Was the fabric large enough for a full length dress? Yes, plenty. When I folded it in half, horizontally, I could see it stretched from my shoulder to my ankles.  If anything, it was too long. The fabric was doubled on the two shorter ends.  I could make a skirt and a top. But why end up with two odd pieces? More sewing. One piece would look neater. Easier to keep in one place than two pieces which kept losing the other half. Less work to make one piece than all that cutting and sewing of edges. Where To Cut I debated with myself for a long time how to cut it. Should I leave the doubled ends, as a neat hem? I would have to...

Red roses with white, navy background, plus pale blue parts. Blue scarf top with flat blue buttons linking the two halves. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. I love semi see-though scarves held in place with buttons. So elegant. So different. I found them in four places. 1 Firstly, at the Botanic Gardens. Expensive. Numerous colourways. Flat, elegant, two hole buttons. 2 Then online from China, inexpensive, with free postage. Numerous colourways, but muted colours. Cute spherical imitation silver buttons. First featured as Dress of the Day 186. Angela is wearing the double scarf top from China. Photo by Trevor Sharot.  You can see the buttons down the front. It can also be worn with the buttons across the shoulders. Abstract pattern. The colour was rather dull at night, especially with black underneath. At noon, in sunlight, with white or red underneath, the effect is much brighter. 3 Then I found more scarves from a motorway stop in the UK. Fine fabric, too delicate to resist pu...

Angela in dress 275, Orange reversible dress with matching scarf. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Dress The orange dress is reversible. Two for the price of one.  Matching Scarf The matching scarf has fringes on the short ends. I used the scarf as a belt to shorten the dress. The dress seemed too long. I needed it to be shorter on public transport and when walking to be sure of not tripping over. I also wanted to avoid getting the hem dirty.  The scarf pattern matches only one side of the dress, although the colour matches both sides. The scarf matches this side which is my favourite.  If I were making a reversible dress, I would make a reversible scarf from the same two dress fabrics sewn back to back. Would that make it too heavy? I can try out this idea, by pinning together two similar scarves and check the effect. I used to look on eBay for reversible dresses. The Cape The cape was listed as a cape coat on Shein, a successful selling online Chinese fun fashion business. It is...