Dress Of The Day with Angela

  Phase Eight Today I received my dress and matching jacket from an Evri delivery driver. I took it out to show it to her. She immediately recognized the label. Phase Eight. She said, 'They used to be from Debenhams'.  The Phase Eight website tells me they are a British company. I looked at the dress style, fabric and manufacturer and washing instruction labels. The Pink Dress Information Made in China.  Size 14.  The colour is deep pink.  Silk Surprise To my surprise, it said silk. Not 100% silk. I remember when I was a teenager in the Nineteen Sixties, anything not one hundred per cent silk was regarded as a con, a cheap imitation.  Nowadays, in 2026, fifty years later, even a tiny amount of silk seems like luxury. A privilege. A joy. The lining is acetate. Inspection Feels very soft. It has a side zip. The zip is longer than the part which the manufacturer has allowed to open. The pattern is black and red flowers and leaves. Two shades of red, darker mat...

 I am looking at asking for silk pillowcases, a set of two, for my birthday. They are supposed to make your skin look soft and unwrinkled. More to the point, they feel soft and relaxing,make you want to sleep. When looking at them on ebay and Amazon, at first I was confused. I was suspicious of silky feel. Silk and Satin - what's the difference? When I googled, what is the difference between sil and satin, I received the answer - Silk is from silkworms. Satin is a type of weave which can be from several type of thread, and fabric, including polyester.  Price might be your guide. Now let's look at two more significan words. Both Sides Real silk feels the same both sides. Satin fabric is soft on one side, the front, and rough on the reverse. (I orginally mistook silk on both sides to mean that you were not getting a pillowcase with silk on the top and another fabric to go at the back of the pillow.  Now I understand that silk on both sides means both sides of the fabric, (a...

Angela Lansbury in red and black. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Copyright.  Smart Red Top Short sleeved top by label Tasachy. I searched for this label. It must have been vintage. I found only one garment with this label and it was on a Polish website, with no bids and no longer available.  So, where it came from, nobody knows. Let's look at the features and see what we can learn, and like and copy. Square holes around the neck. The holes around the neck are neat with the uprights which each have three small decorative diamonte adornments. I was going to say beads but they are not sewn on. Maybe stuck on. I wear the red colour for liveliness. but then what can go with it? A red or black skirt? I need a change from red. Hanging next to the red top on another hanger was a black and white dress.  Not an obvious choice, Plain black would have been better. But I was in a hurry and sometimes, serendity, happy chance discovery, has a great result. A surprise. A novelty. At very least,...

  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 wearing navy waistcoat or gilet. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Angela wearing navy gilet at Toastmasters International, Singapore, speech contest. Photo by bystander. You can  see the dark navy gilet on my right shoulder. Your gilet or waistcoat has to be short enough to hide under the hem of your jacket, or the jacket must be long enough to cover the gilet. Traditionally, a man's suit consisted of a waistcoat which ended at the waist and had two outside pockets ending at the hem, whilst the jacket was longer. I have a waistcoat which has to be worn on every journey with every outfit. I actually have several traditional waistcoats inherited from my uncle, but the pockets have no zips. Not safe for doorkeys, credit cards, lipsticks or anything of value. What is a gilet? A French word for what the British call a waistcoat and what the Americans call a vest.   I thought my gilet came from Patra, but they made the light, silk, navy hooded jacket. My lightweight, nav...

  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Red silk blouse, with red and white dress. Yes, you read right. RED SILK BLOUSE  - brand name Classics  Made in China. Red and white dress made in Thailand.  100% rayon

Angela in orange skirt, green top and wine motif blouse. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Photo credit: by Angela Lansbury.   I hunted all over the net for garments featuring grapes for a wine tasting evening. I bought a thin top. I added an iridiscent 100% green silk tank top. A skirt in a bright colour lift the outfit. Warmth of red or orange in the skirt to contrast with and compliment and complement the green. Then I remembered to record the labels. Green silk sleeveless tunic.  Collection Komunseide. Size Large. Skirt Orange cotton petticoat with drawstring waist, from Mustafa's 24 hour department store, Singapore.  Another branch is or was in India.  123 Accessories Orange paper parasol. Bought online through ebay from China. Orange covered book, Buddha at Bedtime. Stories with a moral for children. given to me by an Indonesian-American family. Edited As A Purple Poster Websites ebay.com ebay.co.uk About the Author Angela Lansbury BIOGRAPHY Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ...

Dress of the day, outfit 199. Pink fan, Pink Patra top and pink Barbie tunic. The Pink Clothes Patra printed pale pink top. Worn over a pale pink barbie tunic with spaghetti straps. Dark pink brim hat. Dress of the day 199. Valentine's Day. Fan of Pink. I love pink. I am a fan of pink. You may have seen the pink fan previously and the hat previously with another outfit.. The Pink Fan  I am holding a pink fan. The pretty pink paper fan, edged with gold, had torn in two. I restored it with a concertina of A4 white paper as backing.  I took two pieces of white A4 paper from a pile of used paper printed on one side. I folded together the printed sides so that that the clean white was outside.   To make the concertina creases, I folded one piece in half along the long side so the crease was parallel to the short side.  I then continued. If the crease was too loose, I firmed the crease by folding the paper the other way. I used a metal ruler as a guide.  I attach...

  The comments I received on Facebook included the words: beautiful, charming exquisite, glam, cracker. 'Bet it's silk.' 'I feel a little envy, on a muddy Welsh farm.'  The scarf was made by cutting the hem off the dress which was too long. I cut the fabric using pinking shears to create a serrated edge which won't fray. The drawstring at the waist is held neatly in place by a row of stitching above and below. This is a useful idea to remember when sewing your own clothes. Caften Fabric If you are using a bought caftan as a template or pattern for your own diy caftan, you can make a simple day caftan in cottom by cutting an old or new bedsheet. A ribbon can be threaded through two small slits at the right and left seams.  Silky Fabric However, if you want a smart evening caftan made of superior cloth, you can copy this idea for a neat drawstring waist from my silver caften. Draw the horizontal lines at the waist of your garment with tailor's chalk.  Why tail...

  Dress 160: Apple green silk sleeveless tunic by brand collection Komunseide (vintage - they have ceased trading);  you can buy their clothes on Ebay. The word Seide is German for silk. Nouns in German have capital letters. Red silk button up blouse with two breast pockets, by KJ Classics.  Asymmetrical pinky red flower skirt by Topshop, with side zip, polyester outer and stretchy miniskirt lining. Worn with accessories: hair slide with large green flowers, four pleated fabrics in green in dark and mid-tone. Green sequin clip-on ear-ring.  DIY Hints For Home Made Clothes The asymmetrical hem is a great idea if you are short of fabric. The wavy edge to the piece which goes up looks good. With a see-through fabric it is better to have an attached underskirt. Useful Websites https://sg.topshop.com/ https://www.indifferentlanguages.com/words/silk About the Author About the Author of Books Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Like my pages...

About the Author Of This Post Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.  Please see my other blogs and posts and share with your friends the links to your favourite posts. travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com  

 I am still choosing. Something to be noticed and remembered. Hm!  Horses for courses. I am going horse. (Pun on hoarse.) The Waistcoat Horse mad. The label on the five-button, horse-pattern waistcoat says: Made in Italy for Simpson, Piccadilly. Silk. The horses are white. Ah - white horses! The horses have yellow bridles. The background pattern is a checkerboard of black and dark teal green. The back is plain black, because waistcoats are supposed to be worn as part of a man's three piece suit. They are worn for weddings and grand occasions. If you hire an outfit for a wedding, you can choose one which comes with a waistcoat. When you return the suit to the hire company, remember the waistcoat! One person forgot, at the wedding of our son. Luckily, we were able to return it the next day, still in time for the deadline, without incurring extra charges. Impeccable of Hatch End sold some of their waistcoats very cheaply at the end of the season a year or two ago. They had a vari...