Dress Of The Day with Angela

  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...

  Anthony Sicari Outfit The Anthony Sicary outfit consists of a tknitted white top with a pleated skirt. I wanted the lively pattern of the red, white and blue and green to look lively and smart when I was on stage.  The Top The sleeves are short, so I wore a white long-sleeved blouse underneath.  For added warmth, I added blue mock velvet track suit trousers, over red and black leather boots. The Boots The boots are wide acrooss the toe, like Crocs.This pair is red, with heart shaped leaves like petals arranged in a circle to make a flower on the toe. I have one pair with dark red, and red and black flowers, The other is black with read and black flowers. Union Jack Hat The Union Jack hat came from St Luke's charity shop in Hatch End, north west London. But the place to buy these is from party shops. You can buy lots of items of clothing and souvenirs with Union Jacks in souvenir shops and kioks in central London. The Flags Of Italy and Switzerland The flags were detache...

 I bought a pair of pink shorts only because they matched my pink hooded jacket. Before buying the shorts, I had dithered. I suspected I was never going to wear shorts with my favourite hooded jacket. I looked at the shorts and thought - I really need a skirt. If only I had a skirt. I wish I could convert the shorts. The price was only one pound in St Lukes. So I bought it. Why not turn the shorts into a skirt?  I cut the shorts up the A shape seam between the legs. That left a notch at the front and back. I found an old bra with lace and cut it up to fit. The colour was not quite right. Later I saw some baby clothes in St Luke's.  Perfect pink. Perfect match. Three for a pound. One was from Marks & Spencer. Two had patterns. One was plain. I cut the plain baby outfit in half and used safety pins to cover both gaps, lining up the hems. I sewed the triangular patches using matching pink cotton.  I was very pleased with the results. I had converted shorts into a sk...

Angela  Angela Lansbury in her birthday outfit. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Skirt Black Jacket green with embroidery. Brand ROSEs . Spelled like that with capitals for ROSE then a small s. On my computer screen it looks blue. I dont mind. Blue suits me and matches my eyes. Blouse wwhite The blouse is fancy, with long floppy v shape collar ends. They hang to one side. So I fastned them with a safety pin invivibl, underneath. Boots, black and red with petal tops. You can still buy these ankle boots in three colours, black, or wine with black petals, which I am wearing here. or yellow. They are very cofortable. Do an image search. They zip up the back.  I added a red pandant for a touch of bright colour. I need to wear something red to lift my mood. The piece de resistance is the head band with tubline or hanging daisies. Close up its rather cheap, but at a distance and at night it looks fantastic against my blonde hair and Im sure would look great on other hair colours too.

Socks and Sandals  In France I wore two pairs of socks, The long socks were an accident. I did not expect to wear them except rolled down. i just grabbed them at the last moment because I wanted a pair of socks.  They were a blessing in two ways.  1 They were long and an extra layer of warmth. I could wear them under or over a pair of short socks.  2 I thought they looked odd. However, a lady at the table behind me, with her back to me, turned and said to me, "I like your colourful socks!"  We quickly became friends and exchanged phone numbers. I wore adjustable sandals to fit over the double socks. I had no tights. Then I discovered, leftover from my trip to Thailand, very thin rayon trousers. I wore them in lieu of tights. Leg covering. Another layer of warmth.  Skirt and Slip I wore a long red skirt. Underneath I wore a long black half slip. How could I cover my legs? I had brought no tights. I had to cover my legs. I found  my black swimshorts,...

  Angela Lansbury in red silk Monsoon blouse and Patra skirt. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The Blouse The blouse is red silk, label Monsoon.  UK size 14. You can hang it on the wall on a hook, or over the neck or a hanger, using the monsoon label. Or hang it on a hanger. Hand wash. Made in China.  It has seven tiny fabric covered buttons. it gaps at the neck but you can fill this area with the tie bow and/or a pendant. Jewellery - Pendant I am wearing a pendant with a reversible centre. It has two sides, one with a small dark red stone in the centre, the other with a small blue stone. I am wearing the red side outwards. The Skirt The skirt is from Patra in the UK. Not to be confused with another company in the USA. It is silk and feels soft. It has two thin ribbon ties to hand it up so that it stays crease free. The colours are red, yellow, black and white. I have worn it with a red top, as shown here, a black Patra silk pull-on short sleeve vest and a white top. ...

  Angela Lansbury wearing a green Gillian outfit. Photo by Trevor Sharot. This outfit consists of a long green skirt and matching top. The label is Gillian CLASSIC FEMME. Made in Korea.  Size 14.   Dry clean. I won't dry clean. Instead, I shall wear it with a black long sleeve vest underneath which I can wash daily.  The fabric is unusual. 70% polyester. So it does not crease.  20% Triasteit. I have never heard of that. The last 10 per cent is viscos (sic). Not viscose with an e at the end, v i s c o s. Hm? The Top The top has a lovely cut and an agreeable fabric. It has lightly padded shoulders. The sleeves are net. Stretchy net.  It feels comfortable. The Cut Of The Top The cut is most unusual. The back of the top is in three sections. Two curved lines down  from the shoulders.  It feels as if it fits well. It feels better than it looks. Size 14 is a little loose on me, since the post Covid-19, diet for a healthier weight. But the charm of ...

Angela Lansbury adds a red wall hanging and accessories to enhance her red butterfly outfit. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Copyright.  I rescued a red Japanese wall hanging. Why? Because it new and free. Because it was clean and pristine. Because it was red. Because it had two handy rollers and an A hanging strap.  I wanted to save the money used to clear litter, and the space given to discarded items which clutter the earth and endanger animals. I was sorry for all the people who had worked to make the work of art. Above all the person who designed it, thinking their creation had created pleasure and would last forever. I also felt sorry for the seller. And the buyer, who thought it would be a welcome gift. Did they have buyer's remorse?  Back home, I looked at it. I could understand buyers' remorse. The lady in the portrait was rather sour faced, which made me sad.  So I took out a pen and gave her mouth a slight uplift. I was looking for something red to complement a re...

Angela Lansbury wearing pineapple pattern pyjama bottoms converted into a skirt, dress of the day 591. Photo by Trevor Sharot. I am carrying a cut pineapple, in a Denby Seville bowl. The Sandals The sandals are from Clarks. Size UK 6, Europe 39. The closure is Velcro or a similar touch and close over both the toes and across the instep. Colour a warm rusty brown. Platform heel. Curved insoles. The Headband The headband is a piece of orange ribbon, tied in a bow. It is inclined to slip off so if worn around the town it would need a hair clip or a cap or hat to hold it in place to look neat and prevent loss.  The Dress or Skirt from a converted pair of pyjama pants (the British say trousers)  I had a pair of thin pyjama bottoms with a small repeating pineapple pattern. The pineapples were tiny pale orange, each with the turquoise green tuft, on a white background. In between the pineapples are small dots of turquoise green. I cut up the inside leg seam. I could have used pinking...

  Angela Lansbury wearing green skirt and jacket, dress of the day 581. Photo by Trevor Sharot. The Ensemble I started with a 2022 green broderie anglaise skirt. I found a silk jacket to match. Vintage. Never worn. Now was its day. How to fill in underneath? I had a pale green shirt, a man's shirt from Marks & Spencers, discarded by my husband. Shoes - not my usual red shoes. My husband hates Crocs and big toe shoes. He prefers high heels, elegant shoes. Sorry, I had a fancy pair of multi coloured shoes, but I was already falling off the heels the moment I tried them on. I went back to the sensible and comfortable green modern clogs.  Green The jacket is green and blue. Green for gardening. Green colour goes with a gardening environment. Green shoes go just right for standing amid the greenery on the balcony.  The Pose I am standing with my hands in my pockets to show the pockets. Secrets Of The Silk Jacket Silk is special, to me. Silk used to be a luxury item. But it...

  Are you short of summer outfits? Do you have a pair of shorts with a stained front, or a tee shirt with a stained sleeve? A great idea for re-using an unwanted or unworn t--shirt. Cut off the arms to make a tank top. Use the spare fabric from the arms to make two circular or oval designs, such as leaves for the below the waist garment. Sew your double patterns neatly by hand or machine onto a pair of shorts, as they suggest. Alternatively sew onto a skirt, or even a plain dress.  I would use the arm pieces to make pockets. You could have two front square or semi-circular pockets on shorts or a skirt. Or side pockets.The neatly seamed armhole hem could be made into a hairband, or the front or link piece of a belt made with a long piece of ribbon or a doubled ribbon, with or without interfacing. (Interfacing is a stiffening liner used on jackets and hems and belts.  Security Use the spare fabric for a bag for your phone. Make a pocket on a lanyard to hold a phone. We...

Angela Lansbury in orange. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Description  Top The label says BHS. British Home Stores. I love the bright orange contrast with the brilliant white of the blouse. British Home stores used to be like Marks & Spencer but cheaper. Clothes, bedding, lamps and household items. Skirt The skirt is created or converted from a pair of trousers (Americans say pants) slit up the centre seam and rotated  so that the slits are at the sides. I looked for a blank wall in the kitchen. My first thought was to avoid the red pattern on the blind on the door which I thought would be a distraction and a clash of colour. However, my husband said it looked jolly. Therefore, afterwards I made a point of being photographed next to it. With red lipstick and red shoes I would always co-ordinate with the blind. However, you can get tired of one colour. So now I am trying to alternate with orange and pink. Teacher's Clothes in Singapore When I worked as an English teacher in a priv...

  Angela in all green outfit, dress 303. Photo by Trevor Sharot Brolly is British English for umbrella. Green Skirt The skirt is actually an underskirt, for sarees, ordered from India. Heavy cotton with a drawstring of multi-plaited white rough string. Small pleats are around the hem. I ordered this style in two shades of green. Through ebay. You can see the petticoat with a different top, a totally different effect, in dress 340 with a greeny blue top.  Price just under ten Singapore dollars, about twice the cost of the similar underskirts from Mustaf Centre in Singapore, where the current price (April 2022) is about 4.95 Singapore dollars. The Straight Neck tie The straight edged neck tie in green was cut off the hem of a dress which was too long. The hem was getting caught under my shoes' toes as I walked. And dragging on the ground getting dirty. After I shortened, I had the bonus strip of green fabric to match the dress as a belt, or other green outfits. The Green Umbrell...

I must confess this project did not go as well as I had hoped. First the good news. The project started well. Slitting the seams was straight forward. Some ends of the stitching were tough, well sewn. I had to admire the manufacturer for sewing down such thick fabric.  What size of sewing needle were they using! An industrial machine, no doubt. The thread and seams were very secure at the knee and crotch. No fear of your shorts pulling apart and sliding down.  Waist Size More good news. Despite the shorts being too tight for my husband, the waist fitted me perfectly, no need to tighten nor loosen it, nor move the pretty button.  Horizontal Patterns I rotated the resulting skirt, as you can see in this picture, to get the gaps at the sides instead of the back and the front. However, the result is that the pattern is slightly slanted.  I asked my husband what he thought. To my surprise he shrugged and said, "Nobody but you would notice (that the pattern wasn't matching...

Four Seasons blouse, orange. Photo by Angela Lansbury.   Blouse Maker, Fabric and type  Four Seasons garment. Blouse. 100% silk made in Hong Kong, dry clean only. Buttons and fastening Six spherical pearly orange buttons down the plaquet and one on each of the two cuffs. One flat, orange, pearl effect, flat, two hole button on the collar, with a loop fastening.  Six, narrow, short pleats on each shoulder. Orange embroidery with cut outs. 71% viscose, 29% silk,.style number 433 436. What is a placket? Wikipedia explains it well. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Illustration of a placket, or opening, made in the upper part of a petticoat or skirt for convenience in putting it on A shirt placket with buttons and topstitching on top A  placket  (also spelled  placquet ) is an opening in the upper part of  trousers  or  skirts , or at the neck or  sleeve  of a garment. [1]  Plackets are almost ...

 Anthony Sicari outfits come with a matching scarf. Usually skirt, top and scarf, or skirt, top and jacket and scarf. You often find a top offered on its own. I suspect they have become detached from the full outfit. I like Anthony Sicari outfits because they are loose and baggy. This was important when buying on the internet to be sure the items would fit. The colours of this outfit are more suited to spring or summer. Mostly white. Colours Most of the outfits I see are for autumn or winter with a heavy knit bodice to the top,. Often the colour of the knitted part in a dark blue or red or black with vibrant contrasting satiny inset or appliqe. I keep a constant watch on ebay. If you live in the USA or UK, you are in luck. You save on the postage.  Angela's Accessories  White fabric hat brim with velcro at the back. From Walker's Hat Shop, Descanso, California. USA The hat brim is washable. The lace makes it more dressy. The white shoes are Les Jumelles (french for twins)...