Change in attitude...

This outfit is one from the archives that had always sadly been overlooked in favour of other pieces. Unless you are lucky enough to fill your time with nothing but luncheons, gallery openings and afternoon cocktails (à la Carrie and the gang), opportunities to dress up become less and less. As much joy as my dressing room gives me, it also serves as a reminder that I simply do not have enough time to ever wear the many hundreds of treasured second-hand pieces that I have amassed. 

So after a mini epiphany, I have decided to make a change and get back to my former self, the one that dressed up for everything. Whether that be popping out for a pint of milk, a day off with mum or just pottering about   I need to get back to the real me and out of this habit that I've adopted of throwing on John's tracksuit bottoms after work, automatically resigning myself to the fact that there's no point making an effort.....as the DIY will recommence after tea. 

So as I flicked through long forgotten pieces in my wardrobe, I came across these two items and decided to dust them off. Both are from my beloved St Peters Hospice no less, from their shop in Fishponds, Bristol. Once a favourite shop of mine as I was lucky enough to have a flat pretty much above the shop, a dangerous move in itself. 

The skirt is a gorgeous full circle skirt made in shimmering satin that is so soft, it is full of 'swish-a-bility'. It is capable of instantly transforming anyone into a lady. And at £3.75, the ladylike tag comes pretty cheap. The top is a stretchy jersey fabric with a lovely black sheen to it and gold embroidered detail on the chest that really works well with the skirt. If I remember rightly, it was on a super cheap rail for around £1.50 so there was no possibility of me passing it by. 

Hopefully this is the first step towards some big changes for me. I don't want my wardrobe to become a museum of beautiful pieces gathering dust.  The joy comes in wearing them, not staring at them. I think maybe a lot of it has to do with confidence as I become more conscious of 'age-appropriate' dressing. But in thinking that way, I've lost a little bit of my identity. That element of literally wearing your personality on your sleeve, not just your heart. Your clothing should represent your ideals, your passions, your attitudes.  It's your own personal channel in which to broadcast a little bit of you to the masses. A big message that I try to send is one that shows just how beautiful pre-loved clothing can actually be if you work past that stigma of dirty, smelly pieces that time forgot. That is not the case anymore and in fact some charity shops could give the poshest high-end boutiques a run for their money in terms of atmosphere, shop-fit and  even visual merchandising.  All you require is a bit of creativity, an open mind and that little bit of vision to see an item not for its past but for how you can re-style it yourself for the future.  It's the ultimate in sustainable shopping. And if we all shopped this way a little more, maybe we'd all have enough for cocktails in the afternoon. 

What a lovely thought. 

V for Victory...

Well hello there, it's been a while. 

The last few months have been a bit of a blur and I feel quite sad that we are already half-way through the month of August and as yet, no amount of good weather has befallen us (not for any length of time anyway).  We were so spoilt with summer last year, it left us daring to dream for more.  I watch with interest as our neighbours erect and dismantle their gigantic paddling pool, desperately trying to make the most of even the slightest amount of good weather, only to have to deflate it days later once it's turned green.

On the flip side, due to the lack of sun, we have ploughed on with our house, at least in planning terms, maybe not in actual 'doing' terms. We are at a massive DIY crossroads with Merlocke Manor. We find ourselves needing a new kitchen (which is a huge project in itself as we need to knock down an outside toilet on the side of the house in order to extend it). We knew this day would come but somehow we also find ourselves needing a new boiler, new windows and doors for the back of the house, oh and the ceiling fell down in our dining room.  Strangely all four jobs are inter-connected somehow and we really need to plan well as to what we do first as each job has a knock-on effect on the other.  So I am having to resign myself to the fact that my dream of a new kitchen for Christmas is slowly slipping through my fingers, especially if we are hoping to do the work ourselves. 

So last week on my day off, a little down in the doledrums and full of a cold, I took myself of to Chepstow for lunch (in the pouring rain) and thought I would have a mooch around the charity shops.  Just in case.....

To my delight, I found 6 items and all in all spent less than £20 (my usual budget when I trawling for bargains).  A lovely M&S Speziale  black dress that was £5 (well over £100 new according their website), and a very feminine wrap top, again from M&S.  Also a vintage Dorothy Perkins  dove grey and black mackintosh and two tops for every day in addition to the one pictured.   This one, granted, is very plain but it has some gentle studding detail around the v-neck, great for a simple tea down the pub. I paired it with my dark blue jeans and very, very old beloved M&S camel boots that are nearing their 15th birthday soon and still going strong. 

I have found myself getting very good at burying my DIY head in the sand.  As soon as I can persuade my long suffering husband to take some photos, I shall write about the other jewels and some other bits besides.....

And at some point, if you are really privileged, I may even tell you the story of how our ceiling fell down.


You lucky people you.