Monday, 27 February 2012

The pink coat covers it all plus a golden opportunity missed

Monday used to be Dress Your Best day. Now It's becoming Visible Monday.



At the Not Dead Yet Style blog every Monday's post focuses on the visibility of  women. Before I started my blog I experienced several times that I wasn't visible. Waiting in line in shops the assistant wouldn't see me, when I entered a room nobody seemed to notice. It began soon after I turned 40 and started dressing in what I thought was colours for grown up people (all neutrals).

In this cold climate most people only see you wearing big coats, scarves, gloves and boots. Like everywhere else in the Western world the majority of people are wearing black. It's no problem to stand out. Just wear colour!



Had I called today Dress Your Best day I would have put on my new pink coat along with my teal scarf and gloves because I think they're good colours on me.

Now It's Visible Monday so I'm wearing my new pink coat, teal scarf and gloves. This coat covers it all! Every time I wear it I get such positive reactions from people, on the train, in the street and at school. I have certainly become visible. I think people long for colour but lack the confidence to wear it just like I used to.

The outfit underneath has been seen before, only with different jewellery.



As for my obsession with gold - the gold coloured pants I ordered have arrived.


I don't know what they did to that photo, but this was the actual colour:


More grey with a sprinkle of gold dust than really gold coloured, so they're going back. The knitted top was alright, and hopefully to be seen on Friday.  Some time next week I hope to be able to wear these items, that are currently being packed somewhere abroad:




All of the above are bought with a substantial price reduction, and I've waited months for the shoes to go on sale, which does not agree well with my impatient character. They are by the way from Bed of Roses, made by Irregular choice.

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

In addition to the pink and red capsule

YES, my new coat arrived today. I had completely forgotten about it, but on my way out the door this morning I met the postman, with this (forget the model!):


And here is me wearing it:


It was a very dark afternoon so the colours are not good. The professional photo above shows the colour exactly as it is.I think this will prove at very valuable addition to my red and pink capsule, which I have a picture of here:


Underneath the lovely coat I looked like this, as I also did two weeks ago:


Trying to make some significant difference I added a yellow bangle:


Yesterday was such a bright and sunny day so I decided to wear something with a bit of colour:



And the bangles of the day:


Finally I have a photo that I found somewhere on the internet last summer. As soon as I saw it I wanted those nails! I have been hunting for that nailpolish for months. But now I know it's not polish but the wraps that I mentioned in my last post. Don't you just love it?



Monday, 20 February 2012

A gold digger in blue and purple

After being sick for a few days I'm back. And a bit stressed, as this photo reveals:


It was late afternoon when I took it so it's not daylight and the colours aren't too good.

In summer I started a habbit of making Monday my Dress Your Best day, after a blog challenge launched by the Academichic blog. Now I want to revive it. And today I've tried to bring attention to my waist. I think it's my best feature, making my silhuette very feminine.

Last week I started out with this dress that I'm for some reason not that happy with:



On Tuesday I was back in my favorite winter skirt, and a new cardigan:




There's a bow on the back. It's very similar to another of my cardigans, only this one is made of a thicker knit, and it hasn't got lace on it which I rather like.



To go with the cardigan I have bought this pair of shoes:




They are from Irregular Choice - as always - and the most comfortable shoes ever! Now we just need to get over the winter weather.

I did a few more "bargains"....




I have been obsessed with all things gold for months now. Last summer I experimented with gold nail polish. I hope these new nail wraps will be even better.


Now I just need a bit of time to apply the wraps. It's not going to be this week as my schedule is absolutely crazy. Hopefully there will be time to consider how I dress in the morning, and time to take photos in the afternoon.

Friday, 10 February 2012

The fat Adele and her number one fan...

During the last few days the story about Karl Lagerfeld's view on Adele's body has been in all the media. Being "too fat" myself I have to respond.

Some years ago I went to the doctor for an overall checkup and had various tests done. The conclusion was that I'm in excellent health (not counting the injury to my knee and my feet). I asked the doctor how I could be healthy since I'm overweight. The answer was that I'm not obese and we're not all built to be stick thin. So Yes, it is possible to be perfectly healthy and "fat"!

I think Adele looks very healthy - also in comparison to the much thinner Mr. Lagerfeld who claims to be her biggest fan.

It isn't the first time Mr. Lagerfeld has revealed his negative view on the female body, calling Heidi Klum fat too!!! I'm just wondering - when did he ever enjoy a woman's body? To me it seems that the more boyish the better is his preference?

Apparently there aren't enough underweight models with a masculine body so now we are seing male models showing women's clothes on the catwalk. I'm wondering if it will sell more clothes? And it is hard enough as it is finding well fitting clothes in my size without having to be ashamed of being born as a woman.

Enough words on that old scarecrow! During the week it has been very cold again. Luckily I didn't throw out my Svoboda jeans that are too big. Now I could wear them with thick tights underneath and keep (almost) warm. This is a piece of valuable advice for everyone living in cold climates: Keep a few pairs of trousers that are too big!



The neckline on the top has always been annoying since it is too wide and deep. It falls of my shoulders and shows my bra. Until last month when I got my hands on a packet of fashion tape. Below is a photo of the top without the tape.



Not even the brooch could fix the neckline. Only on delicate fabrics would I choose another solution than fashion tape. It was easy to apply and lasted the whole day.



My new dress with my old boots and my black coat. I'm not a fan of black so I'm looking for a new coat. Maybe the next one should be shorter?


 Yesterday's outfit, like all the others, is displaying my most feminine feature - my tits - because I'm proud of them. There is no way Mr. Lagerfeld or any other fashion designer is going to make me ashamed of being a woman!

Monday, 6 February 2012

How to wear a skirt in winter

So, the winter has not ended yet. In fact it's even colder, and with less sunshine. On top of that there's a bit of snow as well. At least there's hardly any wind. That's why I decided to put on a skirt today. Under the skirt I'm wearing double layers of thick tights and my lace up boots. Please see the very illustrative photo below. To day I'm also showing what outer layers I'm wearing. The green bag is huge due to the enormous laptop in it.




The only piece of jewellery I'm wearing is the old silver necklace. It's the family heirloom. A couple of years ago I took it to an antiques shop to have it valued. It turned out to be a rather cheap oriental souvenir that one of the fishermen of my familys past had brought home from a trip, at the turn of the previous century. It's still very decorative, and it is silver afterall!





And here's my great grandmother wearing the very same necklace. Not only did I inherit the necklace, I also got the cheekbones and the nose. Not to mention the somewhat substantial neck.



Thursday, 2 February 2012

how to wear a dress when it's freezing cold

So December was hard to get through. Sadly January was even worse - one close family member in hospital only just surviving - and my daughter down with pneumonia for almost two weeks. On top of that we are experiencing some very cold weather:  -12 degrees Celsius which is around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Today is my second day back at school after my exam which I passed! Before leaving the house I added my skiing outfit, fur hat, scarf and gloves (not a pretty sight), all to be removed once at school.



I tried to do a close up of my necklace, but the lighting is all wrong so I had to take it of and place it on the table.




The stones are untreated in any way, just as they are found in nature. The cuffs are snakeskin. I have had it for a couple of years but haven't had much clothes to wear it with. Then a couple of weeks ago I found these jeggings that were cheap, are extremely comfortable and in just the right colour.


I tried ordering some lighter green ones from H&M but they were sold out (I ordered them the first day they were sold online - either they only had half a dozen in stock or they didn't have any at all and lied about it...). Anyway, the colour on these is much better.

At the same time I noticed that a lot of shops had a sale going on. The following items are now in my possession:





On top of this I'm looking forward to see this one in may mailbox:


I have to say that all of it was ridiciously cheap, less than a third of the original price. The only thing is that everything is bought from webshops abroad.

My country is so small that it's very hard to get clothes that aren't mainstream. Being a UK size 18 is not mainstream here! I find it frustrating as well as discriminating. There are a few shops that sell larger size clothes but everything is very boxy and tent-like. A few international chains are represented but only with a limited range. Being only just above 5 million inhabitants in the whole country I understand the problems for the shops. But that doesn't make it easier for me and others not of standard measures. Whenever I go shopping for clothes or shoes I always end up with yet another scarf!