April Style Challenge - never mind the weather!

Have you ever packed for a holiday optimistically, with lots of lightweight bottoms, short-sleeved tops and just one cardigan, only to have the rain teem down nearly every day? That's what this week's capsule wardrobe for the April Style Challenge has felt like. My blue linen trousers are in the wash as I've spilt something on them, but I wouldn't have wanted to wear them today anyway. It's definitely jeans, top and green cashmere cardigan weather! When I venture outside later I will be wearing the navy trench-coat with a warm scarf and boots - and suspect that I may even wear gloves. I had allowed for it becoming a bit cooler this weekend, but the weather is even worse than forecast.

This has given me food for thought about our trip to Scotland in June. I've just looked at the average June temperatures for Eastern Scotland, and the highs are equivalent to the lows in Murcia, Spain. I think two pairs of jeans, two cardigans and a couple of long-sleeved tops may be going into my suitcase, as well as more summery clothes.  Plus an umbrella!

The best option is to take plenty of layers, which I can mix and match both to suit the weather and to change my look, so I don't become bored. A couple of scarves, it goes without saying, will be tucked into the lid of my case. However for anyone planning to travel to Spain in June for a holiday, you should be pretty safe with summer clothes!

PS Does anyone know where I can buy another pair of short petite jeans?  This pair has seen better days!

April Style Challenge - nearly there!

I'm getting near the end of my week working with a capsule wardrobe of 10 items, and I plan to extend it until the end of April. I anticipate that my green cardigan and navy trench-coat will figure a lot in my outfits over the next few days, judging by the weather outside and the miserable forecast. 

Fellow blogger Jacqui mentioned in a comment that she changes when she gets home from work, so she wears the same work clothes twice before washing them, but she mixes them up so people don't notice. That is a good tip for anyone planning to work with a small capsule wardrobe too.

Look 1

Look 2

I have deliberately put these two outfits side by side to make a couple of points.  Although the top is fairly bright, if I wore a cardigan or jacket over it, the looks would be different enough for people not to notice, especially if my outer garment was a similar colour to my bottoms.

The other point is to do with contrast in your colouring. I have dark hair, dark eyes and warm freckled skin and I have been told that I have light to medium contrast in my colouring. This being the case, someone commented when they saw look 2 that they thought the yellow top would look better worn with lighter bottoms as in look 1, which is today's outfit.  What do you think? Do you prefer Look 1 or Look 2 on me?

Are we too obsessed with being clean?

First of all a disclaimer: I am not talking about my house here, as any friends reading this who have visited our house know that I don't clean it every day! I need to clean regularly of course - particularly the kitchen and bathroom, for obvious reasons of hygiene - but I don't dust and sweep on a daily basis, unlike the local Spanish señoras that we spot every morning, throwing bucketfuls of dirty water onto the streets. I hope that I haven't shocked you too much!

Personal hygiene is important and I have a bath or take a shower at least once a day. This means that when I get dressed in the morning I am putting my clothes onto a clean body, and I am putting clean clothes on too. Yes, I've come to the point at last, which has been highlighted by my current capsule wardrobe experience. Do we need to wear different clothes every day? Underwear maybe, but I put on a clean top every morning, though I will wear the bottoms several times so long as they look clean. As I have limited myself to five tops, which I will be wearing over a nine day period, I have already hand washed a couple of them, but was this really necessary?

I wore this outfit on Monday, but with different accessories. The purple top wasn't dirty and neither were the trousers, in spite of getting wet, but I still washed the top without even thinking about it. This meant I was using water, which is a precious resource in Spain, when I didn't need to. Whenever the laundry basket is full the washing machine goes on, which is using electricity as well as water.  If I wore my tops a couple of times instead of just once, the washing machine wouldn't need to be used as frequently. If I wasn't as clean, the environment would definitely benefit.

I'm not sure when this habit began.  When I went to school we wore a school uniform, and I cannot remember having more than a couple of blouses and skirts.  I joined the Women's Royal Navy and wore a uniform - again, I didn't have enough items to change them everyday, and I only did the washing at the weekend.  Perhaps it was after I had children?  Children do get dirty and sometimes have to wear more than one outfit a day, plus mothers find it difficult not to get messy too, so the washing machine was on almost constantly. I think I will have to blame it on the children!

April Style Challenge - more challenges!

I am using a capsule wardrobe of 10 items of clothing this week, as part of the April Style Challenge. I followed Imogen's advice and checked the weather forecast, but even so I am realising that the linen trousers  and light tops that I have been wearing happily for the last couple of weeks were optimistic choices.  Yes, I included one pair of jeans, a cashmere cardigan and my trench-coat, and luckily I can add warm scarves as accessories weren't included, but I was expecting to only need these for the weekend and I am already wearing them today. Perhaps I can wear thick tights under my linen trousers tomorrow?

I suspect that I will be wearing my cardigan until the end of this challenge, so I must take great care not to spill anything on it!

I am now scanning the fashion blogs for some ideas on packing light for my holiday in June: I may very well be packing two cardigans though based on this week's experiences.  One blogger that I highly recommend for inspiring capsule collections and packing ideas is Janice of The Vivienne Files.  Click on the link to the right under Recommended Blogs - and enjoy!

My capsule wardrobe proves challenging!

Day 1 of  this week's April Style Challenge: using a capsule wardrobe of ten items of clothing.  I got off to a good start by deciding to wear my purple long-sleeved top with blue linen trousers and adding one of my favourite scarves.  I wish I had asked my husband to take a photo this morning though, as I am now wearing a different outfit, so it doesn't count!

Today's outfit - part 1!

On Monday evenings we go to our Spanish lesson and when we set off it was dry though a bit cool. Luckily I had put my umbrella in my bag at the last minute as, while we were sitting in the classroom, it started raining heavily and soon we were watching lightning flashes and listening to thunder. As our Spanish teacher put it: "Madre mía"! The rain had eased a bit when we started walking home, but there were rivers running down the streets so by the time we got home my feet and trouser bottoms were soaking wet.

I am now wearing the same top and scarf but with my jeans. I have also changed my slip-on shoes for socks and trainers. Luckily shoes and accessories didn't have to be included, and the jeans are part of my capsule wardrobe, so I'm not cheating (yet!)

Today's outfit - part 2!

Spot the difference!

It does prove the importance though of having versatile clothes, and especially when you are going on holiday. At home it wouldn't matter so much, as I do have more than ten articles in my wardrobe to choose from, even though I am trying to limit myself to using just ten of them this week. If I had been on holiday, I would have been relieved that I could change into different bottoms without needing to change my top.  How versatile is YOUR wardrobe? Why not try this capsule wardrobe challenge yourself, and see how successful you are!

April Style Challenge - Capsule Wardrobe Week

This week's Style Challenge was to create a capsule wardrobe of 10 items of clothing to wear over the next week.  If you click on the link above you can see Imogen's wardrobe and her suggestions that the 10 items consist of 5 tops (which could include dresses), 2 bottoms and 3 cardigans/jackets.  She also suggested looking at the weather forecast before deciding on your capsule!

My initial thoughts were to have 7 tops, 2 bottoms and 1 jacket - as the weather has been warm recently -  until I followed Imogen's tip and looked at the forecast.  Temperatures are due to drop by the weekend!  Back to the drawing board and my final decision was to have 5 tops, 3 bottoms and 2 cardigan/jackets.  The  original two bottoms that I had picked were linen trousers, so I have added my faithful jeans to them. I have decided on some lightweight tops that can be rinsed out if necessary, and I have included a cardigan for wearing indoors and my navy trench-coat for wearing over it on cooler days.

This is my capsule wardrobe.  Luckily shoes and accessories didn't have to be included, so that will be a bonus if the weather does become chilly.

 

Looking at the tops and bottoms above, I can create 14 different outfits, leaving aside the accessories that obviously could be used to create even more looks. Factor in the cardigan, that hopefully I won't need to wear, and the possible combinations increase. I have realised that this would be a good basis for a holiday wardrobe too.

Why don't you challenge yourself to select 10 items from your wardrobe to wear for one or even two weeks?  Let me know how successful you are!

Style Statement - part 2

Recently I acquired a fascinating book entitled "Style Statement".  The purpose of the book is to find two words that describe your authentic self, which you can then use in all aspects of your life such as the clothes you wear, the interior of your house, your relationships and the direction in which you are going in your career. The first word describes your foundation: the 80%, and the second word describes your creative edge, what motivates you: your 20%.  Taking part in Imogen's April Style Challenge was an added incentive for me to explore this book in greater depth. I had decided, with the help of some comments from friends and other fashion bloggers, that my style is essentially relaxed, comfortable and colourful.  How could I use this to come up with my Style Statement?

Working through the Style Statement book, I noticed a few key things that reflected not only my surroundings, but also the clothes that I feel comfortable in.  In my home I like plenty of light, comfort is a priority and I also enjoy touches of colour.  When I buy new clothes, they need to feel light and comfortable on my body and I am also drawn to bright colours. You can see the common theme.

So what two words did I end up with?  The ones that I was considering for my first word (80%) were Cherish, Cosmopolitan, Genuine, Harmony, Natural, Timeless.  The words that felt right for me for my second word (20%) were Casual, Colourful, Cosmopolitan, Fun, Light, Original, Playful, Style, Unique,Vibrancy and Warm.

This was the outfit that I wore today when we visited friends, which I think sums up my style.  It is comfortable, in basic colours of light navy and white, but with a dash of colour as seen in my coral necklace.  I also had a matching coral cardigan with me, which I didn't need to wear as it was a lovely warm Spring day: the joys of living in Spain!

Looking at the words above and the outfit that I was wearing, which two words do you think best describe my style?

Reading through the words again, and reflecting on my answers to the questions in the book, I decided that Harmony and Natural were the closest words to the real me.

Checking out the 20% list I noticed that I had written down Cosmopolitan, which had also featured in my 80% list.  Was that telling me something?

My final decision was that Harmonious Cosmopolitan is the best description of who I am and also who I want to be.

Style Statement - part 1

Generous, warm-hearted, adventurous, independent, creative, compassionate: these are the words a dear friend used to describe me when I was trying to define what type I was for Dressing Your Truth.  I am now trying to establish my individual style within the DYT guidelines, and part of the April Style Challenge is to find your personal style statement, so this seemed like an opportune moment to do so. 

The words for type 1s in DYT include: light, animated, buoyant, crisp, fresh and fun.  From these words, I think the ones that best express the way I like to approach fashion are light, crisp and fun. Looking at my friend's list, the words that I would hope to convey through the way I dress are warm-hearted, independent and creative. Imogen from Inside Out Style described my style as colourfully, comfortably relaxed.  

Colourfully, comfortably relaxed?

Is there a common theme here?  As Imogen is the style expert, I will look at her words first. "Colourful" probably relates to the light, fun part of me that uses colour to brighten up my outfits and I hope that this makes me seem more approachable and warm-hearted too.  The "comfortable" aspect is light again, and crisp, as I don't like to wear anything that feels heavy or drapes too much. "Relaxed" ties in with the comfort factor too.  I hope that I am expressing my independent side by not slavishly following fashion, but using the latest styles if they happen to suit my lifestyle. I like to think that some of my looks are creative, but the main criteria when I wear a particular style is "does it feel good?" and any creative touches are secondary to that. So, not surprisingly, I think that Imogen was spot on - she is the style expert, after all!

I think that "colourfully relaxed" is a good starting point for me, as it also represents the way I like my home to be.  At the moment I am working my way through "The Style Statement" book so I plan another post on this topic, in which I will reveal the two words that are my personal Style Statement.

April Style Challenge - Colour in nature

I really enjoyed planning this particular challenge, which was to find a picture that represents "nature" and choose an outfit based on those colours. I was tempted by the idea of a sunset, as the background colours on this blog are from a photo that I took of a sunset on the Costa Blanca.  I found several photos that I liked,  including parrots, rain forests and sunsets, but this is the one that seemed the best match for the range of colours  hanging up in my wardrobe.  I think most of my sunset colours were in the laundry basket!

Here is the outfit that I created using nature as a source of inspiration.

Have you ever tried to create an outfit using colours from your favourite painting or a photo? If you had to create an outfit based on nature like I did, what colours would you choose and what would they represent?  

April Style Challenge - Triadic Colours

This was probably one of the most interesting colour combinations in the Style Challenge, as it involved wearing three colours from the Colour Wheel that are selected by placing a triangle over it.  I could have chosen red, yellow and blue but I went for purple, orange and green instead, as I thought that would be a particularly interesting combination. I liked Imogen's triadic outfit, which was a tunic with red, blue and yellow dots, however I don't have anything like it in my wardrobe.  To be honest with you, I would never have thought of wearing orange and purple together if it hadn't been for this challenge, but I rather liked this look and I may very well repeat it!

Being self-critical, I'm not sure that these were the best trousers to wear with my outfit as they are light coloured and fairly wide, which has the effect of making me look broader and by definition shorter. A darker shade would have been more flattering.

I quite fancy combining red, yellow and blue too.  If I start with navy blue jeans or blue linen trousers, then adding a red or yellow top, with yellow or red accessories to complete the triadic colour scheme, should be simple enough. Have you ever tried these colour combinations?  If so, please share with us how you put your outfit together.

April Style Challenge - Coloured Accessories

After showing restraint yesterday and sticking to monochromatic colours, today I allowed myself a little treat.   I decided to use coloured accessories with my outfit of the day.  I recommend reading Imogen's post on this subject: Using Accessories in Colour to Create Interest. I love the way she shows four different outfits and matches them with different coloured accessories to create a new look.

I thought it would be interesting to use similar colours to the ones I wore yesterday - different shades of blue - but this time brighten them up with red. Yesterday's outfit was calming, being mainly blue. Today's outfit felt livelier because of the touches of red. Are you affected by the colours you wear?  I know when I was working in a particularly tricky job, I would wear red if I had a difficult situation to deal with.  My colleagues would comment: "Take care, Sue's wearing red today!"

I don't wear belts very often, partly because my waist has seen better days and partly because I am short and belts have the effect of cutting me in half and making me look even shorter. However fashion isn't just about making you look slimmer/younger/more chic.  It's also about enjoying what you are wearing and I enjoyed wearing this outfit today.  Enough said!

I have worn this top with turquoise accessories before however I think I might try it with yellow accessories as a change or with coral (another favourite colour of mine). Next time you wear an outfit that you have worn many times in the past, why not try using different accessories to create a new look?

April Style Challenge - Monochromatic

To be honest with you, the idea of wearing monochromatic colours all day seemed a teeny bit monotonous - and also rather challenging personally, but that is the idea of this Style Challenge.  To try out new outfits and different combinations of colour, instead of the "same old, same old". I was relieved to know that I didn't have to wear the exact same colour head to toe, just dark and light shades of the same colour, but even so I was sure that I would find my outfit rather boring.

I had to resist the temptation to wear a bright red scarf or shoes, just to add a pop of colour: they were saved for another day's challenge. However I couldn't resist adding a simple gold necklace and bracelet to give a bit of glitter to my look!

I wore this look for a trip to the city of Murcia, to collect my camera from the photographic department of El Corte Ingles. The weather forecast was for sunshine and a high of 28C, so I wanted a comfortable and cool outfit for the bus trip followed by walking the city streets. My verdict was that the outfit worked well, I think the colours were flattering, however I am still likely to add a touch of red the next time that I wear this!

Playing with colour

This week's April Style Challenge is all to do with colour, hence the colour wheel above.  Imogen explains the different combinations and gives some examples in her helpful post.  If you're anything like me, you probably combine a basic shade (navy denim jeans, anyone?) with one or maybe two other colours, and you may have a tendency to wear the same pair of jeans with particular tops. This week, why not look at other colour combinations? Go on, I dare you!

Today's outfit is all about analogous colours i.e. colours beside each other in the colour wheel.  I decided to wear a yellow top, with green shoes and a green ring, plus my dark blue jeans.  When I went out earlier I wore one of my favourite scarves, which has green, blue and yellow (plus orange, pink and white!) flowers, and is ideal for pulling different colours together.

If you decide to try a new colour combination, please let me know what colours you used and whether it is a combination that you would wear again.

April Style Challenge - Senior Moment!

There's only one problem with being an over 60 blogger: sometimes we suffer from Senior Moments! It's been challenging enough having to take photos with my mobile phone, due to my camera having been sent off for the lens to be fixed.  But then we met friends for a Spanish-British intercambio on Saturday and somehow (don't ask me!) I left my mobile phone behind.  With photos of me - complete with my accessories  - ready to upload for this post. Doh!

One accessory I have already shown before on this blog, and that is my gold bracelet:

Looking again at this outfit, there were a lot of different accessories, apart from the bracelet.  You can see a necklace, which matches the coral cardigan, plus a green ring and (though not shown here) I also had a green watch. Isn't there a saying that less is more?  In my case, more was more - I think I got slightly carried away here!

In the photo that I can't show you: I wore the bracelet with a purple top this time and a simple gold necklace that didn't distract attention from the bracelet.  I like to think it was a more elegant look, but unfortunately I can't post it for you to agree. I just hope that you have a vivid imagination!

I mentioned my green watch above.  I like watches as they can add a subtle touch of colour to any outfit. I also wore a pale lilac watch with the purple top - though I can't remember whether it can be seen in the photo (short-term memory problems!). Most of my watches are inexpensive.  I recently bought a Spanish magazine for 4.95€, which included a white watch and a perfume sample.  The lilac watch was even cheaper, as it came with a different Spanish magazine that cost me the princely sum of 2€!  I like having a selection of coloured watches to brighten up my basic outfits.

So if you are getting slightly bored with some of your outfits, it doesn't cost a lot to rejuvenate them with accessories. Whether you choose scarves, necklaces, bracelets, watches, bags or shoes is up to personal preference. What is your favourite accessory - and why?

PS If the photo looks ok when uploaded, I will add it to the end of this post and republish.

April Style Challenge - Accessorize part 2

I mentioned in my previous April Style Challenge post that nowadays I wear a lot of scarves, as they are particularly flattering for those of us who are over 60 and whose necks show our age!  However I do love necklaces, and I still have many that I enjoy wearing, so today's outfit features one of my favourite necklaces.

My outfit is mainly navy, as I didn't want to wear any bright colours that would compete with my necklace for attention.  I think that the navy band at the top of my jumper helps to highlight the necklace, which is in one of my favourite colours, turquoise. This might have been a better look if I had worn a plain navy sweater rather than one with stripes, but my wardrobe isn't that vast! Turquoise is a colour that flatters most women, whether they suit cool or warm shades, so is ideal for those of us who are more mature. The shape of the necklace helps to draw attention away from the neck, which is a good thing too!

I bought this necklace on a trip to Madrid to celebrate my 65th birthday.  My husband had taken his son-in-law to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium where Real Madrid play, so guess what my step-daughter Sarah and I decided to do? Yep, that's right. Sarah and I went shopping and were delighted when we found a tiny shop called Tierra that sold hand-made jewellery.  We spent ages browsing before making our purchases and were even more delighted when we were given a tiny tub of ice-cream with our purchases, just what we needed on a hot day! You can check Tierra out on facebook, where I discovered they have shops in New York and London too.

April Style Challenge - Accessorize

I enjoyed the FABruary Style Challenge so much - though some days proved particularly challenging! - that I was delighted when Imogen decided to have another Style Challenge in April. I was also relieved when I saw that, instead of having to wear something specific each day, there was to be a different theme each week. As you can see from my heading, the theme for the first week is "Accessorize".

When I was younger accessories didn't have a large role to play in my wardrobe.  I suspect that my husband wishes that things hadn't changed, as my shoes keep teetering towards his side of the wardrobe!  As I get older I have realised that too many dark colours don't flatter me, though I know the value of good quality basics that don't date, so I use accessories to brighten up my look.

On Monday I wore my navy trench coat and navy jeans when we went out, which on their own might have looked a bit dull.  However I slung this green satchel over my shoulder and tied a multi-coloured scarf around my neck, which contained green and blue amongst other colours, so the overall effect was brighter and even (dare I say it?) slightly on-trend! I bought the bag last year and was pleased to see that green was to be one of the key colours for Spring, as I have never considered myself to be a trend-setter before!

Today my accessory was a scarf that I have owned for many years and never tire of, as it contains some of my favourite colours.  I decided to make the scarf the focus of today's outfit, so wore a top and some trousers that matched it.  I think that my overall look is improved by wearing this simple scarf, which pulls together an outfit that otherwise would have looked like I had grabbed the first two things that I had come across.

Do you have a favourite accessory that you wear to brighten up your basics?  I think it's a great way for those of us who are over 60 to look more up-to-date without appearing to be fashion victims.