Day 6 - FABruary Style Challenge

Today's challenge was a very welcome one, as it's very blustery outside with an icy wind: "Jacket Up" said Imogen and I was happy to do so!   Over the jacket I wore a winter coat, plus scarf and gloves, which kept me warm when I ventured outside into the wintry weather.

There's a story behind this jacket, which I related in a previous post: Is black really the new black?  I needed a new jacket, something versatile that would suit me and fit into my existing wardrobe.  Like many women I immediately thought of black, however each time I tried on a black jacket I realised that it wasn't flattering, so eventually I bought the jacket that I'm wearing today.  It feels light and yet warm plus the softer shape looks better on me than the many structured black jackets that I had rejected.   Another bonus is that plain black worn near the face of most over 60s is too harsh and doesn't flatter us, whereas the softer colour in this Mango jacket doesn't make me look so haggard. In this outfit I am wearing black trousers, and when I was younger I would definitely have worn a black jacket to make me look taller and slimmer, however at my advanced age the priority is to look younger!

Take a look at some of the colourful jackets in Imogen's post: I love them but suspect that my pension won't stretch that far, having seen the names Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacobs! However I will use them as inspiration for the next time that I go looking for a new jacket.  I have become a far more discerning shopper since I started following other bloggers. Do you have a favourite over 40 blogger?

Day 5 - FABruary Style Challenge

In theory today's challenge should have been quite simple for me - the theme is "Belt it", and I do have several belts in my wardrobe.  Younger, slimmer readers will no doubt say: "No problems there, Sue. Just belt up!"  More sympathetic over 60 readers will probably immediately identify my problem: first, I have to find my waist, before I can add a belt to it!  I think my waist was last seen when I was in my 40s, before the arrival of the menopausal spare tyre, and nowadays the plan is to skim over it lightly, not highlight it and reveal all its flaws.

I will give you the link to Imogen's thoughts on wearing belts in a moment.  I would just like to point out first that I managed to think up a solution all on my own, before reading her helpful post.  I am very proud of that fact!

There were several other factors to bring into the equation. Even when I was younger my waist wasn't that well-defined as my shape is what Imogen refers to as an H, with balanced shoulders and hips and hardly any waist.  I guess that I had a boyish figure when I was younger and now - fat boyish is more like it.  Also, at about 5' 1", I'm not very tall , so ideally I don't want to break up any vertical lines.

Read Imogen's advice here, by clicking on the link: belt it.  She looks fabulous in her outfit and so she should, as she's a well-known highly qualified image consultant.  I am a virtually unknown over 60 blogger, who tries to do her best with the body that she's ended up with and with a limited wardrobe. Yes, I'm getting in all my excuses before I reveal the outfit of the day!

First, showing the top belted - definitely not a look to go for!

The final version, which is far more flattering for those of us whose figures are changing - but not for the better.  Another option would have been to add a jacket.  Of course if it hadn't been for this challenge I would probably have just ditched the belt!

Day 4 - FABruary Challenge

Today proved to be a real challenge for me.  I am taking part in the FABruary Style Challenge and the theme was "Dress it up".  Imogen's post proves how you can look fabulous in the right dress, and I do have some nice dresses in my wardrobe, but they are mainly summer dresses with a couple of dresses that are suitable for the evening. It's winter in this hemisphere so most of my dresses have been put away until warmer weather arrives, whereas Imogen lives in Melbourne, so it's perfect weather for her to wear a dress at the moment.

It's not just the fact that it's a bit too cold here to want to wear a dress today, but my lifestyle is casual so trousers and jeans are the norm for me.  I could have cheated, I guess, and had my OH take a photo of me in one of my lovely dresses before changing into something warmer and more casual, but that wouldn't be in the spirit of this challenge.  What could I wear that would be suitable for walking the dog this morning, doing a bit of shopping after lunch and then sitting in a classroom this evening for our Spanish lesson?

Finally I had a bit of inspiration.  I have a warm dress that I will occasionally wear when we are going out in the evening, but it's not too bulky and has a tie-belt, so I was able to hitch it up a bit and wear it over a pair of trousers.  I don't think it's my most flattering outfit, but it feels lovely and warm, which is my main priority in winter! More importantly, in keeping with today's challenge, it includes a dress. What do you reckon?

Day 3 - FABruary Style Challenge

Today's theme is denim.  Luckily  I have a couple of denim items in my wardrobe though, if you listened to some fashion pundits, I really shouldn't have.  I am, after all, over 60 - and jeans aren't meant for over 60s are they?!  I've already sinned once this week as I was wearing bright pink jeans yesterday, so here I go again wearing dark denim jeans on day 3.

I had to think carefully about what I was going to wear this morning.  We had been contacted by a group of American musicians who wanted to visit Jumilla today, so I needed to be wearing warm and comfortable clothes for walking around town, but I also had to be dressed appropriately for lunch in a smart restaurant afterwards. Smart casual, therefore, is what was required and what is a safe bet for smart casual?  Dark denim jeans, of course!

I wore a dressy top, some jewellery and a pair of flat shoes rather than trainers. The look I was aiming for was casual but stylish, which is my preferred way of dressing - though if I am totally honest, the emphasis is usually on the casual!

Do you agree that there shouldn't be an upper age limit for wearing denim?  That it's ok for a 65 year old to carry on wearing jeans?  After all we're not talking ripped jeans here, or denim mini skirts, just a classic pair of indigo jeans.  I love mine as they are a flattering shape, comfortable to wear and with enough stretch that I could enjoy a huge, delicious lunch today without worrying about the waistband digging in! What's not to love?

Day 2 FABruary Style Challenge

Today I'm feeling in the pink!  Well that's not quite true, but today's style challenge is to use the colour pink in my outfit, so I thought that I would at least start the right way.  My problem is that I don't have a lot of pink in my wardrobe as it's not a colour that I'm drawn to.  Don't get me wrong: I love pink flowers, and I enjoy gazing at a pink sky when the sun's setting, but I don't usually buy myself pink clothes.

However I should qualify the above statement by saying that the first top that I bought myself when I was in my late teens (I've got a good long-term memory, as my OH would say!) was a shocking pink top with a zip.  I can still picture it - I loved that top - but I also know that the bright colour would look dreadful on me nowadays.

Luckily I broke my unwritten rule just before Christmas and bought some bright pink jeans.  In the photo on the M&S website these jeans looked almost red, and I do like red clothes, so I let my husband buy me a pair for Christmas.  I found a scarf (lurking in the back of the wardrobe!) with some pink in it, which I think was a freebie, so thankfully I was able to meet today's challenge.

According to Imogen: "Pink is a versatile colour,  the right shade of pink will make you look fabulous as it’s a skin enhancer."  I like the idea of enhancing my skin, so maybe I should start changing the habits of a life-time and re-think my ideas about wearing pink. As Imogen points out, there are both warm shades and cool shades of pink, so now I'm on a mission to find my shade of pink!  Although I love my new jeans, I am realistic and know that the same shade close to my face wouldn't be very flattering.

PS I would like to point out that I am wearing a pale pink eye shadow that fortuitously was included in an eye shadow palette that I bought recently, plus a pink lip gloss.  All I need to do now is order a pink gin when we go out tonight - or perhaps a glass of rosé wine!
 

Accepting the FABruary Style Challenge!

No, that's NOT a typo in the heading - it's a deliberate mistake!  One of the many blogs that I enjoy reading is the Inside Out Style blog by Imogen Lamport and Imogen is having a FABruary Style Challenge during the month of February, with a different theme each day.  The first theme on February 1st is "Arm Candy", so here is my contribution.

What I would really have loved to do is find a handsome young man and walk down the street holding his arm, but sadly it wasn't to be.  Instead I had to settle for some pieces from my wardrobe.  As I'm petite (i.e. short, but not that slender nowadays) I have to be wary of large accessories, so I usually make up for that by wearing bright pieces of jewellery.  I have a collection of brightly coloured watches, plus several dazzling though usually slender bracelets.

For today's challenge I decided to wear something bright on both arms, as I couldn't decide on which watch or bracelet to wear.  Even then I was looking at several turquoise bracelets, a red, gold and silver bangle, a purple striped watch, a bright blue bracelet and one or two other pieces before making my mind up.  This was my final choice of outfit for the day:

Here is my bracelet:

           

My bright green watch:

What would you wear as "arm candy"?  Do you have a favourite watch or bracelet - and do you go for simplicity too or do you like to pile them all on?





                       

The Big Black Fashion Conspiracy

I've been looking on-line for clothes recently, expecting to have far too many to choose from, but if you eliminate everything black, it's amazing how limited your choices become.  I know black is popular, but it's a difficult colour to wear for most of us who are over 60.  Fashion stores, please take note!

I would like some new trousers, which need to be in a petite size as I am vertically challenged, and I have been looking at other possible purchases.  I don't want any more black trousers, but for some bizarre reason most of the petite trousers are black.  Why?  People barely notice us shorties at the best of times, but if we wear black we will be almost invisible!  Navy would make a nice change, or maybe grey or dark brown.  I quite fancy something more colourful too, which will definitely make me more visible, but where can I find more colourful clothes?

Take Marks and Spencer as an example.  The good news is that I can get M & S clothes delivered here in Spain. The bad news is that most of them are black.  They have eight pairs of petite trousers: one pair is charcoal, another pair is navy (which also come in black), there is a "black mix" pair of jeggings and the remaining five pairs are only available in black.  Three of their seven skirts are black.  Out of eleven coats and jackets, eight are in a particular colour: guess what that colour is?! The little black dress is alive and well at M & S, though five other colours are available: a total of fourteen dresses, six of which are black.  I looked at eleven tops (five of them were black) and finally I found eight jumpers and cardigans, where black shared the lead with blue, both of them having three items.


I decided to start my search at Debenhams.com by including only petite clothing in UK size 12. Result!  I was very excited to see that I had a grand total of 231 items of clothing to select from. However, when I looked at the numbers for each colour, I could see that 87 of those items were in black, 63 were blue (the majority of these were dark blue and navy, which on my screen looked suspiciously like black), 18 were cream, 11 were brown, 10 were ivory and the other colours were in single figures.

Debenhams' petite trousers in black and "looks like black"

At first glance Wallis looked very promising, with twelve colours plus  black, however when I checked each colour individually black was the only shade that had more than one page of items to choose from.  Principles Petite by Ben de Lisi has a choice of seven colours, plus black.  It's a small collection of stylish clothes, most of which (surprise! surprise!) are black (14 items) followed by blue (8), cream (4) and only one or two items are available in the other colours.

John Lewis deliver to Spain, so I checked them out.  I was in shock when I went down the list of colours, as although black was in the lead with 51 items  followed by blue with 47, when I clicked on "multi" I saw the amazing figure of 68.  More than black!  However further investigation revealed that most of the multi-coloured items had some black in them, which in my view made them more black than multi-coloured..

I'm not going to give up though.  The fashion industry may still be trying to persuade us that black is best, but I've just seen Pantone's colour forecast for 2013.  It looks as if Emerald is the colour to go for Spring 2013, with other options being African Violet, Monaco Blue, Nectarine, Poppy Red, Lemon Zest, Tender Shoots, Dusk Blue and Grayed Jade.  Dare I say that these all sound like lovely bright colours? With no mention of black!  I'm hoping that this means that the fashion industry will become a lot more colourful and I can start replacing the black items in my wardrobe - but I'm not holding my breath!

Pantone colours for Spring 2013