Frump to Fab 2021

thepurplepixie

I'm a jean and t shirt girl myself so not big on fashion.  Was briefly fashion mad as a teenager and really liked how Katharine Ross was dressed in The Graduate.  Quite simple but well cut dresses and coats, very 60s and that was my look at the time although on a much smaller budget.

MrsPorridge

I absolutely love the fashions in Evil Under the Sun (Peter Ustinov version), also Death on the Nile (Ustinov again).  They are a bit OTT, but I love them all the same!

helensbiggestfan

well hello again.....and thank you so much all of you for your input.  So many ideas whirring round my brain now.  You have definitely kickstarted my creative juices.  😂

Thanks for your recommendations too, I've not seen the Serpent, House of Cards or Revenge - I will need to give them a whirl.  I saw Bridgerton, loved it and you're right the costumes were fab. Really sumptuous.  

I too loved Dr Zhivago......those long military style coats were so glamourous.  (And so warm). They are still a perennial favourite, designers still love them.  It's a style that just goes on and on. And it still looks wonderful, especially when teamed up with a big fur hat.😂.  

the Dressmaker......I adore that film.  SUgarbaby your are so right, those clothes are stunning and really demonstrate how a well cut dress can flatter the female form, whatever it's shape.  Tall and slim, small and plump, statuesque and curvy, it really doesn't matter.  The right dress can transform the most sad and neglected frump into a gorgeous and sensual  goddess.   

30s and 40s fashions were so lovely, so many women looked beautiful, even though they had very little and make do and mend was a way of life for so many. I have photos of my mum looking like she stepped off the cover of Vogue and my English Aunts, 3 sisters, despite being as poor as church mice, always looked so glamourous.  They loved to copy the movie stars of the day. Apparently they would pool their resources and share clothes, do each other's hair. My last aunt died last year, well into her 90s. She loved nothing more than dolling herself up and was glamorous to the end.  

As for jeans and tee shirts.  Nowt wrong with that.  Denim is the big success story of the 20th century, worn by billions across the planet.  These days a good pair of well fitting jeans will take you to just about any venue or occasion. They are so versatile.  I do find tee shirts tricky (my generous bosom) but I have worked out a style that suits me now and more or less stick to a formula that I know works for me.  Like Diana, once she had stepped down from the Royal family and was able to go for a more casual every day Style, I go for what I call a preppy or Eurochic look.  I always team up my jeans and tee-shirt combo with a well fitting jacket when I go out.  

Despite being on here a lot, I have also done loads of gardening.  So feeling very pleased. A very productive day, gathering market research and clearing the winter debris in the garden.  So thank you once again ladies, for all your comments and ideas.  Very much appreciated. 

Tonight I'm going to take it easy and rescue my hands.....a manicure and pedicure and paint my nails.   I'm done for.  

maman

I love the fashions in the Agatha Christie Poirot programmes too and the gorgeous Art Deco architecture too. Today's chat is bringing back lovely memories. I did a Nile cruise with a friend and we had afternoon tea on the terrace at the Old Cataract Hotel which is in the Peter Ustinov film. And for my brother's wedding, I bought a cloche hat in dusky pink with a burgundy brim and made myself a drop waisted dress with a long pink bodice and flippy burgundy skirt. 🤔🤔🤔

I like using films and TV as an alternative form of people watching. I liked what Joanna Lumley wore when she did her UK tour especially the vintage Jean Muir Harris Tweed coat. Sometimes I'm super critical. Why does Fiona Bruce often wear plimsolls on Question Time?? 

helensbiggestfan

🤣🤣. Good question Maman.  I am with you and Joan Collins on this one......she said plimsolls  and trainers were fine.......in the gym or on the track.  They aren't smart footwear and they could never be termed elegant or flattering no matter how much you pay for them. 

savingmore

thanks for inviting my voice on here...don’t know why I feel shy on here, I am not in real life🤣🤣🤣.   fashion.  I love clothes.  when I had my colours done three years ago (inspired by this thread!!!!) my clothes style came out as classic ingenue.  classic and a twist.  I love pretty women (the polka dot dress and evening gown) and anything that audrey hepburn wore...also thomas crown affair.  I love dressing up, and now in my 60s I realised not everything suits me 🙈.  I am 400g off my fighting weight - determined to lose the last remaining grams even if they are determined to stay there!  This means I can get back into pencil skirts and feel good in dresses again.  I like wearing smart dresses with a little denim jacket, jeans with kitten heels, and also the preppy look.  I have a pixie type haircut but can sleek it and make it look more glamourous if dressing up.  I am so excited to shop when you open your business LL 😀😀

thepurplepixie

Had to mow the lawn today, I hate the first cut of the year.  It was getting long but I am pleased with it, in the lockdown I decided to treat all the moss and weeds and discovered there wasn't much grass.  Treated it and it looked like a disaster for months, was just about bearable when I did the last cut in October.  Today I discovered I have strong healthy grass with no moss and hardly any weeds.  I am going to get a lawn weed killer to get rid of what there is but as a non gardener I am quite pleased with it.

I hate gardening and have paid to have my grass cut for years.  DH can't do it and I was working, caring for him and bringing up kids so it was worth it.  Last year just before lockdown I figured it would be hard to find someone to do it, my old guy had moved, so I bought a lawnmower and strimmer so most of what I'd have paid to have it done was spent buying them but this year I will be quids in.   Feeling quite pleased but I still hate gardening.

I think come the autumn I should spend the grass cutting money on a treat for me.

I'm also getting all my paperwork ready to do my tax return in April.  I usually end up doing it in January in a panic but last year I did it in May and paid straight away and it felt good so I plan on doing the same this year and I only have to wait for pension P60s for me and DH and it will be done.  I've already got my figures sorted out so it will be easy.

My next plan is to get a quote for my new bathroom, was picking out things last February to get it done but the pandemic intervened but this year it will be done.

helensbiggestfan

Savingmore......yes we all make mistakes, I have made some howlers in my time but like you, I have found a way of dressing I am happy and comfortable with.  Took me decades though.  And like you probably best described as classic with a twist.  

I know I have told this story before but to those of you who are new to the thread, you might find it amusing.

I first discovered my passion for fashion when I was around 11.  And like most teenagers I was clothes mad, spending all my money on clothes, records, trips to the cinema and tickets to see my favourite Rock stars. My parents bought me my first sewing machine for my 13th birthday and I was off......Derby's answer to Mary Quant. 😂.  I bought my first ever garment from a charity shop when I was 14, a real fur coat from Oxfam. I thought it was fantastic, my family hated it.  Well it was a bit motheaten so can't really blame them but I didn't care.  

Anyway one night I got all dolled up, in my home made halter necked pink mini dress, pink patent "mod" shoes, pink plastic dangling earrings, even down to a lavish application of Miners Peppermint pink lipstick.  I topped that little lot off with my fur coat. 😱😂.  My father nearly had a fit, but I sailed blithely out the door thinking I looked amazing.  Of course, in reality, I looked like a hooker but I was so naive I didn't know that.  I soon realised my mistake.  Being propositioned several times when you are a shy 14 year old virgin is downright scary.  But.....I am a quick learner and I never made that mistake again. 

If anything I tend to dress quite conservatively, I don't reveal much flesh. I take the view that a suggestion of what lies beneath is far more sexy than blatant, in your face, try too hard, reveal everything dressing.  Silhouette is far sexier than acres of exposed flesh. 

My motto is.......Leave 'em guessing and let them be pleasantly surprised. 😂🤣

chanie

Helen for your business, I think that adding a bit of blurb to your items descriptions could work really well.  For example, what the item may work well with, examples of how it may have been originally styled, famous examples of people wearing similar styles etc.  Could bring the items to life. Also, accessories like jewellery, hats, bags and  scarves can be worn by anyone regardless of size, so they could be quick wins.  

My project for this year is to get growing. I really enjoyed growing my sunflowers last year.  Prior to this, I did grow veg and salad items,  but since having the children, I just haven’t felt that I had the time... until now.

maman

I have courgette seeds at the ready chanie. Previously I've bought plants but this year I'm going to try starting from scratch. The packet says 'sow from early March' so I'm all set to go. 🤣