Looking Back at 2019

2019 has been quite a challenge to me as my teenage daughter has become far more fashion conscious and continually nags her mother to "get more with it!"

My biggest leap into the unknown was about a year ago when Hannah finally persuaded me to start wearing jeans. I had always resisted as I was not keen on the image and when I tried on a pair several years ago, they did not feel that comfortable.

However this pair of straight leg jeans she bought me were a good fit and I must admit I found them comfortable to wear. I gradually wore them more frequently at weekends and actually bought some more pairs, secondhand, from charity shops to wear when gardening!

I continued to visit charity shops most days - I am always afraid that I might miss something if I don't. I may be becoming more selective as I am now resisting the urge to buy an item "as I may find it useful one day" and just buy items that I know I am going to wear.

Of course I make mistakes as there is not always time to try things on. I sometimes find items don't fit as I thought they would or don't really suit me. These get donated back but as they only cost a few pounds it doesn't break the bank and of course a good cause benefits once more.

Looking forward to 2020 - I expect more of the same unless Hannah persuades her mother (who will turn 40) to try some more "with it" outfits.

A Happy and Healthy New Year to all my readers.

Faux Leather

I never thought I would ever consider wearing anything like this but my teenage daughter dared me to buy these faux leather trousers when we were spending some time in charity shops last Saturday. They were in my size and were on a sale rail at £2.00.

The deal was that I would buy them and wear them if she agreed to do the washing up for a week. I am sure that she thought I would never go through with it but the pictures prove otherwise! My husband's comments when he saw me in them cannot be reproduced here!

I must admit that I have not worn them in the street where I might be seen by people that know me but I didn't specify where I would wear them and I wore them for a day around the house and back garden. Yes - Hannah kept her side of the bargain and the dishes are being washed!

The trousers are surprisingly not that uncomfortable but I am not sure that they look that great on a woman approaching her 40th birthday. They will be donated back to a charity shop in the new year so that another good cause can benefit from them.

I had some fun with them though and I now know how Olivia Newton-John felt in Grease.

We are now planning to attend our local Christmas festivities such as Carol Services, a Winter Solstice Ceremony and a Lantern and Carol Singing event in a park.

I would like to wish all my blogging friends a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

New Trousers

I was only saying recently that it is not easy to find a pair of trousers in a charity shop which fit well.

I was therefore surprised to find this pair of Primark label trousers in royal blue in my size which fitted perfectly when I tried them on. They cost me £3.00 and they are in perfect condition, probably seldom worn by the original owner!

I have been wearing trousers most days now that the weather has become really cold so this pair will be a useful addition to my wardrobe.

Are you a regular trouser wearer in the winter?

More Turquoise

This photo was taken a month or so ago before the leaves started to change colour and fall.

Regular readers of my blog will know that my favourite colour is turquoise. I was thrilled to find this knee length skirt in my size in a charity shop for £3.50. It has a St Michael label and I have a feeling it is a few years old.

I bought the top with its vivid turquoise and black design earlier in the year for about £3.00 but did not wear it until I paired it with the skirt.

I am sure I will wear this combination again when the weather warms up in the spring.

Patterned Top

Not many charity shop finds in the last ten days or so but I did buy this jumper.

It is in relatively light weight wool with this rather bold but strange design on the front. It is not really a flower although some people think it is meant to be and it has a round feature in the middle. My son thinks that it is an eye and my husband refers to it as the target in the centre of a darts board.

It is certainly a conversation piece!

It only cost £1.00 but I thought it would be warmer that it actually is and with all the comments about the design, I expect I will be donating it back fairly soon.

Maxi Dress.

I found this vibrantly patterned dress in a charity shop last week. It was quite a good fit and I couldn't resist buying it for £5.50. It is a maxi dress but has no label. I am not sure if it is hand made or if the label has been removed, probably the latter.

I wore it to a social event yesterday with my knee length leather boots and received several favourable comments. My husband, Andrew, loves it as well!

What do you think?

Casual Outfit

A few pictures that Hannah took at the end of summer when I was relaxing on a day trip. We were about to go on a walk along a coastal footpath.

My shirt cost me £1.00 in a charity shop and I think it is my only black shirt at the moment. I never thought I would like jeans but, after a lot of persuasion from Hannah, I have been wearing these quite a lot since she bought them for me for my birthday and they are very comfortable. I now have a secondhand pair for wearing in the garden. My trainers came from a charity shop and cost me £4.00. They are not a well known make but they are kind to my feet and if they last a year, I will be pleased.

I found this long shirt - I don't think you can call it a tunic or a coat - in a charity shop for £3.50. I am not sure if I will keep it but I have worn it a few times with my jeans or trousers to increase modesty. It is a little too long and has got in the way a few times - so it could well be donated back to a charity shop fairly soon.

Green Top

Another post using photos taken in the summer as I have had no new charity shop finds in the past week.

I bought this short sleeved top in July for £2.50. It is in cotton and I bought it for casual wear during the warmer weather.

Hannah took these photos when I was wearing the top in the garden. It is long enough to cover my derriere when wearing jeans.

I am not a great jeans wearer as you know but I do find them useful when working amongst my flowers and vegetables. I was tending my tubs on the patio when the photos were taken as those shoes are not the most sensible for gardening!

Casual Outfit

It has been raining nearly every day in October here in the UK - so little opportunity for clothes shopping or taking photos outdoors.

However I found these photos which Hannah took back in July which I didn't get around to posting on the blog.

The top was in a charity shop bargain bin and cost me just 50p. It has a rather unusual neck line at the rear. In fact I put it on back to front when I first wore it!

The trousers were new and cost me £5.99 in a covered market. I wore them quite a lot in the late summer as they are very comfortable. Slim fitting without being too tight. My husband cheekily told me her likes my derriere when I first wore them.

What do you think?

Multi-Coloured Jacket

As we move into Autumn with the trees rapidly changing colour and leaves falling, I found this colourful jacket in a charity shop a few days ago on a sale rail for just £2.00. It fitted me quite well and I could not resist it for that price. It has an Armor label.

I wore it outside briefly at the weekend with a white top underneath and white trousers. It rained shortly after Hannah took these photos. I am sure that the jacket will get plenty of wear next summer!

Our Trip to Iceland

We have just returned home from a cruise to Iceland. It was not so cold there as I expected so a lot of my "winter wear" stayed in our cases. Here I am on deck. I don't think I really needed to hold on to that handrail but there were a few moments when we had to be careful moving around the ship!

I wore trousers most of the time but dressed up during the evening. I bought this yellow dress a few weeks before we left and liked the bright and cheerful shade of yellow. I often added a light cream cardigan when I ventured outside as it is sleeveless. The belt gave a finishing touch and there are useful pockets!

It cost me £4.75.

I am sure that you would like to see a few photos of Iceland. As soon as we left the ports on our excursions we were in dramatic open countryside with very few signs of human life. There were steep sided mountains with snow (and in a few places) glaciers at the top. Vegetation was sparse although efforts are now being made to plant more trees.

The Godafloss Waterfall was very dramatic.

Water flowed towards the sea in a raging torrent.

I will include some photos on some of the ports we visited in my next post.

Casual Top

My latest charity shop find is this light blue casual top. It cost me £1.50 and is short sleeved, loose fit.

I wore it on Saturday with my black office trousers when we went shopping. The style is a departure from my normal straight tops but it is comfortable and I will probably keep it.

What do you think?

Grey Tunic

We have had awful weather in the UK during the last week with strong winds and torrential rain. Summer seems to have gone!

My charity shop find last week was this grey tunic with decoration around the top half. It is not that exciting I know but it only cost me £1.50. It started life in Primark and I don't think the original owner ever wore it as the tickets were still attached.

I wore it out to a pub lunch on Sunday, where Hannah took this photo. You will note that I am in trousers - unusual for me in August - and the tunic is long enough to just cover my bottom.

Hopefully the weather will soon improve and I will be able to wear my summer outfits again.

New Dress and Hair.

I decided to change my hairstyle for the summer and managed to find this dress in a charity shop for £4.00. It has an unusual pattern in mauve and dark blue on a white background - part floral and part pieces of material and ribbon.

It is knee length, which I tend to prefer and 65% polyester and 35% cotton. It started life in Bonmarche. I feel it will get a lot of wear during the remaining weekends of the summer.

Time will tell if I maintain my brunette hairstyle!

Navy Dress

A quick post this week to show you a dress I bought for £4.50 in a charity shop a few days ago.

There is no label which makes me wonder if it was handmade. It is in a pale navy blue colour and has a wealth of decoration including a part button front and a belt around the waist which gives the impression that it is a top and matching skirt.

It is slightly shorter in length that I normally prefer but it will be fine in hot summery weather.

Casual Top

I hope that you are enjoying this lovely spell of warm summer sunshine. I have taken the opportunity of wearing some of my summer clothes which have spent far too much time hidden in the wardrobe.

My latest charity shop purchase is this casual cotton top. It is white with tiny mauve spots and has cropped sleeves. It has a tie front and is not something I would have worn a few years ago when I followed a far stricter modest approach to my outfits. The top cost me £1.50.

I found these high-waisted trousers in Primark. I think they were £8.99 and are in an unusual shade of purple. They are in a soft-type of brush denim and have straight legs and a front button feature. It is my first pair of trousers with a high waist and they are very comfortable to wear.

Only a few years ago, I would not have dreamed of wearing tight trousers, especially in public. It took me a long time to wear trousers without covering my bottom with a long cardigan or tunic but I have gradually modified my stance on my clothing. I wore these trousers on a country walk on Sunday without any worries of being seen by other people.

Have you modified your clothing standards over the years?

Black & White

My charity shop finds this week include a casual black sleeveless top and these white trousers.

The top cost me £1.50 and is a bit of a departure for me - I don't have any other black tops. It is 65% polyester and 35% cotton.

The trousers cost me £4.50 and they are my second white pair. They started life in Primark and are a straight leg regular fit. They will be ideal for weekend wear should we have some warm sunshine in the next few months.

Do you like my black and white outfit?

Unusual Top

Summer may be arriving in the UK after all. After three weeks of below average temperatures and rain on almost every day, it is warming up and we had bright sunshine yesterday. Perhaps time to take some summer clothes from my wardrobe!

I found this top in a charity shop last week for £1.00 in a bargain bin. It has a deep purple background colour with a splash of multi-coloured flowers to brighten it up! It is somewhat unusual but I quite like it. It has a high percentage of cotton and has quarter length sleeves.

I wore it out for the first time yesterday with my white trousers and red shoes (made by Clarks).

Has summer arrived where you are?

Tunic Top

A quiet week for me last week. Although it is early June, there is no sign of summer weather here in the UK. Temperatures are way down on what they should be at this time of the year and we have had high winds and torrential rain which has not been good for my flower garden. At least there is no need to water!

My only charity shop purchase last week was this tunic style top. I liked the embroidered pattern on the shoulders which somehow made it stand out as a little different. However when I tried it on at home, I found that it was longer at the sides than the back and front! I do like to cover my rear when possible when wearing tight trousers in public. However it was only £1 so there will be no real loss if I decide not to keep it.

What do you think?

Maxi Dress

Hannah was singing recently with her School Choir in an inter-school competition. It was quite a formal occasion so I decided to dress up for it and wore this full length maxi-dress which had been in my wardrobe for some time.

I think it cost me £7.50 in a charity shop a year or so ago. There is no label to indicate its origin. It came with a belt to add interest and there are decorative features at the top. I wore it with a cardigan as it was chilly travelling to and from the venue.

My family thought I looked great as I don't normally dress up formally - we seldom go to up market events! Hannah's School Choir came third in the competition - ten schools took part so she was pleased. They sung a variety of modern and classical songs and ended with a rendition of Jerusalem!

Do you like my dress?

Another Dress

Another summer dress. I found this dress with a patterned purple design in a charity shop a few days ago for just £3.00. I managed to wear it briefly on Saturday while the weather was reasonably sunny and warm to enable Hannah to take a photograph.

It has turned colder again here in the UK - which usually happens for our Spring Bank Holiday! It is difficult to plan your wardrobe ahead at the moment but I am sure my summer dresses will get some wear in the next month or so. In the meantime I will be wearing trousers while the cooler east winds are with us.

My sandals were new from Clarks at £25.99 last year.

Red Dress

No new charity shop finds for me this week, so I thought I would post on a dress I wore to a friends wedding last year. I don't wear red very often but I could not resist this dress which I found about 2 weeks before the event.

It is just above my knees in length and has some unusual detailing in the front. The label is Betex and it cost me £5.50. I found some matching shoes (Clarks) for £19.99.

I was pleased with my outfit - and may well wear the dress again in the summer.

Starfish

I have not had much luck in charity shops recently but a few days ago, I found this casual cotton top with a starfish motif. It cost me £1.00.

It is now warming up at last in the UK so I popped it on for Hannah to take some pictures for this post. I am sure I will wear it during the summer with casual outfits.

Do you like this casual look?

Vintage Trousers

I came across this photo in an old magazine recently and it has made me want to find a pair of vintage trousers. Most vintage bloggers tend to sew their own but my sewing skills are way short of attempting such a project.

Any ideas of where I can find a pair - preferably to try on before purchase - would be welcome.

Black Trousers

My everyday work outfit is black trousers and a white top. We have a black/white colour code in the office for people who meet the public. I used to wear black skirts until a few years ago but gradually wear trousers more and more as I find them more comfortable and versatile. Skirts are now reserved for really hot summer days.

It is not easy to find well fitting trousers in charity shops. Many times I have been excited to find a pair I liked only to discover they did not fit properly or did not look quite right on me. However this week I had more luck with this Kate brand pair which fit really well and are super comfortable. 

The label states "Super comfortable 4 way, non-iron, stretch fabric. Power stretch Magisculpt panel insert and a secret stretch waistband which allows the trousers to move with the natural contours of your body throughout the day and retains the appearance of a flat waistband.

Machine washable. 62% Polyester, 33% Viscose, 5% Elastane. Inner Panel: 87% Polyamide, 13% Elastane."

They cost me £4.00 and I am very pleased with them. They are the correct leg length and the stretch material means that they also fit nicely around my bottom. 

Do you find it difficult to find trousers that fit really well.

White Spots

Less than a month ago we were experiencing temperatures of -10C in Northern Norway. This weekend it has been 28C in my garden! The weather over the Easter Weekend has been exceptionally good - far better than in the Mediterranean countries - most unusual for the UK!

For the first time this year I have worn a summer dress. I found this one in a charity shop last year for £4.00 and never got to wear it. It still had its price ticket on it. Red is not a colour I usually go for but I rather liked this dress with its white decorative tie belt. The dress started life in Primark.

Was the weather kind for you this Easter?

Pink Sweater

I did not have many items in pink but could not resist this sweater when I found it in a charity shop for £4.00 a few weeks ago.

I bought it with my Norway trip in mind as I knew I would need some extra warm clothes.

This sweater has a St Michael's label and is extra thick. I wore it under my padded coat on several excursions and it helped to keep me warm and snug in extremely cold temperatures.

Hannah took these pictures in our local park. It is still quite chilly here in the UK so I may well still get some wear out of this sweater before the spring weather finally arrives!

Our Trip to the Arctic

Andrew and I are now home again after an amazing 3 weeks exploring in the Arctic Circle. The scenery was absolutely amazing and we have so many happy memories. The clean air and rest from everyday chores I am sure enabled me to fully recover after my recent operation.

This was at North Cape, the most northerly point of Europe.

In a Sami village

We managed to keep reasonably warm by layering up. I think I had at least two pairs of tights under my thermal trousers and I looked enormous with layers under a padded jacket topped with scarves and a woolly hat!

Anyway, in case anyone has withdrawal symptoms at the lack of posts on my charity shop find, I found this brown tunic a few days ago with a white pattern. It cost me £2.00 and teams well with my brown trousers. I still like to cover my bottom when possible when wearing tighter trousers in public to increase the modesty of the outfit.