Accessories

 November 1st and it's dull, dismal and in fact downright horrid here in Liverpool.  

I went out on Saturday night and wore a witches hat with my dress, but today (and the next 4 days) are working from home. Nobody is really going to see the dress, so it's really about me ringing the changes and dragging out my collection of scarves.

I don't own jumpers, and only a few cardigans; so this morning I trawled through my wardrobe to see what I had that I can use to ring the changes.

So a collection of scarves hanging on the back of the door

Some cardigans, and my beautiful silk wrap

Also worth noting, that these are hanging on my wardrobe.  It is 1950's 'utility' furniture from the post war period when there was a shortage of raw materials.  It's lasted well, as my parents bought this when they first got married in 1954.

And today’s option. I’ve had this scarf for over 20 years. And I was going to go out for a run, so I threw my dress on over my gym stuff!

Nearly 3 weeks

 Today is day 20. Which is further than I thought I’d get.

Things I’ve learned so far 

1. You don’t need to wash things every day. Underwear, yes. Socks, yes. Everything else, not a chance. 

I washed my dress for the first time after 10 days. Not because it needed it, but because I was going away for a sewing weekend, so thought it the ideal opportunity.

It didn’t need washing, I’d spot washed any spills, and generally it was ok.

2. People either don’t notice, or are too polite to comment. Admittedly, I work from home and have been wearing the same 4 tops in rotation for eighteen months, but people genuinely don’t remember what you wore yesterday.

I went on a sewing retreat and wore my dress each day., I just swapped out scarves and jewellery.

3. I like not having to think about what to wear. Fancy dress party? Add a black scarf and a witches hat.

If I stick with it, I’ll still be doing this challenge at Christmas. And combining it with a fun exercise challenge, so elf and sparkly headbands will probably be worn.

4. Why did we go to mass manufactured synthetic fabrics? Probably because having a few items that were worn in rotation didn’t help big business.

End of week 1

 A whole week of wearing the same dress.

I’ve started to think about the logistics of washing/drying it and have had some great advice. But, actually, one of the things that struck me was thinking about it in a historical context. Even as recently as the 50’s and 60’s most people didn’t constantly wash clothes. They were generally made of natural fibres and were worn more than once. Cotton shirts etc were washed and dried at the weekend, and woollen clothing was probably just pressed.

My school skirt was wool, and I’m fairly certain it never got washed. It was hung out on the line, and the pleats pressed every Sunday night.

There’s a Facebook group for this challenge and lots of people are really imaginative, but I think I’m #teambasic. Just put the dress on, and figure the rest out.

So far, I’m liking not having to make choices, and the amount of washing has definitely shrunk.

Some photos from this week.

Challenge Day 2

 One of the things I’ve realised is that I’ve got a lot of rubbish in my wardrobe. But at least I only have ONE wardrobe, I’ve got friends with 3 or 4. They can’t possibly wear all those clothes. Even if one is for your ‘posh’ outfits; formal dinners, cruises etc.

For work I used to wear the same trousers/tops in rotation, and had other things for casual wear; now I’m more likely to wear stretch jeans and long tops. Or I had a couple of more formal dresses if the occasion needed them.

So wearing the same dress isn’t that different (maybe, who knows how I’ll feel in a week/month?)

Today was a gym day, so at the gym 6:30am and bought a bacon butty on the way home. Life’s little pleasures!

After a shower it was just straight on with the dress. This time with amazing turquoise tights and my beautiful shoes Hot chocolate shoes

A whole new challenge

 I’ve been slacking on the sewing front lately. Unless I’m with other people I rarely sew.

But other habits I’ve managed to keep up with; going to the gym regularly, eating healthy, trying to live more simply.

As part of that I’ve reduced the rubbish in my wardrobe; the things I used to wear to work, and now probably won’t wear again. The cheap trousers I bought because nothing fitted.

Now I’ve gone completely the other way and am going to attempt to wear the same dress for as long as possible. Washing it in between wears,obviously! But not washing it every day, as it’s wool and cost a fortune.

I need to learn how to take better photos. I don’t think the ‘mirror selfie’ is the way forward.

But the hall is the place that has the least clutter, so generally it’s easier.

The dress is 75% merino wool, and is really soft and comfortable. It’s the Sierra Tank, in a lovely washed navy, so will be easy to mix up with other things I’ve got, and can probably be worn like a pinafore.

Today is Day 1.

Some more slow sewing

 I've hardly had my sewing machine out for weeks.  Even before it got put away so we could eat Christmas dinner somewhere sensible, rather than off our knees!

But I did lots of quote hoops, and sent them as gifts to friends, so have very few photos.

I'm trying to get my head round needle turn applique. It's not going marvelously well, as I haven't got the patience to be accurate. But it's only for me, so who will notice?

I made a little robin applique from a pattern by Jo Avery and treated myself to one of her kits, so here's some

of those, but without words, as, why bother? But I thought I had more photos of the other bird, but no idea where they’d be.

A real trip down memory lane

 My sister and I live quite close to each other (about 2 miles, if you’re asking!), so even in the current ‘unpleasantness’ we’ve been able to see each other.

Her sons both live in Liverpool so she’s occasionally seen them too. Mine lives 50 miles away, so that doesn’t really fit into the ‘stay local’, making visits rare.

We last saw our brother back in May, as he lives in rural Cheshire, when we had a pleasant hour sat in his garden

Evidence...

This is the pond and shady area at the bottom of his garden, isn’t it gorgeous?

And I’m not wearing an off the shoulder top, it’s just the way the light is falling 

But some of our restrictions lifted last week, so we can meet outdoors in certain circumstances, so he came to Liverpool and we went out for a walk.

He first went past Mossley Hill church, where my sister was married, and where he, at 18 took better photos than the professional photographer.

Then, through Sudley gardens, and out down Barkhill Road, where they met me.

We got a takeaway coffee at Space coffee, on Aigburth Road, Space coffee which in a past life, was the Midland Bank; my sisters first job on leaving school

I can’t find any photos of it when it was a bank, this is from when it first opened as a coffee place

Then we went along Otterspool Prom, and back through Otterspool Park. Through the underpass at Aigburth Vale, and back to my sister’s in Mosley Hill