Fashion Show!

For various reasons, some of which you are aware and some of which you are not, it has been a very worrying year for me so far. I considered dragging you all down with me, by going into detail about everything which has gone/is going wrong but, on reflection, I decided that none of you deserved that, so I have chosen to share one of the (rare) highlights of my year, instead!

I was more than thrilled, a few weeks ago, when one of my friends asked if I would like to go with her and her family to a fashion show, which would be part of Graduate Fashion Week at Earl's Court. I jumped at the chance and then spent an exciting, but, ultimately disappointing, few days looking round the shops for something unusual to wear. In the end, I decided against wearing something wild, opting instead to blend in, by wearing black trousers, a black, short-sleeved satin jacket, a bright pink top and a bit of jewellery. When we arrived at the show, I was relieved to discover that I had made the right decision. The majority of the people there were young fashion students, mostly dressed in dark colours, perhaps with the odd accessory to brighten things up here and there. In fact, they were almost wearing a uniform. As 2 of the oldest people there, my friend and I would have looked as if we had been having a midlife crisis, if we had turned up in something attention seeking. We did get a few funny looks, but I think that may have been something to do with my tiara ..........

I loved the show! It was amazing! Each graduate had produced 6 - 8 garments and a lot of the clothes were wild, some were outrageous and the majority of them were exciting! The first 3 garments, in the photos below, were amongst my favourites, particularly when I discovered that the young Italian graduate had designed and even printed her own fabric. If you can spare the time to click on the photos you will see how wonderful the fabric was.

Here are a few men's outfits

and a few women's:

These garments were amongst the most outrageous:

As far as I could gather, the flowery fabric used for the 3 garments directly above, must have been stretchy. It even fitted over the models' shoes and precariously high heels! I think I would have had a panic attack if I'd had that fabric all over my face. It seems that, as a fashion model, you have to be game for almost anything!

The whole show was more than I could have wished for. It is true to say that the designs were 'out of this world', but fashion is a competitive business and I suppose that young designers have to get themselves noticed. I was very impressed with the amount of skill which must have been necessary to put such unique creations together and to make the fabrics behave in such challenging ways! If I were young and daring again, I would happily wear any of the 3 outfits, designed by the Italian student. I also liked the cream 2 piece, with the cropped top and strangely shaped skirt.

What about you? How do you fancy the all in one grey jumpsuit, incorporating the orange knickers and orange stripes around the legs, or how would you feel about showing off your black stockings and suspenders by wearing no skirt and a short black jacket?

Magic Mirror

I have a wonderful full-length mirror in my hallway.

I check my reflection every day, before I leave the house. I am slim and of medium height. My tummy has a slight curve to it, but it's bordering on the acceptable, for a middle-aged mother of 3 grown-up children. I leave the house feeling elegant; confident that I am looking my best. Female friends and family catch sight of their own reflection in my mirror and remark "What a wonderful mirror!"

I recently went shopping for a wedding outfit, but I hate shopping, so I have to confess that it was a desperate, last minute affair. In fact, the wedding was only 2 days away, and to make matters worse, I was a bit short of money.

I travelled into the nearest city, heading straight for the only department store. My intention was to get this painful experience over and done with as quickly as possible. I wasn't very impressed with the selection of clothes on offer. It was mostly dresses and loose tops with large swirly patterns. They resembled those that women of my age had given away to charity shops in the 70s. There were lots of black leggings on sale which I remembered from the late 80s, early 90s. I was still gardening in my old ones.

I gathered together a half-acceptable selection of clothing, and threw back the changing room curtain. I shrank back, apologetically, as I realised that there was a short lady, with a thickening waistline, and a rather large tummy, already occupying the changing room. She reminded me of someone. I realised with growing horror that I was looking at my own reflection. At 5'1", I weighed a few pounds less than 8 stone. How could I look like that? Were my legs that short? Shouldn't my bottom be a little higher up? Had it always been so close to the floor? Was my tummy so large? Could that really be an accurate reflection of me?

I mopped up my tears with an old tissue I found in the bottom of my handbag, and eventually managed to choose an outfit. I picked up a splint, for my broken spirit, from the pile in the corner of the changing room, and limped to the counter to pay. The rest of the day was spent in a fruitless search for a suitable jacket, sandals and handbag. In the end, I decided that I would have to manage with those I already had.

On returning home, I tried on my new wedding outfit, and came downstairs. I gazed into the full-length mirror in my hall and smiled. The department store in the city would increase its sales considerably if it fitted full-length mirrors similiar to mine.

I have a wonderful full-length mirror in my hallway......