TARDIS Tuesday- Romana from Shada

Hello there!

What beautiful weather has now arrived! This is a common occurence in September!

It has been a rather busy and lovely weekend!  More on that soon.

For TARDIS Tuesday, I realised it has been over 4 years since I shared this particular inspiration outfit. It is one I loved and needed no modification although I HAVE modified something- nothing new acquired but I did decide to wear something slightly different.  Here is my previous post for comparison- I'd be interested to see which version you prefer.

It was a historical outfit worn by 4th Doctor companion and fellow Gallifreyan- the Timelady known as Romana.  Played by the beautiful Lalla Ward (who actually married Tom Baker!), she wore a series of quirky and fun outfits, some that looked Edwardian. She wore it in famous episode Shada.  This was supposed to be a murder-mystery set in Cambridge colleges but it was never finished due to Strike action at the BBC. We only have part of the episodes filmed.  The rest was read with pictures and remade with cartoons for BBC video and DVD.

Have a look at this beauty!

https://theultimateguidetothefashionofdoctorwho.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/romana-ii-shada/

IMage borrowed from this Pinterest

Image borrowed from
https://theultimateguidetothefashionofdoctorwho.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/romana-ii-shada/ 

Here's my 2023 version. Slightly older Kezzie, shorter hair, slightly different outfit:

I started with the lacy top which was actually a dress- £2 from the charity shop 4 years ago.  It's very pretty and one of these days, I will wear the dress in its own right rather than a blouse.  

The hat was an ASOS one I have had for a very long time, a miniature boater which I embellished with a Cherry brooch that CBC bought me and some white flower hair clips. I think if I did it again, I would have pinned up the sides of my hat...and found some  cow parsley to embellish with

Two things I did differently this time were that I looked at Romana's skirt which seemed to have a patterned blue tinge to it so I decided to wear my FabIndia @ Anokhi skirt instead. Do you think it works better than my white one?

Last time, I just wore a piece of thin red ribbon round my neck as the choker whereas this time (I couldn't find it), I wore one of our old dance school headbands (every grade had a different coloured headband so you could distinguish between the different level children in our class)- it used to be Grade 3 then became the Grade 5 headband. The red belt (Poundland ancient) was the same. I did consider wearing a red scarf but decided not to.

I thought it would be fun to try and recreate this photo of Romana in a punt. It took several attempts of pressing the self-time then throwing my self down onto the cushions, adjusting my hat, picking up the book, arranging my legs and then lifting my skirt slightly...all in 10 seconds!

I do hope all is well with you and you are enjoying the sun! I shall be in school, trying to get my room back into order!

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Yaz Khan in Survivors of the Flux- second variant- A day late!

Sorry, I just realised that the title makes this sound like a Covid variant! Relax  guys, it's just a Yaz variant!

Last week, I shared my Edwardian Yaz outfit and this week, I have a SLIGHTLY different version of that same outfit! Ha!

Here's a picture of Yaz wearing it.

Image borrowed from:
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a38359497/doctor-who-flux-multiverse/

We have our straw boater again and a very similar outfit to last time except that this time, we have a light sandy coloured waistcoat with lapels.

https://tenor.com/view/doctor-who-doctor-who-flux-yasmin-khan-yaz-smile-gif-23457561

The photos were taken at the same time as my other ones! I just swapped the jacket for the waistcoat!

The only difference between last week's outfit

(which was 

Grandad's 90 year old school boater

My friend Annie's Droopy and Brown skirt

CBC's brown brogu boots

ASOS white blouse)

 is that I am wearing a Paisley tie of CBC's from Coe's and his waistcoat which he bought from eBay for his Newt Scamander costume for Harry Potter evening at school. 

That's a very school-marmish pose!

The French plait was starting to come untucked by this point!

Sorry this is a day late- I was having trouble uploading photos yesterday!

It was fun wearing this vintage look!

What do you think?

Which Edwardian look do you prefer? This week or last week?

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Edwardian Yaz in The Vanquishers

 Hello there!

I decided to pull together what is known as a Closet Cosplay for this week's TARDIS Tuesday.  The idea of this is just searching for items in your wardrobe you have already without searching for and buying any specific item in advance for it.

The outfit in question is from last week and this week's episodes of Doctor Who Flux.  Yaz and Dan, along with Professor Eustacius Jericho are trapped in 1901 after the Weeping Angels sent them back there in The Village of the Angels and last week's episode began with Yaz and co, 3 years later, trying to find clues of how to get back to the Doctor.  Yaz and co have gone Edwardian in their costuming and Yaz is seen breaking into an Inca temple wearing this outfit.

She seems to be donning a green tweed skirt suit with a round collared blouse, brown tartan or chequered tie, a straw boater and then brown satchel, gloves and boots.

The image belongs to the above which I borrowed from 
https://theultimateguidetothefashionofdoctorwho.wordpress.com

I had a look in my cupboards and looked to see what I could find:

I started with a green corduroy Per Una jacket I bought from a charity shop about 16 years ago. Alas, I didn't have a matching skirt but I decided to don my Droopy and Brown navy skirt as it was suitably voluminous. I borrowed CBC's light brown Brogue boots as I had just (SOB!) broken the zip on my beautiful brown knee high boots the night before. To match it, I added my brown charity shopped Clara Oswald satchel

I stole another item of CBC's wardrobe- his brown checked tie and added it to my ASOS round-collared blouse (has been used for various Who cosplays over time) Oh and used a vintage-looking lantern that CBC gave me one of our first Christmases together.

Alas, I had no suitable gloves to don but I did have my Grandad's old school boater (also has been used for a cosplay before)

Finally, a little view from the back.   I mentioned yesterday that my Mum came over yesterday so naturally, she was put to work as my official photographer but also tie-tier AND hairdresser to give me a French plait.  Yaz's hair styles have been very ornate this time and though mine is short, I thought I'd take advantage of Mum's hair skills.

What do you think?

I didn't wear the rest of the outfit for the rest of the day, as it's a bit formal for a Sunday, but I did keep the Droopy and Brown skirt on.

It was fun to see what I could cobble together for this outfit!

xx

TARDIS Thursday outfit - Romana II in Shada

I had a bit of a 'I'm NOOOOOT ready!" for TARDIS Tuesday this week so I am opting for TARDIS Thursday instead.
Today, I thought I'd share a cosplay I have longed to do for a long time but somehow not really attempted, mainly due to the top half.

A famous episode in Who mythology is Shada which was a Tom Baker's 4th Doctor and Lalla Ward as Romana II adventure. It was set in Cambridge and was all set to be an exciting adventure! BUT...there were script writer strikes and so....it was never finished!

I'm going to be looking at Romana's outfit in it.  She's a Time Lady also and this is her 2nd incarnation.

In it, she was dressed in a beautiful quirky Edwardian-looking, gorgeously feminine outfit!  I loved Romana's outfits.  It's mainly white with red accents!

Let's all take joy in various photos of it!

Image borrowed from
https://theultimateguidetothefashionofdoctorwho.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/romana-ii-shada/ 

The full outfit above!

Below, Romana is in a boat being punted along by the Doctor, enjoying a lazy read.

Image borrowed from this Pinterest

Below, looking cute and wistful

IMage borrowed from this Pinterest

And here's me!

 Let me talk you through the outfit!
The reason I chose to attempt this outfit now, was the fact that on Tuesday, when I met my friend to have a look at the charity shops, the Hamelin trust was having a £2 sale on all clothing.  There was a pretty Topshop white dress which, to my eyes, really resembled Romana's blouse.  It'd be an easy job to tuck it in.  I took a punt on it (ho ho) since I could always donate it back!

When I got home, I located my Per Una cream floral ruffled maxi skirt which was a birthday present from my Dad and Stepmum at least 8 years ago, possibly more.  Next, I located my red bow belt from Poundland and my red charity shopped Clarks desert boots and some old red Primark long socks.

The red choker is a piece of ribbon from the tag my Mum attached to my birthday present.

When it came to the hat, I remembered a gorgeous miniature boater I bought from ASOS back in 20010- it was the perfect size, last worn on the blog in 2011! Luckily, it was just up on my hat shelf in the wardrobe and not in the loft.  I added the fake cherry brooch that CBC bought me for a present back in 2010 and 2 white flower hairgrips that live in my brooch box.

Our new swings-seat seemed the perfect place to try and recreate Romana's boat pictures.

I must admit that the Edwardian era is one I have always loved in the style-sense and I rather like this! I am all the more pleased that I had it all in my wardrobe except for that £2 dress!

On Instagram, I was told I also resemble Mary Poppins and yes, I see it!!!

What do you think?

x

WW1 day

It's been a long day but it was a nice one in many respects.  I really like my Year 5's and I have them for 3 out of 4 lessons on a Friday.  We spent most of the lesson learning to play Egyptian Masmoudi drumming which the kids always like. Also, my children in my Year 2 Music Makers club are a really nice bunch and I look forward to teaching them- there's no badly behaved ones or really lairy ones which makes all the difference when you are knackered on a Friday.  Today, we had a really sweet session where we were dancing a waltz and learning to play a waltz tune and the kids were really sweet when half were playing the waltz whilst the rest were dancing!

Also, today was the culmination of our work on WW1.  I've spent the last half term teaching the whole school WW1 songs and talking about WW1;  in choir, we performed a concert on Monday of 25 WW1 songs sung by 70 children including a song I wrote based on Rupert Brookes' poem, The Soldier for our concert; in orchestra, we've been learning I vow to thee my country and Mademoiselles from Armetieres;  in recorder club, we've been learning I vow to thee my country, John Brown's Body, It's a long way to Tipperary, Keep the Home Fires burning and The Last Post.

In the 3 assemblies, the year groups sang the songs we had learnt, the recorder club performed their pieces; the choir sang some songs, the recorders played the Last Post as children laid their home-made wreaths at the front of the hall and the Drama Club performed a version of the Christmas Truce and finally, we all dressed up! It was incredibly moving!

 Here's what I wore today.  You have seen this dress on the blog before because I wore it (with a white apron, black beret and red flannel petticoat for my Roberta from the Railway children costume for World Book Day.

The dress was my Mum's and it was passed on to her by a friend of her mother's.  It is INCREDIBLY comfortable and I felt really happy in it all day.  Wish I could wear it more often.  I added a brooch of my Nan's.  When we cleared my Grandad's house, I found the brooch just sitting on the mantlepiece and as I am the only brooch-wearer, especially of that type, I just took it.
Everyone made an incredible effort today and I really hope the children remember what they have learnt this half-term and with their teachers this week for a long time to come. I feel the gratitude and remembering of the past becomes all the more important as our world becomes less connected to our past and people care less.

TARDIS Tuesday- Sarah Jane Smith- Pyramid on mars

Hello!

TARDIS Tuesday is tardy once again!  I've returned from 10 days in Greece.  We had a lovely time in Corfu and then Northern-mainland Greece, in the mountains & Meteora for most of the time. I apologise for not commenting since being away. It gets very frustrating typing comments onto a small device with two fingers and with bad connections so I didn't manage to comment during Downtime. I will try to rectify that soon!

I thought I'd have another go at another Classic Who cosplay today

Image borrowed from Pinterest but it belongs to the BBC

This is Sarah Jane Smith.  She was a reporter who joined Jon Pertwee's third Doctor in an episode called The Time Monster and then she continued through to the Fourth Doctor- Tom Baker.  She returned to meet David Tennant's the Eleventh Doctor twice in two episodes and even had her own spin-off in Classic Who called K9 and Company AND in New Who- The Sarah Jane adventures.  Thus she is Doctor Who royalty. She's always somewhat reminded me of my Mum somehow!

In this episode called The Pyramid on Mars, she sported this rather period looking outfit of High necked frilly Leg Of Mutton blouse and a full-length white skirt and looked rather fetching!

And here's my take on it!  I know the blouse is the wrong colour and the sleeve length is different but somehow, it has the two diagonals that the original blouse has plus the leg of mutton effect and high neck.  My blouse is vintage and has featured many times over the years on here. 

The skirt is more frilly than Miss Smith's one but has the right effect and colour! It was from Per Una and was the most exquisite birthday present from my Dad and Step-Mum about 5 years ago! It is so delicate and pretty!

Image borrowed from Copperbadge Live journal.

I decided to get create with poses and sought props in the garden shed.  I tried a fork at first but decided on broom in the end!

Gif borrowed from Giphy.com

I thought I'd find a close up so you could see the details of her blouse and mine.

What do you think?  Do you think it works for Miss Sarah Jane Smith?

xx

Never again!!!

 Since I went for a modern-twist on an Edwardian teacher look today, I decided to photograph it! Except that, since I was going to go to the park to feed stale bread to the ducks and geese, I thought, "Oh since it's raining, no one will be there so I could choose an interesting setting for taking a photo!"  Rather like one or two of my favourite bloggers, Lauren and Veronika who always have interesting locations.

I set off with bread, camera, the shoes I had been wearing to church.   All seemed well, the geese were parading across the grass.

I fed the birds then checked no one was around, and quickly threw off my coat, took off the boots and put on my shoes, stuck the camera on the picnic table.  It was absolutely bloomin' perishingly cold, my icicle hands rendered everything stiff and inoperable!  And just as the picture took of course, there was a young 20-something dog-walker standing there staring at me bemused!

I felt a complete idiot!  I just muttered something about "Don't ask!" as she said, "I wondered what on earth you were doing! "
She then proceeded to turn round and watch as she walked along.  In my cold state, I couldn't seem to pick anything up.  This massive goose came and stood right by me with a menacing look in its eye.

My coat zip refused to go to the top, my umbrella blew inside out and refused to come down.
As I walked home, the rain and wind whipped up into a veritable helter-skelter

 I took this when I got back (rain ceased a little).  Was it worth it? Does it look any different?  No way! I will not be venturing outside my own home to take any photos purely for the purpose of photographing an outfit!  What am I doing?  When did I try to become a fashion-blogger which I clearly am not!?  
  I guess I started posting outfit shots because I really enjoy reading and admiring other people's and since I love clothes, dressing up and shopping, (it all stemmed from the hats log I think!) and also because I was in so few photos and the few there were were really unflattering and ugly, so I wanted to have some record to look back on and think that once upon a time I was young and frivolous, but I sometimes wonder if it is me?  Please do tell me if I become ridiculous or being something I'm not!

 On the plus-side, despite the bitter cold, I could see the beauteous signs of Spring.  Delicate blossoms that remind me of this little handbag I was using today!

 Like a chandelier of flowers!

 Here was the last time I wore this skirt in January.  I remember taking this photo when I'd lost the camera lead, so I figured I could do a remix with the two together since I took the photo!

Hope you are well!  I had a lovely time last night at a black-tie dinner-party which was great fun although rendered me exhausted!!!