Red Sailor

Ahoy there, Sailors!

I love a bit of sailor/nautical sartorial-styling!  Last week, my Year 5's were writing and performing their own sea shanties and this week, we were looking at the Sailor's Hornpipe!

In this outfit, there are two pieces that I bought for cosplay for Classic Who companion, Romana.  The red tiered skirt and the Sailor jacket.  Both were bought second hand for cosplays but get worn in other combinations regularly but I don't think they've featured outside cosplay posts!  The Laura Ashley t-shirt was bought from a Loue charity shop and is so comfortable.  The hat is from ASOS and the boots second hand Vegan Dr Martens.  I wore this on the lovely sunny day we had our Kensington Chamber Orchestra concert.  I sat on the steps reading my book and several people commented that I looked like a painting! It was funny. I do love the combination of Navy, red and White.  

The necklace was a present for Christmas from my friend Lara. 

Xx

 

TARDIS Tuesday Twist- Romana from the Leisure Hive

Hi there! 

I missed TARDIS Tuesday for a few weeks so I am back! I decided, this week, to do use the outfit as more of a general style inspiration rather than try to create more of a match.

I last used this look as my inspiration in April 2021 and it is one of my absolute favourite looks worn by any Doctor Who companion- if you look at the sailor and nautical labels tag in my sidebar, I LOVE a sailor look!

It was a vintage Sailor look worn by 4th Doctor companion and Time Lady, Romana.

https://them0vieblog.com/2013/04/28/doctor-who-the-leisure-hive-review/

https://x.com/archivetvmus71/status/1050080061678866432

I was packing for my holiday and I realised I had worn a similarish Romana look when we did our Treasure island performance and found it ridiculously comfortable, so I decided to pack it for my trip!

Here you can see what I put together.

I started with this Primark sailor dress that I picked up in a charity shop in 2012 around Last seen on the blog in 2014.

To make the red tie, I added a red ribbon which came from the waist tie from another dress and tucked it through the tie of the dress.

The hat came from a charity shop around about 15 years ago and it straw with raw silk edging and hat tie.

The bottoms are actually some pyjama bottoms I bought from M&S (which I did actually buy for the original cosplay!) - yes, I wore pyjama bottoms in public.  Do I care? Not really- they work as trousers!

To complete the look, I added a pair of Tom shoes- not the ones I wore last time (which are more red) because that involved ratching around in a cupboard!

I loved wearing this outfit and it worked for a day at home with gardening!

xx

TARDIS Tuesday- Clara from Dark Water

Hi there!

I hope all is well with you.

Did you hear about the awful chopping down of the tree on Hadrian's wall in a spot known as Sycamore Gap?  A beautiful 300-year old tree that has delighted many for years, been the inspiration for countless artists and has sheltered many over the years.  It was brutally sawn down with a chainsaw on Wednesday night.  I've walked that stretch of the Roman Wall from the Sill to Housesteads many times over the last 15 years and it is really sad that it is no more. I wonder if we will find out why it happened in time? It's just so sad and pointless!  I am glad that I made CBC drive me there for a walk in July to walk that stretch even though he didn't want to at the time.

Much love to a much beloved tree. It feels like so many beautiful trees are being cut down in recent times, if not by awful developers (Blore homes, I loathe you), local councils or mindless yobs.

Onto TARDIS Tuesday.

I was incredulous to see I had not shared this dress and outfit on the blog since 2019!!!

The outfit I am inspired by this week is Clara Oswald's outfit worn in double episode finale of series 8, Dark Water and Death in Heaven.

She wears a navy and orange Aztec print dress called the Wax Koko dress from French brand Sessun along with her standard black opaque tights, navy block-heeled brogues from Bertie and then later adds her Topshop green contrast checked mac

Also borrowed from Clara Who Cosplays

Here is my version of this outfit:

My camera was very hazy and blurry- not sure if I need to clean the lens or something!

The lovely Ann is responsible for me obtaining this dress as she brought it with her to England after it being sent to her from France a few years ago.  I'm quite surprised it still fits me as a few of my other dresses that I've not worn for a while don't anymore! It's a light crepe material and if I could get away with cycling in it I might wear it for school  few more times whilst it's still fairly warm...with leggings!  It's an alternative coloured one to Clara's one which is Indigo and orange- mine is navy and white.

The shoes are the same ones from Bertie and whilst I ADORE how they look, they really are too tight for me to comfortably wear and whilst it is lovely to have them in my collection- realistically, I should probably pass them onto someone who will get more wear out of them.

My black version of Clara's Topshop jacket is one of my oldest cosplay pieces and one I wear the most-it's a light cotton hooded jacket- perfect for cycling and slinging on when there is a slight chill in the air!

I really like this one of Clara's outfits though, if I had to rate it by how easily you can run around being chased by aliens or being dropped out of aeroplanes, I'd say, Could Do Better!

Hope you are well!

Kx

TARDIS Tuesday- Romana's sailor style from The Leisure Hive

I'm very excited to share my TARDIS Tuesday this week.  This is an outfit which is VERY much idiosyncratic Kezzie (check out my Sailor chic posts- all 25 of them!) and is a TARDIS Tuesday I did a simple version of this outfit here which was my restarting of TARDIS Tuesday posts back in 2017

Here's a fan video of the episode showing the outfit I've selected, worn by my favourite Classic Who companion, Romana!

I've taken the liberty of borrowing some images and pairing myself with Romana in them.

Images borrowed from

https://twitter.com/archivetvmus71/status/1050080061678866432 

https://aminoapps.com/c/the-worlds-of-doctor-who/page/blog/pros-cons-of-the-leisure-hive-1980/wRWM_5zsouJ4abPnerxRL8Bmj2oQPgqKBV

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/who-was-in-charge-of-lalla-wards-wardrobe.97558/

http://rebloggy.com/post/doctor-who-classic-who-k9-romana-romana-ii-dwedit-cwedit-the-leisure-hive/120068215776 

https://them0vieblog.com/2013/04/28/doctor-who-the-leisure-hive-review/ 

And here they are:

This is definitely a 'better' version of this outfit than last time and I'm really happy with it!

I started off with a Breton-striped top from H&M Kids.  I have numerous Breton-striped tops but this one is closest to Romana's.

My knicker bockers (if you can call them that? Cropped trousers?) are in fact, PAJAMAS!  They are from M&S and came with a navy coloured t-shirt.  I DID buy them with this outfit in mind but when I bought them in 2020, I did want some new PJs! I can't tell you how many years it took to find something resembling these trousers she wears! I was only low-key searching though...

Ah...the hat!  It's a charity shopped one bought back in 2010 or so and is the same one as last time!

I like Romana's pictures as she is usually smiling in them and she has a lovely smile- one that isn't too dissimilar to my natural smile! Unlike most of Yaz's or Clara's pictures in which they look moody and brooding.

Ah...I spoke too soon! Cue gourmless facial expression!

I remembered we had a football which we found in our garden and weren't sure where it came from so I used it as a prop. And my cycling gloves!

My sailor jacket was bought second hand from Zara and cost me £3.00 and it was the final piece in this outfit. My long sailor coat is just too tight for me now and I did so want a sailor jacket, even if it isn't the same as Romana's, it is similar enough. I added a red ribbon which came from something or other, maybe even a Christmas present.

Oh...and finally, I wore my red-sequined Toms shoes which did well as a substitute.

I did catch my neighbour looking out the window as I took photos the other day and felt HIDEOUSLY embarassed!!!

Style Imitating Art- The Great Wave off Kanagawa

This week's Style Imitating Art inspiration was the wonderful 'The Great Wave of Kanagawa' by Hokusai.  Apparently a film is being made about Hokusai's also artistic daughter, according to SIA host- Salazar

I ended up creating 2 outfits for it in the end.  This first dress has a beautiful cowl back which I thought had a wonderful wave-like flow to it and being in a watery shade. This was a charity shop bargain in July- £1.99! 

How perfect is the wall art in the background in my second picture.

The dress was also £1.99 from the same charity shop. I thought the navy with the small patterns emulated the navy waves of the Hokusai and although it is hard to see, the ruffles on my grey cardigan were rather frothy and wave like.

Head over to Salazar's to see the roundup of everyone's outfits!

This picture was taken in Brighton where I visited at the weekend for a wedding!

I met the hilarious and wonderful Katie at Hook Line and Sink her for tea and cake but failed to take any photos of meeting up! It was lovely to meet her at last!!!

xxx

That quintessential navy staple!

 That combination of red, navy and stripes really does put one in mind of 'Anything goes' and the seafaring branch of the armed forces.

 It's a funny thing but as a teenager, it was NOT cool to tuck in ANY garments- leaving them hanging out, especially school shirts was the status quo. It has purely been the influence of blogging pals and their immaculate tucking-in skills that reconciled me to it again after all these years.  It also served to marginally hide the lack-of-ironing!

 Today, I took a gamble with resorting to summery clothes again for school and it paid off as my cardigan was off within 5 minutes of class time!

I started off the day sans headache and within an hour had developed one and it was only later after being in another classroom and I returned to that year 4 classroom that I noticed one of those nasty plugin fragrance things in the class (or it may have been something else but it SMELT of one!).  THEY give me a headache. I really loathe them- the nasty artificial smell. I know kids can be smelly sometimes but I would honestly rather put up with 'wet dog wet-playtime stench' than endure one of those things.  My Mum made me a room spray purely with spring water and a few essential oils which was good although even that made me a bit fussy! Is it just me or does anyone else react badly to the fragrance-makers

 Gratuitous shoe close-up of my Irregular Choice shoes shining gold in the sunshine!

Hope you had a good day.
xx

Sailor heart

What ho, tis I, Le Kez!

Hope that your day was successful and fun.

I had a slightly bizarrely successful afternoon which only resulted from me going off on a tangent!

In year 3, I went to teach a lesson. I was introducing the concept of Time Signatures - which would then lead into them getting the feel of time signatures, learning to conduct in those time signatures, listen to some music to identify time signatures and then answer some other comparison questions between 2 songs- Tomorrow the Fox and 'Didlan' (based on The Ashgrove folk tune).

Anyway, I introduced it by asking them what comes first on the stave in music (the treble clef).  I asked them what that told us (that it was a high-pitched instrument playing).  Then, as a reminder, I asked what the name of the clef was that means it's a low instrument (they dutifully answered 'Bass Clef') - I then added the Alto clef as a tangent which was greeted with "Cooooool!", "I love this!"  (??????)

I then started to say as a mere note aside, that a key signature comes next and somehow got into explaining key signatures, how they work, what sharps and flats are and what they mean etc' and somehow, they were highly enthusiastic about this and were really getting into this (I'm talking boys and girls who can be a bit disruptive) and were just amazed to be learning all this (I think I maybe did ok by starting the Alto clef comment by saying, "You don't need to know this, but I know some of you like knowing harder, extra information," which meant everyone wanted to be THAT person I was inferring) .  So we had this massive tangent on key signatures and sharps and flats and enharmonic equivalents and they were just bizarrely really with me on it!!  There was no distraction, no one who had to be called to order or made to face the correct way. We're talking a solid block of music theory!

When I introduced the time signatures, the delight of learning how to conduct and what conductors are really doing was a delight!! 

When they came to do the listening- everyone was totally focused.  Bizarre how that happens sometimes. I usually find them really hard work. That said though, they are quite a musical class- they are probably one of the best singing classes in the school.

Anyway, if you have survived that long and waffly tangent, well done, have a gold star, biscuit and a cup of tea, you deserve it!

I thought I'd share 2 pictures of two of my Charity shop purchases which featured in 'The Buyer's archive' post. The gorgeous Topshop sailor jumper from Sue Ryder and the heart skirt from Barnados!  Just needed the tiny addition of some navy knitted tights, gold Toms and my Punkypins Bee necklace and I was good to go! 

I love my new tree with its crops of daffodils! What will I do when they all die!?!? I've never quite had such a happy blogging posing spot!

xxx

Navy tales

 Hello there,
I hope you have had a great weekend.  I have had a lovely weekend in many ways which I am very grateful for.  I went to deputise (cover someone who was away) for part of a rehearsal of The Rite of Spring yesterday which was enormous fun. I then took myself off to Oxford Street and Spitalfields for a little birthday treat

 I did something I haven't done in absolutely ages- in Topshop, I had great fun trying on lots of things I liked. I might post about it later in the week.

 Finally, I went off to Collectif in Spitalfields. I've wanted a Sailor coat for a very long time and I've always regretted not buying the Topshop sailor coat which I saw in a second hand shop in Oxford so when I saw Roisin had bought this coat in the sale, I decided to go and have a look.

They only had a size 6 and a 12. The 6 only just fits me without a thick jumper. I ummed and ahed about whether to buy it or not as really I'd need an 8. I have plenty of coats which I've bought over the years and I didn't need it but I really did like it. In the end, I was weak and bought it (you might say not so bad until you realise I also bought 3 other things that day).

I wore it to church this morning with a thin sparkly jumper underneath and trousers and actually it was a great coat to keep on throughout church as it looked rather like a dress.  I'm really pleased with it.

Coming home later was a bit of a nightmare because of engineering works on the trains- it took me 2 hours to get home from Liverpool Street station- usually a 40 minute journey!

Coming home, I watched Doctor Who on my laptop (series 4- Catherine Tate and David Tennant) and ate yet another unhealthy dinner. So what, it was my day!

More on that another time.

Sending you best wishes,

Kezzie xx

Yet another sailor outfit!

Tis a bit of a cliche to go to the seaside dressed up as a sailor girl, but I did it anyway.

 In case you are wondering, the top is from Joules (mega sale last year), the skirt is ancient Primark (very tight!) and the raincoat (Seasalt Cornwall) with my beloved Doc martens.

Oh how wonderful it was to inhale that sea air again!

CBC and I visited Newton by the sea with J and though it was a blustery day, it was sunny. CBC and I walked towards Dunstanburgh castle.

Such bursting joy and yet tranquillity surge through my heart simultaneously in a fusion that shouldn't work yet do.  I don't care that I get messier and messier as the breeze laps at my hair because that is its overenthusiastic welcome.   The smell, even when none-too-pleasant has its place in the joy of the situation. The stumbling over uneven patches of sand and the avoidance of large piles of Bladderwrack seaweed, these are all parts of that wild experience.  The beaches in the north are wild, they are unforgiving at times, they lack Cornish and Southern prettiness, yet they have that menace and danger in them that their west-country counterparts have too.

There is a health and a rejuvenation in being blown around and hearing the compulsive returning of the tide. I find myself all too cross and grown-up at times but being here allows me to join in with my husband in fun antics.

Joy as he dashes up a slope and affecting crossness as he kicks sand into my shoes one too many times. Annoying but necessary in peeling back that grown-up and weary facade.

 I delight in my maritime companion with his ever-patient and loving nature.

Such joy to be back at sea. Whether dressed as a sailor or not!?

xxx

10 things to be thankful for: End of January thoughts

These photos were taken on Sunday as we set off to town after church to meet our friends in Waitrose for tea! We decided to have a nice Sunday wander before heading off to our friend's house for Sunday Lunch Club.
CBC's reaction when he looked me up and down in this attire was, "What on earth are you wearing? A random assortment of garments?" Yes, it does look like that but in my mind, they all kind of matched etc.  Just the facts ma'am:
Hat: had it AGES/YEARS intended as a gift for someone but I forgot who, so it lay dormant until I decided I needed to wear a navy beret that day.
Dress and Belt: Primark sale with Flapperdoodle collarclips
knitted waistcoat: Peacocks
Shoes: Deichmann
Socks: Jack Wills via Sophie
Handbag: Bailey and Quinn via Debenhams 70% off sale!
Black tights: Kezzie's anonymous black tights collection
Oh and several tops on underneath!



I've alluded to the January blues a few times. I and others have felt them, but I am thankful for several and indeed many things which I like to list.

1.  The fact that it hasn't snowed and I haven't slipped or hurt myself (once you've done this and broken something, you tend to be more nervy. Much as I'd like a snowday, I don't like the dangerous Aftermath)

2.  The events and occasions with friends: Sunday lunch club, lunch in London, Indian cooking course and others.  Having things to look forward to makes life seem better.

3.  I'm incredibly grateful for uplifting sermons at church that encourage and inspire me. I don't think my prayer-life has been at all diligent when I most need it and I am grateful that God has 'got to me' in other ways when I am so rubbish.




4.  A series of really, really enjoyable and enthralling books has given me that gleeful excitement that comes to me when I know that in x number of minutes, I can return to my fictional friends and immerse myself in their world.  Exceedingly grateful for the 6 Georgette Heyer books purchased for 50p in the charity shop!

5.  For my school children being relatively productive, enthusiastic and well-behaved, particularly when I am not feeling 100% smiley!  Some really nice musical outcomes and responses. The kids that sat through the entire ballet of Petruska on DVD on Monday and enthusing about it!

6.  For today: I went on a course about Artsmark, which ended up being a bit pointless, but I went with my colleague who I haven't chatted to much before and it was lovely getting to know her. She's only a year older than me, so this was great!

7.  You lovely, lovely, supportive, sweet, kind and thoughtful people who brighten my day every day with your wise words, encouraging words, complimentary words or empathetic words. You know you are great!

8.  A forgiving husband when I am a mardy cow!

9.  A wonderful return to swing dance classes last night- a great teacher, fun times, and getting to finally dance with the COOL teacher who we met 1.5 years ago. He's a dude!

10.  The fact that there are only 2 weeks until half term

The story of a coat, some trousers, a hat and what lies beneath...

I used to be really regular with joining in with my lovely blog friends The Two Birds' Inspiration Monday. Increasingly, I've somehow just got to Monday and not managed it, not managed to find something appropriate so I thought I'd really try to make a concerted effort to join in when I can, even if the relationship between the inspiration and myself is rather nebulous.

Today, Emma Stone wears a textured woolly coat with generously long but thin scarf (obscuring what top is beneath), jeans and shiny ankle boots.

As you can see, what I wear is er, slightly different but:
Woolly, textured coat: longer and different colour, no zip, but yes.
Thin and long scarf: yes, though wrong colour (thank you for the gift Sophie!)
Shiny ankle boots: wrong colour but yes (thrifted)
Skinny jeans: NO! But shinyish trousers in a shade blue ish.

I'd like to tell you the story of this coat.  It was given to me by my friend E, who we went to stay with in Petworth, Sussex.  It comes from Jaeger and she bought it with her first paycheck in the 1960's  after working in London for a month. She spent her entire month's wages on it,but she felt beautiful and grand in it.  It held her in good stead for many years and she loved it, particularly when times were hard and she couldn't possibly afford anything like it. It has remained in her cupboards ever since.  Unfortunately, her daughter is the wrong size for the coat, so when I went there, she got it out to show me and asked me to try it on and then asked me if I'd like it as it didn't fit her now and it seemed a shame to just be hanging in the cupboard.  What a privilege, I thought, to be the custodian of an item that was so precious to a 20-something E, to look after and wear something with such memories. It is missing a button and another is hanging off, the lining in one sleeve is ripped but it is otherwise a beautiful, warm, well-made coat which I am honoured to have been asked to rehome.


The story of the trousers is a little sadder.I bought these in the ASOS sale. They are, as you might see,rather short for my long legs. Alas, I was trying them on and ended up getting involved with the washing up and emptying of bin as CBC was having a bit of a kitchen crisis trying to cook risotto and empty the bin, whilst  I wearing them in the trying on stage. I wrestled the stubborn bin and binbag out into the garden to vanquish all binnish rebellion. Unfortunately, just as I had pulled the stubborn beastie from its bin hideout, the bin bag, rather like a sword-pierced knight, leaked onto them. So they are staying.

The hat was knitted by a friend. She began her late-life knitting career by making blankets for African orphanages.  She then branched out into hats.  She couldn't follow a pattern, just did her own thing.  She knitted CBC and I 2 hats each one Christmas.  Don't think this one has featured on the blog before but its little sister did - yep, she knitted me two- identical, except that this has a longer crown to it, whereas the other has a more skullcap feel to it! 

Oh and what you don't know is....


I'm wearing my Christmas jumper under the scarf!!!!!!!!!!!

xxx

P.S: Thanks for the recent, kind comments and fun participation in What is it?
I hope I have managed to visit everyone who has commented whose blog has a comment system I can use with my settings (Lily, your Disqus does not allow guests- please can you change the settings to allow them!) Lizzie, I LOVED your tartan coat- so nice!! And I really enjoyed your photo a day!

Sorry to the follower I somehow offended who has swanned off elsewhere! Come back, I'll behave!