tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post5486431318856095379..comments2023-10-11T04:09:53.564-07:00Comments on materfamilias writes: Sensible -- and Somehow Luxurious -- Dressing for the Holidaysmaterfamiliashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-50096345154140482882016-12-29T09:09:09.017-08:002016-12-29T09:09:09.017-08:00I was always too short-waisted to ever feel great ...I was always too short-waisted to ever feel great about the white shirt, although I hadn't that level of analysis during those years, just a gentle and constant discontent at the mirror. But for those whose proportions are right, I think that combo of navy sweater/white shirt is very polished.. Of course, your pencil skirt, white blouse, and granny boots give that polish a very adult edge, well done! (chuckling at the notion of Laura Ashley and leather -- wouldn't she be rolling over in some Welsh grave!). I might wear my leather skirt with granny boots too; sadly, they won't be from Le Chateau. . . .;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-4236648326271242862016-12-29T09:04:44.397-08:002016-12-29T09:04:44.397-08:00Good luck with your hunt. This one took me a while...Good luck with your hunt. This one took me a while, but I'm very pleased with it -- and as with you, it was the compromise faux leather one (Zara) that showed me how very practical it could be (but similarly stopped being at its prime with wear)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-26223205092878338392016-12-29T09:03:38.997-08:002016-12-29T09:03:38.997-08:00Yes! That's the uniform I had for a year as we...Yes! That's the uniform I had for a year as well, although our tie was just red (and learning to tie it daily means I could help my son with his as well as Pater ould) Before that, 7 years of the same but with a (clip-on, thank goodness) navy bow tie. <br />Much else in your comment I enjoyed reading (and related to -- why we thought we were bigger than we were, similarly convinced my decent legs might compensate). . . .but Purple knee high boots! What a brilliant gift -- some giver is feeling very pleased with (Him?)self. <br />And I agree about leather being more urban -- I did occasionally wear leather skirt, even pants, in my former life (much smaller city -- properly a town to my mind, and a large portion very suburban) -- and always felt a bit too remarkable in it<br />materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-63734592734846276212016-12-29T08:57:27.633-08:002016-12-29T08:57:27.633-08:00You and Marie, above, need to have a discussion ;-...You and Marie, above, need to have a discussion ;-)<br />It's so kind of you to remark on the work I put in the blog. It does take energy and time, but readers like yourself are the reward. Thank you!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-503178335483039732016-12-29T08:55:59.320-08:002016-12-29T08:55:59.320-08:00Well, if you have to have a uniform, that's a ...Well, if you have to have a uniform, that's a pretty awesome one, no? <br />Every time a commenter says I look "chic" or "elegant," I admit to looking around for the real recipient. . . and then beaming to myself when I get the compliment. Thank you!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-80167125356324426822016-12-29T08:54:38.990-08:002016-12-29T08:54:38.990-08:00I hate that your comment disappeared! They're ...I hate that your comment disappeared! They're always so welcome. Thanks for persevering and for the compliment. Hope you're revelling in your time off!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-12824735105694445602016-12-29T08:53:53.279-08:002016-12-29T08:53:53.279-08:00Wondering if what you call a jumper is the UK vers...Wondering if what you call a jumper is the UK version (a pullover, I believe) or the North American? I wore a jumper as well, or a tunic as we also called it, for my elementary school uniform -- fine navy wool serge, my poor mother! <br />As for the question of whether uniforms allow or squelch imagination, that's a big one, isn't it? But from what I've gleaned about you over our correspondence here over the years, it appears you might focus your imagination elsewhere. Which some might see as a plus ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-64858818915012110942016-12-29T08:49:17.720-08:002016-12-29T08:49:17.720-08:00It's been a transition year for me as well, Li...It's been a transition year for me as well, Linda, but disrupted or delayed by the move and the travel. I'd say I'm also much less interested clothes than before I retired, although not quite "supremely disinterested" -- and I can feel some interest returning as I figure out some of what I might be doing now. You're wise to take this time just as it is and if the jeans and cardis works for your in-between days, I'd go with that and focus, as you are, on the new mental freedoms and interests. Much more compelling, I agree...<br />There's a brand called Fat Face? Off to Google that! I like that outfit, smart but practical/comfortable as well. And I have many sisters, so it might depend for me as much which one as whether sister or friend ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-72584979186832853842016-12-28T06:48:11.272-08:002016-12-28T06:48:11.272-08:00Tres chic! I wore a uniform in boarding school for...Tres chic! I wore a uniform in boarding school for three years and loved it. Today if I wear a navy sweater and white shirt I always feel pulled together :-). And I did own a leather skirt during my first year of uni. I had just seen Catherine Deneuve in "The Hunger" and her wardrobe made an impact. So I bought a sleek black pencil skirt, a white Laura Ashley blouse(!) and a pair of granny boots from Le Chateau. I felt grown up for the first time.Miss Cavendishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17461488799928956875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-62981467451658359352016-12-27T14:51:13.002-08:002016-12-27T14:51:13.002-08:00I'm on the hunt for a black leather pencil ski...I'm on the hunt for a black leather pencil skirt! I had a faux leather one (clothes swapped with work friends) which became completely indispensable but stretched out and stopped looking good. Yours looks just perfect! <br />Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11536212906241844509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-687833486762298602016-12-25T15:02:43.579-08:002016-12-25T15:02:43.579-08:00I had a navy box pleated pinafore over a long slee...I had a navy box pleated pinafore over a long sleeved white blouse with a navy and red tie. I hated it. When I think how slender I was then I can't quite understand how it made me look like the side of a house but I honestly thought it did. I had and I think still have good legs, so I compensated by wearing the hated pinafore scandalously short. I returned to a professional uniform for twenty years or so of formal suits, both skirt suits and with trousers, white shirts and high heeled boots. I quite liked it at the time. As long as the suits were well cut and the boots elegant they seemed to hit the spot of being sufficiently like a mans suit uniform to need no thought in the wearing (just the buying) and sufficiently elegant to feel great. I'm not sure I ever achieved her level of elegance but think Christine lagarde. Now I spend most of my time in jeans and practical clothes but my uniform for being smarter and sharper is a knee length skirt, either dark blue denim or a black, brown and grey panel skirt, with a drapey top, a fall cardigan and, still, ankle boots with heels or knee high flats. I've just had a beautiful pair of purple knee high boots for Christmas! I have had both suede and leather skirts and trousers in the past. Don't have anything that I wear right now. I think I might if I lived in the city but there is a kind of sharpness I associate with leather (which I love) which would just be too much here. Maybe I should have something for the city trips that are now our favoured weekends away!Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-53189859541095732782016-12-24T00:24:06.853-08:002016-12-24T00:24:06.853-08:00There was always a school uniform but I usually fo...There was always a school uniform but I usually found small ways to express myself . I remember a yellow Mack when I was supposed to wear a navy gabardine & I rarely wore the regulation shoes . It isn't that I have a rebellious nature - I just hated to look the same as everyone else . So I don't wear 'wacky' clothes now but there's usually something a little different in the mix . Not sure it always comes off . Thankyou for all the work you put into your blog Frances & I hope you have a lovely Christmas .<br />Wendy in York<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-31317249093478391022016-12-23T17:03:40.787-08:002016-12-23T17:03:40.787-08:00I keep trying to change my work uniform and I keep...I keep trying to change my work uniform and I keep ending up in a pencil skirt, black t-shirt, and blazer. Color sometimes in the skirt or shoes or bracelets but not on top. So it's an unintended uniform. You look so chic - with all the ease that word implies- in that skirt!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01093729337644938444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-60145269725013281892016-12-23T14:01:12.498-08:002016-12-23T14:01:12.498-08:00I am a few inches taller than you are, Sue, and ev...I am a few inches taller than you are, Sue, and even at that, I debated either passing on the skirt or trying to have a few inches taken off. The latter would have changed (destroyed) the proportions of the seaming, and the former would have hurt my spirit. . . And I find that I'm fine with the added length, which makes the skirt a wee bit more street or edgy or funky or something to me.<br />Yes, those are such classic and enduring styles in proportions that tend to work, right?materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-64899280048726328342016-12-23T13:57:35.286-08:002016-12-23T13:57:35.286-08:00Thanks, K. I've been pretty careful about my s...Thanks, K. I've been pretty careful about my splurging this year, but I do think this one will be worth the credit card dent..materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-89323961644573825072016-12-23T13:56:52.780-08:002016-12-23T13:56:52.780-08:00I haven't yet tried on, never mind sprung for,...I haven't yet tried on, never mind sprung for, one of the Bompard cashmere dresses, but I do love a sweater dress, and who doesn't love cashmere?!<br />And we're practically leather skirt twins? We'll have to wear them (or maybe not! ;-) when we meet up one day soon. . . <br />Happy Holidays to you as well, and all the best of the season!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-67265212243034448772016-12-23T13:54:35.961-08:002016-12-23T13:54:35.961-08:00I didn't chafe too much, quite honestly, at th...I didn't chafe too much, quite honestly, at the uniform, although I did mind having to unroll the waistband when I failed the kneel-on-the-floor ruler test....<br />Completely agree with you re leather and the sexiness -- and that's regardless of how one looks in it; it simply FEELS sexy -- and I suspect that might translate into one's look.<br />Even here where we suffer rain more than snow and ice through the winter, I have to agree with you re footwear through winter -- especially now that I'm retired, so that changing footwear and destination is rarely a reasonable option any more. I'm trying to be pretty careful about purchasing footwear while I adjust. . . sigh . . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-220040714019208332016-12-23T13:50:58.909-08:002016-12-23T13:50:58.909-08:00Our 20s, yes, so long ago. . . I'd love to tim...Our 20s, yes, so long ago. . . I'd love to time travel just to chuckle at my wardrobe of those years...<br />That leather jacket of yours was a great buy, and a very good way to punch up a classic wardrobe. Our styles are different, of course, but there's much in common in that kind of combination.<br />Best wishes of the season to you as well, L, and I'll chuckle again as I pass your compliment on to Pater ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-12885228069947666032016-12-23T13:48:06.097-08:002016-12-23T13:48:06.097-08:00Isn't it great when you know what you like wel...Isn't it great when you know what you like well enough to pare down the travel wardrobe? <br />I'm still wearing a coat my mom bought from WearElse several years before she died in 2013 -- perhaps the same vintage as your skirt!<br />Sounds as you like mixing up the dressy with the practical as well (rhinestone earrings and Goretex walking shoes ;-)<br />Feliz Navidad to you!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-58830148393943444042016-12-23T13:46:01.055-08:002016-12-23T13:46:01.055-08:00Thanks, Lorrie -- Funny that we both find a knee-l...Thanks, Lorrie -- Funny that we both find a knee-length-ish skirt a comfortable, polished staple -- so many women find skirts uncomfortable or impractical, but I think I like them as well as pants, perhaps even more (although, yes, I do live in my jeans).<br />And I knew what you meant re the view, thanks! Wishing you and yours a Happy and Peaceful Christmas.materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-62104908810106567372016-12-23T13:42:23.050-08:002016-12-23T13:42:23.050-08:00I'm so pleased to read this, Coco, and yes, I ...I'm so pleased to read this, Coco, and yes, I will! materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-33095952760461474942016-12-23T12:54:20.462-08:002016-12-23T12:54:20.462-08:00My first comment disappeared in the depths of the ...My first comment disappeared in the depths of the net and I can't write it all over again. So this is just to say that you are very elegant, your skirt is perfect! I sincerely hope that you feel as well as you look. Happy holidays!Eleonorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-74179174027644066712016-12-23T09:25:04.204-08:002016-12-23T09:25:04.204-08:00I love the new skirt, and the outfits you put toge...I love the new skirt, and the outfits you put together, and the new background for your photos! I wore a uniform from 1st grade to 12th, first a navy jumper and navy beanie with the school emblem, and a white blouse; then a navy/green plaid jumper; then in HS a blue blazer and skirt, 6 large box pleats, we used to roll the skirts at the waist, white blouse, saddle shoes. It's funny that you asked the question, because I have worn a "uniform" all my life. I believe that because I wore uniforms during my formative years, I never learned to to dress in an interesting way. In college, jeans and sweatshirts. In grad school, jeans and sweaters. When I started working, I had 3 pairs of grey wool pants, and I wore them with several high-quality wool sweaters with collars that my MIL used to send me from England. These days, for casual wear I am in LLBean canvas pants, which I have in 3 colors, cotton turtlenecks and black cardigans in the winter, cotton boatneck 3/4-sleeve knit tops in the summers. At work, I have several black skirts, several black cardigans (ranging in weight from wool to linen/cotton but all similar styles - no buttons, straight to hips), and the same knit tops or turtlenecks. No imagination.Marienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-4099386722041536152016-12-23T08:41:02.015-08:002016-12-23T08:41:02.015-08:00Sounds like absolutely the best gift, and bringing...Sounds like absolutely the best gift, and bringing pleasure to the giver as well knowing how it is exactly what was wished for.<br /><br />This is a transition year for me as I'm at home studying following early retirement. My previous working wardrobe has been untouched all autumn, as day to day I have reached for jeans and a rota of 3 or 4 cardigans/jerseys. I am not in a hurry to move on to a new style, just taking my time and waiting to see what emerges. And I find I'm supremely disinterested in clothes at the moment as new mental freedoms and interests emerge. At the start of summer I will move out to charity shops all the items that haven't made it out of the wardrobe all winter - and I expect there to be a lot. It will be something to look forward to!<br />I have worn uniform several times - at my state (public) school (navy skirt, white blouse, navy, red and silver tie, and navy blazer with school crest (motto 'itur ad astra') and yes, my uniform has left me with a decided liking for navy; again when I worked as a distillery tour guide during university vacations (kilt, white blouse, green lambswool jersey with stag's head crest, green quilted jacket for chilly days); and in my first post-university job in Edinburgh city tourist office (black and white Edinburgh tartan kilt, white blouse, black jersey). I will probably end up in kilted uniform again in my hoped-for new career, and I don't mind a bit. <br />I've never had a leather skirt - in fact apart from my uniform kilts I have had very few skirts in my life. In fact thinking of my wardrobe just now I have 2 summer skirts which haven't been worn for the past 5 years, and that's the sum total. I did once have suede trousers.<br />Hmmm, iffy pavements and festive lunch? I'd probably wear black leather knee length boots with a flat rubber sole (categorically can't do heels), and a woollen dress - perhaps my Fat Face fir green one with frost swirls and folkloric motifs. Not having a sister I don't know if I would make a different choice of outfit if I was meeting a sister or a friend - would you?Lindahttp://occasionalscotland.blogspot.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-77355362088208209192016-12-23T07:02:40.907-08:002016-12-23T07:02:40.907-08:00Fabulous skirt, Frances! I'll bet you get a lo...Fabulous skirt, Frances! I'll bet you get a lot of wear from that! If I could find one like that just a wee bit shorter (I think you're a few inches taller than I)...<br /><br />I keep noticing elements of the kind of mid-century style I've always loved creeping back in, as evidenced by today's leopard coat and cigarette pants.Susan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16005855250089328310noreply@blogger.com