A Bale of Tee Shirts

I'm anticipating shoes today, a delivery of Tees tomorrow.

The tees were such a bargain at Appleseeds.

There are short, long, and three quarter sleeves in red shades: Red, Fuchsia, Sunset Coral, Ruby, and a Peach color tank.

Blues are represented by Dutch Blue, Sapphire, Deep Turquoise, Malachite and Platinum.

Some colors are duplicated in different sleeve lengths.


Now to discard old tees with holes and spots and stretched out areas caused by spandex giving up its snap.

One of my new rules is to order all cotton where possible. I broke that rule recently ordering a white tee with Modal in its mix. I can see it may be a pajama top soon rather than paying return postage.

About Purses

A fun little quiz turned up on Facebook, titled "What Does Your Purse Say about You?"

One of the questions was, 'Have you ever borrowed a purse?' Of course not.  The next question was, 'Have you ever loaned a purse to a friend?'

Yes I have. She was a former neighbor who had to make an appearance in court. Our mutual friend next door asked for her if I would lend a proper handbag for going to court. I loaned her a bone color plain leather clutch, not too big, not too small. I still think of her every time I see it in the closet.

My favorite purse is vintage Etienne Aigner, classic tan leather with a strap. Do you remember when Etienne Aigner stopped making leather shoes and bags? It was a while ago that I bought this handbag.  It will probably outlast me.

I learned from Kelly at Alterations Needed about using neutrals as a pop of color. This camel color purse pops with all those greys and blacks I enjoy wearing during the winter.

My second fav is crocheted, a summer purse. It is in semi-retirement while I look for a replacement that suits as well, maybe one by The Sak.

I denied that I'd ever bought a knock-off. I forgot about the cheap Chanel-style purse with the chain strap. Even with tassels back in style, I still dislike it probably because it's faux leather. Plastic.

You can see a Real Chanel Purse here and one for half the price of that one: Classic Tassel Bag by YSL. Of course they have no idea I linked to these and I get nothing for doing so.


According to the quiz, my purses say I'm all bid'ness, pretty much my feeling about handbags. They are a necessity for carrying essentials, some ID and a bit of cash.

Sometimes you don't need a purse, you need a tote. This is my favorite tote, made of sturdy canvas that stands alone and has pockets around the sides and ends from narrowest pouches that would hold only a pen to double pockets on the end. It's actually a Rigger's Bag from an import store that features tools of all kinds.The other items are my striped sun hat from my neighbor and the butterfly umbrella that was a gift from my daughter-in-law. With all these, I'd be prepared for anything.

One thing leads to another. I need to show more tote bags, among which a fav is a tote bag made from a pair of discarded jeans. Double seams along the leg form handles, the rest of the legs make the body of the tote and back pockets are reused on the outside. I even picked off the little watch pocket from one pair to sew on. Next time.

Recipes for Ageless Style

Jodie of Jodie's Touch of Style talks about recipes for dressing in a more dressy manner. I usually start with a dress and add to the basic style.

On the other hand, my 'recipes' are for choosing garments that are stylish, will last and have a comfort factor before I get to the point of choosing what to wear to Church.

I happened on this dress at Saks Fifth Avenue. It's a plus size, which is not quite where I am. Yet. On the other hand, if I look at plus sizes, I can see how someone short like me will sort of look and fit in one of the larger petite sizes. Proportions are similar, there's just no long leg from knee to ankle.

This is a lined silk dress. I do not aspire to silk, nor to pay several hundred dollars for a dress.

What I looked at was the vertical lines of piping at seams. Then I searched palm prints to see if this was a trend this summer, which it is. 

Here's the dress I found at Norm Thompson: Palm Print Dress in cotton.

   The original price was $119.99. Patience paid when it was reduced to a fraction of that price.

It differs from the Saks dress in that there is a vertical line of piping center front and a horizontal line of piping near the hem that breaks up the big print. The dress  is lined.

I tried a beige elbow-sleeve tee to give it sleeves. I didn't like it. A brown 3/4 length sleeve might work but I haven't one.

I tried it with a long duster-type cardigan from Macy's JM Collection in cotton, nylon and rayon that I bought earlier in the spring. The look is okay but a long wrap is a little warm for our Southern summer. May be perfect for fall.

 The khaki shrug I ordered ran big. I could have worn a size smaller. Washing and drying did not shrink the sweater despite it being cotton.

The description mentioned khaki piping with cream and khaki in the print. I can find no cream, everything in the print has a grey tinge rather than the yellow of cream. The background is white. The fabric is cotton with spandex, washable. Cotton works much better than polyester in our climate.

When I wore the dress to church, He-Who-Mows and I agreed a white cotton poplin jacket looked better than anything I'd tried. I didn't set up a camera to capture that look. Even better may be a short-sleeved white cotton sweater. I do like plain 'third pieces.'

I haven't tried black at all with this dress. It may be yet another color to use this fall. We're far south enough for a palm print to work until really cold weather.

My Recipe for choosing clothing is to find the nicest garments that flatter an old lady and then try to find similar looks in appropriate fabric, size and price.

Later entry: Fall came. Wore this dress one more time with nude heels and a black Jean jacket. Best look yet.