Dress 3 Belville Sassoon

This looks like a pretty fluid dress, but it has the underpinnings of military proportions to achieve the shape.  There is a rigid corset underneath and by some kind of couturier magic it both fits at the front and drapes at the back.  I am not sure if Belville Sassoon are still around (I bought this dress in a sample sale about 18 years ago).

I like that is looks very demure from the front and has just the right amount of transparency at the back to create some interest.  I clipped in my American dream hair as wanted mermaid hair over lunch...

 

Day two Issa Maxi....

This is probably my favourite of the maxis, I like the colour and that it is quite fitted as I tend to look pregnant in anything more voluminous.  However it is still not great from the waist down.  I have a large high bottom and it makes my hips and stomach look bigger than they are if the fabric isn't quite fitted.

 I would love to try maxis in either of these styles to see if they could give a better shape.  I have no idea what this style is called, 'butt crack gathering'? If anyone knows where I can get something similar, or how to describe this please let me know!

This is a kind of 'butt kick pleat', I like how fitted it is and then the slight flare underneath again any ideas what this style is called?

Dress one...Blumarine...big mistake

 

 I had got it into my head that I was too old for anything short, so much to my husband's chagrin, I had packed all maxi dresses (except for this one).

Clearly I have just been in the UK too long, the minute I hit French soil, I saw ladies in the 70s and up in fairly short skirts, including Ivana Trump (approaching 70) and Joan Collins (approaching 80) in bum skimming flippy little beach numbers, that made my maxis feel less elegant and more Margot from the Good Life.

I wore this day one, and looking at the pics can see what a fail it is, the dress is beautiful, Blumarine, incredible quality lace, boned and wrapped to give a really interesting shape with the goddess style, shawl top. But on me, it looks bad.  I think may be it is a little large (I didn't realise that it looked like it was actually falling off as I wore it) and the extra fabric in both skirt and top give me the look of second trimester.  This is one for Ebay/designer second hand shop, since it was pretty pricey.

 Note the skin tone, this is day one (not even an hour of sunbathing,  I had fake tanned that morning to get my week one glow!

Beach Living

For two weeks every Summer we live barefoot on Pampelonne beach.  The mornings and evenings are a Robinson Crusoe like existence where we don't see a soul. But the day times are MAD, where the entertainment comes in by boat and the theatre is non stop. For me it is the ideal mix of total serenity and intense action.  I like to think that I am a country girl, but I need to know that I am never far from the crowds, and when we visit 'true' rural isolation, I start to experience a sense of overwhelming unease that makes me want to turn and run.  These magical two weeks are the perfect combination, we can do everything from the beach, and so we literally don't wear shoes for the duration, (except for 2 minute walk in heels to go into lunch each day).
Come and have a look at our beach retreat....

 Even at 9am there is not a soul on the beach....

 The vegetation is abundant and fragrant....

 This is the gate to our rustic home....

 Follow the pathway....

 Hidden in the trees, but with the sound of the waves hitting the shore still in ear shot...

 Our tiny hidden house...

Long forgotten treasures...

Now that there is a little more organisation in my sartorial life, I can put together proper outfits from long lost treasures.  I have had these shoes for years and bought the blue dress fairly recently (also Dior).  We are spoiled with the British high street, and Zara is fab, but every now and again I pick up a garment like this and realise there will always be a place for beautifully made designer clothes.

It was all going swimmingly, matching shoes bag and dress, I was feeling smug, squeezed into the dress and then....rip....the seams didn't stand a chance against my rather sizeable buns of steel.  The needle and thread were quickly employed and unbelievably the remedial action lasted for the whole evening, including bending down to get into a low car and eating a three course meal! 

The ultimate closet progress report....

The carpenter has gone to Las Vegas for his holidays ( I'm wondering if I pay too well). So the closet is only on one wall, and rails only fitted on one side, already the mountains of clothes are looking a little more manageable and I wonder why I didn't get on top of this before.
The room has some way to go before it is 'finished', but the weather is great, so it's no problem getting changed in a garage.  It is reaping rewards already, today I actually found tennis kit, one of those things that is always packed away at the bottom of a storage box and impossible to find at short notice. I know hair is a little brassy after so much sun, my grey hair reverts back to my six year old self where it goes white blonde in the blink of an eye.

New Sports kit

Lulu Lemon has been my sportswear of choice for the last decade, I usually buy it direct from Canada  and it is a bit cheaper. I have kit from 10 years ago which is still like new. But the last lot (pictured here) has all fallen to pieces already. One of my Canadian friends told me that they have been bought by a private equity company and are going for big expansion, which makes me wonder if they are compromising on quality and focusing on profit only, but whatever it is, the product no longer justifies the hassle and I'm looking for something new.
Zaggora and their 'hot pants' have been getting a lot of coverage recently and have created quite a stir among other trainers that I chat to at the gym, but I have to confess that I would never wear any thing shorter than knee length so have not actively sought out a pair.
Whilst on the beach in St Tropez, contemplating how different some of the regulars were looking, I got a call from Zaggora asking me if I would like to try their 'hot pants', with no Internet connection, I wasn't sure exactly what they were, but when they told me that they would burn more calories and improve the tone of my skin, who would say no?
I returned home to find the package waiting, they weren't bum skimming hotpants, but regular below the knees leggings.
The idea is that you measure yourself, wear them for two weeks and then measure again.
I have been wearing them for 10 days, and already I can see a significant difference, in that they are looser and where my skin has suffered post holiday flaking over the resr of my body, it hasnt on the parts covered by the leggings.  I've missed a few days, so I am not at the end of my two week trial when I will do a proper round up with before and afters and my stats.

All the 'miracle' stuff aside, the reason for this post is simply that they are great fitness wear, they cost (a lot) less than Lulu Lemon, they are robust and help to hold the body in good position.
And without wishing to over share, two children later, I am not always great at high impact activities without a few trips to the ladies. But something about the combination of the firmness and heat seems  to help distract from the bladder.  They are also very thick, so there is none of the transparency during stretching that you normally get with cheaper sportswear.
I've already placed an order for the size smaller and the Hot Top, just because it is great sportswear, if the results are as good as they promise that is a bonus!

Cottage chores

Working in the sunshine on a perfect Summer's day is less of a chore and more of a pleasure.  The cottage is so tiny and old that it feels like tending to one of the family.  Everything is a little chaotic, stuff is everywhere, the garden is being over run by weeds and the ironing fills one room to the beams, I need to get on top of things (and make the elderflower cordial), it feels easy in the sunshine....

The Showboat Marlow

 The Showboat has only been open a few months, it already has a waiting list of 3 weeks for a table and main courses are £12 to £14 (yes that is the same price as a Beefeater!)
It is situated on the Harleyford Estate, it's difficult to explain quite what the set up is, think a really upmarket holiday camps with two bed wooden chalets from £500,000 and up and you might have an idea.
The Showboat has outside tables and caters for those demanding Berkshire ladies who know exactly what they want.
The food is really fantastic and the setting extraordinary on a Summer's day.

Roses

 Roses have been an obsession this Summer. I have found a fascinating friend who is a 5th generation rose grower. The area around the cottage has been prime rose growing territory from when they were first grown as fashionable decoration for large country houses, many have disappeared and my new found friend has been rediscovering the old varieties and back breeding to try to refind them.
I did some research at a garden centre which used to be one of the biggest roses growers in the country. Sadly it is now as pedestrian as any other Notcutts. Not long ago it used to be acre upon acre of roses and you would travel in a tractor to find your chosen rose.  It is a shame that as everything becomes the same it gets worse.
The pink rose in my garden was one of the old variety and it is looking pretty good for an old timer!