David thinks his silver hat is dashing. He dyed it with 'graffiti' paint from an art shop. The moral is, if you can't buy it, dye it.
I am wearing my new cape blazer. My cape blazers win admiring comments.
However, I don't think my hat is the right colour. It matches another jacket perfectly, but not this one. Too many colours. Luckily, my friends always say nice things. My enemies keep quiet. I don't need to be told what's wrong. I can see for myself.
Here is the cape blazer which matches the hat.
I was looking at the clothes at the Oscars and the music awards and on the catwalks. I always think, could I wear that? Where could I wear that?
Many of this season's clothes have the lace see-through look, elegant and sexy. People wear amazing clothes on the train and when going out at night.
Problem
When packing, you should not take a random selection of clothes, separates in odd colours and patterns thrown in because you like them. You need plain black or blue or brown skirts or trousers to match all the tops and not clash. You need something for a smart party and photos.
Answers
HAIR COLOUR, COMPLEXION & EYES
The yellow of the scarf matches my hair, the blue accentuates my eyes and the red or orange picks up my lipstick. Photo of and by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
CLOTHES REHEARSAL
Dress up in your best clothes a week or two before a trip and take a photo. If all matches, pack those clothes.
Check your clothes co-ordinate with any cardigan, jacket or coat.
Find suitable shoes for all occasions, day and evening.
Have a basic colour scheme which matches your best or most distinctive feature, your eyes, hair colour, skin colour.
I like warm colours, pink, orange, red. Some people call them summer colours. They are also the colours of the tropics.
HATS OFF TO THOSE WHO WEAR HATS
Where did you get that hat?
The queen must get hats made to co-ordinate with outfits.
The queen has a hat to match her coats. The gloves are also matching. The buttons are matching. So is the scarf or collar. Photo of and by Angela Lansbury at Heathrow Airport shop, in London, England, UK. Ten out of ten to Her Majesty. The bag matches the shoes.
HAIR CHECKLIST
Check your hair
Does it need a cut? Maybe cut the fringe to show your eyes. If it is long, perhaps buy a clip to keep it out of the way.
Still not happy? Find a hat to cover the roots or bald patch. Dye the roots. Or just a wash?
Greasy hair is improved by a wash with shampoo. A fly away jungle can be settled down by using conditioner.
You could dye your hair, green, pink or turquoise to get attention, and co-ordinate with your clothes.
This is my friend Francesca. She has hair and dress and cardigan beautifully co-ordinated. By luck, she has a lanyard from the conference to match. (The dress with three colours, of pink, turquoise and black had three chances of achieving a match. I saw the chair matched as well and had to take this lovely photo of her.
If you hire an outfit you can also get a matching hat.
The hat and matching gloves as well as the Forties dress come from the dress hire shop, Jolly Jesters, in Swanwick, Ingrid is wearing her own matching set of jewellery, bracelet, ear-rings and necklace bought from the Writers Summer School at Hayes Conference Centre, whose member of staff makes the jewellery. Perfect Jewellery. Perfect hat. Well done, Ingrid. Ten out of ten for style.
Pack a comb in your pocket. Remember where to find your comb.
HOW TO HIDE FAULTS
Hide fat ankles and legs under long skirts, long trousers, thick dark socks, or leggings or trousers or a caftan.
Hide a craggy neck under polo necks and Mandarin collars and scarves.
To look taller, wear one colour outfits: sarees, caftans, uniforms, national costumes, mother of the bride outfits, party shop outfits.
HOW TO LOOK CO-ORDINATED
One basic colour scheme - mostly black for winter, mostly white for summer, plus one colour.
Here's a blouse I like from LilGal. The combination of black and white will work with either black or white trousers or skirts and jackets, and tie the two colours together.
Avoid having patterned half outfits.
Buy complete outfits, such as jackets, tops and dresses with scarves. Buy a scarf, hats and gloves in a set.
I have ordered a pink and white blouse from Liligal. I would have liked it in black and white, which will go with more outfits. However, I have lots of black and white. The pink is more distinctive.
COLOURS
Stick to black leather or black imitation leather for winter and your shoes will go with everything.
Stick to all silver or all gold jewellery. Or a rainbow effect which goes with more than one outfit.
When buying clothes online, hold other items against the screen. I was looking at a pink or black blouse in the same design. The pink blouse would not go with my salmon pink jacket. However, it went with a wine colour jacket.
How about clothes which won't fit. Nothing worse than doing away and finding the tight sleeves of your jacket or coat will not go over your billowing blouse or shirt. Or the blouse hangs below the jacket.
Also, if you are inclined to stoop forwards, get yourself photographed from the side or back view. Does your blouse or shirt hang down and show under your jacket at the back?
Don't complain about photos which make you look dreadful. It's not the fault of the photographer, the photographer is doing you a favour. Now you know what to fix in order to look good, or at least a bit better.
Your friends will like you whatever you wear and say nice things. In order not to look bizarre and peculiar, you need to be well-groomed when wearing unusual clothes. Aim to arrive early and go the the restroom or pass a mirror and check your appearance.
Check after you have checked in your outdoor clothes. If you have worn a hat or hood, your hair may be ruffled. Ask a friend how you look. If nobody else is with you, ask a stranger, a well-dressed stranger.
Vintage
If you are still dressed in the fashion of ten or twenty years ago, get everybody else to do the same. Suggest, or organize a party in the style of the Forties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties.
If you have one wonderful multi-colour outfit, such as a fancy jacket or short or scarf, have a range of other clothes in plain colours to co-ordinate with two or three of the colours in the pattern.
Look for one garment in the latest fashion.
When you are all dressed up for a special event and looking your best, get lots of photos.
Here's my hat picture. The hat frames my face.
Order In Time
If you are going on holiday, make sure your swimsuit or pickpocket-proof clothing will arrive in time. Amazon and other companies may offer an overnight service at a premium.
Ski Wear For Warmth And Warm Colours
Can't find anything both warm and colourful in winter? Try skiwear. One winter I was planning talking a walking tour around London. I took a short walk to a local supermarket to get sandwiches and came back feeling frozen. None of my winter wear was warm enough.
I stood wondering how I had managed in the USA at ski resorts with snow higher than my ankles and icicles hanging from the rooftops. The answer was that even when I wasn't on the ski slopes, I was walking around in my ski jacket. I had had padded gloves, warm co-ordinated trousers and matching ear-covering hood.
So I wore my ski outfit on the walking tour. I thought: I'm the only one in ski wear. They must all think I'm nuts. However, at the end of the tour an American lady turned to me, smiling enviously and said, "We're freezing cold. You've got the best warm weather clothes!"
Alterntive
Maybe cutting a dash really doesn't suit you, yet. Makes you feel, 'okay for them, but I'd rather hide on holiday!' If so, go for muted colours, sportwear shops. Just stay co-ordinated.
Shopping
Try to buy items together, in the same shop or at least on the same shopping trip. Look for the same colours. Check the fabric on the label.
CAPES
You may need to hunt around to find the latest technical term for an item you like. I saw a wonderful cape top outfit on a lady on the plane going to Madeira. I asked her where she bought it and she told me it was from Mango.
Here is Sherlock Holmes in his cape and deerstalker hat. Many other people have worn capes or deerstalker hats, but this particular combination makes him distinctive, especially when you add in the third element, the pipe.
I bought one in the sale at Mango. It was expensive even after the discount. So I looked online for something cheaper. My search for jackets took me through thousands of items nothing like what I wanted. It took me over a week to track down the item and the magic word combination 'cape blazer'.
Several of the items shown online were creased, even when brand new and on the hanger. When I ordered a much cheaper item, it arrived creased. I hung it up. A bit better, but not that smooth just bought look.
COLOURS
Rainbow colours are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. What about pink?
A distinctive pink shirt with Mandarin collar. Many members of Toastmasters Club of Singapore, which meets the first three Monday of the month at the Sheraton Towers Hotel, wear smart shirts which are made to order by local tailors.
If in doubt, add a dog. You'll get everybody stopping to talk to you.
Some magic words which I use for the clothes which I search for - you must compile your own list:
almost new
as new
bias cut
bundle
caftan
cape
cape blazer
colour block dress
convertible (from trousers / (called pants in USA) to shorts)
cruise / cocktails (American for elegant evening clothes)
cut out / devore / lace / lacey / see through
elastic / elastane / large / stretch / stretchy / will fit size ...
free
free postage
fully lined
godet (triangular pieces in skirt)
Kimono
lace
leather
lined
lining
long / long skirt / calf length / maxi
matching
matching scarf
matching hat
matching jacket
matching bag
matching belt
mother of the bride
mother of the bride / matching hat / matching jacket
Mother And Sugar (I presume it's Marks and Spencer but the discount house is not allowed to say so. They have had to remove labels and are selling seconds or overstocks or last season's outfits cheap but can't say so to prevent you returning discount goods and claiming full price.)
new with tags
new without tags
one size fits all
other colours available
patchwork
2 piece outfit
3 piece set
Princess (mainly for little girls)
reversible
sale / discount / bargain / outlet / make offer / lowest price / free postage / reduced
silk
silk lining
Size / English Size
skater skirt - makes a disc when laid out flat, so it rises when a skater spins around fast
skirt suit
suit and matching
stunning / amazing / sexy (but this brings up skimpy underwear)
suit and matching
velcro / hook and close
This is the scarf I did not buy and should have bought. It was approaching £100. I thought, I am not paying that for a scarf. I look terrific in it. I would have worn it every day for a year. I went to a style course when the teacher told us that you divide the cost of a garment by the number of times you wear it (and look and feel fabulous). If you pay £100 and wear it 100 times that is £1 per wearing. If it cost £10 and you wear it once, the cost is £10 per wearing. If you never wear it, no gain at all.
So, please buy fabulous clothes. Cut a dash, feel good and look good. Let the world enjoy looking at you.
Some gorgeous outfits:
www.mango.com (shops in several countries)
shopmango.com (Like Amazon, this website asks where you are. You might wish to shop in the country where you are right now, if on holiday, or as if from your home country if you want clothes to be shipped there for when you get home.)
liligal.com
https://www.newchic.com/socofy-womens-sandals
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoes-socofy-Bags
sports.direct
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
