Copy Cat Three: Isabella Oliver

Today's inspiration is this lovely picture of designer Sara Berman wearing Isabella Oliver's Multi Drape Dress.
As you can see this week I have been fascinated by clothes that can be worn many different ways and the lovely Lucy at Isabella Oliver sent me this sample to review.
I have had great fun playing around with the dress and it has already earned its place in my limited holiday wardrobe for Barcelona.
If you hurry you can get this dress for 70% off here.

Copy Cat Day Two: Weardrobe

I was inspired to try and copy this look with my own American Apparel Circle Scarf.
Apologies for the quality of the pictures (and my hair) as I tried them out quickly in between dodging the rain and collecting my children.

Copy Cat Week

This week I am taking inspiration from all you style bloggers out there.
In other words - I'm being a copycat - although they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
First off it's Kasmira.
I decided to start with Kasmira as there wouldn't be a blog without her.
I set one up after becoming fascinated by the idea of blogging what you wear.
Here is the vest or waistcoat over a sleeveless top.
This is a bit confusing as in the UK a vest is a sleeveless top.
Anyway - the vest or top I chose was the one from Isabella Oliver.
It started off white but as I mixed the wash and turned it a grey I dyed it.
The top comes with a detachable hood/scarf which means you can wear it as a shrug if the weather cools down.

Car Boot Chic

So where was I at 5.50am yesterday morning?
Unpacking a car in the middle of a field 10 miles from home.
And why?
"Because you promised," said my 9-year-old son.
And somewhere in the deepest depths of winter I recall saying that I would take my son to a car boot sale so he could raise some cash.
"When the weather is better," I promised.
So here we were accompanied by my 12-year-old daughter who didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to raise a bit of extra cash too.
The pair of them had spent the past two days "helping" Grandad clear the loft!
I decided to take along some of the clothes from my workthatwardrobe charity sale and some books that I had read.
I had only ever been to one car boot sale before - and that was as a buyer.
Our pitch was next to a lovely old lady who helped us sort ourselves out.
She told me that since her husband died she did a car boot sale every weekend and the money she makes keeps the car on the road.
I had no idea what to wear.
Although it was dry it was still quite cold at 5.30am when we left home so I opted for jeans, s carf and a hoodie with my Isabella Oliver vest underneath.
We had made most of our sales by 10am and met lots of lovely characters.
My children loved bartering and playing shop.
Although the credit crunch means not much made more than £2.00.
By 12pm I was ready to go but we were surprised by my husband who turned up on his bike and helped us pack up.
After taking out the pitch fee of £9.00 my children had made £20 each and I had made £38 - which will go towards the charity I am supporting.
If you haven't tried a car boot sale I urge you to give it a go.
It was great fun and made me appreciate my lie-in so much more this morning!

Gran Torino

I watched Gran Torino starring Clint Eastwood last night.
And what a movie.
If you haven't seen it, then you should.
It's a fabulous story.
Screenwriter Nick Schenk learned about the Hmong people while working in a factory in Minnesota.
He discovered how they had sided with the South Vietnamese forces and its U.S. allies during the Vietnam War, only to end up in refugee camps, at the mercy of northern Communist forces, when American troops pulled out.
Years later, he was deciding how to develop a story involving a widowed Korean War veteran trying to handle the changes in his community when he decided to place a Hmong family next door and create a culture clash.
He and Dave Johannson, Schenk's brother's roommate, created an outline for the story.
Some industry insiders told Schenk that he could not produce a film starring elderly characters as it could not be sold.
Enter the pale rider, aka Clint Eastwood.
Clint made Schenk's day when he agreed to produce and direct the film.
As the film ends the Gran Torino is being driven along a coastal highway with the song (written by Clint) and sung by Jamie Cullum plays.
This morning I googled the lyrics which, I think, sums up the title of my blog.

"Your world
Is nothing more
Than all
The tiny things
You've left
Behind."

Here's one of the tiny things that make life worthwhile - a fabulous flirty skirt.

Buy Buy Buy!

The most oft-asked question during my year-long wardrobe spending freeze was: "Will you go mad when it's over."
Honestly, I hadn't intended to.
But.......
My son had asked me to visit our local town to buy some sporting goods.
Unfortunately, the shop had closed down.
But I had paid 60p to park for an hour and didn't want to waste the money.
As I passed Clarks I noticed there was a sale on.
And next door was Principles with a massive 70% sale on.
And yes, I bought.
Here is the evidence.
In my defence I would like to say these are investments.
1. A pink dress that fitted perfectly and I will wear it for Seth's christening and Christmas Day (with black tights). It is silk and was reduced from £99.00 to £20.00.
2. This flirty striped skirt will be a favourite. Marked down from £35.00 to £15.00.
3. These patent leather shoes from Clarks in my favourite winter colour will be worn to death and with a £20.00 reduction how could I resist?
4. This matching patent leather purple purse will be used every day and reduced from £24.99 to £7.49 what's not to like?
I rest my case!

Red Letter Day

This white vest didn't stay white for very long.
My own fault - I mixed a load of washing!
It was an expensive vest and I saw red.
Literally.
The vest comes with a detachable hooded scarf so I bought a pack of tulip red dye and crossed my fingers.
I also threw in my old beige mac.
I am pretty pleased with the results.
I spent so much time working on my wardrobe I forgot to plan today's workshop for the prison.
I had no idea what I was going to do.
I woke at 5am and looked in my cupboard for inspiration.
I noticed a bundle of letters my grandmother sent me when she went away to university.
There were so many questions I would have liked to ask her if she'd still been alive.
And that's when inspiration struck.
I devised a workshop asking the prisoners to think of a person they no longer see but still have questions for.
We spent several hours talking about the people on the periphery of our lives who still made an impact.
I tasked them to write a letter to that person and then we took the questions we had thought of and turned them into a piece of dialogue with the men imagining what the answers could be.
It was a fascinating voyage of discovery for us all.
Who was on the periphery of your early life but made a lasting imprint?

Vest: Isabella Oliver
Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Clarks

The Start Of A New Journey

I would like to thank the hundreds of bloggers who have followed me on my workthatwardrobe journey.
Your support and encouragement have enabled me to complete a long and sometimes difficult journey that I wouldn't have achieved without your help.
And here's where my new journey begins.
I aim to blog every weekday about the things matter most to me - the small fabric of my life.