Sunday 3 January 2021

Handbags and Gladrags

 

In a past life I would have chosen the word gladrags* to describe something to wear for an occasion.

In a post-Covid world, I view every day as an occasion.

When I first started blogging with workthatwardrobe in 2008 I was a busy mum with four youngish children and I had got into a rut of wearing school run clothes. 

I decided that for a year I wouldn't buy anything new and shop my wardrobe - a movement that is enjoying a resurgence on instagram and according to the Sunday Times today with Greta too!

It made me excited to get up and gave me permission to make mistakes - and there were many!

After stopping regular blogging around 2013/14 and re-training as a yoga teacher I spent most days in leggings and sportswear. 

I missed dressing up and thanks to Covid I had time to explore things that brought me joy such as writing and dressing up.

This dress has always made me feel glad.


It's about 6 years old and I wore it to work, with leggings when I taught yoga and a few years ago for a Christmas Eve party.

Today I wore it because I associate makes me feel glad.

And today was a day to feel glad.

I wore it with leggings so I could snatch a quick yoga session when time allowed.

And I styled it with the red scarf and hat set I got from the chazza before Christmas when I went shopping.

Yes, shopping is an occasion now.


It was the first Saturday of the New Year and a time to start shedding the Christmas layers and look forward to what 2021 offers.

After shopping I nipped into a local charity shop and found this navy leather bag.



It was just what I was looking for.

On closer inspection I noticed a familiar name, Chloe.

I thought it may be fake but it felt leather and had been worn in nicely for me.

I bought it and came home to see if it was real.

A few authenticity checks made me think it probably is real but maybe not.

The padlock was broken but it was too heavy anyway.


If its real, great. If it's not, great.



The charity shop is £12.95 richer and I have a great bung it all in bag in navy leather.

So the first Saturday of January was definitely a day for handbags and gladrags.




Happy New Year from me and Frankie.

*The word gladrags first appeared in print in 1896 along with birdsong, luminesce and tsunami!

Today I wore:
Boots - M & S
Leggings - Fabletics
Dress - Miss Selfridge
Coat - Tesco
Big Coat - Trespass
Hat and scarf - Calvin Klein from charity shop




10 comments:

  1. You look beautiful in this dress and I like how you layered it!
    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

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  2. You and Frankie look wonderful! I love your cosy coat and the red dress is such a good colour on you.
    I'm always sceptical about designer labels in chazzas especially in working class towns like ours where it's more likely a fake bought on holiday in Turkey or Thailand but the other day I bought a Victoria Beckham navy leather bag for £3 which retailed at £1,200 (I only bought it for the colour, I didn't have my glasses on and thought it was River Island!) xxx

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    Replies
    1. I agree when I was in Turkey in 2019 it was very hard to tell the difference as the bags were so good.
      X

      Delete
  3. Life is short - wear the clothes! I love the dress, and love that you've made it practical for your day by adding leggings.

    I'm skeptical like Vix - the font in the logo looks right, but you'd really have to turn it inside out and do your research to know if it was real. I have a gorgeous Louis Vuitton silk scarf that I thought was authentic until I realized that the O was the wrong shape! It's really tiny details like that!

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  4. My sons have a pre-loved designer business and they offered some authenticity tips but they couldn't give me a definitive answer as they don't work in vintage and they considered this 2005 bag vintage!

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  5. Hello Jane & Frankie! How interesting to find out the word ‘Gladrags’ has been around since 1896. ‘Capsule wardrobes’ seem to be in vogue now & being ‘sustainable’ is what many of us have just always called ‘being thrifty’! One of the many benefits of me working from home… I have never worn so many long skirts (previously I couldn’t as I was always crawling around in mucky cable shafts and up and down ladders!).

    Love the red wellies, dress and hat combo and great idea wearing a favourite dress teamed with leggings. What a Chazza find. I like to give questionable bags a good sniff with my large inherited nose, to check if it is leather or not. Labels, I know nothing about! Lulu xXx

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Lulu - yes it passed the sniff test but its perfect for throwing stuff and had nice thick handles which are my priorities!

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  6. Love your red dress and I definitely agree that writing and dressing up can be so joyous!

    I have no idea about the Chloe bag. I'm not very good with designers. X

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