In case you wondered where I've been ...

I was in Thailand, wearing all five pieces from the August Wardrobe in a Week competition. I added a chocolate brown silk jersey top I bought at the op shop for $3 and an orange a-line inverted pleat skirt I made from a scrap leftover from something else I made years ago. I slipped in three cardigans, one orange and one brown short sleeve cropped cardis that are perfect for slipping over things when the airconditioning is too cold, one long sleeved brown one for the plane because I am always cold on planes and a bikini, also orange and brown.

These small capsules are perfect for travel and I highly recommend this kind of wardrobe planning to anyone who has a trip coming up. It would be simple to extend this collection for a cooler climate and the wardrobe I sewed this past winter already works in the same way if I take a winter holiday.

As luck would have it, a few days before I was to leave I forgot to take shoes to work. I train every morning at 6am and usually shove my work clothes and shoes in a bag, but this day I just plain forget to add footwear, so I was left with nothing to put on my feet. So I bought some shoes. These wedges co-ordinate with everything I packed and were very comfortable. As it is currently wet season in Thailand, these shoes kept me out of any puddles I encountered and were comfortable to walk in all day. I took a pair of gold and brown heels and some brown flat sandals for the beach.

Before we left, DH decided he wanted a suave pool shirt, something reminiscent of the 60's. He quoted the pool scene from The Graduate as his inspiration. I knew what to do. The pattern is BWOF 04-2008-132. The fabric is ecru linen that I bought a while ago to make DH a shirt, but never got around to.

The trim is a strip of black bias tape and a length of ribbon with a fine black stripe, about four fine caramel coloured stripes and a few white stripes. This is the the first hidden placket I've sewn and I was surprised at how easy it was. Obvously, this looks better on a bloke than on Vera. It goes perfectly with some little swim trunks he bought himself and a cute little pork pie hat.

A parting shot ... these are the shoes I bought to go with the silk tweed dress and jacket. I just might have to go downstairs and finsih the jacket now!