What are you wearing today? Early Spring 2023

[Purplecatshopaholic]

Hope we will keep this going. Love seeing everyone’s outfits. Yikes, just realised tagging doesn’t work in new threads? Hope I don’t mess this up..please add others…

@sooverthemill
@sickoffamilydrama
@oubliettebravo
@softpebbles
@cardigansalltheway
@niftythrifter
@toucaninjapan
@puddinandpie
@shannith
@greyhairwarmheart
@faffadoodledo

@Puddinandpie You look fantastic!
Try not to let your mother get under your skin, it's just a power play. Or if she says anything about your physical attributes breezily answer 'Yes, I blame genetics..'

@Puddinandpie I’m also sorry to hear that. Your mum should be proud she has such a colourful, stylish daughter . I look forward to your outfits because you dress with an originality and quirkiness and know what suits you. Love your up-do today too. 😍Good luck for the appointment.

@EllaPaella your outfit is super classy today!
Thank you for your lovely words, and you are absolutely right, whatever I wear she's gonna pick fault with! I get the overwhelming feeling she doesn't like me and never really has, only when it benefitted her would she be nice, I remember going to college at 16 with an enormous yellow bruised hand print on my face courtesy of my dad and having to put extra make up on to cover it, her laughing and saying I looked like I had done my make up in the dark and how my Tunic also looked very tight on me! Of all the bloody things to say!

@evtheria lol that made me laugh, thank you
@Benjispruce4 awww thank you so much😊

I think I'm just having a wobble today, reliving crap from the past in my head, I'm usually made of tougher stuff, but every now and again i go to jelly, dh spotted my mum from the word go and always says to me she's a nobody ignore the bitch, you worry when she starts saying she likes how you look🤣

@Puddinandpie
thank you so much for taking the time to post the links, I’m gonna get that pink cardi it’s just beautiful!
I read with interest about your mum, family ties are rarely straightforward, they xss as n hurt the most.
I’ve found the best thing is to be prepared and have no expectations and never ever show that I’m upset.
I relate to being brought up feeling like your worth is dependent on how you look and what you achieve being good enough. And rarely can that be achieve that for a sustained time and it’s always wobbly if we do.

Crazy shit but at least we see it, see through the craziness.
Have to break the cycle with our own children and stop being affected by the poison/memory of the poison.
I read a book years ago called ‘Pull your own strings’ and something clicked, it’s on YouTube to listen to, Dr Wayne Dyer. It’s worth a listen, I still listen to his work daily and it gives me perspective.
Lastly I think you are a total knockout, style oozes from you and I love seeing what you’ve got on, gives me so many ideas and now a fab cardi 💗😎

@Serenitespring awww! thank you! 😊
oh I'm so glad you decided to get the cardi, it is lovely and super comfy, I got a number of summer dresses from shein to wear this year with that cardi also as it's such a lovely summery colour! My dd9 is adamant shes going to learn how to crochet the flowers on my cardi as she wants to attach it to a bag she has😁 yea your right about not letting it show that it's getting to me, she defo feeds off of that! and i don't want my children picking up on ill feeling either, she's not worth it! Im googling that author now!

Your post makes me anxious for your children @Puddinandpie , I hope your mother is not going to do anything bad to them, considering how she was making jokes about you facing domestic violence. Can you set up cameras or something just in case. 😬 I really really hope it's going to be okay and I'm just overthinking.
I worry because I relate too much, there was no "classic" domestic violence in my parents' house, but my mother had funny ideas about punishing kids, like she says "you should be eternally grateful that I got a phd for YOU", 8-year old you asks "I thought you did it for yourself?" and she throws you outside in -15 in your underwear and barefoot for 2 hours, you figure out how to survive. 😬 There was worse stuff unfortunately too and I didn't let any of my relatives know I have a family or a child for the fear of some of the threats made in the past or that they would get treated the same way I did (or worse, because my child is half-Asian, how dare I ruin my genes when mommy was supposed to pick the right white husband for you🙄). I'm soo happy that they are in another country and we've been NC for 10 years, but I still get nightmares sometimes!

@toucaninjapan that sounds horrendous, you poor thing, you really are amazing! The domestic violence I endured was at the hands of my dad unfortunately because I always "got in the way" to protect my mum which was pointless, because she never cared anyway, i was just a convenience at the time (human shield so to speak) I would never put my dc in harms way ever, she's fine with my dc it's just me she doesn't like (she's always trying to pretend she's the bestest person in the world where my children are concerned)! Which for there sake isn't a bad thing, but they are aware that nanny says stupid things to mummy, that aren't nice but my dc are quite bold and will also speak up if something is off and she knows that, so tries to win them over by being over the top nice to them (there's never a happy medium with her)😒

@Puddinandpie I see! I'm relieved that your DC are treated well, I was getting panicky for a second (too much projecting on my part, I know).
You look fab by the way, ignore any malicious comments 🤍

@toucaninjapan 💐 🌸

Preloved
Bimba Y Lola oversized jumper
Roxy long quilted coat
White Company cashmere gloves ( these were brand new and look like they’ve never been worn)
Cambridge Satchel Co satchel
John Lewis hat

Nor preloved
Whistles scarf
Primark baseball boots
Primark straight leg slim jeans with unfinished hem

Need to be warm today, will be outside a lot. Jigsaw cashmere roll neck over Engel wool/silk roll neck, Seasalt wool circle scarf, Seasalt crackington trousers, Icebreaker wool filled jacket. Will put on my Hoka Challenger ATR Goretex trainers for all the walking.

I'm having a birthday soon, so DH and I had a little afternoon tea together today as we won't be able to celebrate on my actual birthday due to work arrangements.
It was warm (+18) and my favorite early blooming sakura variety, as well as some plum trees, were in full bloom. We've enjoyed our tea, walked 28k steps and it was such a nice little break from work work work. 🌸

@Netcam re your question, I've been living in Tokyo for about 10 years already, and I LOVE it! Most of the time at least.
Shizuoka sounds lovely, I bet you had such a great time there! I've heard multiple times that 90s were the golden era for English teaching in Japan in terms of pay and working conditions.

@toucaninjapan That all looks very Japanese and the weather is lovely, still freezing here! So do you speak Japanese fluently now? I can barely remember anything these days.

Yes, it was a great time, still in touch with friends I made there after 23 years. We also managed to travel quite a bit in Japan and other parts of Asia.

I think it was, in 2 years living and working there I managed to save enough to return to the UK and fund 2 years full time postgraduate study living in London. I imagine that would be unthinkable in 2023.

Most teachers I knew there did the same, saved and returned to their home country for postgrad study towards a new career. At the time expenses were really low, we had subsidised rent, company cars, a decent salary and a kind of ready made social life with others who wanted to live cheaply and save.

@Netcam here's a couple more sakura photos for you. 😊
Re the language, I've actually passed N1 back in 2012, so basically I was fluent before I came here. I was very determined to have sort of a base to build my life here once I come. I am more confident in my Japanese than in my English, or my native language for that matter, I've discovered you can actually start forgetting some words and grammar if you don't speak it. 😬
Working for 2 years whilst being able to vastly travel and still saving enough to fund your postgraduate study - now that sounds like a dream! What did you enjoy the most here? Would you like to travel here with your family one day? 🌸

@toucaninjapan it all looks like a really lovely dreamy place to be, so much beauty (its all pink, what more could you want)💕🌸and you look gorgeous, don't get me started on that little earpiece and handbag😍

toucan I love your pics and I love Japan, thanks for posting them, the way your clothes and jewellery matches the tree is perfect

I feel like I'm doing grunge and victoriana all at the same time today, I've got a funny feeling im gonna look back later and have a wtaf was I wearing moment, but at the moment I'm just too bloody busy to care🙈
Trying to get a cuppa in before heading out to post office, I'm sooo behind on orders, where does all the bloomin' time go!
Cord skirt- boutique
Jumper and blouse- shein
Chunky boots- boutique

I love that look @Puddinandpie

I’m at a work conference today so a bit smarter than jeans.

Skirt - Mint Velvet
Top - M&S
Boots - Hush

Very cute skirt @bendmeoverbackwards and @Netcam I love that purple jumper, a beautiful colour and looks so cosy.

So sorry to hear about your difficult family relationships @toucaninjapan and @Puddinandpie but it's wonderful that you've broken the cycle and have stability and security with the families you've made 💐. And absolutely stunning pictures @toucaninjapan, thank you for sharing, it looks like such a fascinating place.

@EllaPaella I meant to say yesterday that I love your stripey top, great outfit all round.

Jumper and skirt: Zara
Boots: H&M

Really late posting today. Work is just crazy at the moment.

Blouse: Boden
Dress: Hobbs (via eBay)
Boots: DMs

Also have been busy so haven't caught up properly, but there are some really nice outfits on here.

Lovely skirt @toucaninjapan . Ever so elaborate and delicate. It suits you.

I like your shirt @OublietteBravo , I have a similar one from Boden with gigantic blue spots on it. I ought to dig it out once we have moved and unpacked.

Have fun at your conference @Rollerbird . Get lots of freebies if you can! I always come away with lots of pens and notepads, and once a company gave out towels.

I have three days to upload.
Monday:
Top: Jaeger striped
Trousers: Weekday
Belt: Picard

Tuesday:
Blouse: Made in Italy (I was jumping the gun at the arrival of spring methinks)
Trousers: Weekday
Belt: Picard
Scarf: Fat face

Today:
Top: Boden stripey top
Wrap cardigan: random non brand from a department shop
Jeans: Tommy Hilfiger
Belt: Picard

Excuse the wollen socks, I ordered about 10 pairs of them before Christmas to visit family in Germany. My feet get really cold.

Thanks so much for the pictures, @toucaninjapan it definitely reminds me of my time there. Sorry to hear you had such a difficult time with your family, you definitely managed to build a new life away from all of that on the other side of the world. Amazing your Japanese is fluent, I'm really impressed. Regarding whether we will visit as a family, unlikely I think. My kids are older teens now, one soon off to uni and I'm not sure they really want to do family type holidays anymore. We did consider it when they were younger but they didn't want to travel that far and the cost for all of us would have been very high, so we always ended up going to Europe. I still have a Japanese friend there I keep in touch with who has stayed with me in the UK. One day DH and I will probably go, we are saving for a big retirement backpacking trip, but we have a few years to go yet. DH and I have had a few trips to Asia together (he's my second, I'm divorced from my kids' dad). But we went to China, Vietnam and Cambodia, to places I had missed when I lived in Japan, but had some great backpacking trips travelling around and we like an adventure. But now we're trying to simplify life and live cheaply to save, in the hope we can retire before 60, so are sticking to UK holidays for now, or maybe France.

Love the khaki trousers, @HorribleHisTories15 and I'm a big fan of wool socks too, wear them all the time. And I really like your username.