Wow , I saw a lady today.....

That sounds difficult.
You might like to start a thread on this problem though as people might miss it on a thread about “Style and Beauty”
If you are new, look at “Forums” and choose “start a thread”
Good luck.

2 year old GD has screamed since she was 1 year old when anyone other than her mum and dad are around. This goes on for hours or until she is on her own with mummy and daddy. She has an older sister with ASD who cannot speak (she is 6). My lovely Stepdaughter and her partner try so very hard as they get very little sleep and I know they are at the end of their tether. We are all going out for Xmas dinner and I know that it’s like the elephant in the room as we all know through experience that DGD will scream all the way through the meal, which makes everyone very stressed including other people in the restaurant as the screaming gets louder and louder as does the sobbing?. I normally have them round for Xmas dinner but due to health issues that isn’t possible this year and it was my stepdaughters idea to go out for lunch. Any ideas anyone....

On the subject of sizing, I bought two items from the same shop on the same day, a coat and a jumper. One was size 12, the other size 16. Both fitted perfectly. Goes to show we must try things on.

Out shopping today and felt much the same myself... and decided my lazy scruffiness has to stop.... most women who i thought looked good seemed to be colour coordinated ... all sorts of sizes but somehow put together ... shades of grey etc with a splash of colour ... so tomorrow... indoors or out ... a bit more thought and effort...

PurplePoppies
I'm no skinny miss. The skirt is a 14 but my 'top' is 16-18, depending on where I buy my clothes. We're all the victims of resizing and undersizing.
M&S skirts are slightly generous and more true to size than most brands. It depends on style.
I wear size 16 skinnies from Primark as they are smaller, but not much.
Size 16 M&S tops fit me without the dreaded gapping but I notice in at least two white shirts, they have an extra button which fastens inwards just where it would gap. A clever solution.
They're definitely getting better.
I'm just waiting for the sales.

That gave me my 2nd belly laugh this week. I know exactly what you mean. It's probably one of the slightly thicker ones, not thin like a rain-mate. I use a towelling turban thingy, looks like a boat shape but you put your head down to put it on and twist the thin end and fasten the loop onto the button at the front (for the benefit of those who've not seen one)
I'm not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs.
Most of the time I don't bother. I don't mind my hair getting wet.

I think I'd look like one of those figures from Michael Bentine's Potty Time.

Reading all your style ides with interest as I feel as though I always wear the same things ie black trousers and a tunic. Have been at my DGS Christmas show today and noticed another Gran maybe a few years younger than me (I’m 70). She was wearing a short red tartan kilt, a scarlet jumper and a tartan scarf with thick black tights and ankle boots. Looked fantastic and helped that she was quite slim. I wondered what I would look like in the same outfit.

I love to see a slinky (ish) skirt on a woman with a tum and bum.
I think its very feminine.
I don't carry my weight so appealingly though.

I have to say I'm slightly envious about the skirt you describe. I'd love to be able to wear a shorter skirt, I have great pins, but I have no bum, and skirts don't hang properly on me! Probably because I have a bit of a tummy....

hdh74

Great is all I can say, go for it, and I am a size 18 - on a good day!

I just used my new shower cap from Sainsbury's. It's very stiff and sticks out a mile around my head, totally horizontally. Now I know it's for use in the bathroom, but you know, hospital stays and stuff or just plain shock when I saw myself in the mirror - a cross between Lucille Ball and a short fat toadstool sprang to mind.

Yes you’re right. But skirts generally are not my style. Great we’re all different!

Lisagran
Yes, that's it. I don't have a very flat tummy but I wear tops or shirts tucked tight inside the waistband then lift my arms up which pulls it out a bit.
Real women have a bit of a curved tummy anyway and I'm not about to wear restrictive Spanx or shapewear. I am what I am and I think a happy personality is more attractive than constantly looking in a mirror and fiddling with your clothes.

I’ve got jeans, but not the rest!

and it goes without saying that everyone owns a blazer, white shirt/ trousers/ jeans, don't they?

Absolutely.

This skirt Gabriella ? I expect you look good in it. Not my style at all - I have a very casual lifestyle ( and a podgy tummy )

sorry Lemon, enlighten me....with quotes ( done properly) please. Thanks you so much.

Sit in the corner with me gillybob - you'll feel better then

Lisagran

I bought the longer version which comes to a couple of inches below my knee (I'm 5-6.5 but 5-7 in the morning) and will wear with heels or ankle boots. I'm hopefully aware of being realistic about what suits me and my figure. No rose coloured glasses here.

What I'd like to know is - how did HW manage to wear a jacket in the Queensland rainforest in the summer?

I would be a melting mess.

Sorry, Gabriella - put that without thinking really - I suppose I meant she’s a lot younger than me! But the skirt probably suits different ages? She’s a breath of fresh air for M and S anyway

oops! should read 'and the' not 'the the'

Petra Yes, in an ideal world but sometimes life overtakes us the the 'ideal' can slip ................