I have just watched Fabulous Fashionistas on Channel 4 - and been inspired! These amazingly stylish older women give me hope that I too don't have to wear beige or disappear into the woodwork! I particularly like Sue with her amazing coats, and 83-year-old supermodel Daphne, but they all have something incredible - not least of all their fitness and suppleness, which are way above my levels of either! But I like the idea that "I think the fashion industry isn't quite ready for us just yet".

It's about creating our own style and not worrying about trend! How liberating!

Fabulous Fashionistas

Really looking forward to the advertised Channel 4 programme next week - 6 women with an average age of 80 showing how to look good and stylish! The short video clip shows them as being pretty sassy as well as wearing some amazing clothes.

Offset Warehouse Garden Party

The Offset Warehouse Garden Party yesterday was a lovely affair in a beautiful garden in Hatch End - beds edged with natural logs, a pond with dark pink waterlilies and another with beady-eyed frogs watching the goings-on!

The place was bustling with people buying fabrics and patterns, eating very scrummy cakes, relaxing in the beautiful sunshine and enjoying fabric-related conversations. It was also possible to watch a spinner and an embellisher in action and pick up tips. It was altogether a lovely way to spend my birthday afternoon.








I didn't succumb to any more fabric but did buy a top from Riyka's first collection utilising reclaimed fabrics and leather with added embroidery and bead embellishment. It might need taking in for me, but I think I am going to wait till the cooler weather and try it over a polo-neck and leggings first.







It was great to chat with people studying fashion or who are already working in the industry and Rebecca (of Riyka) gave a very informative talk about the way her design process works alongside the reclaimed fabric she has available to create each season's lookbook. One person mentioned only having found Offset for sustainable fabrics in the UK so I was able to tell her about Fair Trade Fabric, which has a large range of cotton in different colours, stripes and checks. I have since remembered Greenfibres (mostly natural shades in a range of organic fibres inlcuding silk, hemp and linen as well as cotton) and Well Cultivated (who offer Oeko-Tex certified bamboo fabrics).