Cute Wrap Skirts for Spring and Summer

I received my wrap skirts today from Thailand via ebay, and I love them! I had a pair of wrap shorts in the early 80's which were very similar. They fit very well, and will continue to fit when I lose this dern extra 25 pounds(two sizes smaller). One of the skirts is reversible. I also got a free gift of pretty pair of neutral Thai shell dangle earrings. Low light for these pictures, sorry. I was trying to figure out what was in my hair in the first picture...dirty mirror. Note to self - clean mirror! Click to enlarge pictures.

Not a bad price(less $14.00 at auction per skirt) even with shipping, and it arrived quickly. I clicked through Bigcrumbs.com for a little extra discount, and ebay gave me back some ebay bucks. Discover card is giving back 5% on clothing this month as well. I'm hoping that ebay purchases count for this.

K-Mart is having a sale on cotton sleeveless tops for $4.00(I'm wearing one), so I'll have to go back to purchase a few matching tops for these skirts. I'm also sporting a new wedding ring in silver. I outgrew my original gold one, and they were 70% off at K-Mart. I got a new band for $19.99.

Skirts were purchased from Nepal Silk on ebay. The reversible one at top is made from silk Saris, so soft, and beautiful fabric. The others are cotton Batiks. All need to be hand washed. They fit small - extra large( true to U.S. sizes). They sell some plus sizes as well - cute sun dresses. I like the kimono style because it covers chubby shoulders and arms(giggle).

Look at the fabric on this one...it's the same style as the first one at top. I also saw a pink one which was beautiful. I love the feel of Sari material, and it works so well at keeping you cool. When I lose a little weight I'll wear my top tucked it, or wear a shorter top length to show off the skirt's waist.



I just discovered that you can wear this wrap as a sun dress, criss-crossed in the back and front. If I were skinnier, I could wrap it around to the back. I had to hold it for the picture. I can still wear it tied around the front, without the criss-cross, as a bathing suit cover-up. They have longer wrap skirts which would make a cute longer sun dress. What a versatile piece of clothing!

Free Old Fashioned Gardening Magazines

I found this over at Google books, The Garden Magazine. There are many editions from 1905 - 1920's. See this main page at bottom right to view other editions. These books are downloadable and in public domain. A tip for printing or saving pages, select HMTL mode on side bar at link.

Old Fashioned Victorian Gardens

All from vintage gardening books:

A nice list of Victorian flowers

and

Victorian Flower Garden Designs

and

Features and Equipment of the Victorian Garden, of interest - Garden paths or walks - how to build, How to make a Hot Bed, Fruit Gardens, Garden Manures, and Potting mixes in the Victorian era.

Popular shrubs: Azalea, Holly, Hydrangea, Rose, Lilac, Forsythia, Andromeda, Barberry, Peony, and Quince.

Flowers: Delphinium, Aster, Alyssum, Chrysanthemum, Tulip, Pansy, Violet, Lavender, Daylily, Hosta, and Yarrow. Crinum lilies AKA: cemetery lilies are coming back in style.

And of course all types of ferns were popular.

I tried to find modern designs for small Victorian gardens, but they were loose interpretations, very modern(almost Zen-like) with lots of concrete patios. They should appear all natural, but somewhat controlled. They used loose and wild plantings within controlled boundaries, a bit of like a cottage garden, but more formal and tidy. The pathways were typically loose materials, not concrete or hard surfaces(unless main walkway). I'll keep looking, but artist renditions are always a good source.

Here's one in London:

Found a good one thanks to Homeliving: Explore the Victorian Garden: find resources, history and information about gardening in the 19th century.

Other resources:

Old Fashioned Living: The Garden Path, a long list of plant and garden information.

Here's one under construction in Britain - notice the sharp contained boundaries which will house plants that overflow giving the illusion of naturalized planting areas.



"There is a distinct atmosphere connected with those simple one-path gardens that is most delightful. It lies not only in the gravel paths and the stiff, box-borders, but in the fragrant old-fashioned flowers that were grown promiscuously inside the trim line of box."(Garden Ornaments, 1916) This sums up Victorian gardens to a tee, and I think I feel most comfortable with this sort of garden - ordered chaos.