Not everyone of my projects ends up being absolutely awesome, I have to say. Some things are just a little ordinary and maybe I should write about them too, in the interests of passing on what I have learnt.

This tunic started life as a cover-up for plane travel. Australians are cursed with very long flights if we want to go anywhere but New Zealand, and achieving any sort of comfort is not easy in cattle class. The cotton seersucker I used does not crush and is light and breathable. Planes are often hot, especially when the airline wants you to sleep, and the air is invariably extremely dry. Having a cowl around my face to breathe into saves my air passages from becoming dried out and vulnerable to infection, and a light cover over any exposed skin stops the rest of me from turning into a prune.

There was no real pattern, only a very large square, with dropped shoulders to just about my elbows, and sleeves starting from there. As much as I used to love wearing a tent, these days that seems a tent pole too far. But the tunic had also been very useful in previous years as a light cover when the days are warm enough for short sleeves or even sleeveless, but the mornings are still cool. So instead of keeping it only for travel and make something new to better fit my now preferred silhouette, I decided to fiddle with it, taking out volume and making the dropped shoulders less extreme.

I liked the result a lot, that is until I saw these photos. Funny how some things look so much better in the mirror! I don’t mind looking short and round instead of long and lean, but judging from the photos the wide hem across my hips doesn’t do me any favours, at least not when the black underneath highlights it as it does. Maybe it will look better over a light coloured top, must remember that next time I wear it.

The cowl is quite long and I think would look better just collapsing into itself rather than being rolled like in the photo. That just makes the whole top look even more chunky.

On the upside, my new haircut looks rather good, which is a win. I can take the tunic off, but the hair is more permanent, at least until it grows again. After 15 years of a more or less shoulder length bob I took the plunge and went short, sort of by degrees, but the latest iteration is really really short! I must say I love how easy it is to maintain, because I have quite thick hair and when it is long it takes forever to blow dry. With this cut I just blow it about with the hair dryer for a couple of minutes after towelling it off, without even using a brush or trying to shape it, then brush through it and I am ready to go. How good is that!

I was lucky to find a hairdresser who doesn’t object to someone my age still wanting to look as good as I can, and was prepared to put some effort into making it happen. Worth his weight in gold, that man. For anyone in Sydney, allow me to recommend Ambrogio in Crows Nest. I am in no way affiliated, just a happy customer.

This is the photo on Pinterest that inspired my latest look. Doesn’t she look great!