Hi everyone
This is more like it! For my birthday I went, as you would expect, to an art gallery. This time the gallery was in Eastbourne, which is quite near where we live. And I wore an outfit that finally hit the right spot as to how I want to look on these special occasions. But moreover I took heed of a saying that I read in my friend Jill’s blog Grownupglamour, which was, ‘wear the damn clothes!’ I know there is a phrase going round of, ‘wear the damn shorts’ which came from a Sweaty Betty promotion for their sports and leisure gear. It was also a clarion call to ignore how you feel about the state of your thighs – just embrace them and wear the damn shorts. But ‘wear the damn clothes’ is also a clarion call to wear what you’re keeping in your wardrobe to ‘wear one day soon’. No, wear it, now!
Bearing this in mind, I got out a new skirt I bought from Tu (the clothes line found in Sainsbury’s supermarket) for a knock down price of £22.50, and then took out a jacket I bought a year ago and hadn’t worn once. That was far more than £20 as it was bought from the platform Idaretobe, and long gone now as they only stock a few of each of the items they have on sale. Anyway here is how I built the outfit.
It started with the skirt.
The skirt is a weighty cotton material and very long.
This was teamed with a t-shirt bought in Copenhagen when I was on a cruise to the Scandinavian Islands, which had far warmer weather than we were expecting, so I had to buy some short sleeved t-shirts. I have to say the t-shirts were very inexpensive but beautifully made – they will last for years.
Then the jacket.
And the charity shop black hat, which is made of hard straw – the kind that doesn’t bend. The weather was expected to be very wet but I thought I’d risk wearing it. Note the boots. This was not heatwave weather, but much cooler weather with a lot of rain and wind.
Standing by the entrance to the art gallery, the wind was blowing a gale! Phew, it was better once inside!
This is the Towner gallery and a very fine place it is too. As you could see (from two photos above) the exhibition, was about the artists who banded together in the 1930s to fight fascism as best they could – with their art.
But first we had lunch.
I do like the small plates they serve up, which are exactly the amount I like to eat for lunch.
This was a plate of 5 little open sandwiches. I’d said no to the lamb and chicken small sandwich, and went for two of the soused herring (yum) and two of the spiced cauliflower, with one pea and courgette. All were delicious.
The exhibition was outstanding and a big one too. Instead of the usual one artist to view there were many as the focus was on the life and work of 11 members of the Artists International Association (AIA), many of whom I’d never heard of, but these artists were very well known at the time. The exhibition also included works of Dame Laura Knight, Paul Nash and Lucien Pissarro who I had heard of.
The AIA was established in 1933 to bring together artists in a fight against fascism and war. It rallied many comrades and artists during the Spanish Civil War and the fight against Franco. Interestingly they were keen to offer a much wider access to art, so as well as paintings they also focused on affordable lithograph prints and other commissions. There were many styles of art to be seen in the exhibition, and there was huge amount to take in and read. I really will have to go again as this is a big and important exhibition and I was almost ‘exhibtioned-out’ at the end. Here are just a few of the many photos I took of prints and paintings that caught my eye .
James Fitton, Russian Oil Products. c 1930
Clive Branson, Norma and Rosa. c1940
Ethel Gabain, Women Workers in the Canteen at Williams and Williams. 1943
Ethel Gabain, Sandbag Workers in the War. 1941
Dame Laura Knight, Corporal JM Robins, MM, WAAF. 1941
I leave you with a pic that Bill took of me looking at one of the exhibits.
I had a simply great time in this gallery – it is exactly my kind of thing. And now I can also say that these are exactly the type of clothes that I shall be wearing when I go to galleries and/or meet friends for lunch or a film. I’ve taken time to get there, but yes, onwards and upwards through the next decade!
That’s all for now. Keep well and enjoy the weather wherever you are.
With love, PennyX
Fabulous ensemble for a fabulous exhibition great paintings and a CD lovely pic of you at the end looking a little churchillesque st the end in your bowler type hat C love your blog B penny congratulations on your recent birthday I hope to be doing similar things when I’m 80 I’m 67 currently
Marie from Dublin Ireland
Hi Marie and thank you. Yes, the exhibition was a very good one indeed and one that needs lots of concentration hence the need to go again to truly get at all the exhibitors, as it is rare to see so many artists in one place. It was fascinating.
And thanks re: the outfit – glad you liked it 🙂
You look great in that outfit, Penny, very stylish. The hat just finishes it off; how do you manage to keep it on when it’s very windy? I like wearing hats too but tend to leave them at home if it’s windy weather (I hate walking around with one hand constantly on my head!) Thanks for sharing photos of the paintings in the exhibition, I especially like the one of the canteen girls and the portrait of the corporal in her WAAF uniform. All the best, Penny x https://pennyhampson.co.uk/
Oh yes to the outfit! And a delicious lunch! Lovely to go to a gallery.
It was a really good day – thanks Nancy 🙂
The hat is made of that hard straw and had a small brim. It just fitted perfectly, so perfectly that it was firmly lodged on my head and it could cope with the wind. We were parked very near the gallery, but yes, that wind was really strong. Later on, at home, there was a major storm with thunder, torrential, as in biblical amounts of rain and much hail that stayed on the ground for hours. There you go, when I was young, my memory of my birthday parties , is that it always rained on June 2nd! Think of the coronation of the late Queen (I was 7) and people standing outside waiting to cheer, were soaked.
The exhibition was excellent. Thank Penny 🙂
A belated Happy Birthday to you Penny. I love your outfit just right for this very interesting art exhibition, thank you for sharing with us. I’m guilty of saving clothes for best but at 76 soon to be 77 I need to wear them or time will run out!🤣
Love your outfit and the way you put it together. Looking good doesn’t just happen! It takes application. Thanks for the inspiration!
Really interesting and important exhibition. I’m looking at how to get there by train.
Yes, I now even change my clothes for a trip to the supermarket 😆 Best clothes need to be worn – and that is something I’ve had to tell myself to do. But now they are!
The exhibition is an excellent one. You will definitely enjoy it.
Thanks 🙂
I think, aim to wear more of the ‘best’ clothes. It’s now become a habit of mine and any outing, even mundane ones, make me think, now what can I wear to be extra stylish. And because it’s just embedded I don’t worry if no-one else is dressing up.
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes – which are much appreciated 🙂
Yes. Definitely! The best is for NOW.
Your outfit is great. I particularly like the jacket and hat – and it’s great that you feel so good in it. The ensemble suits you.
Thanks for the photos from the exhibition. As you know, right up my street. I hadn’t heard about it. There’s lots of good stuff on at the moment. So pleased that you’re out there again, to enjoy it.
And yes, do let me know (when you know) the date of your next Mole Clinic appointment.
Keep on trucking!
In friendship, Mary x
The exhibition was excellent and is well worth a visit but it is in Eastbourne so I expect it will be seen primarily by those who live on the South Coast.
I do like a good hat – as you do. That was a great find, cost only £10.
And definitely – keep on trucking. See you in possibly September.
Thanks Mary 🙂
Great outfit. Just the right amount of bohemian spunk!
I was wondering if the jacket is a bit Steam Punk. And btw it also has a piece of material (dark grey tulle) that can be attached at the back which I took off – with that attached it really would make the jacket look ‘out there’. I will have to pluck up my nerve to wear that 😁
Thanks Janet – it’s been great to get the feedback that the jacket looks OK 🙂
Smashing outfit, and you are looking terrific.
Thanks so much Sharon 🙂
Outfit is fabulous and you look great in it. Happy 80th. Keep on wearing the good/special occasion clothes. A blog I follow recommends wearing them anywhere and everywhere. Just “wear the damn clothes” is a policy I am now following. At 85 years old, why not!?! Thanks for the pix as well. Looks like a winner of an art show. Your birthday lunch looks special too. Glad you enjoyed your day.
I will keep wearing the good/best clothes as really there is very little dressing up these days. If the habit of doing that, dressing up, gets to be embedded which it has for me, and for you, I see, I now don’t worry if others are not dressing up. I just wear the damn clothes!
It was a great day all round. Thanks so much Claire 🙂
Sounds like a delightful day for a birthday celebration! And a wonderful outfit! It’s taken me some time to build a confidence to wear what I want to wear. Sometimes it’s something as simple as wearing some fun earrings even though I’m hiking. Or the tulle dress on my birthday.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
I agree that it does take time to wear the ‘best possible clothes’ all the time. I admit to wearing more comfortable clothes at home, but anything outside I want to look stylish and at my best. It’s now embedded, but I agree, it does take time to get there.
Thanks Mireille 🙂
Now that’s the way to celebrate…doing what you love to do. And looking bold and fabulous while doing it. Happy happy birthday,
XOOX
Jodie
Many, many thanks Jodie 🙂
Happy, happy birthday! Here’s to many more trips around the sun! You wore the damn clothes, Penny, and you wore them well! You look fabulous, edgy, and chic all at once! I love that peplum or high low of the jacket. I think it makes the outfit just sing! And, your hat is amazing! The exhibition looks quite awesome because of the message behind it. We just opened up a small exhibition of the Pissarro family…Camile, Lucien, and Georges. I am so glad you were able to celebrate at one of your favorite places! You are such an inspiration to me!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Obviously my style icon and role model is Jill and I think finally I am getting to the point when a lot of my clothes are now almost like her style as I do like a good skirt 🙂 And a hat!
It was a great exhibition with a lot of thought behind it. They were selling this book to go with the exhibition which wasn’t exactly an exhibition catalogue but the Towner’s exhibition builds on the author, Andy Friend, and his recent display in Tate Britain. https://courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/book-launch-comrades-in-art-artists-against-fascism-1933-43/
You can get the book from many sources including Amazon. It really is a well researched area of art and artists.
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes Marsha 🙂
Looks like a lovely space, and enjoyed perusing the pictures. You look 100% Penny, very stylish. I’ve got a lot better this year at wearing all my clothes and not saving anything “for best”. Thanks for linking x
It’s a really good little gallery which does talks and films as well as having a collection of Eric Ravilious on permanent display. This exhibition was outstanding.
It’s pretty much embedded now to wear the damn clothes, and I do more and more. But reading Jill’s blog just before I got dressed to go to Eastbourne made me up the ante – and out came that jacket. Now to wear a dress that I bought from Idaretobe, so you can guess it wasn’t charity shop price! It needs to be worn! And I will!
Have a great rest of the week X
I love the outfit Penny. I agree that a art exhibit is the best birthday present. As I mentioned before that is what I always ask for for mine. Monday I went for a talk at our local library on the Hudson River School of painting. No actual artwork but a very engaging presenter and lots of slides. And in my neighborhood so no chance of getting lost. Yesterday a lecture at my learning in retirement group given by a women who’s father and his parents had escaped from Europe in 1940. Her family were Jewish living in Poland when Hitler came to power. they were able to leave and come to America because a diplomat who had a conscience went against regulations and was willing to sign visas for many Jewish families, He know they would not survive if they could not leave. He lost his career as a result and died poor. He never regretted his decision. A very moving presentation, so that is my week so far. The weather here in New York has been so beautiful for the last several days. Love, Darby
Yes, that outfit really came together, and the art exhibition was excellent and really quite relevant to today. You kind of wonder if there should not be such a movement once more.
That sounded a fascinating talk. A very similar person helped a lot of Jewish children (669) escape to the UK – this was the Kinder transport enabled by a man called Nicolas Winton. There’s a film about this starring Anthony Hopkins which is a very uplifting and emotional watch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Life_(2023_film)#:~:text=One%20Life%20is%20a%202023,Nicholas%20Winton%2C%20the%20film%20alternates
Weather here is very wet and windy with the occasional glimpse of sun. However, it will improve over next week. We do suffer from very changeable weather here.
Thanks so much Darby X 🙂
Hello Penny and all my best wishes for your birthday . A gallery visit was a wonderful way to enjoy your special day. I must admit to not knowing many of the artists but it looked very interesting.
You looked so good in your skirt , jacket and hat . I can see why your bought the jacket it is a wonderful design and will work with so many things.
Thank you so very much for the mention , I do strongly feel now is the time to no longer keep things for special occasions
All the very best for your birthday year . xxx.
Hi Jill,
I read your blog the day it came out, June 2nd, and it definitely spurred me on to wear the jacket, which incidentally has another part to it that I took off. It is a dark grey/black tulle floaty thing that you attach to the back of the jacket. Not sure about it. I’d really have to pluck up my courage to wear it as it would make the jacket look really ‘out there’! But it would be different. Yes, thank you for paving the way for me. I love a good skirt and a hat! And definitely and absolutely, wear the damn clothes now!
Thank you so much Jill for the birthday wishes 🙂
What a grand way to celebrate your birthday. That exhibit looks very interesting. A lot of meaningful art. We haven’t been to the art museum in quite awhile. Might be time for a visit.
That is a lovely skirt and what a great bargain!! Now that I have been to London, I know about Sainbury’s and Tesco. Bought some delicious cranberry cheese in both stores and have looked here in El Paso for something similar with no luck.
Sure enjoyed pictures from your cruise and all the pretty outfits and ensembles you wore. It seems you had a wonderful adventure. So glad you were able to go.
Hi Leslie, I don’t remember going to many art exhibitions when I had kids and even later on when I was working and the kids grown and long gone. But now it is my ultimate thing to do. I absolutely love ‘looking’ at things, especially art. There is so much to see and enjoy. As for this exhibition it is very meaningful now in these tempestuous days. In fact it was so very relevant I am rather wondering why there isn’t something similar started by artists now.
And I loved dressing up for it too – and indeed what a bargain for a low priced supermarket item!!!
Thanks so much Leslie 🙂