Tuesday 12 July 2016

Summer time and the livin' is easy

I thought I'd give you a break from my Welsh adventures and do a good old-fashioned outfit post ...

Believe it or not, but going back to work did have its perks! As luck would have it, my favourite vintage shops, Think Twice, were in the midst of their sales, and prices were down to € 4 by the end of the week.

Just a quick browse in one shop yielded a bagful of treasures.



Think Twice are actually a chain of shops, with a total of ten shops in Belgium, three of which are in Antwerp, all within walking distance from my office. How great is that? I think you can guess where I'm spending some of my lunch breaks ...

The items they sell are ranging from the 1960s until the 1990s. Yes, I know. I hardly got my head around the fact that the 1980s are being considered vintage, but the 1990s? I beg to differ, but as the shops are being frequented by everyone from teenagers to pensioners, who I am to deny anyone their “vintage” pleasure?

While waiting for my turn at the fitting rooms, I overheard a mother and daughter duo (at a guess, I'd say the daughter was about 13) discussing the merits of a gruesome 1990s pink and white shell suit jacket. Shudder. Very big shudder!

The upside is that they are leaving all the wonderful 1960s and 1970s stuff for me!

Here is what was in my bag.


First up are these polyester tops and cotton skirt with ric-rac trim, all being shown to you by Angelica.





This maxi is definitely my favourite find!

I already own a green midi dress in the same pattern, which I am wearing at the end of this post.

As finally we were having some summery weather, I took the dress on its first outing on Saturday, combined with some cheerful accessories.


And look, I have even painted my toenails, which is quite a feat for clumsy me!

The sandals are Clarks Softwear, bought in the sales years ago. Aren't they gorgeous?

Although the dress is a size smaller than what I'm usually wearing, it was an almost perfect fit, except for the sleeves, the cuffs of which were quite narrow and were close to cutting off my blood circulation.








After giving it some thought, and almost writing off the dress as a mistake, I came up with the idea of making some slits in the underside of the cuffs. Now the sleeves fit like a dream, and nobody, except you of course, is any the wiser!













The green fabric peeping out from the pile is actually a 100% cotton Finnish tablecloth.


The final item is a gem of a summer dress in yellow and white, with a polka dot bodice. How could I possibly resist it?


See how our lovely Hydrangea is complementing the colour of the dress? The blooms only had a hint of colour when we went on holiday and this is what happened while we were away.


The gooseberries have ripened to a rich red colour and our honeysuckle has opened the first of its many heavenly scented flowers.  It's not all good, though, as it seems the slugs have been feasting on our Hostas! Now where did we put those slug pellets again?

So, what did we do on our first weekend back?

On Saturday, a round of the charity shops was on the cards, but pickings were meagre. Summer isn't really a good time to go charity shopping here.

Still, this is what we ended up with:


- A vintage Thermos replacement filler. Not bad for € 0,50 and exactly the right size for our tartan Thermos flask.
- A completely kitsch thermometer and barometer.  It's made from plastic and not wood, as you would think at first sight.
- A small JAJ Pyrex bowl. This pattern is from the 1960s and called Harvest. We already have quite a few items of this pattern, all picked up cheaply at charity shops.
- Finally, a cute cardigan from retro label Zoe Loveborn and a spotty scarf.


On Sunday, we fled our village (there was a fair going on complete with noisy attractions as well as cycling in the village streets) for some peace and quiet. We took a picnic to the beautiful Middelheim park in Antwerp, where we walked among works of art and cooled down in the shade of the trees.

Next time, I will continue my Welsh travelogue and take you to that seaside town as promised.



23 comments:

  1. I'm always amazed how alike our style is. You've got some gorgeous colours Anne and nice accessories
    Lynn xxx

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    1. Thanks Lynn. I like picking up cheap and cheerful vintage accessories to brighten up even the darkest of days. xxx

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  2. That was a good fix for the sleeves on your pretty dress-I have a few dresses that would benefit from a similar treatment.

    The red dress and blouses are divine, but the yellow dress is simply incredible.

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    1. My husband totally agrees with your choice, as yellow is his favourite colour. xxx

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  3. i would shudder at the sight of said jacket too - but the thought of polyester blouses & dresses is not much better for me :-)
    although the colorful prints are fantastic!!!
    it seems i´m more of a pre-plastic vintager......
    beautiful hydrangeas - "hortensien" here. and yummy stekkelbessen!
    have you any informations about that "modern" white building??? looks interesting!
    xxxxx

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    1. At least my polyester stuff looks nice, which could not be said of the yukky shell suit. I like pre-plastic vintage too, but somehow I'm always drawn to the polyester stuff. Hydrangeas are Hortensias here, so here we go again with the language similarities. I totally love that modern building which was completed in 1971 and used for art exhibitions, and it was designed by a well-known Belgian architect. Here's a link to it: http://www.middelheimmuseum.be/en/page/braem-pavilion

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    2. thank you for the information about the pavilion!
      and nobody looks so fab in poly like you <3
      xxxx

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  4. That is a beautiful red dress! Great find.

    Happy thrifting :)

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  5. I love them all but particularly the sunny yellow

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    1. it's quite a bright yellow, isn't it? I love it too. xxx

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  6. I do like an outfit post and you have a wonderful wardrobe. That red maxi dress and sandals is such a lovely outfit and oh my goodness you look amazing in that to die for yellow! If I could bear to wear polyester, I might come to Belgium and kidnap it!! Xxx

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    1. Thanks Tania. I will have to guard my non-polyester stuff closely then ;-) xxx

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  7. You're so bright I gotta wear shades! What a fantastic array of vintage loveliness. The maxi dress is sublime and the yellow dress is fantastic.
    Great idea with your clever quick fix. xxx

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    1. That is exactly why I am wearing shades in those pictures! I loved wearing that maxi, and it's actually thanks to you that I was brave enough to wear it outside the house. My village wasn't ready for it, though, as I got quite a few stares ... xxx

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  8. Aaah, you found tops! I *never* find tops. And those are really nice ones.

    It is weird the 90s being considered 'vintage' (I still have some 90s clothes I bought new, though they don't fit me now). Then again, in the 1980s the 50s came back into vogue, and that was 30 years previous, so the 90s being 20-25 years ago isn't much different.

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    1. I actually find tops regularly and very cheaply too. Most of them are polyester though. At least I don't have the fear the moths ;-) You are right about the vintage thing! I hated most 1990s fashion the first time around, and I don't think I still own any item of clothing from that period. xxx

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  9. Ooohh, what vibrant, awesomely fun finds! I especially love your super cute + kitsch thermostat + baromenter. What home doesn't need a great old school squirrel milling about? :D

    Your outfits are the bee's knees, too, dear Ann. I'm especially fond of the white, yellow and blue ensemble. That colour palette suits July marvelously.

    xoxo ♥ Jessica

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    1. I'm glad you appreciate the barometer, it's already taking pride of place in our hallway! That yellow dress is quite something, isn't it? xxx

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  10. You always find such brilliant bright pieces- I LOVE that cardigan and that maxi is gorgeous! The shoes go so well too!!! The barometer is hilarious! I wish I had cool shops near work!

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    1. It's not always a good thing having those shops close by ... That squirrel barometer surely makes me smile each time I'm looking at it. xxx

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  11. Woo, you did WELL! SO much vibrant colour, I love it and your red shoes are gorgeous, I love red shoes!

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    1. I'm a sucker for red shoes too. In fact I bought yet another pair in the meantime. And I've got some red boots as well! xxx

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