Sunday 23 October 2016

Handbags and gladrags

Last Saturday it was "Dag van de Kringloopwinkel" here in Belgium. For the sake of this blog, I am translating this as " Day of the Charity Shops", although strictly speaking, they are not charity shops, but "recycling" shops. For a more detailed explanation on how they operate, see my post here.


The event is being held to promote the working of the shops, but we, as dyed in the wool charity shoppers, needed no further introduction, of course.



In fact, when we received a flyer in the post a couple of weeks ago,  this would have gone straight into the bin, if my eyes hadn't been drawn to the smaller lettering, which said that there would be a special offer of "retro & vintage".





We are aware that in the run up to events like these, anything which can even be vaguely considered vintage, is being put aside.

We also know that the asking price at these events is higher than usual.

It is still worth having a look, though.












As our first shop, we chose our favourite one, which we visit about once a fortnight, as they usually have the best selection.

Although we weren't looking for anything in particular, we always keep our eyes peeled for cups and saucers of a pattern by Belgian pottery Boch, which until now are proving to be elusive. In fact, the shop had a mind-boggling array of vintage crockery on offer, but not what we were looking for ...

Still missing cups and saucers ...
We don't know the issue date nor the name of the pattern, but the fact that Jos's parents had this when he was growing up, dates it from at least the 1950s, if not earlier.


We did find an addition to one of the other Boch patterns we are collecting. This is called Rambouillet and was issued 1966 for the pottery's 125th anniversary.  It was very popular at the time and, after having been out of favour for many years, it is now quite sought after ...

Not to be deterred, I descended to the basement to have a look at the clothing, which was also quite disappointing. However, there was a whole shelf of vintage handbags! So this is why I hadn't been able to find anything decent in this shop lately ...


There were quite a few I liked the look of, and I had a hard time making a choice, which in the end I managed to whittle down to three.


Jos then persuaded me to take them all. As if I needed any persuasion ...


At special events like this, we tend to visit more than one shop, making the most of what's on offer.

One of the other shops we visited was a disappointment. Not only did we not find anything at all, the prices were quite exorbitant. I spotted a couple of handbags which were almost double the price of the ones I'd bought that morning, but which weren't even half as nice.


After our usual picnic (in the car this time, as it was quite chilly), we drove back home but at the last minute decided to pay a visit to our most local shop. This one is actually in our own village but has been quite disappointing on previous visits.



Not this time, though. The vintage tv would have come home with us, if we'd had the space for it. It was abolutely gorgeous and so much nicer than a flatscreen tv.

This is what we bought instead.


More crockery. From left to right: flowery cups to match the coffeepot and tablecoth we found recently, spare Rambouillet cups and a Boch milk jug from their Paradiso range.

You can just make out Phoebe's eyes in the background ...



More handbags, and a little beaded purse. I am desperately running out of space in this department now ...



And finally, a cute summery two-piece, shown here by Angelica, and woolly cap topped with a big pom pom shown by me!


Oh, and my outfit details:

Pussy-bow dress, belt: charity shopped
Handbag: Think Twice
Beads: Vintage Styling
Brooch: flea market
Cadigan, jacket (with detachable fake fur collar), boots, ring: retail

27 comments:

  1. Good grief the handbags!!!!! Absolutely did you need to buy them all, the green one is magnificent. x

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    1. Thanks Gisela, of course I'm now desperately running out of space to put them all ... xxx

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  2. Those bags are incredible, I'm not generally into handbags but I'd definitely have snapped up all of yours.
    Isn't that Rambouillet pottery fab? I've never come across it before but it's just my kind of thing.
    Looking lovely in your suit and that pompom hat rocks. xxx

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    1. I had a feeling the Rambouillet pottery would be your thing. We've got a whole collection of it now, and it's being used on almost daily basis. It's Belgian and I'm not sure it was on sale in the UK. xxx

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  3. So many handbags! They're fabulous! Love that Rambouillet cake dish, gorgeous. I have two modern two tier cakestands which are, frankly, rubbish! Mass produced rickity things, good for nothing really which I a shame.

    You look lovely, these autumnal colours really suit you xxx

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    1. Thanks Melanie! I love autumnal colours. We've got a two tier cakestand in this pattern as well. It's really sturdy stuff, I guess they don't make them like that anymore ... xxx

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  4. Ps, Kringloopwinkel. New favourite word!

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    1. Haha! Well, you know how to pronounce the "oo", don't you? Winkel is shop in Flemish by the way ... A very useful word to know ;-) xxx

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  5. Wow, what amazing handbags! The last one in the group of 3 you show first, with the chain strap, J'adore!! You did well after all. Love your outfits too, such lovely colours x

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    1. Thank you! That handbag is my favourite too. xxx

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  6. You can always discover something which is worth buying ! The dress that you are wearing today proves it. It has a lovely print which suits you very well! ( perfect lipstick shade as well)

    In Italy the (few) recycling shops are expensive and so I don't buy there. But we have very good outlet stores and villages where you can find items and pay less that their initial price...there I feel like a child in a toy shop!!:-)

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    1. Oh, thanks Dan. I've looked for the perfect lipstick shade forever, and have never looked back once I found this one. It's from a supermarket brand! xxx

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  7. you outfit suits our midlife fun linkup party!!!
    if you run out with your storage space - i´ll help you and take the green handbag :-)
    at least you found some additions to your collections of homeware. the cookie plate is fab! not to forget the cute hat and the spring dress!
    hugs! xxxxxx

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    1. Midlife fun? Bring it on! I'll keep you in mind for the green handbag, but it's such an unusual colour, so I'll probably keep it forever ... Sorry! xxx

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  8. Wow! All the bags. You could go into business! I'm particularly taken with your little beaded purse. We used to have them when we were little but they always ended up bald. It was too tempting to fiddle with the beads. Love your summery two-piece! Xxx

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    1. If I keep buying more handbags, I HAVE to go into business ... I guess quite a lot of those beaded purses ended up that way. It was the first time I found an undamaged one ... xxx

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  9. Oh, those handbags are divine! Love the pottery too, especially that cake plate. Your outfits are just lovely, and as a big fan of orange I really love that patent belt! Fabulous buys xx

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    1. Thanks Claire! Hope you are doing fine? It seems the cake plate is getting a lot of love. I can never resist that pattern, and we have a whole dinner service by now. xxx

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  10. Perhaps Phoebe is eyeing the milk jug ?

    Your outfit is so lovely and just right for October. You found incredible handbags-green is an almost impossible shade to find.

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    1. Phoebe certainly likes her milk! I'm very pleased with that green handbag, although, come to think of it, I already own one in a different shade of green. I've yet have to come across a red one. xxx

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  11. *Waves* Hello Phoebe!

    You seem to have AMAZING chazzas in Belgium. That green bag, and your two-piece, are wonderful.

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    1. Phoebe says Hello Mim! I'm not so sure about the chazzas here. They come up trumps whenever it's one of their special events, but otherwise they can be a bit hit or miss. Doesn't stop me from visiting them, though. xxx

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  12. I love that little green bag, I saw one similar this week. Damn I should have bought it.
    How do you cope with all your stuff. I've definitely got to stop buying haha xxx

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    1. What a shame that you didn't buy it! I'm asking myself the same question, how do I cope with all my stuff? As I bought six handbags, I had to shuffle stuff around a bit to fit them all in. But I definitely have to stop buying more handbags now. Or get rid of some ... xxx

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  13. A pom pom on a hat! Perfect - I love a pom pom or two.
    You had a good day on the handbag front - I love the little green one, and the woven one (pictured with the beaded purse). I tend to alternate between three bags these days but always look out for something cute and unusual when I'm out and about.
    The Rambouillet is a lovely design.

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    1. I have a couple of bags I alternate between on a daily basis, and only use the special and smaller ones during the weekends. I'm glad you like the Rambouillet design. Everybody used to have this here in the 60s and early 70s. xxx

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