Monday 12 December 2016

Orange coloured sky

After a week of being cooped up in the office, I was glad that the weekend was finally in sight.

The world outside the office window was dressed in a deep blue sky, the kind of blue it only wears on the clearest of winter days.

The days ended as such days usually do, with sunsets displaying gorgeous layers of orange as the sun disappears behind the horizon.


Imagine my disappointment when Saturday dawned murky and with a sky of such a solid grey that the weak winter sun didn't stand a chance.

The quality of light was so poor that even outside photography didn't do justice to my latest € 2 buys from Think Twice.


First up is this pale green dress with dark green dots, which has a matching belt. Made in France, from a polyester/acrylic blend, with the tiniest bit of wool, it'll be warm enough to wear on the coldest of winter days.  

I'm just a little bit disappointed with the label, which says "Duchesse Anne". Don't these people know that I'm a princess? They spelled my name wrong as well!

Even in the best of my photos, the green in the dress was hardly noticeable, so I had to perform quite a bit of magic on them ...

I guess it will need a dash of bright colour to combine it with. Any suggestions are welcome!


The green in this dress was more photogenic, especially combined with the royal blue: one of my favourite colour combinations. And look at those pretty pearly buttons! There is a belt to this dress too, but I forgot to photograph it. 












The final dress is made from a blue crepe-like material, with a dusky pink lining.
I love its wide lapelled collar, the chevron darts and the fabric covered buttons closing with loops instead of button holes.



I also grabbed this black V-necked blouse with colourful flower print from the rails.


It is close fitting, with a long zip at the back and a slight peplum. The somewhat puffy sleeves have fabric covered buttons at the wrist.









I simply couldn't get enough of its cheery print, so here's a close-up for you to enjoy.

We had a family commitment on Saturday, to do with my dad's estate, so we only had time for a quick charity shop visit.


Unfortunately, it was a bit of a waste of time as we only found a Lourdes candlestick and snow globe for our collection. The upside is that we only paid a sum total of € 0,50.







But of course, I cannot leave you without showing you Saturday's outfit.

I was thoroughly fed up with this coat after wearing it to death last winter.

Combined with the royal blue beret and scarf combo, I have to admit it doesn't look too bad ...

It is quite comfy too.

The texture of this dark red dress prevents it from being too boring, and I added a turquoise cardigan and accessories to lighten it up. The birds brooch, bought new for a change, came from Mundos in Cardigan. I have another one in green and Kezzie even has it in bright pink.

The enamel brooch with the flower design was bought from the "brooch lady" back in March.



Oh, and now that we're on kind of a blue theme: this gorgeous piece of costume jewellery, which used to belong to my great aunt Josephine, had my name written all over it.



I think it looks really pretty tucked up in its original box on a bed of pink cotton wool.


This massive brooch was also passed down from my stylish great aunt. 

The centre "stone" always puts me in mind of Sherlock Holmes's "blue carbuncle", although goose will certainly not be on the menu for Christmas at Dove Cottage!

32 comments:

  1. Great finds as usual, Ann. Of course the dress with (almost) your name in the label was made for you! The rust red dress with pale blue cardi and accessories is a fantastic colour combination, absolutely stunning!

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    1. Thank you Claire. I first wore a navy cardigan with the dress, but I'm glad I swapped it for the pale blue one, which made it all come together ... xxx

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  2. Oooh! I love green and royal blue together! That striped dress is my favourite. It was a tough choice because all the dresses were so pretty.

    You look very snugly warm in that pretty coat with the curved lapels and blue beret and scarf. It would be perfect for a Canadian winter.

    Happy thrifting ;)

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    1. Whoever said blue and green should never been seen, was definitely colour blind! I'm not sure the scarf would be up to a Canadian winter, though, as it was just a flimsy one ... xxx

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  3. if the sun goes down with yellow/orangey skies then the weather will be cloudy the next day, if there are no colors at all bad weather is coming. a red/purple sundown is for a bright day after.... yes - i have to much time :-)
    the pale green dress reminds me on something a had "stolen" from granny when i was a teen - would wear bright green with it of cause. but it could look rad with shiny black accessories too.
    that coat is totally sweet and the blue jewelry just gorgeous! but how can a RED dress be boring ;-)
    xxxxx

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    1. Those old-fashioned weather sayings are often more correct than weather predictions based on computer models. I will try out the pale green dress with both of your suggestions, Beate! xxx

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  4. such fabulous purchases!, lovely dresses! (I love particularly that striped one!)
    And your red dress looks stunning (a red dress can't be boring!!) with lovely turquoise and those brooches!
    I adore those pieces your auntie gave you, and a S.H. reference is always enjoyable! The Blue Carbuncle is a fav Xmas Reading!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica. You are right: of course a red dress can never be boring. I'm just so used to wearing prints that I always think something is missing when I'm wearing a plain dress ... Besos xxx

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  5. Our weather was pretty much like that last week and then the heavens opened on Saturday morning. It was so miserable.
    I love both the pale green dress (I'd team it with mustard yellow!) and the blue crepe-like one. They're both really pretty. xx

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    1. I never thought of mustard yellow, so I'll definitely try that, Cate. xxx

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  6. There were some fabulous skies here recently, not so now sadly, it's grim, grey, foggy and damp. I can't wait to escape.
    Love that second dress, the fabulous blouse and the inherited bracelet and brooch. Gold only works for me when it's combined with blue.
    The checked coat is ace, so glad you gave it another go.
    I'm still dealing with Dad's probate, it's an absolute nightmare. Hope it's a lot easier your end. xxx

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    1. I bet you can't wait to escape, Vix. So clever of you to make your winter a little shorter. As for my dad's estate, here in Belgium all paperwork has to be completed within 4 months, so on paper at least all is now finished. We're just waiting for the taxman to tell us what we have to pay ... xxx

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  7. Oooh I love your finds. The spotty dress is fab - could you bring out the green by wearing it with something orange? Shocking that they don't know your title, though. Off with their heads!

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    1. Haha, off with their heads indeed! Oh, orange would probably look nice with the dress. I'll be trying it out. xxx

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  8. great finds i love the buttons on the blue dress

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    1. Thanks Kate. I really love that dress, which I guess was handmade. xxx

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  9. The pale green dress can be brought out a bit with white or cream and darer green accents-I have a blouse in a similar shade/pattern and it took ages to work out the combination.

    The blue dress has a bit of a 40's vibe to it-very pretty collar on it.

    The weather may be drab, but you're looking lovely.

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    1. Thanks Goody. I agree with the dress having a kind of 40's vibe. It was very crumpled when I bought it, and it was a bit of a nightmare to iron ... xxx

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  10. Those dresses you found are really pretty. I especially like the blue one for the details. The loops instead of button holes, the dusky pink lining and the fabric covered buttons make it a high quality item.

    Of course the bracelet is a beauty and, yes, looks very nice in the pink cotton bed!

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    1. Thank you Dan! There's no label, so I presume the dress was handmade, by a very accomplished seamstress ... xxx

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  11. Well done on a great frock haul this week Ann, or should I say Your Royal Highness? Can't believe the crazy prices...you are so lucky. Loving the blue and green striped frock and the cheerful blouse. Great Aunt Josephine's jewellery is stunning, funny how pink cotton wool is not in vogue these days. x

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    1. Don't worry, you can still call me Ann, Fiona. That shop is having crazy sales every five weeks or so. For two weeks, prices go down day after day, until everything is just € 1. If you're prepared to wade through mountains of clothing, you can do some great bargains. xxx

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  12. Fab finds as always! The pearly buttons are so pretty, my new flamingo cardi has pink pearlised buttons.

    Pink cotton wool reminds me of my childhood, when you also got blue and pale yellow and I would snaffle pieces, tear off small bits and push them into my Sindy doll champagne glasses to pretend it was an ice cream sundae! xxx

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    1. Thanks Melanie. Now that you're mentioning it, it seems a while since I saw those bags of differently coloured cotton wool balls in the shops ... Must investigate! xxx

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  13. Great finds! I love the first two dresses particularly!! So bright and fun! x

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. Nothing better to cheer up a grey day than by wearing bright colours! xxx

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  14. Oh yes, it's a fact that Mother Nature sends her best weather out to play when we're all at work. Our office is horrible, and we never get lunch breaks, so most of the time the weather is a mystery to us. It's just permafrost indoors. Anyway Ma'am, didn't you do well with the frocks?! Green and Royal Blue (especially for you) is a hit, and actually I rather love the pale blue, reminds me of something Wallis Simpson would have worn in the 40s. I imagine all those wonderful jewels will look mighty fine with that! xxx

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    1. Thanks Tania. Your permafrost office sounds horrible ... I'm so lucky that ours has big windows and we get to see the weather, even if it's nasty. I agree with you on the Wallis Simpson thing, and the dress definitely calls out 1940s to me. Will try it out with some of great aunt Josephine's jewels ... xxx

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  15. Yay lots of lovely outfits for me to claim first Ann in particular the green frocks. I've sent for some little bird brooches. I need to get taking some pics of my outfits, I'm slipping behind.
    Have you heard of Fly London boots, I've just bought two pair after selling some of my vintage clothes. I also treated myself to a tan biker jacket, something I've wanted for a while xxx

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    1. Thanks Lynn. Looking forward to seeing some more of your outfit pics! I can only do decent pics in the weekends due to the lack of daylight photo opportunities during the week. Haven't heard of Fly London boots, so will have to check them out. Oh my, a tan biker jacket, would love to see you in that one too ... xxx

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  16. What a fabulous collection of finds. I love your check coat - it looks great with blue accessories xx

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    1. Thanks Hazel. I love that coat, only I wore it so much last year that I was a bit bored by it. Due to the lovely comments it got, I started wearing it again, now and then. xxx

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