Friday 24 March 2017

White magic

After a couple of delightful, soothing-for-the-soul Spring days, by end of last week we were back to the same old can't-decide-what-season-it-is weather.

It's not exactly been cold, but it was grey and overcast with little or no sunny spells, as well as never-ending rain, especially on Saturday.

Nevertheless, our garden is starting to look quite green again, with many shrubs coming into bud. There is one plant which has especially been relishing the rainfall which came after last week's Spring weather.





Our Clematis armandii, planted many years ago to grow through our large Lilac bush, is positively groaning under the weight of hundreds of starry, creamy white flowers.

The plant has obviously benefited from the drastic haircut Jos gave it last summer.













All we need now is lots of sunshine to release its delicate almond scent, which will make sitting on the bench in the Lilac's shade a true delight.



Saturday we called in at some of the charity shops we didn't have time for on the day of the retro event, to see if they had any goodies left.







I wore this made in Sweden "Aspens" dress, made from a polyester material called "asplene-jersey".

It has alternating bands of light and dark burgundy sprinkled with a squiggly print, which is denser on the darker bands.












There's a touch of lilac in the squiggles, which prompted me to add a lilac belt and lilac/blue cardigan. I chose opaques with a pattern of burgundy rose buds.



Looking for the perfect necklace, I came across this long forgotten silver tone pendant.

The brooch, one of my favourites, is a silver tone knot fringed with little chains ending in tiny pearls.


The first shop we went to still had tables full of stuff, which they had sorted by colour: quite a lot of orange and avocado! However, nothing really caught our eye. I did find some more frocks though, one of which you'll get to see later in this post, as well as a fabulous full-length dressing gown.

There was hardly anything left at the other shop we visited, but their bookshelves are always worth a browse, and I came away with these two, for € 0,70 each.



Obviously, I couldn't leave behind Vita's biography.

The other book, a "noir" set in 1930s Bayswater, made me think of Mim. By pure coincidence, just two days later Mim posted a review of a non-fiction book by the same author, D.J. Taylor, called Bright Young Things!

The flower print background, by the way, is my new-found dressing gown!


Before returning to Dove Cottage, we had coffee and cake at the shop's recently opened café.

On Sunday, we had my niece's 15th birthday party to go to in the afternoon, and I spent the morning pottering around the house, finally getting to grips with some long overdue filing of paperwork. I had been procrastinating and kept shoving the pile of paper to the back of the cupboard, always finding something more interesting to do instead.

Call me rash, but I've already made a start on my Spring/Summer wardrobe switch by putting away the very warmest of my dresses, assessing what I wore and what I didn't, and why.





The dress on the left is a wardrobe staple which has seen me through many a winter. With its multi colour Paisley pattern, it can be combined with lots of my cardigans. I wore it here.

I almost got rid the one on the right, which I wore here, and I'm so glad I didn't. It's not going anywhere now.



















These two plain dresses didn't see the light of day this winter. They are 100% new wool and lined, making them quite thick and heavy.

In fact, I didn't wear the brown one last winter either, so maybe it's time to say goodbye.

I'm going to hang on to the purple vintage C&A one as I love its colour, shape and detail.









This leaves Monday, for which I booked a day off.  Mr. S. urgently needed some new stuff, and since the chazzas here haven't been coming up trumps on menswear which isn't miles too big for him, there was nothing for it but to do some retail shopping.







The day was as dull and uninspiring as the - shock horror! - shopping centre we went to.

I wore one of the dresses I bought on Saturday's charity shopping trip.













Nothing dull and uninspiring about that one!

The absence of a label makes me think that it was handmade and the Crimplene-like fabric's print is bright enough to cheer up the greyest of days, not to mention the blandest of shopping centres!



I love the narrow V-shaped slit running down from the collar, ventilation which makes all the difference for a menopausal girl like me!

The plastic ring was a flea market find, and echoes the dress's print.








Thankfully, the shopping centre was rather quiet on Monday morning. Quite a difference with a Saturday afternoon, when wild horses couldn't drag me there!













Mr. S, who easily gets bored with clothes shopping for himself, bought two pairs of well needed jeans, three shirts and a jacket.







Oh, alright, here's a sneak preview of the jacket and two of the shirts.



The rest of the week whizzed by uneventfully, so that by the time you are reading this another weekend has rolled by.

The weather forecasters have predicted a continuation of this week's Spring weather, so let's hope they are right for once!

Have a great one!




25 comments:

  1. Last week's dress is glorious and I love that you've teamed your latest Scandi frock with a purple belt and cardi, looks fabulous!
    If you get your summer clothes out too soon we'll have to blame you when it snows! That being said I can't wait to see you in that lovely purple number.
    You were brave going to a shopping centre. One of the largest in Europe is less than ten miles away and the last and only time I set foot in it was 25 years ago! Jos's shirts were worth the pain though, Jon would like those! xxx

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    1. I haven't yet taken out any summer stuff, just putting the warmest stuff away. I am not completely daft! Besides, I don't want to get the blame if it snows ... The shopping centre was only bearable because it was a Monday morning, but still: give me vintage shopping any time! xxx

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  2. I love your new dress, it looks fab - and such lovely cheerful colours!
    Your Clematis is beautiful, I'm rather jealous of it.

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    1. Thank you Hazel. The Clematis - which is a so-called winter flowering one - has never treated us to so many flowers. If it's the haircut that did the trick, we will do the same this year! xxx

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  3. I admire your determination to keep track of what you've worn, and not. I'm terrible at getting rid of things I don't wear, or find uninspiring.

    That's a beautiful silver pendant necklace-the lines are so classic and it will go with anything.

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    1. I always have good intentions, but in the end I am absolutely terrible at getting rid of things too. I'm usually giving things a second (and third) chance. xxx

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  4. You are amazingly organised Ann, which has made me think about what I've not worn. Like two Welsh Tapestry pinafores. I think I'll hang on to them though as I would probably regret selling them.
    Now you've mentioned "garden" it's another job I keep ignoring and must do something about. You are making me feel very guilty missus haha.
    Enjoy the sunshine in your lovely new frock. It's gorgeous and one for me when you've finished with it.
    Did I say we have the same boots xxx

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    1. What I do is I turn the hangers the other way round of the things I've worn. Then I'm looking at the hangers which haven't been turned. But the thing is, I always come up with a good excuse for keeping them anyway ... Oh, and no need to feel guilty about your garden. You should see the state of ours ... xxx

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  5. The garden photos are beautiful, it's lovely weather here today too. You have put some great outfits together, I love the colour combinations. The last dress is fab, I love the colour xxx

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    1. Thank you, Sally. We are having glorious weather at the moment. Let's hope it lasts, but knowing Belgium it probably won't ... xxx

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  6. have to google that plant if it can live here too!
    your signature outfits of printed dress, color cardigan and coordinated jewelry changes the most gray situation into a bright and joyful event!! i bet you were the best dressed girl at the center. coincidentally we were at a department store last week - to buy some cotton sweaters for the BW - he´d chose pale pink and bright green :-)
    huge hugs! xxxxx

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    1. That Clematis is a winter-flowering one, and quite hardy, so you should be ok. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had to brave a "house of retail" in order to please the husband ... Love the BW's choice of colours! xxx

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  7. I'd have snapped that Taylor book up too, it looks most intriguing. I'm reading a vintage murder mystery at the moment.

    That long-lost silver pendant is a real statement piece, isn't it? I love it!

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    1. I'm going to read the Taylor book as soon as I've finished my current one. It does look quite intriguing ... xxx

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  8. Beautiful photos I wish I saw more signs of spring here

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    1. Thank you Kate, hope you'll get to see Spring soon! xxx

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  9. Putting away the winter clothes is a boring but unavoidable task. Let's hope you have mild days so that you can wear light weight ones...
    The weather is very changeable here in spring and I prefer keeping at handy some of my warm sweaters.
    Beautiful ( forgotten ) necklace and delightful opaques with little roses!

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    1. I'm not looking forward to the job, that's for sure. But it has to be done, so I'm starting with just a couple of pieces. Now that I've rediscovered the necklace, I'm sure it will come out more often ... xxx

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  10. I adore the red outfit from the start- so pretty! I actually never change over my outfits- far too disorganised!!!x

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. Changing over my wardrobe is a necessity as I haven't got enough room in my wardrobe. Or too many clothes? xxx

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  11. Oh those mustard beads you are wearing are just like some I had back in the Swinging 60's. Why did I get rid of them!

    I found your blog through Lynn Holland's 'One I made earlier' and I am enjoying your clothing adventures. I need to be braver!

    Best wishes,
    Julia

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    1. Hello Julia! Thank you for visiting my blog. Glad you enjoy my clothing adventures. Oh, the things we get rid of when we are younger ... Hope you will visit again. xxx

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  12. Love that frock you are wearing at the end of the post, the high neckline suits you so well. Gorgeous artwork on the Vita biography...have you visited Sissinghurst? (I bet you have.) xx

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    1. Thank you Fiona, and you guessed right: I did visit Sissinghurst, back in 2004 or was it 2005? I think we did most NT and other properties in the area. xxx

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  13. Sorting tables by colour sounds like something I would do! I can't resist organising things, hehe!

    Oh my, modern shopping centers scare me! Rather you than me, but needs must when the devil drives as they say xxx

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