Sunday 20 August 2017

All mixed up

As the weather continued to be all mixed up, we were kind of at a loose end on Saturday before last.

There is only so much charity shopping you can do, so in order to get our weekly vintage fix, we drove down to the town of Geel, just under 60 kilometers from where we are, where there's a delightful shop selling all manner of vintage and retro goodies, called Expo 58.

The dress I was wearing was picked up at a charity shop retro event back in 2014, when I plucked it from a mannequin after I'd fallen in love on the spot with its groovy pattern.



It is handmade and fully lined, and it's got a little slit at the top, which is not serving any purpose at all since it shows more of the same fabric. The skirt has got an inverted front pleat and there's a self fabric belt with a round blue buckle.

There are two reasons which keep me from wearing it to death. One is that it's cotton and needs ironing. The second is its rather annoying high collar which starts bothering me after a couple of hours' wear.



In order to break up the monotony of the pattern, lovely though it is, I added a white pearly brooch and a pink double string of pearls which belonged to my Great Aunt Josephine.

I think this three quarter sleeve mustard cardigan is perfect with it, adding a contrasting colour. Wearing a cardigan means I can add another brooch, and I chose a large, early plastic one with carved flowers.



I'm taking tentative steps towards pattern mixing, following the example of the queens of pattern mixing, Beate and Goody, by wearing a black and white checked jacket on top. It came without its belt, but needed one to give it more shape, so I added a fuchsia pink belt and pinned a large fuchsia flower corsage to its lapel, both tying in with the pink in the dress.

Burgundy Clarks shoes and a small reddish brown handbag were the final touches.



Oh, and did you notice my watch strap? The watch's original strap needed replacing when I suddenly remembered this strap, part of a lot of original 1970s watch straps found at a charity shop about two years ago.

Back to our little trip! We have been to the shop before, the last time was in December, when I blogged about it here, and we never leave the shop empty handed.



Lovely owner Stefanie is one of my readers too, which I'm really chuffed about!

There was a rail of vintage clothing in the shop's entrance, and I'd already chosen an armful of dresses to try on, when Stefanie noted all the commotion and came out to say hello.



Three of the dresses came home with me, and I'll be making a point of wearing the two summer dresses before the summer is out.



The third dress, a red plaid long-sleeved one, was actually made in Belgium. Look at that lovely label! I didn't like its buttons, and have already changed them, so that it's ready to wear. If the weather keeps going downhill the way it does, this may be very soon ...

Other things we bought are:



A delightful yellow wicker basket.



A box of stain remover, to be put into our kitchen display cabinet with our other vintage packaging.

Two paper grocery bags advertising La Vache Qui Rit (a.k.a. The Laughing Cow) and Spa mineral water.



We have framed them and hung them up in our kitchen.

Finally, a mystery object made from sturdy carton, featuring two Scottie dogs. I'd not idea what it was until Stefanie told me it was a backboard for hanging a daily tear-off calendar.



Sunday brought a mix of clouds and some sunshine, with a couple of showers thrown in.

We stayed at home and I continued with my mending. The upside of the unseasonable weather is that I have actually reached the bottom of my mending basket. Yes, you have read that right! I even finished shortening the lining of a winter skirt which had been waiting since, well, last winter!

This is one of the other things which had been languishing in my mending pile.



Right, that's a funky piece of fabric, but what is it?

I won't leave you in suspense for long: it's a maxi skirt!
It was far too long, so  needed shortening, and as it is lined, I needed to shorten that as well. Quite a job, as I've been doing it all by hand, having yet to master my Mum's sewing machine.

Isn't that print absolutely fabulous?



I did some more pattern mixing by wearing it with an orange polka dot shirt. Not very adventurous, I know, but I'm still learning ...




On top, a blue linen mix jacket I charity shopped a couple of months ago.


Oh, and the fringy suede shoes were a present from my friend Ann.


We met on the bus (one of the perks of public transport) and she lives nearby, and last Friday was her very first visit to Dove Cottage, where she joined me for coffee and cake and a catch up!

Oh, and linking to Patti's Visible Monday!

30 comments:

  1. You're doing brilliantly with the pattern mixing, I love the two houndstooth prints together. It always looks so good on other people but I just can't bring myself to do it - I've tried twice over the last week but each time I just didn't feel right and had to get changed again! Love the groovy dress - could you just alter the neckline to get more wear out of it? x

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    1. Thank you! I'm not really a confident pattern mixer, but I'm trying to be more adventurous. Will see how it works out. I do think the standup collar goes really well with the dress, so I'll just keep on wearing it in little doses ... xxx

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  2. Oh Ann wonderfull findings. You have such a good hand for charity vintage shopping. This skirt is stunning, you are right. You look amazing in all this clothes, but the skirt is really wonderful.
    XO <3 Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! I'm glad I've finally made the effort to shorten the skirt ... xxx

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  3. That maxi skirt is divine! Send it over here if you ever get fed up with it!!
    A wise move of you & Jos to visit that lovely vintage shop. That first dress is gorgeous, I love the high neck and the bodice detail and I adore printed cotton - I quite like ironing (weirdo!)
    Don't those buttons transform that dress? Great bit of DIY! xxx

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    1. I actually had to think of you when I first laid eyes on the skirt. It's got your name on it if I ever get tired of it. I seem to be buying more and more printed cotton items lately. Something to do with hot flushes, I guess ... xxx

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  4. I love all your outfits, all of them are fantastic colours and patterns.
    One upside of the weather is the time spent catching up on things, I've been doing that too.
    Dove cottage looks lovely and cosy and I love the coffee set. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! I'm glad you love the coffee set. It's vintage 1960s, from a Belgian pottery called Boch, and one of my pride and joys! xxx

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  5. Oh I wish I could have come along on your vintage shopping trip! I love, love that Maxi skirt. Thanks for linking up, XO,

    Patti
    http://notdeadyetstyle.com

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    1. Thank you Patti! The maxi skirt is getting a lot of love here ... xxx

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  6. Amazing Maxi!!!! You look very good in it and your exploration into pattern mixing is going very wELL! I do like the high necked dress too!!x

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. I'm glad you like my attempts at pattern mixing. xxx

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  7. you do pattern mixing like a pro! i see a lot of fab looks in your future!!
    (thanx for the "queen"!)
    :-D
    the cotton dress indeed has a groovy gorgeous pattern and the cut looks very good on you - sad that the collar is pinching. and of cause the b&w jacket is a genius addition! fab accessories too!
    changeable watch straps - what a great find. as is that plaid dress - your buttons are much better!
    but that maxi skirt beats it all - that pattern is sensational! and again i love your elegant styling of it - so unexpected and trés chic!
    hugest hugs!!! xxxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! It feels good to know that my pattern mixing attempts are appreciated by the queen! xxx

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  8. I love the print of the dress you wore, it's almost half Art Deco and half 60s psychedelic! And talking of psychedelic, that skirt is incredible! What a pattern. xx

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    1. Thank you Cate! You're right, the dress's print does lean a bit to Art Deco. xxx

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  9. Excellent pattern mixing-the hounds tooth jacket is lovely. The watchbands are so very mod-love them.

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    1. Thanks Goody! It took me more than a year to actually use one of the watch straps. They look so wonderful on their cards. I actually had a similar watch strap when I was in my teens. xxx

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  10. Love the color and pattern of the first dress. You put together clothes so well.

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  11. love the colorful psychedelic print of your first dress! and love how you do mixed prints!
    That plaid red dress looks very appealing to me! and the maxi skirt is Fabulous!, such an amazing print and cool colors!! awesome!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I'm still learning how to mix patterns. You are so much better at it. You are actually one of the queens too! xxx

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  12. I love the way bloggers all draw inspiration from each other. Goody is mine when it comes to accessorizing. I knew Vix would love that maxi too...

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    1. That's what I love too, Mim. And nobody does accessorizing like Goody! I knew Vix would love the maxi the moment I laid eyes on it! xxx

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  13. Those are brilliant pattern mixing experiments, Ann!! The first dress is awesome, I adore the print and style. I think such a busy print doesn't even need much ironing. Here, I said it, I am a lazy bum and rarely iron anything. I love the mustard cardi with your dress, and that jacket is perfect. Stefanie is a gorgeous lady, and your new dresses are fantastic! And the maxi skirt outfit is mind blowing! Just beautiful everything - colors, patterns, shapes, details... Great job!!

    How sweet to meet a friend on the bus. I miss such happy coincidences. Lots of love!

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's trying to avoid ironing at all costs! Stefanie will be so flattered when she reads your comment! Oh, and I've actually quite a few "bus friends" ... xxx

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  14. Your pattern mixing is great, those combos you have chosen really do go together. Totally agree with your choice of new buttons for that dress, it looks so much nicer. Can't wait to see the other new dresses. Oh those funky watch straps are fab, so many lovely things! xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! I've already worn the other two dresses, so they'll be on the blog soon! xxx

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  15. Love the Blue and Orange outfit An. Definitely a great colour combo for you. And how cute is that basket bag? xx
    www.vanityandmestyle.com

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    1. Thank you Laurie. I have a similar basket in blue too. I can never resist a basket ... xxx

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