Here comes the rain again

I have one more travel post coming up, but I'm saving it for a rainy day ;-)

Not that we haven't had any rainy days lately. In fact, it has been grey and wet for well over a week now. There is no denying that we are on the slippery slope to Winter, but who are we to complain? After all, we've had the most gorgeous weather well into Autumn.

Now, the year's twilight days are once again upon us.  Even on the clearest of days, daylight is waning by 4.30 pm here in Belgium, and we've still got about two weeks to go until the days are at their shortest.

So, shall I treat you to some colour? On Friday before last - a half day for me - I wore this navy vintage frock printed with sky blue and green ... things. I'm afraid I've no idea what they are, some kind of leaves perhaps, but they are certainly doing the trick.

I went all matchy-matchy with green tights and a green cardigan and chose a blue plastic ring, the blue necklace I'd charity shopped the week before, and a blue belt. The brooch pinned to my cardigan, a gold tone flower with turquoise plastic beads, was bought from the Brooch Lady about two years ago.

All I'm wearing is vintage or new-to-me, except for the ring and the tights. Oh, and my green booties from Middelburg!

When I was uploading my photos for this post, it suddenly dawned on me that I forgot to mention the fabulous snakeskin belt I found at our last flea market. So let's start with this.

Then, I'll proceed with the task at hand and show you my latest finds.

As it rained on most days during that week, my lunch breaks weren't exactly much fun. When one day there was a break in the weather, I went for a browse at Think Twice, whose sales had now reached the € 2 mark.

I still managed to find some exciting things, starting with two vintage dresses which are in such pristine condition they could very well be deadstock.

The black and white mod dress, with its funky print and two solid black pocket tabs, is from Finnish label Vinetta. I'm intending to wear it with one of my trademark pairs of coloured tights and a fierce pair of black boots. Watch this space!

The second dress, in navy with a happiness inducing flower print was made in France. The label is Castille, which I couldn't find anything about. It is quite similar in shape to the dress I'm wearing at the start of this post, but oh that print! Not to mention the row of cute orange buttons at the cuffs!

I also bought another jacket (yes I know) but you'll get to see that in a minute.

No, it's not this one. Incidentally, this also was a Think Twice sales bargain, snapped up back in February.

I love its rust coloured check, the delightful self-belt and ditto buckle and the fact that it has actual pockets. Here's a close-up.

It was Saturday by now and another dismal day with little or no let-up in the rain.

As wearing colour is an instant pick-me-up, I added my green beret and burnt orange scarf in the mix.

This green, red, white and navy plaid print frock is one of my all-time favourites. Apart from the obvious attraction of its amazing print, there are the buttons, the upturned cuffs and the large, pointy collar.

I added a red belt to define my waist, a red cardigan and bright green opaques. My accessories were a green and white beaded necklace, another one from my charity shop haul the week before, a navy plastic ring and a dainty cream flower brooch with a red plastic pearl at its heart.

In spite of the rain, we went for a quick dash to the charity shops, knowing that we'd be cooped up inside all day on Sunday.

Browsing the "new in" shelf of books in one of the shops we visited, I found these two, one telling the story of Coca-Cola, and another one called Kitsch Deluxe, full of kitsch interiors and collections.

In case you hadn't noticed, I do love a bit of kitsch, so this is right up my street!

Here's a little peek inside this book full of eye candy, but can you spot the impostors I've included in the collage?

Our second shop was the one near the park. We always try to go for a stroll there but as it was positively pouring by then, we only briefly went up the path for some moody photographs, with Jos holding up an umbrella to protect my camera.

The things one does for the sake of blogging!

There was a veritable cornucopia of Christmas stuff in this shop. Not my thing, but you'd wonder why anybody would go out and buy new decorations when it's all available here for a fraction of the price. 

We escaped to the basement, where the clothes and textiles department is housed, and the Christmas soundtrack was less noticeable. 

I soon found this handmade skirt, which I suspect was made from a pair of curtains! Love that print!

Although a couple of months ago the shop started to display its clothes by size, it still pays to have a quick browse through the smaller and larger sizes as well. This jacket, a size 38, was on a XL hanger. I wasn't planning to buy another jacket, but it was such a perfect fit that it came home with me.

And below is the Think Twice jacket I was talking about earlier, made from 100% wool and originating from Berlin!

Not exactly the One In Two Out Closet Reduction Rule as practiced by the lovely Suzanne, but I did re-donate three jackets to make room for these two. It's a start!

Just when I was about to take my skirt to the fitting rooms, I noticed a pair of booties on a shelf below a rail of clothes. Pinch me, as this just couldn't be happening! Here were the green booties of my dreams, in the exact shade of green I had in mind. And in my size too!

Never mind that I'd already bought green booties in Middelburg: these were meant for me, surely! Especially as they were only € 6!

So, thank you, gods of the charity shops, I promise to re-donate at least one pair of booties I'm hardly wearing instead!

One last outfit to show you. It was last Monday's, when I had taken a day off as we had stuff to do.

Obviously, I had to break in my new-to-me booties. The skirt I'm wearing came from Forever 21 many moons ago when I still bought retail.  I'm still wearing it at least once a year, and as long as I do, it deserves its space in my wardrobe. I love the zig-zag pattern! The belt is another old retail buy.

I combined the skirt with a vintage blouse from Blender Vintage Shop, a shop which has sadly stopped trading and is sorely missed. The necklace was charity shopped in Shropshire back in June and its beads are exactly the same shade of olive as my opaques. 

So, that's it for the weekend before last. I'll be back with the last episode of my travelogue later this week.

I'll be linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style as soon as the link is up.