Tuesday 29 January 2019

Pink frost

I had it all worked out in my head. As on Saturday before last, the eternal rain had temporarily stopped and had been replaced by temperatures barely above freezing point, I intended to wear one of my vintage jumpers. I'd chosen my blue one, which has three rows of openwork flowers caught between two rows of tiny red hearted daisies.

I even had two choices of skirt in mind. It was going to be either my red plaid pleated skirt or my light grey one criss-crossed with multi-coloured diagonals.

At least, that was the plan. 


But then the red-hearted daisies reminded me of a velvet skirt, its print featuring pink flowers, which was languishing in my wardrobe. Thus, out it came. But it didn't look right at all with the jumper. However, now that I'd finally got the velvet skirt out, I was determined to wear it. So, taking the lead from the pink flowers, I scanned my wardrobe's shelves for a suitable jumper and happened upon this pink, grey and brown zig-zag one, which I charity shopped a couple of months ago. 

Satisfied with the result, I started building the rest of that day's outfit around it.


This is a typical Saturday morning occurrence at Dove Cottage, which I'm using to illustrate the way my outfits often come together. Trial and error. Playing with colours and prints. 

After a week of mornings when, still half asleep and bleary eyed, I'm mindlessly putting on one of the outfits I've assembled the weekend before, Saturday morning is my happy time, when I can play with the items in my wardrobe to my heart's content.


The velvet skirt is part of a suit I bought at Think Twice in September 2016, partly paid for by vouchers my friend Inez got me for my birthday.

I'd forgotten how fabulous it is! The short, fitted jacket is edged in faux leather and has faux leather covered buttons. I wore this for these photos only, as it was far too cold to go it alone, with just the jacket as outerwear.

I added my burgundy faux fur wrap and hot pink gloves, both of which were bought in last Winter's sales, as well as my vintage dusty pink Kangol beret with pom pom.


To tie in with the blue and turquoise in the skirt's print, I pinned a turquoise flower shaped brooch to my jumper. If you look closely, you can see that its heart is edged with tiny pink stones.

The necklace was a retail buy from back in the mists of time, and features graduated wooden beads in pink, purple and orange.


Instead of a cardigan, I opted for a black fake fur cap-sleeved vest, and obviously only pink opaques would do! 

Look at all that space in the wardrobe!  Sadly, it isn't mine: it's the wall-length fitted wardrobe in the master bedroom at my parents' house.


Outerwear consisted of a recently acquired purple fake fur jacket, and a charity shopped red and purple fringed scarf.

Comfortable footwear was essential, as we were off to our first flea market of the year. My feet were thanking me for choosing my trusty slouchy tan boots, which have just the right height of heel for trawling the flea market aisles.


Only minutes after entering the flea market venue, I was irresistibly drawn to this beehive shaped object, complete with three large-eyed bees attached to it by tiny coil springs.  It's a piggy bank, similar to the one I had at my paternal grandparents' house. In fact, we already owned one, minus the bees, which we picked up at another flea market many years ago. 

We were going to sell on the bee-less one at next Summer's flea market, but when we got it home, we noticed they aren't the same at all. So, for now, we are keeping them both.


Another book for our already seriously groaning shelves, but I'm sure you'll agree there was no way Jos could leave this one behind ...



This flea market, which is held on a monthly basis and for which we take out a season ticket saving a small fortune on entrance fees, is the perfect place to browse for brooches and other jewellery.

I was instantly smitten when I laid eyes on this fabulous pendant with its Tiger's Eye gemstone. At € 12 it was my most expensive buy that day.


I ended up buying six brooches from various stalls.

The plastic medallion with its trio of roses and the cute pair of tiny deer both came from the same stall whose owners live in the same town as we do.


And then there were these treasures. Clockwise from top left: a gold tone dragonfly with filigree wings, a silver swirly knot and - my favourite - a burnished gold tone posy with red plastic berries.

On the bottom left is the pink frost the post's title is referring to. That night's frost had decorated our pink metal garden table with a pattern of frost ferns. Aren't they magical?


There's one more brooch I have to show you. When trawling one of the last aisles, my eye was caught by an unusual carved celluloid brooch hiding among a jumble of jewellery on one of the stalls.



Now I regularly come across similar brooches, and even have some in my collection, but I'd never seen one with a green frame.

I carefully extracted it from its precarious position and, as it seemed to be in great condition, I nonchalantly asked for its price. Needless to say, I couldn't hand over my € 5 fast enough!


To end this post, I'm treating you to a look at my other carved celluloid brooches. 

They were all flea market finds, except for the souvenir brooch of the Notre Dame in Paris, which was picked up in a charity shop for € 0,50.

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!


42 comments:

  1. This would have to be one of my all-time favourite outfits, Ann! I absolutely love each variation of this gorgeous outfit. That skirt is fabulous and looks great with its matching jacket and also with the purple faux fur jacket. I think I like the black faux fur vest look the best because you can still see that pretty cardi and fab accessories! I love the colours, prints and textures in this outfit! Love that beret too! ;) XXX

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    1. Thank you so much, Sasha! I was quite pleased with the result myself. xxx

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  2. Oh my! That zig zag jumper and floral velvet suit are divine!!!! SUch great choices! You did well at the flea market- I really like that bee hive- glad you are keeping them both! Nice book for Jan! I'd like to read that too!

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    1. Thank you Kezzie! It's a pity the other beehive has lost its bees, though. xxx

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  3. That floral suit is the most wonderful thing I've ever set eyes on. It was made for you!

    I've never seen a green celluloid brooch either-you certainly found a bargain.

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    1. Thank you Goody! And you've just confirmed the rarity of that green celluloid brooch ... xxx

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  4. I actually exclaimed out loud, "OH, YES!" at the full velvet suit - what a glorious thing that is! I like getting a glimpse into your creative process - it's very similar to my closet puttering that I do on the weekends, or before I go to bed.

    It looks like you have a Grape Ape coat of your own! Welcome to the muppet club, ha ha!

    Of all your finds, that dragonfly sings to me the most.

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    1. I love it that we have a similar creative process when it comes to assembling an outfit. It's so much fun, isn't it? xxx

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  5. That velvet suit is possibly the most fantastic thing I've ever seen you in - and you have a lot of good clothes. It's incredible!

    I love the bee-bank too. Presumably honey for the industrious saver.

    Your celluloid brooches are so delicate. I don't think I've ever seen any out in the wild.

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    1. Thank you Mim! I hadn't thought about the honey thing, but you might very well be right. xxx

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  6. I love the carved brooches! And the bee money bank! I love bees. You look fabulous in the velvet suit. XXX

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    1. Thank you Linda. I love bees too, and have several beehive shaped honey pots as well. xxx

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  7. What a gorgeous velvet suit! I love the way you accessorized it. Sometimes my idea of what I'm going to wear changes in exactly the same way, I'm glad it's not just me.
    You always find such lovely and unusual items at flea markets, the beehives are adorable, i can see why you thought they were the same, they have many similarities.
    xx

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    1. Thank you Hazel. Sometimes I know exactly what I'll wear and stick to it, and sometimes ... I don't ;-) xxx

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  8. What a suit! Utterly fabulous. Wallflowers need not apply! I find my dressing slightly robotic (and fast!) on a work day. I do enjoy taking time to try on various combinations on a weekend. More trying on needed though when purchases keep making their way in, I can't keep up! Xx

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    1. I do try to assemble a choice of outfits on Sunday, to be worn during the week, as I don't think I can be really creative after a full day's work. So yes, my dressing too is slightly robotic during the week. xxx

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  9. Your pink clothes are amazin abd this suit is stunning :)
    Soo,cute this beehive, is it for decoration?
    A very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! The beehive is a "Sparbüchse", and I had a similar one at my grandparents when I was a child. xxx

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  10. Those little celluloid brooches are like little dioramas! So detailed!

    I LOVE that suit all together! And the bright chevron sweater is perfect with it.

    That subtitle on the book is great, " Mastering The Art Of Permanent Fashion"

    Unbelievable that you found two little beehives like that. I often find the same dresses when thrifting. I think I found the same bridesmaid dress over 20 times now at different stores.

    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. I'm thinking of starting a sub branch of my brooch collection, and find more of those little dioramas. Oh, and I've just given a dress to charity as it was slightly too big on me, only to find another, smaller sized one at Think Twice the other day. I didn't buy it though ... xxx

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  11. Pink frost is wonderful!

    What a lovely outfit and the suit is beautiful. You must wear it as a suit again when the weather warms up; it won't be too long, Ann! Love pinks, purples and turquoise together - a magical combination.

    Your brooch finds (and the pendant and beehive - so cute) are fabulous. I loved the berry one the best and then I saw the carved celluloid one- how beautiful! I've yet to come across one of these but I'll be keeping a very sharp eye out now! I love the 3D effect they have.

    I find if I don't have an outfit planned for the next day I faff about forever trying to work out what to wear. It's all forward planning...

    Hope your week has been going well and that you're keeping warm.
    xxxx

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    1. Thank you Veronica! I have to plan the week's outfits ahead on Sunday, as I can't get my creative juices flowing after a full day's work! But I love faffing around in the weekends ... xxx

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  12. Oh what beautiful brooch finds! I like the green frame one, such a great addition to your collection! :)

    Your outfit is so perfectly colourful too - I like seeing how it all came together, even if it wasn't what you'd planned to wear at first!

    Hope that you are having a great week! We finally have our aircon fixed - it was so tough suffering through the heatwave without it!

    Away From The Blue Blog

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    1. Thank you Mica! It must be a relief to have your aircon fixed as it must have been really hard without it during your heatwave! How did you survive? xxx

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  13. The suit is gorgeous. I would love to see the jacket paired with jeans. xx

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  14. That's a fab suit Ann. The pink opaques are perfect to brighten a dark January day, as for pink frost! Wow.
    Have a lovely weekend. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! I've been wearing a lot of pink lately. xxx

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  15. I’m going to have to find a copy of that book for Philip, it looks good and so do you Ann in that fabulous velvet number.
    We’ve had heavy snow since Tuesday with more to come, so we haven’t moved far from home. Roll on spring
    Lots of love xxx

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    1. Thank you Lynn. We'll buy it for you if we come across it again. Roll on Spring indeed. Or at least a bit of sunshine. So bored with the grey weather! xxx

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  16. Oh very cute style darling~
    the brooches are really cute
    xx

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  17. I love the way you play with shades of pink and blue in this post, Ann! And the skirt+jacket set looks like a richly textured coat which is just so lovely! You have quite a collection of vintage knits and outerwear, and the purple fur coat is a great find! I adore the brooches you show here, and the green frame is reminiscent of jade which is so popular in Chinese culture (as is this type of carving).

    Have a wonderful weekend, dear friend, and join us for our new MM! Lots of love!

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    1. Thank you Natalia. I think a collection of outerwear is a must in our climate, to alleviate the boredom! xxx

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  18. I love a zigzag print, and those colours are fantastic in these grey cold boring days. I adore the dragonfly brooch, it's by far my favourite.

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  19. the green framed brooch is so beautiful!
    i´m knocked over by the velvet suit - its fabulous!! you really have to wear it in spring in all its full glory. but the furry purple "thing" - did you kill a muppet? - is very chic with it too :-D
    hugs! xxxxx

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    1. It does look like I killed a muppet, doesn't it? Don't tell anyone, though! xxx

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  20. WOUUU I'm totally in love with your velvet suit, its colorful print and fabulous velvetness!! sorry that you couldn't wear it in this cold weather!. Also love the faux fur coat, so cute!, and the pink sweater and Pink Tights!! gorgeous!
    And such fab purchases!, the book and the brooches look fantastic! my favourite is also the berries one! and your celluloid brooches collection is increasingly fabulous!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I've got a feeling I'll be picking up more of these celluloid brooches. They are fantastic, aren't they? xxx

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  21. OMG, so much to love and covet in this post. That velvet suit! Those celluloid brooches OMG! The beehives!! The Bonnie and Clyde vibe of the zigzag jumper with the beret and the velvet skirt!!

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    1. Thank you Fig! Would you believe I've only just seen your comment? Duh! xxx

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