Fade to grey

We had a very short-lived respite from all the rain in the weekend before last, with temperatures fluttering around an incredible 20° Celsius.

The weekend still had a wet start though, as it was raining on Friday afternoon, which I'd taken off to go on a vintage shopping spree with my friend Inez. It had been ages since we'd been on a hunt together and after hastily downing our pre-shopping cappuccinos, we were raring to go: neither the rain nor the lingering remains of my cold could deter us!

I'm making a conscious effort to wear more skirts and blouses this season, trying out different combinations instead of opting for the easy way out by wearing a dress.

This tweedy turquoise vintage skirt, which has touches of blue, green, white, red and black in its weave, has been a favourite for many years.

As its companion, I chose this chocolate brown blouse, which includes splashes of turquoise in its crazy multi-coloured print. At my waist, a tan leather belt with a rectangular buckle.

Turquoise makes further appearances in my necklace and ring, as well as in the brooch I pinned to my dotty coral cardi. The cardi, as well as my burgundy ankle boots, are the only retail items in my outfit, but they have been in my wardrobe for long enough to have earned their keep.

Unfortunately, our shopping trip wasn't a huge success, although it wasn't for want of trying. In stark contrast with the weather, it seems to be a bit of a dry period in Antwerp's vintage shops! But never mind: we had lots of fun browsing.

My only buy was a magenta dress with a purple and white flower print (top right). The other two items are both dresses as well and found on a lunch break visit to Think Twice earlier that week.

Here's the one on the top left, which I didn't waste time to wear on Saturday. 

While I was browsing, I noticed the shop assistant hanging it on the rails and, having seen a flash of its fabric out of the corner of my eye, and liking it, I went over to investigate. No labels, as it is handmade, but as luck would have it, it was my size. That dress must have been on the rails for all of 30 seconds!

The sun did its best to break through the thick blanket of clouds but had to admit defeat, so that the day remained a rather grey affair, only illuminated by the few emerging Autumn colours in the park.

After the heavy rainfall of the past couple of weeks, the water in the ponds was at its maximum height. I'm sure nature is thankful for all that quenching and nurturing rain, but frankly speaking I am more than fed up with it, as it has kept me cooped up inside for weeks on end.

The contrast with last Autumn, when we were blessed with Indian Summer weather well into October, couldn't have been greater, but at least on Saturday it was dry for once, so that we could go for a stroll around the park to stretch our weary limbs.

And did it feel good to be out and about? You bet it did! I even indulged in some tree-hugging out of sheer and utter joy!

Before I proceed to show you more of my outfit, let's zoom in on my tapestry bag, which received lots of love from Suzy on Instagram. I can never resist a tapestry bag, and this one's a particular favourite, not just because of the design on its tapestry panel, which includes two gorgeous red roses, but also due to its unusual shape, which always makes me think of a giant purse.

I did a little digging and my blog reveals that I bought it in August 2017 for the princely sum of € 1!

As for the dress, I honoured both the green and red hexagons in my dress's pattern with my choice of accessories, adding a red belt, necklace and red-berried brooch, while opting for my moss green brushed leather ankle boots, a retail buy during our short break in Zeeland (Holland) last November.

Leaves in golden yellows and crispy browns, Autumn's very first victims, were speckling the grass and the paths meandering through the park, adding to its earthy fragrance, which is tinged with an uncanny sense of nostalgia.

But this is not yet the wild exuberance of Autumn, more like a bleaching of colour and a slow fading to grey.

Some of the park's trees and vegetation seem to pretend that their season isn't over yet and are stubbornly refusing to change colour.

Amid it all, I was savouring the moment, wearing my cherished Lilli Ann coat, its colours making  me all but blend into the landscape.

There were scatterings of prickly chestnut husks, most of them picked clean by an ever-present army of crows, leaving only their soggy and rotting remains, with just the odd one still carrying its tawny cargo safely inside. Those which have escaped both their husks and the crows, were begging us to pick them up and carry them home in our pockets.

As we were just a stone's throw from the nearest charity shop, it would have been downright silly not to have a little rummage, wouldn't it?

Two chunky knits, a frilly scarf and and handful of necklaces were my reward.

But the best was yet to come!

This particular charity shop doesn't have a separate shoe display. Instead, the shoes are put out at the bottom of the clothing rails. As this is rather confusing, I usually do a second circuit of the rails just to have a look at the shoes.

And look what I found! An as good as unworn pair of vintage Hush Puppies! They are a size 3, while I usually take a 4, but sizing them up against the pair I was wearing, I thought they might fit me, which they do.

On Sunday, the sun joined the balmy temperatures in a game of pretend Summer.

Indeed, it was warm enough to go coat-less, but as I was still a bit under the weather, I wore a grey light-weight tweed jacket over my short-sleeved dress.

This box-pleated and tie-collared plaid dress had been hanging on my rail of ready to wear outfits for weeks. I never got around to actually wearing it as the weather had changed for the worse almost overnight. So, this was the perfect day for its final outing before its annual sojourn in the linen chest.

The weather was far too gorgeous to spend the day on the sofa with a book, so we took the car and drove down to the next village for a short walk in the grounds of a crumbling castle.

Circuiting the castle's lake, we found ourselves in a wooded area, where a thick mosaic of Autumn leaves was carpeting the ground, all ready for a spot of leaf-kicking! But careful, careful: it would be heartbreaking if we'd damage those magical toadstools!

I used a scarf clip to keep the dress's pesky tie in place and added a string of chunky multicoloured beads and a magenta belt to liven up its muted colours.

Emerging in the open fields, it was heaven to feel the warmth of the sun on our backs, so we sat down on a bench and daydreamed for a while before returning home.

Alas, it would rain again later that evening and every day of the week that followed. In fact, today is the first day that it hasn't rained ... yet! 

I'm sure that giant puddle will have turned into a veritable flood by now.