Do the Daylight Shuffle

I was going to tell you all about last week and the ensuing weekend, when suddenly it dawned on me that I forgot to show you the outfits I wore in the penultimate week of October.

To be more specific, the only two outfits we were able to photograph out in the garden after work, as during the rest of that week both the weather and my mood put a spanner or two in the works.

Let's start with this black dress, with its striking print of green and white triangles, which has been a wardrobe habitué for many years.  I echoed the triangles by adding a white vinyl belt with an unusual, triangular shaped buckle.

My necklace, with alternating white, green and tan coloured beads, was a gift from a flea market trader a couple of Summers ago.

In order to provide some contrast, I wore a bright orange cardigan on top, to which I pinned what I'm calling my flapper girl brooch, the girl in question wearing a green hat and gloves, with a white fur draped over her shoulder, and thus tying in completely with the colours of my dress.

Later that week, with the weather somewhat brighter and the temperature quite mild, I was inspired to wear all-over flowers, starting with a skirt I scored at a charity shop event back in Spring. Its profusion of green, tan, orangey red and white flowers never fails to make my heart sing.

Delicate flowers are dotted all over this coral crepey blouse, which felt like the skirt's perfect companion. A recently charity shopped moss green suede belt kept it all in check. All other accessories, including the vintage celluloid flower brooch, are second-hand finds as well.

Tweed jackets and blazers are yet another weakness of mine, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. I had been looking for a green based jacket for ages when I spotted this one in a charity shop last Autumn. As is often the case, I then found another one only weeks later, so that I now have two of them. They're sufficiently different to justify keeping them both.

The clocks were put back one hour that weekend, which is putting paid to any outside outfit photos on a weekday evening for the time being. In spite of the extra hour's sleep, I was feeling out of sorts all week. Isn't it time they stop all that nonsense? Daylight saving? Don't make me laugh! Daylight shuffling would be a more adequate term in my book. There, I've said it, rant over!

On the upside, we were finally treated to some crisp, sunny days and, even if they were weekdays, I tried to make the most of them by going for walks in my lunch break and enjoy Autumn in the city.

The chilly mornings prompted the first wearing of berets and gloves and having a bevy of both to choose from, I'm always trying to match their colours. The turquoise frilly scarf is back too. I think I wore it on constant rotation last Winter, and I'm sure you'll get to see it on more than one occasion this year as well.

Trying to find a suitable place for indoor outfit photos is a nearly impossible task as we hardly have anywhere which combines suitable lighting and a reasonably neutral background.

We've been trying out this spot in our spare room which unfortunately isn't ideal. The artificial lighting is terrible for getting colours right while at the same time giving me a ghostly pallor. I'm pale enough as it is, thank you. But it'll have to do for now.

This dress, with its rainbow stripes on a reddish purple background, is another old favourite. I snapped it up at Think Twice on one of my Friday afternoon vintage shopping trips with my friend Inez a couple of  years ago.  It looks much redder than it actually is in the photo on the right, so I've added a close-up taken in daylight. My cardigan, to which I pinned a vintage Bambi brooch, is King Louie by way of a charity shop.

One advantage of the daylight shuffle are the gorgeous sunsets I get to experience at the office. My phone's camera has been doing overtime catching all these gloriously coloured skyscapes.

We did another indoor photo session that week and although at least my outfit colours show up marginally better here, my face is a ghostly shade of white. But never mind, it's all about the clothes, isn't it?

The blue embroidered corduroy skirt, orange cardigan and chocolate brown belt were all charity shopped, while I found the brooch in an antiques centre in Shrewsbury. The vintage satiny black floral blouse was a fairly recent Think Twice find. This was one of my trial and error separates outfits, and I loved it so much that I'll definitely be wearing it again.

Another day, another lunchtime walk, this time taking me to the shops! 

On the top, left and right, is Dries Van Noten's beautiful flagship store, based in a sumptuous corner building still displaying the shop's original name, Het Modepaleis, which translates as Fashion Palace. Originally built in the late 19th century, it received its current neo-classical look in the early 20th century. Sheila, I photographed this especially for you!

On the bottom left is one of the sculptures guarding the entrance of a well known Antwerp department store, while on the bottom right is a famous old shop specializing in gloves!  They started trading in 1884 and the art deco building they are housed in was custom built for them in 1929. The building is listed and still has its original shop interior.

Obviously, my actual shopping trip didn't take me to any of these.

As there was yet another sale at Think Twice, this was where I was headed. The day when everything is € 4 is my favourite, as there's still quite a bit of choice, with even some new arrivals thrown in. As prices go down even further, the shop descends into chaos in spite of the salespersons' efforts to keep everything in check.

Here are some of the items I found and which Angelica is only too glad to model for you, starting with a black flower pot print midi dress in a wool/polyester blend. It is labelled "Pat Patty tricot", which unfortunately I couldn't find anything about.

This midnight blue shirt dress with its busy multi-colour flower print and self-fabric buttons is handmade and fully lined.

A watercolour flower print in orangey reds mingled with cream makes this floaty chiffon dress a perfect pick-me-up for a dull day.

And finally, a Crimplene maxi with the funkiest of prints and accordion pleated butterfly sleeves!

Well, that is it for now. Yesterday I waved goodbye to the office for a week, as we're going on a little break. I can't say I will miss it, not even the late afternoon sun's shadowplay of our building's windows on Antwerp's skyscraper opposite.

There will be some radio silence from me, but I'll be back to comment on your lovely blogs next weekend.

See you on the other side!