Wednesday 20 April 2016

Kaleidoscope style

Oh, I could definitely get used to the warmer spring weather we’ve been having last week, but it wasn’t to be, as the forecast for the weekend was rather grim and temperatures were expected to drop quite dramatically.

Sure enough, it was rather chilly on Saturday and although the sun made regular appearances between the showers, there was an arctic wind, making me regret that I’d just put away my winter woollies.




This is what I wore for our weekly charity shopping trip on Saturday.

I rather defied the weather in this long-sleeved kaleidoscope print dress, as its cottony fabric, although lined, is quite thin.  The bodice is fitted and embellished by orange stitching. The skirt has alternate panels of printed and plain black fabric.














I bought the dress at Episode, which is a Dutch chain of vintage shops. After having been absent from Antwerp for several years, they re-opened a branch here last summer. I must say that I’m not a great fan of the shop. Not only are they more expensive than my usual vintage haunts, there’s a lot of focus on the 1980s and 1990s, as well as recycled pieces, which are not really my thing. There are still some nice things to be found, though, like this dress, which was too good to resist.




The obvious choice would have been my orange cardigan, but I went for a lavender blue one, picking up the blue in the dress’s print.  I added a belt in pale lilac. 

The beautiful micro-mosaic brooch I’m wearing features both lilac and orange and was bought at Carmarthen Flea Market last June. 

I’m fully coordinated, as I’m even wearing lilac eye shadow!




I didn’t want to neglect the orange in the dress, so I chose to wear a long string of orange beads.

As it was cold, I wore one of my favourite between-seasons coats, in a gorgeous blue colour. The woollen scarves all being stashed away,  I had to make do with a sheer ochre yellow one featuring white polka dots, which contrasts really well with the blue.

Dress: Episode
Coat: Think Twice
Brooch: Flea market
Cardigan, beads and bag: Charity shopped
Scarf, tights and boots: retail



As for Saturday’s charity shopping, we came back with nothing, which was a bit disappointing to say the least.





















Since we were home early, I spent my time doing repairs on a dress I bought a couple of weeks ago. There were some split seams and the red buttons were rather faded as well as boring, so I replaced them with white vintage ones from my stash.









Here's the finished dress worn by Angelica.


















There was also time to catch up on some reading. These are the books I currently have on the go.


As you will probably guess: “schoenen” is the word for “shoes” in Flemish.  It’s a translation of the book “A Century of Shoes – Icons of Style in the 20th Century” by Angela Pattison and Nigel Cawthorne. The book deals with the socio-cultural history of footwear in the 20th century, as well as highlighting iconic shoe designs and famous designers, old and new.



The Diary of an Edwardian lady was picked up in a charity shop for less than € 1 and contains nature notes and beautiful drawings made by the author, Edith Holden, in 1906. It is a book to dip into now and again.




The Perfect Summer: Dancing into Shadow in 1911, is a fascinating read, describing the events taking place in England in the glorious summer of 1911, just before the world was to be changed forever. 



The book is written by Juliet Nicolson, who is Vita Sackville-West’s granddaughter.

Her latest book, A House Full of Daughters, a family memoir, will be released in June, and as this is a book I’m particularly interested in, I will be on the lookout for it when I’m next in the UK, which incidentally will be in June.











Have you read any good books lately?

And is there anyone else who has several books on the go at once?




22 comments:

  1. Ooh, I love lilac, your psychedelic dress is so pretty and your outfit is perfectly co-ordinated. That shoe book looks fascinating, and though my understanding of Flemish is non existant, I could spend hours looking at pictures of shoes! I've rediscovered an Enid Blyton classic and am flicking through The Folk of the Faraway Tree at present. xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! Indeed, you do not have to understand the language to enjoy the shoe book, there are so many tempting pictures. I love a good children's classic and Enid Blyton can be enjoyed at any age. xxx

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  2. Your psychedelic midi is fabulous and looks brilliant on you with all your stylish accessories. Episode sounds like British vintage chain, Cow - the main focus is on 1980s and 1990s plus reworked stuff but you can find an absolute pre-1980s gem for bargain prices as it's something the kids aren't into.
    By bizarre coincidence I've just finished reading The Bolter, the biography of racy society lady, Idina Sackville, Vita's cousin, which was absolutely riveting and highly recommended. xxx

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    1. Thanks Vix! Indeed, the reason I find so many things at my regular vintage shop is that the kids are not interested in the stuff I'm looking for. By another bizarre coincidence, The Bolter is actually in my pile of still-to-read books, and I've now moved it up a bit. xxx

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  3. No, sorry, can't compute 1990's as vintage! Lovely outfit, the coat is wonderful, the shape is fab.

    I recently finished Stephen King's 11.22.63 and am currently reading some of his short stories xx

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    1. I'm having a problem with that too, Melanie. I mean, I already had a problem with the 1980's being considered vintage ... I'm definitely going to check that book out. Last week Mim recommended the TV series. xxx

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  4. The pattern on your lovely dress reminds me of the marbled binding on antiquarian books. Pairing it with lilac was a good idea.

    That Holden book has been well-loved at our house for years, and has inspired a garden journal we've been keeping since my son was small.

    I'm afraid all the reading I've been doing of late has been school related, and not terribly fun. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break so I can read for enjoyment again.

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    1. Oh, that is a lovely thing to say, Goody. I love antiquarian books! The Edith Holden book deserves to be a classic. What a great idea to keep a garden journal with your son. xxx

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  5. Fabulous color combo, and amazing printed dress!!, love that you picked a lavender cardi instead of an orange one, and saved orange color for your beads, the colors look really enhanced!
    Loving your style!
    besos

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment. I've just discovered your blog (courtesy of Vix!) and I'm following you now. xxx

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  6. I love love love the dress!!!! So pretty!!! The brooch is an absolute corker too!!! Wow!!!! I tend to prefer to stick to one book although I'm reading an enormous Terry Pratchett graphic novel at the moment alongside another book as it is too vast to hefty about!!

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    1. Thank you Kezzie! I though you would appreciate the brooch. The books are my "coffee table" ones, to dip into now and again, though I really should finish The Perfect Summer. Apart from that, I'm also reading a novel... xxx

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  7. that dress is a beauty!!! and i love the little brooch!!
    i still wear my woolies (and silks) - although its very sunny the air is nippy and the winds frosty here in southeast germany. but a put the heavy coats away....
    your repaired dress looks like summer already!
    i cant read more then one book at the time - i would confuse the different stories/topics :-) but at the moment are no books at all - nothing will strike my fancy this days.......
    greetings! xxxxxx

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    1. Danke für dein Kommentar, Beate! The forecast is for wintery weather here this weekend, so I'll have to take some of my woollies out again. Serves me right for being so optimistic. xxx

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    2. hey - sehr gutes deutsch :-)
      they talk about snow for the weekend here!!!!
      stay warm! xxxxx

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  8. You are so beautifully coordinated in your kaleidoscope frock. I love the whole look.
    I'm reading A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff. It's about a girl who owns a vintage shop and the history behind the clothes. It's light and funny.
    I always have some sort of art/craft/textile book trailing round the house with me for ideas and inspiration.
    What will you be doing in the UK during your visit ?
    Lynn xx

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    1. Thanks Lynn. I like the sound of that book, so I'm going to check it out. Sometimes, something light and funny is all you need. We will be staying in a cottage in North Pembrokeshire, near Cardigan, where we have been going for a few years now. We are going to relax, do some coastpath walking and visit a castle or two. xxx

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  9. Awesome ensemble! My eyes honed in instantly on your dazzling Italian micromosaic brooch. They're such marvelous little works of art.

    These look like terrific books. I'd happily read any of them. I just wrapped up Classic Hollywood Style by Caroline Young and highly recommend it (I'd wanted a copy for ages and was thrilled to pick one up new recently for about 1/3rd its original price in the sale section of a bookstore in the neighbouring city of Kelowna).

    Big hugs & happy weekend wishes,
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. That brooch was a lucky find and not expensive at all. I didn't know anything about micromosaic at the time, and was amazed to see the prices these brooches go for on the web. Wishing you a happy weekend too, Jessica. xxx

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  10. I'm with you and Melanie, the 1990s simply *can't* be vintage. It's far too recent.

    Lovely accessorising with that dress - the lavender cardi is an inspired touch.

    Country Diary brings back memories - that was on everything in the late 70s/early 80s, wasn't it? I'm sure the designs made it onto china, and it was definitely available on linens.

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    1. I had no idea about Country Diary, Mim. I don't think it reached Belgium, though it surely wouldn't have been my thing at the time. I have googled it and found the designs on mugs, tins, fabric and indeed on linens. xxx

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