Wednesday 12 October 2016

Grab your coat and get your hat

Last week, temperatures dropped considerably.

As the week progressed, my coats got warmer, until my favourite between-the-seasons coat, which you 've already seen in my previous post, finally made an appearance on Wednesday, staying put for the rest of the week.


I've also been eyeing my boxful of coloured opaque tights, but decided to upgrade my usual 15 den nude ones to 30 den tights for the time being. I actually don't mind wearing these, so no need to feel sorry for me. If they're old-fashioned, then so be it.










My layering habit really comes into its own this time of year.














It is a necessity, as I need to dress warmly for my commute, but once in the office, and especially after a invigorating walk during lunch break, not to mention the occasional hot flush, layers have to be peeled off. Hence my little cardigan addiction ...


No peeling off of layers last week, though, as the heating in the office was on the blink ... the whole week! I had to make do with a small electric heater, which I put in front of my desk to warm my toes! For that reason, I already reverted to short boots, which I would normally put off for a little while yet.

As I was busy playing the tourist, I only had time for a quick visit to Think Twice, but still managed to find this colourful tablecloth, which is an almost perfect match with the coffee pot I found the weekend before last.


I was aiming for a carefree weekend spent browsing flea market stalls. As luck would have it, there was a small flea market in our village on Saturday. The sun was shining so, dressed warmly against the autumn chill, the weather was perfect for it.

I am in the middle of switching to my winter wardrobe, but it's a lengthy process. Nevertheless, I have a whole section of long-sleeved dresses in readiness, although until now I have been giving them a wide berth, as I didn't feel quite ready yet. It's nice to get re-acquainted with them, especially as there are always some I have forgotten about. But once I start wearing them, there is no going back, and I know I will be wearing them for a very long time ...








On Saturday I finally succumbed, but I chose a dress in a thin fabric for starters. It's a Merry Finn dress and I quite like its longer length for this time of year.














I decided to accompany it with light blue accessories.

The cardigan brings it all together, as it has a stripe of red at the sleeves' cuffs.


Light blue also appears in this warm jacket. As its boxy shape did nothing for the dress, I cinched in the waist with a light brown shiny belt.

Although I've had the fawn fake suede boots for a couple of years, I haven't worn them very often. They are quite comfortable, especially considering I did a lot of walking in them on Saturday. But they're a nightmare to get into as they are zipper-less, and have to be pulled on with great force. I was reminded of trying to put boots on Barbie's feet ...


On to the flea market!


At first sight, it was rather disappointing, but once we rounded the corner and entered the parish hall precinct, we kept finding little bits and pieces, like these brooches.











It wouldn't be a successful flea market if I didn't find any brooches, would it?












One of the inside stalls had a whole box of old-fashioned rain bonnets, cutely packed into little plastic suitcases and treasure chests.


I remember when I was in primary school, one of my classmates had one of those little suitcases, and oh, how I wanted one of my own!


They were € 1 for 3, so we bought them in every available colour. I have seen them priced at over € 1 for just one, so this was a real bargain. They're so endlessly cute!


One of my neighbours had a stall selling handmade jewellery. I was amazed when she told me what they were made of. Can you guess? I bought the necklace on the right from her.


This hat, which is a little worse for wear, with the straw lining disintegrating, was made by a milliner based in Antwerp. This dates back to a time when French was still spoken quite a lot in Antwerp, especially by the so-called better classes. Now, the label would be in Flemish, or at least in both languages. But then again, there are hardly any milliners left nowadays ...

I managed to find a vintage dress too, made from Diolen, and priced at € 3, which I already wore to work on Monday.


My final purchase was a small black vinyl handbag for € 1.

By now we were half way through the weekend, but there was more to come on Sunday, which I will tell you all about in my next post.

See you next time!

28 comments:

  1. aha! I'm first!! Beautiful broaches! I love the way you put together the red and blue outfit.

    And that tablecloth and teapot!! Marvellous!

    Happy thrifting. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Can you believe I found a couple of matching cups today? Thrifting is just the best! xxx

      Delete
  2. The jewellery is made from coffee machine pods! I have earrings like those, a gift from Madeira from my brother in law!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're absolutely right, Melanie. It seems like I'm the only one who never heard about this ... xxx

      Delete
  3. Oops, got over excited and posted too soon. Meant to say how cute those rain bonnet suitcases are and that the tablecloth is marvellously vibrant, I love it xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, you wanted to show off that you knew about the jewellery, right ;-)

      Delete
  4. Oh my word, those rain bonnets in their darling little flowerpot adorned cases have to be one the cutest vintage fashion related things I've ever seen. It's so awesome that you hit upon several in one go. Wow!!!

    Love your tights storage container, too. What a handy, clever way to see what you have instantly, without needing to riffle through drawers or even open the lid on an opaque tote.

    Many hugs & happy mid-October wishes,
    ♥ Jessica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It feels a bit strange replhying to your comment today, Jessica. Sending you lots of love. Have been thinking of you ever since I heard the news xxxxx

      Delete
  5. You have the most lovely clothes and now I'm drooling over your stash of coloured tights. I'm adding vests
    and underskirts to ease me into winter but still wearing my summer frocks.
    We could have a competition over who has the most cardigans Ann.
    Lynn X X x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lynn. Oh yes, a cardigan competition! I'm off to count mine ... xxx

      Delete
  6. There seem to be a steady supply of flea markets near you. How wonderful. There are none here. Mind you, it's probably a good thing. I love your stash of cardis. I want one in every colour. They're definitely a wardrobe staple along with colourful tights. You have an amazing wardrobe. I would love to look through it. I'm a bit in awe of the fact that you have a ready supply of long sleeved dresses at the ready. I love those little rain hoods. Even better in their own little suitcases! Great find! Xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome to come and browse, if you're ever in Belgium, Tania. As for the flea market, indeed we're spoilt for choice here. They're hard to resist, and now the indoor ones are starting again, we don't even have the excuse of not going if it rains ... xxx

      Delete
  7. coffee pads! :-)
    love your colorful tights and cardi collections! brillant!
    i too pull out slowly the winter wear. tweed and tartan und kashmir. the norwegian sweaters and heavy wool skirts come out later..... and i still get away with a wrap instead of a coat - but only because i always leave the property in the car :-)
    you found cute little brooches and that match of tablecloth and coffee pot is made in heaven - i see i new collection coming..... :-D never saw that super sweet packages for the rain bonnets - here they were just in plastic sacks.
    your red with light blue ensemble is striking - like a brisk autumn breeze! i do this belting thing always as most jackets which fit me around the shoulders/bosom use to be much to loose in the waist - and thats very unflattering in my books. think advertising column ;-)
    waiting for the other half of your weekend adventures!!! xxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why am I the only one who never heard about the coffee pad jewellery? My warmest stuff doesn't come out until later too. Oh, and I guess you're right about the new collection, as I found some matching cups today ... xxx

      Delete
  8. Wow, that's a fab tights collection. I've started building up a selection of bright ones too (matching teal jumper and tights today). I love the way you accessorize your long-sleeved dress, the blue works really nicely with the red.

    I've never seen those rain bonnet 'cases' before; they're so cute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, matching jumper and tights! That's lovely. I buy mine from a local market stall, which has them in many colours. They're quite cheap and quality is fantastic. xxx

      Delete
  9. I love your rainbow of tights and cardigans!
    That longer length dress looks elegant but also cool and groovy at the same time.
    I remember those rain bonnets in the tiny cases, they used to have them on the counter of my Mum's hairdresser's salon when I was a young 'un! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember them being at the till in a local store, but still my mum didn't get me one. She sometimes made me wear a rain bonnet to school though, which I hated. xxx

      Delete
  10. Love all the colours of your tights and cardigan collections! They'll cheer up the most gloomiest of autumnal days, espceially when teamed together. Your Merry Finn dress is fab and a great length too, it looks super when teamed up with the blue xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Now that I've seen the photos, I think I should wear that dress more. I really crave colour in autumn and winter. At least, like you, I have a colourful kitchen. xxx

      Delete
  11. Cardigans in every colour of the rainbow is my idea of perfection.

    They still sell the rain bonnets, but without the suitcase-how on earth do you re-fold them to put them back?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was wondering the same, but to be on the safe side, I'm not taking them out. Oh, and when I googled vintage rain bonnet images in order to find the box picture, guess who was there somewhere on the page, wearing a rain bonnet? xxx

      Delete
  12. Fantastic finds as always and I love, love, love all those colourful tights! I'm so boring with my legwear and would love to spice it up with all different colours but my legs are one of my least favourite bits of me, so I tend not to attract attention to them! :) xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not that happy with my legs, either, but the colourful tights do hide a multitude of sins ... xxx

      Delete
  13. Oh h0w wonderful 60s rain bonnets I love those and really want one lucky you

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is an amazing place to find a high value deal on the heating product that you would like for your pad so that you could produce fabulous warmth and have a very warm home. A small electric heating unit is a brilliant way to produce extra heat in the place as they are compact and portable so you can get the heating?warmth exactly where you would like it and they are also utilised for small lengths of time so are cheap to run. So, an electric heating unit is an incredible choice for all living areas and gives that cosy warmth just where you need it for awesome cosiness.

    Victory Heating

    ReplyDelete