Saturday 7 January 2017

Save it for a rainy day

The weather gradually got colder during the Christmas break, and although the majority of the days were of a nondescript and mind-numbing greyness, on Friday we woke up to a frosty day with clear blue skies.


Our tangled mess of a garden was looking almost pretty, the overgrown shrubs and decaying ferns looking as if they were dusted with icing sugar. The ivy leaves looked particularly fetching, edged with a lacy border of tiny crystals.

It was exactly the kind of crispy winter's day that I love, and perfect for a bracing walk.

Dressed in my favourite winter coat, dark green and fur collared, I felt ready to face the outside world we'd been hiding from for a couple of days.



The coat was a € 4 Think Twice find, but I didn't like the buttons and it was a little shapeless. So, out came my stash of vintage buttons to replace the original boring ones (sorry, didn't take photos, as I wasn't yet blogging at the time), and gave it more shape by nipping in the half belt at the back and fastening it with a button.



The woolly turban is my current favourite as it's keeping my ears warm and toasty. I bought the fur muff at a flea market a couple of years ago. Perfect for waiting for the bus on a winter's evening, with a pair of gloves underneath.







Our outing took us to a nearby park, where we stopped to have a car picnic before walking the perimeter of the park's large, elongated pond, which was covered with a thin layer of ice.














Here and there, ducks were bathing in the the ice-free parts, and causing a bit of a ruckus, while the the odd couple was dozing on the grassy banks, with the crooked silhouettes of the leafless trees meeting their reflections in the crystal clear water.



Look at Mr. Suave's (thanks, Fiona!) new hat, found at Expo 58!



He's been wearing it ever since and causing quite a stir when he's walking the streets of our sleepy town. Now he's even more popular with the older ladies!



As for me, I'm striking a few silly poses, although I will probably never be as adventurous as Goody!
But hey, I'm trying ...



In the quiet of the park, I could practise at ease as, apart from the ducks, we only met the odd dog walker, who seemed to give us a wide berth.


We finished the day by visiting a couple of nearby charity shops.


There's always room for some more hats, which Twiggy was kind enough to model for you.



I couldn't believe that this pretty one, featuring a crown of feathers, was only € 0,50.

These two vintage paperbacks, which came from the same shop, were € 0.25 each, and are both worthy additions to my re-kindled collection.



The one on the left is an American Pelican book dating from 1947. When during the Second World War it became impossible to import Penguin and Pelican books from the UK, their American branch started publishing the books themselves rather than importing them. This continued until 1948, when they were rebranded as Signet Books.

On the right is a 1949 Pan Books edition of The Avenging Saint, previously published as Knight Templar in 1930. It was the fourth book featuring Leslie Charteris' Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".

I'm sure some of you remember the original television series of The Saint, starring Roger Moore, which ran from 1962 until 1969, with over a hundred episodes.


I was amazed to find that The Saint Club, which is mentioned on the back cover, still exists today. They even have a Facebook page!

Inside the book, there was this vintage voucher, which I liked so much that I framed it:



It's from a long defunct shop in Antwerp, called 't Regenfrakje (litterally meaning The Little Raincoat), which - accoding to the voucher -  sold overcoats, Egyptian bedding, poplin, trench coats, waterproofs, leather jackets and sports jackets.

The heading says Gij kunt geld sparen, which translates as You can save money: indeed, it entitled you to a 5% reduction.

Unfortunately, even if the shop would still be there today, the voucher was only valid until 15 April 1950 ...

Oh, well, I'll buy a second hand raincoat then!

36 comments:

  1. Those frosty mornings are perfect for a walk, they're so refreshing. You and Jos both look very stylish going for your walk and those orange buttons really bring out the blue/green of your coat.

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    1. Thank you! I do love a winter walk. In my eyes, the coat is green, but as I'm a little bit colour blind, especially when it concerns blue and green, I can never be too sure ;-) xxx

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  2. Another successful outing. Those red buttons certainly make your coat pop Ann, it looks great.
    Philip has been looking for a hat like Jos's for ages, he'd love that one.
    Enjoy the rest of the weekend
    Lynn xx

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    1. Thank you Lynn! Jos had been looking for a hat like that for ages too, so I guess Philip will come across one soon. xxx

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  3. I'm on the hunt for a new green winter coat, yours is lovely.

    Back in the day when I still worked at the Bodleian Library I used to love finding things like that voucher in the books. Especially the really old readers order slips they always had such elegant handwriting.

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    1. I love finding bits of paper in books, Gisela. Actually, I discovered another interesting bit in the same book later: a 1950s ad for 'eau de cologne". Good luck on the green winter coat hunt! xxx

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  4. Bright frosty mornings are perfect for bracing walks, I did a five miler last week. Mr Suave's new titfer suits him so well and I love it when a man doffs his hat. Your fur-trimmed coat is lovely Ann, I've been looking for ages for a new coat but the ones I like in the chazzas are always the wrong size!xx

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    1. A five miler, no less! Our walk was much, much shorter but nevertheless enjoyable. Mr. Suave is very chuffed with his "title", by the way. I call him that all the time now ;-) xxx

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  5. Excellent silly poses-far superior to mine.

    I'd never thought to take in a coat from the back-thank you for the suggestion as I own a few coats that would benefit from a similar fix. The buttons are beautiful, and perfect with the coat.

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    1. That's far too much praise on the silly poses front, Goody. Oh, and since I cannot really sew, I came up with this idea, and it worked! xxx

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  6. Those pictures of the park are beautiful! I love the pictures of the sleepy looking ducks.

    Haha! Loved Mr. Suave's hat. Both of you looked elegant and stylish.

    Thank you for showing your Saint book. When I was a teenager I owned one too! I enjoyed it immensely.

    Happy thrifting ;)

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    1. Thank you, and Mr. Suave says thank you as well ;-) The Saint book was a lucky find. Oh, the joys of thrifting! xxx

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  7. Well you look so stylish and cosy, what a gorgeous outfit! The light is almost Autumnal rather than wintry. x

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    1. Thank you, and you're right about the light being almost Autumnal, although winter has now crept up on us in the meantime ... xxx

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  8. What a fab set of photos, Winter can be so lovely (although I'll take Summer any day of the week!)
    Love how you've transformed that coat with the groovy buttons and Jos really does look very dapper in his hat! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix. I immediately saw the coat had potential, and those buttons are just right for it. Jos is really chuffed about all the compliments he's getting! xxx

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  9. The Saint is so cool! There were films made of some of the stories back in the 30s/40s too, and I always enjoy listening to radio adaptations. That book is a great find.

    You look great all year round; I love the little changes you've made to your coat.

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    1. I thought you'd appreciate The Saint! I only remember the series, but I'd love to hear a radio adaptation. xxx

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  10. First, such a lovely coat and you did a nice job replacing the buttons, and fitting it!. You look fabulous and cozy, and I love your accessories and that boots!
    And second, I remember watching'The Saint' series on tv in the 70's!, I think it was very popular here in Spain (70's spanish tv was not very interesting!, we had just two channels!).
    And I think that little voucher is really cute! those details put a smile on my face!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! We only had one channel here in Belgium as well, but we could watch Dutch channels too, and they always had the best programmes. xxx

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  11. Aren't you the stylish couple! Jos looks very handsome in his new hat and you look so elegant in your fur trimmed winter outfit, those red buttons really pull the outfit together nicely, great idea on the coat alteration! xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! Jos's hat seems to be very popular ... xxx

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  12. Hi, darling!
    The frost knows how to draw fantastic landscapes with lace ( like ) details! Very low temperatures here too make it impossible going out without wearing a hat...
    Your warm outfit can guarantee a comfortable walk in the beautiful park!

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    1. Hi Dan! We heard that it was quite cold in Italy, too. Frost and snow can be really beautiful to look at, but can be quite annoying if you have to go to work ... xxx

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  13. Mr Suave, love it, and yes, I can imagine him causing a stir wearing a hat. Such a stylish thing to do. Can't believe that feather hat cost half a euro!! You seem to have the perfect outfit for every occasion Ann! Your garden really does look beautiful covered in a coating of frost. I always like snow for that reason. Hurray for daft poses! I love 'em. Do you remember Helga? She was always the Queen of daft poses. Xxx

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    1. Now that's quite enough praise for Mr. Suave! He's stealing my limelight! Maybe he and his hat should start their own blog! Oh, and of course I remember Helga, although she'd stopped blogging before I came on the scene. I loved her blog and daft poses. I'm still following her on Facebook. xxx

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  14. you are such a gorgeous and very chic couple!! <3
    love your turban! and i´m fascinated by that amoral cheep feather hat! ts! lovely to frame that voucher - interesting peek into past times :-)
    huge hugs! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! I'm really blushing now. I've been wearing the turban a lot, it's really warm and cosy. I do love little peeks into the past! xxx

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  15. That coat is perfect with the muff

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    1. Thank you Kate. I always forget I have the muff ... xxx

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  16. Mr Suave looks like a series contender for Breaking Bad's Mr. White aka Heisenberg. My husband has been on the lookout for hats like that for ages.

    The light in these photos is gorgeous.

    You came across some amazing hats at incredible prices.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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    1. Now Mr. Suave really is chuffed as the actor playing Mr. White is much younger than him ... He looked for a suitable hat for ages, though. He's so pleased with it he sometimes forgets to take it off indoors ;-) xxx

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  17. Your coat adjustments are brilliant! I lOVE the buttons (and what a difference bright buttons can make!!!)
    Jos' hat is brilliant! He DOES look very handsome in it!! Not surprised he is popular! You did well on the hat bargains! The poses are fun too.
    Love the ducks too!!
    Happy new year Ann!x

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    1. Happy new year, Kezzie! I agree that buttons can make all the difference. That's why I'm always picking up buttons at flea markets. I still have to practise the poses, though. xxx

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  18. Love the image of Jos strolling around setting hearts a flutter and doffing his hat!

    You both look very warm and stylish, I love hand muffs xxx

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    1. Thanks Melanie. Jos really is the talk of the town ;-) I love hand muffs too, but they're not easy to find. This one is actually a little on the small side. I also have a handbag that doubles as a muff. Must show it sometime. xxx

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