Last of the summer frocks

What with our week away and its preparations, I completely forgot to show you what I found at Think Twice the week before we left.

As their final sales week coincided with our holiday, I missed the best bargains, but still managed to pick up a couple of things on their € 5 day.

First up is this burgundy handbag, which has a detachable shoulder strap, and is surprisingly roomy.
I love the trellis pattern on the front panel and the decorative metal details at the base of the handles.

I was attracted by the print and colours of this crepe blouse, or light jacket if you like, and when I saw it came with a tiny pearly brooch, of course it had to be mine!

This sleeveless floral frock is vintage St. Michaels. The fabric is a thin, floaty cotton, and as you can see it is lined. As the weather has turned and it looks like we are well and truly on the slippery slope to Autumn, its first wear will probably have to wait until next year.

The second dress I picked up is this psychedelic pussy bow dress, in an unusual mustard and and lilac colour combination. With its long sleeves but fairly lightweight fabric, it's a welcome addition to my transitional wardrobe, to be worn as Autumn trundles towards Winter. Admittedly, the fabric feels a bit clingy, so I'll have to wear it with a slip underneath.

I've left the best for last! Laying eyes on this halterneck maxi, my thoughts immediately went to Vix.

The fabric is a sturdy cotton, it's got a vibrant print, and it's exactly the right length as long as I'm wearing it with heels. Oh, and it's from Finnish label Chix-Puku.

After we'd just had a couple of hot days, it had cooled down considerably, so posing in the garden after work was a goose-bumpy affair. The things a blogger has to do!

By the state of things, this frock too will have to be put away for next Summer ...

Fast forward one week until Saturday before last. Being back home after a welcome week away felt like an anti-climax, especially as the weather was behaving particularly erratically.

For our weekly charity shopping trip, I chose a hand-made, short-sleeved dress, its print featuring hues of brown and orange and creating a diamond pattern. The dress has a notched collar and closes with two self-fabric buttons at the yoke.

I piled on some sunshine in the form of ochre yellow beads, belt and cardigan. My choice of brooch was a mottled brown plastic butterfly, bought at a flea market last January.

It was chilly so I wore 15 den tights, and a long red Trevira coat. Some more sunshine was provided by a yellow chiffon scarf printed with tiny white dots.

I bought a couple of novels to add to my never ending reading pile and took pity on this vintage ceramic nutmeg canister, which must have been part of a set. Sadly, this was all that was left.

I particularly love its unusual green and yellow colour scheme. And look: it has already found its place in our kitchen with some other odds, ends and orphans!

A pair of polka dot shoes and another wicker handbag for my collection were my other finds. Please bear with me, as you get to see them in Sunday's outfit ...

Our most local charity shop yielded this Tweed jacket for Jos, who wanted his share of the limelight!

Hats and flat caps, a man bag, a Tweed jacket. Whatever's next?  Mr. Suave, indeed!

The turning of the leaves means the return of the indoor flea markets, and we were eagerly looking forward to our favourite one in Mechelen on Sunday.

We went with my friend Inez and her daughter Isabelle, who blogged about her experience here, but I completely forgot to take photographs.

I was wearing another one of my favourite frocks, which much to my surprise hadn't been worn yet this Summer.  The black of the dress is enhanced by the colours of the print, and in particular the vibrant orange flowers.

I picked a green cardie and orange and blue accessories and wore my hounds-tooth jacket with an orange belt.

You can also see the shoes and handbag I picked up on Saturday!

The dress is short-sleeved, has a Peter Pan collar and a row of sky blue loops and buttons at the front.

It is probably hard to believe that the buttons aren't the originals.  When I picked it up at Think Twice it only had three or four random white metal ball buttons left.  As I didn't have anything remotely appropriate in my vintage button stash, I had no choice but to go retail, spending a whole lunch break in the shop and in the end selecting these blue ones with a metal rim. They were far more expensive than the dress itself.

Although the flea market was not yet in its full capacity, we still managed to find things, like these sturdy and unworn leather slingbacks, a vintage corduroy hat and the largest of the celluloid Edelweiss brooches, so that I now have them in four different sizes.

Jos was seduced by this Bakelite phone,  manufactured by ATEA, which has a crank instead of a dial. The seller told us it came from a local nunnery, which had closed down.

My final purchase was this book on handbags (tassen or handtassen in Dutch). From the same series, I already have a book on shoes and one on hats.

Together with the books on the bottom, which I bought a couple of weeks ago, it will be added to my ever growing vintage fashion library! 

The book on the right, by the way, How to Read a Dress, by Lydia Edwards, is fairly new, and came recommended by the lovely Cate, so when I happened to see it in a local shop, I wasted no time and bought it.

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

In my next post, I'll continue my travelogue with a visit to the Belgian seaside, on which I hope you'll join me again.