Rainy days and Sundays

Waking up on Sunday before last, we realized that Saturday's reasonably dry weather had been a one-off!

Yes, we were back again to yet more rain, coming down in buckets, pelting against window panes, creating puddles and turning the roads into minor rivers.

Feeling the dampness in my bones, I'd been pottering around the house without much enthusiasm and I would have flopped myself down on the sofa for the mother of all naps, if we hadn't found out that Expo 58 was having one of its rare Sunday openings.

Still wearing my Princess coat, I acccessorized it differently this time, with a burgundy knitted hat, a pair of red leather gloves, and my yellow crushed velvet scarf.  Nothing new here, you've seen it all before, including the tan bag and slouchy boots.

I'm sure you're dying to see what's beneath the coat? Ta-dah!

You didn't expect all that yellow, did you? The world suddenly seems just that little bit brighter.

Would you believe that this cheerful little frock is living in the black section of my wardrobe? Although I have quite a few of these black, printed dresses, I only have one plain little black dress and a plain black maxi, which admittedly has gold thread in the bodice and sleeves ...

I added an orange belt (only just visible), a yellow cardie and yellow honeycomb textured tights.

The white diagonals in the dress are picked up by my vintage black and white intertwined beads, while the brooch which I pinned to the cardie in its turn compliments the yellows, oranges and reds.

Are we done yet? I'm getting cold here!

Now, in order to avoid confusion, I must tell you that while Expo 58 is the name of a shop selling all manner of vintage items, it is named after the other Expo 58, the Brussels World Fair which was held in that year.

The shop is a veritable treasure trove, but a little bit out of our way, constituting a two hour roundtrip, which is why we only visit it a few times a year.

Trundling along the motorway in the pouring rain, the rain battering the roof of our car, an unnatural darkness descending on the early afternoon, we were starting to question whether this had been good idea.

However, any doubts vanished into thin air once we stepped inside the shop.

Stefanie, the shops's owner, who is a follower of my blog, bade us welcome with a cup of hot chocolate, which was simmering in an old fashioned cast iron pot on the gaily burning stove.

Thus fortified, we were ready to rummage the shop's shelves, nooks and crannies.

The revolving rack of vintage clothing obviously didn't escape my attention. While it was clear that the groovy shoes were way too big for my petite size 4 feet, I tried on several dresses, deciding on the two Jos is holding up for inspection.

The black, orange and yellow long-sleeved frock is handmade and at first sight had one or two minor, easily resolvable issues, but the multicoloured floral one, a Diolen delight, was in perfect condition.

Taken in better light conditions, the close-up does the colours of the print infinitely more justice.

My wardrobe has its fair share of Diolen, a popular 1960s/1970s polyester, its bright colours and prints vying for attention.

In fact, my heart skips a beat whenever I spot the Diolen label in a garment!

As the dress in question is short-sleeved, it will be put away for Spring, but I can't wait to wear it when the time has finally come!

Then I spied this rack, which in a previous life was a shop display rack for zippers.

The zippers in question were made by Métalsa, which apparantly was owned by that institution of haberdashery, DMC.

DMC has been producing haberdashery, and in particular all kinds of thread, in its factory in Mulhouse, France, since 1746, and DMC threads are used virtually everywhere!

I googled Métalsa but, apart from some zippers being sold on Etsy, any information on the brand remained elusive.

Obviously I wasn't planning on using the rack for displaying zippers, nor as a handy gadget for hanging up my hat, scarf and gloves!

No, its purpose was clear from the beginning, so it has now started its second life displaying my ever-growing collection of necklaces! Sorted by colour, of course!

Oh, and it suddenly dawned on me that I still have to show you Saturday's charity shopping finds!

This faded Jesus print appealed to us because of its pretty embroidered frame, the print itself asking for Jesus's protection of the family. That's sorted then!

Another irristibly wacky thing is this naive children's wall art, probably dating from the late 1960s.

Finally, a pair of gloves and yet another pair of boots!

The deadstock gloves were found at the bottom of a carton. They aren't real leather and have a slightly musty smell, but at € 0,50, who am I to complain?

The boots, which have a decorative cut-out pattern at te top, have already been worn and thus proved their worth.

Keep warm and dry, wherever you are!