Doppeltes Lottchen

Don't worry! In spite of the title, this post is not going to be in German. But do read on, all will soon be clear!

It was in Beate's Modish Matrons contribution back in January that my eye was caught by a gorgeous traditional cream cardigan she was wearing. I noticed its similarity with one of mine, and when I pointed this out to her, she hit upon the idea of doing twin posts!

How very exciting!

Das Doppelte Lottchen (freely translated as Double Lottie) is the title of a book by German author Erich Kästner published in 1949, about twin girls separated at birth who meet at summer camp. The phrase has since then become a common idiom in Germany, meaning a pair of girls with similar character and looks.

For a couple of weeks, we emailed back and forth, exchanging ideas on what to wear, and a posting date was set for early February.

Then, as a bolt out of the blue, Hurricane Friederike and two unprofessional tree fellers put Beate's life upside down, and plans were temporarily shelved.

But life goes on, and so do bloggers, no matter what, and as we both had our outfits picked out and hanging ready, we decided the time had come to show them to the world!

You can read fabulous Beate's post here. 

Having both our own distinctive styles, living in different countries, and never having even met in real life, isn't it uncanny how much like twins we look here?  

This is my version of the famous cardigan around which our outfits were built.

I had to dig mine out of the depths of my wardrobe, as in the reasonably mild temperatures we had been graced with until then, warm jumpers and heavy cardigans were a definite no-no for poor menopausal me.

Comparing notes on skirts, we opted for grey, even though mine has a black and white plaid pattern. Being 100% virgin wool and made in Germany, it could only meet Beate's full approval.

The skirt is very heavy and clearly made for colder climes and for girls not suffering from hot flushes!

Upon closer inspection, there are quite a few differences between the two cardigans. While Beate's gorgeous blue trimmed one has a round neckline and buttons all the way through, mine has a deep shawl neck and closes with only one button just above the red drawstring. Buttonless when I rescued it from a rail at Think Twice, I gave it a new lease of life by adding a red vintage button.

I'm wearing a mustard long-sleeved tee-shirt underneath and added a brooch with a red stone for modesty. Yes, I can hear you chuckling!

A suitable handbag was the next hurdle. I emailed a few examples and Beate's eye was caught by this faux croco bag, which incidentally is my current workday bag. 

Beate has the real thing, and as it was in need of an outing, the deal was soon struck.

Outerwear was easy, as we both own green fur-collared jackets and mustard berets.

To add even more punch, Beate chose a fabulous pair of hot pink leather gloves. I initially compromised with red leather gloves but substituted these with hot pink boiled wool ones after finding them in the January sales.

While I was digging out the cardigan, I happened upon another German-made wool cardigan, in red, with slightly puffed sleeves.

This one is round-necked like Beate's. I remember it had metal buttons when I bought it - yet again at Think Twice - but as one was missing and most of others weren't in the best condition, I replaced them with white vintage buttons from my stash, which I think are a definite improvement. 

Look at that lovely cable knit and diamond pattern and those gorgeous embroidered flowers. To my eye, they look like Gentian and Edelweiss, so I added my largest celluloid Edelweiss brooch to keep them company.

A bright blue beret and blue and white scarf, both charity shopped, were added for contrast.

There, I'm ready to tackle anything the weather gods decide to throw at us, including the imaginary snow storm we had in Belgium last Friday, causing lots of hilarity. People were urged to stay at home as about 3 centimeters (yes, really!) of snow had been predicted during morning rush hour. Of course, apart from some brief flurries in the afternoon, nothing happened ...

Now, I'm itching to pop over to Beate and read my twin's post, so off I go! Perhaps you would care to join me?