Sunday 11 November 2018

Skirting the issue

The sun had joined us again on Sunday two weeks ago, when it was time for the next edition of our favourite indoor flea market.

It is usually being held once a month, from September until June. But wait, I can hear you thinking, hasn't there just been one about two weeks ago? Well yes, you're absolutely right. There was an extra edition in October!



I've been wanting to wear this blouse, with its cheerful bird print, ever since I happened upon it in a charity shop last month, but hadn't got around to it yet.

On this day, balancing on the edge of Autumn, I thought it appropriate to combine it with this tweedy rust coloured vintage St. Michael skirt, which came with a matching short-sleeved jacket.

I added an ochre yellow cardie on top, and chose a pair of burnt orange tights, which happen to be my favourites.

The gorgeous, behatted lady on my brooch is wearing similar colours, and as she's wearing a green beaded necklace, I thought I'd to the same!



And here is the first of my charity shop finds of the day before, the orange belt!

I thought my mock croc bag deserved another outing as well.




The berry coloured cord jacket, originally from H&M, provided contrast and as a final touch I added a yellow felted flower corsage (bought in Narberth, Pembrokeshire) and a charity shopped crushed velvet ochre yellow scarf.



It goes without saying that we didn't come away empty handed. There's always something to catch our eye at this fabulous flea.

Here's a nice little tableau of the things we brought home!



Childhood nostalgia for Jos, who remembers having this booklet on the sign language used by American Indians as a young boy. It's another one of those albums where you had to collect the pictures by eating lots of chocolate!

The disc on the bottom right, with its picture of the Antwerp skyline, and probably dating from the 1950s, is a clever little device which enables you to find out the day of the week of any date between 1849 and 2007 So, we now know that I was born on a Tuesday and Jos on a Saturday!



Although there were lots of stalls selling jewellery, I generally found prices a bit high, so I only bought three brooches this time.



I couldn't resist this little yellow handmade shopping bag, which folds up and closes with a cute vintage button, although I have to admit that the big round bamboo handles are a bit incongruous when folded up.


One of my first buys was this funky pair of red boots in a butter soft red leather. They are hardly worn and a snip at € 15. The box still had the original price label of € 140!

The wicker handbag matches their deep red colour almost exactly. 



From Tania, one of our favourite sellers, and reader of my blog, came this caramel brown Melitta coffee pot and filter set.


This cute set of shot glasses, in typical Mid Century style, was a snip at € 5.



The stall which yielded this fabulous mounted Art Deco style head sculpture is run by Rita, another follower of my blog. 

The week following the flea market was a short one, as I'd taken Monday off. Additionally, we had a public holiday on Thursday 1 November, All Saints Day.

It turned out to be a dreary day but although Jos said this is typical for 1 November, my blog tells me otherwise, as this is what we did on this day in 2016 and 2017.


We were dithering over whether to go for a walk, in the end deciding on a short outing to a park in a neighbouring village where, funnily enough, we had never been before. 

Inspired by my friend Ingrid, who had shared some photographs of it on Facebook a couple of days earlier, we thought we would check it out.


Annoyingly, it started raining the minute we'd stepped out of our car but, in spite of the fact that we hadn't thought to bring umbrellas, we went ahead regardless.



The rain, lightly at first and hardly noticeable when walking under the trees, steadily increased in intensity, and for the first time this season, it actually felt like an Autumn day, one of those interminably grey and foggy days when there is no place like home, curled up on the sofa with a good book.


But we were there, so we thought we might as well take some outfit photos.

Passing a sign pointing to an ancient ice house hidden behind an insulating barrier of yew hedges, we climbed the winding path leading to its top, where a gazebo resting on gnarled pillars was awaiting us.

Perfect! 

As you might notice, I am wearing the same St. Michael skirt again, this time combining it with a brown floral print polyester blouse. I wore it over the skirt, with a slim green belt at my waist and topped by a green batwing sleeved woolly cardigan. Needless to say, all vintage or new-to-me!

While you can just make out the Cotoneaster berry necklace I'm wearing, there's no need to point out the bright orange plastic ring I'm wearing.

Oh, and finally, it's beret time! Yay! The sage green one I'm wearing came from a vintage per kilo shop in Antwerp called Riot.


Jos has swapped his green jacket for his warmer Harris Tweed one, charity shopped last year.


The park, originally part of the grounds of the neo-classical castle you can spot between the trees, is laid out in English landscape style, inspired by Capability Brown. 

We will definitely have to return on a better day.

In the meantime, we will be going on a short holiday this week. I might squeeze in another post before we leave but if not, I'll be back next week with new adventures.

Linking my rainy day outfit to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style once the link is up!

44 comments:

  1. I absolutely love your first outfit, Ann! That bird blouse is so pretty and I love that skirt! I love the colour combo of this outfit and your orange belt completes the look perfectly! Those butter soft red leather boots are absolutely gorgeous. Hope you and Jos have a lovely holiday! XXX

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    1. Thank you Sasha. Our holiday went far too fast, as usual! xxx

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  2. Ahhhhhh! Love your pretty clothes!

    Those RED BOOTS are amazing! You must have SQUEED!!

    I must say that you and Jos look very stylish. It’s so nice to see your beautiful outfits. It’s a nice change from the drab drones I see everyday.

    You’re inspired me to go out for a walk, and to perhaps (gasp!) do an outfit post.

    Stay warm

    Happy thrifting ;)

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    1. Thank you, and yes to an outfit post, please! xxx

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  3. Oh I looove this outfit for the pattern mix and the bold colors and textures! You look gorgeous, Ann!! Always successful thrifting/antiquing as it is called here in the US, and I especially love these red boots, what a great find! The matching wicker purse is fantastic as well. I loved seeing the photos from previous years, and I also find that very often I wore literally the same clothes on the same date! I remember Vix mentioned it too, so it must be a known phenomena. Gorgeous photos of the nature, as always! My beloved father is born on November 1, All Saints Day, so it is very special to me, and I am happy to know that you spent it in such a special way. :)

    Warmest Autumnal hugs,
    <3

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    1. Thank you Natalia! It only dawned on me that the boots and wicker basket were matching after I got them home ... xxx

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  4. Have a wonderful time on your holiday. The red boots are amazing!

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  5. Enjoy your short holiday, I hope the weather picks up for you. And that you come home with more vintage treasures!

    I love the red boots!!! I still don't own a pair but I know they're out there waiting for me... Xx

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    1. I'm sure there'll be a pair of red boots for you out there! xxx

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  6. ahhh - you pulled out the tweeds and tartans! perfect fall fashion in pretty landscapes!
    fab finds - the coffee set has the perfect size for my breakfast :-D do you know who "melitta" was? a housewife in dresden (!) - she was annoyed by the coffee ground that escaped the usual sieve so she made the first paper sheets to layer in coffee sieves :-D
    big hugs! xxxxxx
    p.s.: boots envy. ts. ;-D

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    1. Thank you for educating me about Melitta! I might have read that somewhere, but I'd totally forgotten. xxx

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  7. I think you look super in autumn/winter colours Ann and those red boots and bag are fabulous.
    I’ve got all boots and opaque tights out now yippee
    Love to you both xxx

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    1. Thank you my darling! Yes, to boots and opaque tights! xxx

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  8. You have been really scoring on the bold coloured boots front lately.

    I really love how you put the second outfit together. Green is such a great colour and few people wear it.

    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. Thank you Suzanne! That second outfit just happened, without too much thought. Sometimes, these are the very best outfits ... xxx

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  9. Enjoy your holiday! I love both of these looks - so fabulous, and such a riot of colour. I'm agog at those wonderful boots! I never find good stuff like that! Wishing you a happy week ahead!

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    1. Thank you Sheila. But you do find good stuff too, surely! I must say I did a happy dance when I saw those boots and they turned out to be my size! xxx

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  10. I do love both outfits and love that you created different color combos around same skirt!
    I really love the birds blouse and mustard cardi and how the green necklace enhances everything. Love that you get the idea from the brooch!. And the jacket and scarf are so fabulous!. Lovely ensemble!
    Also love the green beret and cardigan with the fab print blouse, such a brilliant outfit.I think it has some 20's artistic vibe, which is so fabulous! And you look particularly gorgeous in it!
    I'm amazed by those red boots and bag, and the cute coffee pot!. And the brooches!. Lovely!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I must say I love the second outfit very much, especially as it wasn't planned at all. xxx

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  11. Wow! Those red boots and that bag! What a find. And I just love the coffeepot!

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  12. What a glorious walk you've taken us on. I love Capability Brown's designs.
    I'm loving your Autumnal outfits lately and these are equally wonderful!
    How fab are those boots? I love Jos's nostalgic buy, too! The brooch in your first ensemble is super cool.
    Have a fantastic holiday you two! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix. We'll need to go and explore that park a bit more on a better day! xxx

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  13. The bird-print shirt is absolutely darling!! What a gorgeous, gorgeous print! It is resplendent teamed up with the yellow jacket and green beads.
    I'm amazed by the quality and general gorgeousness of those red boots. Oh Ye of little feet!!! That would never happen with my size 42/43 feet! How fitting you found a complimentary bag! The photos you took of your walk are lovely, nice 'shrooms!! Shame about the rain!Xx

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. Indeed, I do seem to find a lot of second hand footwear in my petite size! xxx

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  14. serious bag envy! have a lovely holiday. x

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  15. Wonderful fall outfits.. I love your great findings. The red brooch and these red boots are great! I wish you a wonderful time in zeeland!
    A very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you so much Tina! Zeeland was wonderful! xxx

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  16. Those red boots and bag are fabulous! And I adore the fact that you matched your necklace to your brooch.
    xx

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    1. Thank you Hazel! I did try various necklaces before I hit on the idea to match the brooch! xxx

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  17. You have some wonderful parks near you, the leaves and fungi photos are so evocative of Autumn, lovely.
    I loved the behatted lady, shot glasses and amazingly glorious red boots. I would have had all three given the chance (except at size 6, the boots wouldn't have fit!) xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! I couldn't believe my luck when I found the boots! xxx

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  18. Love all the ways you styled that skirt. You're so good at color and print mixing. The red boots are showstoppers. Looking forward to seeing the outfit you put together with them. Hope you're having fun on your holiday.

    Theresa

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  19. Those red boots are wonderful. Can't wait to see how you combine them with other pieces - when you mentioned the skirt has a matching jacket I thought, "I'd have worn the jacket too" and then "well, there's a lesson from Ann: don't be afraid to break up sets!" because you look so much more colourful with a cardi instead.

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    1. I can't resist a matching set, but then end up wearing the pieces separately ... xxx

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  20. Those booooots!

    Next time you're in London we seriously need to go bargain hunting together.

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  21. Such wonderful colours! I love all the mustard xx

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  22. What a gorgeous autumnal hued outfit at the top of the post, the velvet scarf adds such a touch of luxury. Love the Art Deco head and need I say...the boots! xx

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    1. Thank you Fiona! I think Autumn hues suit me best. xxx

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