A jumble of July outfits

A glance at the calendar makes me realise that - eek! - in just three weeks' time we will be back in Poperinge for our annual September holiday! As my blog has only just made it to July, it's high time for a catch-up of what has been happening in my life since my days of leisure back in June!

In the first half of last month, however, most of my time was either been spent at work or preparing for our flea market, which happened on the 13th of July, so it will mainly be two weeks' worth of outfits. In fact, there will be no less than nine of them in this post!

Now, let's get this thing started ...

My return to work wasn't nearly as stressful as I'd expected. Things had been relatively slow while I was away, so that I was able to get back on track in no time. This was a good thing as a heatwave was now well and truly upon us and, in spite of the coolness provided by the office aircon, my brain was at risk of slowly but surely turning to mush.

My orange and off-white tiered cotton skirt, picked up in the C&A sales in the Summer of 2022, was the perfect choice for Monday's highs of 32°C. My blog tells me that it wasn't the first time I wore it with this charity shopped King Louie top. 

I can just make out the pale yellow cat brooch I pinned to the latter, while further accessories were a yellow wooden beaded necklace by Les Cordes - charity shopped with its green twin in the Summer of 2020 - and a stretchy belt with hexagonal faux-tortoiseshell buckle. My comfy tomato red sales bargain sandals - easily my most worn pair so far this Summer - are making yet another appearance.

With the thermometer recording highs of 38°C, Tuesday the 1st of July was the hottest day of the year so far. I was wearing one of my flimsiest cotton maxis - by Grace & Mila, but yet another charity shop find - its floaty butterfly sleeves providing additional ventilation.

I was fine until I took the tram home. Being devoid of aircon, it was even hotter inside than it was outside, which turned my 20-minute or so journey into pure horror. I was a complete wreck and gasping for air by the time I made it to our pick-up point. As I could wring gallons of sweat from my frock by then, I chucked it into the laundry bin when I got home, and made Angelica do the honours a couple of days later.

As always when heatwave temperatures are forecasted, I was carrying my Spanish fan (the black flower printed and lace-edged one at the top of the above collage) to provide a bit of coolness while travelling, but that day it had been more effort than it was worth.

I've got quite a collection of fans, actually, although apart from the Spanish one they are all purely decorative, some of them being quite delicate.

Not quite the collection to rival Lady Labouchere's at Dudmaston Hall, but it's a start, isn't it?

The heatwave temperatures persisted on Wednesday, but it was a relief to note highs of "only " 32°C.

There was lots of wind from mid-afternoon onwards, and even a shower or two in evening, so that it eventually cooled down to around 28°C, which made for a much more comfortable sleep.

I managed to stay reasonably cool throughout the day, wearing another cotton skirt I'd found at Think Twice during a post cappuccino catch-up trawl with my friend Inez back in June. It's wide, button-through, sensationally swooshy and has a generous split at the back. And oh, isn't it print just delightful?

My dotty top and accessories were all charity shopped at one time or another, except for the green birds in flight brooch, which was brought back from one of our Welsh holidays.

The Summer sales having started the previous day, I even ventured outside to have a quick look, although I did keep to the airconditioned shopping centre near my office. My efforts were rewarded with a brown polka dot linen mix midi skirt and a necklace in the Mango sales.

We didn't photograph my outfit on Thursday as I wasn't feeling at all well. After a string of days of good behaviour, my pesky tooth was playing up again, which triggered a headache and made me feel nauseous. 

In spite of a good night's sleep I still felt tired and nauseous on Friday morning, so that I initially considered cancelling my hairdressers appointment. I was glad I persevered, though, as there's nothing like a fresh haircut to make you feel better. That, and wearing a favourite dress. In this case a vintage cotton Madras check one, which has been a Summer staple ever since I picked it up from Think Twice many years ago. Accessorized with one of my stretchy belt, a vintage Scottie dog brooch and the necklace from the Mango sales, I was ready to face the day.

I even nipped into the charity shop a couple of houses down the street from the salon. Although I always go for a browse whenever I'm in the area, this might very well be my first purchase here. Surely you agree there was no way I could leave this cat-patterned pussy-bow blouse behind?

Saturday the 5th of July was a much better day all around, with a mix of sunshine and clouds, and highs of a most comfortable 23°C.

I was wearing a mix of vintage and new-to-me: the dotty green Diolen blouse, which was long overdue an outing, was an old Think Twice find, while the floral extravaganza skirt is a charity shopped King Louie. I picked up the rich wine red colour of the skirt with my wooden necklace and painted metal flower brooch, both of which were supplied by the gods of the charity shops as well.

After vacuuming and mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors, the rest of the day was spent relaxing at home. My journal tells me I sewed on some buttons, finished and published a blog post and started reading Clock Dance by Anne Tyler, which I'd recently found on the charity shop shelves.

Having ready many of her books, I absolutely love Anne Tyler, and this definitely wasn't a disappointment.

Sunday was grey and rainy, the mercury only making it to 20°C. What a difference with those heatwave temperatures of less than a week ago! I mean, I was even wearing a top with three-quarter sleeves!

The top in question is by the defunct Belgian Wow To Go label and, like most of their stuff in my wardrobe, was a charity shop find. As were all the other components of my outfit, except for my sandals. Yes, those tomato red ones again! 

The skirt with its exotic fruit pattern is by Basler, a German fashion brand, established in Berlin in 1936. Good old Google tells me the label is known for its timeless, elegant designs and high-quality materials, catering to a market of women aged 45 and above. Well, that's me then :-)

The weather gods kept coming up with uncertain weather in July's second week. However, the temperature crept up to 24°C and more sunny spells appeared as the week progressed.

I kept being plagued by bouts of toothache and headache, so that I had no energy left for posing for outfit photos after work. 

Even my lunch breaks were curtailed by my lack of get-up-and-go, although I did make it to Think Twice one day, finding this delightful cobalt blue wicker bamboo handled bag for a mere € 4.

The prospect of my Friday off prompted the effort to go outside into the passageway to show you what I was wearing on Thursday. 

Apart from the vintage embroidered flowers brooch - bought in a Shrewsbury antiques centre in 2019 - and the charity shopped green sailor style knit top, everything else was bought brand new on the high street. I'm glad to say that all have become true wardrobe staples over the years.

Friday was spent assembling our clothing racks and cramming them full of vintage treasures, hopefully to be sold to like-minded ladies. 

Thankfully, it was a mostly pain-free day which was a great boost to my mood and energy levels.

Standing in front of my wardrobe full of shamefully neglected vintage frocks, my eyes alighted on stripy 1980s affair with its square neckline.

A pink stretchy belt with rectangular buckle, pink and black beaded necklace and pink straw flower brooch completed my outfit.

I'm skipping Saturday to arrive on the morning of the flea market on Sunday the 13th of July.

Waking up just after 6 am, our street was already a hive of activity, with traders and their gear arriving from far and wide to set up their stalls. With our pitch just outside our front door, there was no need for us to hurry, so we started setting up at around 7 am. Even at this early hour, and with the flea market only officially opening at around 9 am, punters were starting to arrive on their bikes, asking if we had any old coins, watches, phones - you name it - for sale. Next year, I'll make a sign so that they stop bothering us!

Apparently, this was the biggest the flea market had ever been. Our pitch was number 427, but we definitely weren't the last one! 

My friend Inez came to keep me company and help me out, which was very welcome indeed. But although I did sell quite a bit - more than last year! - there was still lots of stuff left by the end of it. Admittedly, we kept replenishing the rails after each sale, as I hadn't been able to hang up everything at once. 

And yes, yet again I lost count of all the times I was told by people that they loved my clothes but wished they had the guts to wear them. Or, wait for it, that is was cheaper in the charity shop!

I only made the briefest of forays myself, making only one purchase: some painted wooden beads, which cost me all of € 1.

We packed up what remained when the market ended at 4 pm, dragged everything inside and collapsed on the sofa.

Much to the relief of our furry monster who had been a bit restless with all the comings and goings.

I'll be back with a further July catch-up soon. See you next time!