The last of the August outfits

I know, I know, it's October already, and the weather has turned decidedly Autumnal these last couple of days. The wind has been fierce but thankfully we have been spared of any damages Storm Amy has caused elsewhere. Leaves were being tossed around like confetti while the rain which kept lashing against our windows put paid to any outdoor activities. 

The perfect time to write a blog post, if only its subject wasn't the final fortnight of August, when temperatures effortlessly reached the mid-twenties and more.

In fact, I'm getting goosebumps just looking at the sleeveless dress I was wearing on Friday the 15th of August to combat the day's highs of 29°C.

The dress, with its scattering of purple and burgundy wildflowers, was a charity shop find in September 2023.

My matching cat brooch and necklace with its graduated wooden discs were flea market and charity shop finds respectively.

The temperature took a dive to 22°C on Saturday, taking with it Friday's hazy sunshine and replacing it with a gloomy sky and some scattered showers, particularly in the afternoon.

Remember the cotton tiered off-white skirt sprinkled with lavender flowers I charity shopped at the beginning of August? Well, I was wearing it that day, combined with a sleeveless green blouse trimmed with pink rick rack. The blouse, which is by Belgian label Who's That Girl, was found for a pittance in a charity shop in Poperinge during our September holiday in 2020.

As the rain we were sent by the weather gods dictated that we spend the day indoors, we drove down to the charity shop in nearby Mortsel for a rummage.

The thrifting gods must have taken pity on me, as I was rewarded with no less than three dresses. Above, from left to right: moss green plaid dress in 100% cotton from the Danish Nümph label, handmade teal floral vintage frock with matching tie belt and 100% cotton no-label maxi dress made in India. The latter was on the XL rail, but turned out to be an S, its bodice being a tiny bit snug.

There were three lightweight Summer blouses as well, from Spanish label Sfera, Esprit and London- based Emily and Fin respectively. Isn't the latter's birds on a wire print delightful? 

The final item to make it into my basket was this button-through King Louie skirt!

And speaking of skirts, I picked this floral pleated maxi one to wear on Sunday the 17th.

The weather, with its mix of clouds and sunny spells accompanied with a temperature of 23°C, might have been an improvement on Saturday's, but I still didn't take any chances and opted for a sailor-style short-sleeved jumper as the skirt's companion. A green stretchy belt with bamboo buckle and green squirrel brooch completed my outfit. 

We were invited for dinner by our lovely neighbours across the road, where we sat outside in their recently completed garden. The dinner was to thank us for looking after their cats Bobby and Billie, who were recently joined by a very playful third kitten, Pip.

As the evening progressed, there was a nip in the air, so that I was thankful for the blankets supplied by our neighbours. Still, I was glad I'd had the presence of mind to bring my denim jacket.

Ms. Sunshine honoured us with her presence again in the first half of August's penultimate week, when the temperature soared towards the high twenties once more.

The dress which got its annual outing on Tuesday the 19th was yet another charity shop find.  Although it's actually more like a glorified apron than a dress, I fell in love with its printed cotton fabric edged in red piping when I stumbled upon it back in September 2023. I mean, it's even got real pockets, so what's not to like?

As Think Twice was having another round of sales, with prices down to € 6 on Monday and € 5 on Tuesday, I couldn't resist going for a rummage during my lunch breaks.

On Monday, this William Morris print curtain couture zippered jacket insisted on coming home with me, while the bright pink cap sleeved knit with its openwork yoke wormed its way into my affections on Tuesday.

I also fell hard for this pink cotton Trachten skirt, which I wore the very next day for my weekly cappuccino catch-up with Inez. 

A green short-sleeved jumper, tan belt with faux mother-of-pearl buckle and translucent pink pearls completed my outfit. My navy sandals were bought in the closing down sale of a Belgian chain of shoe shops last year.

As usual, we ended our lunch break meet-up by doing the rounds of the rails. With prices now down to € 4, there were quite a few things which caught my eye.

There was a funky short-sleeved vintage shirt by Finnlene, which I ended up packing for our September holiday, a brown pleated leather belt and - my best find! - an Orla Kiely tote bag.

I then unearthed this black floral King Louie sundress from a rail of mediocre offerings and, finally, snapped up this block printed cotton blouse, made in India by Shilpa.

A look out of our bedroom window that evening was rewarded by this magnificent sunset!

The weather gods were in a fickle mood, presenting us with a mix of clouds and sunny spells on Friday the 22nd, although thankfully there was no sign of the forecasted rain. The temperature, too, kept going up and down like a yo-yo, the thermometer now barely registering 20°C.

I wished they'd make up their minds, which would make deciding what to wear a whole lot easier.

After some dithering in front of my wardrobe, I decided to give the handmade vintage dress I charity shopped the other week its first outing. And what a joy to wear it was! This one's definitely going to be a wardrobe staple for many years to come.

My accessories were mainly of the orange variety, although I wore a pair of matching teal shoes (a Think Twice find in September 2023) and chose a teal plastic bracelet - a fast fashion find many years ago - to keep my vintage carved orange one company.

Almost the same scenario on Saturday, although this time around we were treated to some drizzle in the morning.

Having been quite negligent lately, I greased my elbows and gave the kitchen and bathroom a thorough cleaning. And no, I wasn't wearing this outfit while doing so.

I spent the rest of the day inside, pottering and reading, but surely that's no reason not to get dressed up!

My cotton retro print circle skirt was a charity shop find in December 2019 and is something of an oddity. In spite of the fact that a label has been sewn in, I am sure that the skirt is handmade and that the label is a personalized one. It's got a visible red side zipper and features random felt circles and visible stitching.

I combined it with another charity shopped wardrobe staple, a blue and white short-sleeved knit jumper. The multi-coloured beaded necklace, cat brooch and stretchy belt are all long-time favourites as well.

There were plenty of sunny spells on Sunday, giving a boost to the temperature, which climbed to 22°C.

As we'd been cooped up inside for long enough by then, we were raring to go for a leg-stretching and head-clearing walk, for which we drove down to Fort 5 in the neighbouring village of Edegem. 

I was wearing the pleated leather belt I'd picked up from Think Twice earlier that week, a red Tricel short-sleeved jumper, blue and orange leaf-patterned blazer and orange and brown wooden beads. But I'm sure that all eyes are on my skirt, which is the indisputable star of my outfit, which I happened upon in a vintage per kilo shop back in March. Isn't it spectacular?

Having finished my latest read, I made a start with Irish novelist Colm Tóibín's - of Brooklyn fame - Nora Webster. 

I'm sure you'll be relieved to read that we're heading into August's final week. I know that I am!

Consequently, these are the last of the August outfits.

First up is this green and white green squiggly striped Rayon dress I picked up from Think Twice in July 2023. I was wearing a pink squishy belt last time I wore the dress, but as it has given up the ghost in the meantime, I wore it with the dress's very own belt, which rather disappears into the dress's pattern.

Pink accessories to the rescue!

My shoes, which are from the Spanish ART label, were bought in 2022 from an outlet shop in the small - and increasingly empty - shopping centre near my office. They are among my most comfortable footwear.

And here's the very last one!

The tiered cotton skirt was a sales bargain from C&A in the Summer of 2022 and one of the skirts I reached for the most during the Summer months. This time, it got the company of the Emily and Fin blouse I charity shopped the other week. The eagle-eyed among you might note the yellow bird brooch I pinned to it. 

My necklace and stretchy belt are regulars on the blog, but I don't think my yellow shoes ever made it on here. I found them in a charity shop near my dentist's practice back in May.

I'll be back with another travel post, in which we venture a bit further afield, in a couple of days.

But then there's that backlog of September outfits I've got waiting in the wings. Will I ever be able to catch up, I wonder. Too many things to blog about, too little time!

See you soon!

New adventures in the west

Hello, and welcome back to this year's September travelogue. 

Having been rudely interrupted by an August outfit catch-up which didn't exactly go as planned, my blogging mojo had temporarily deserted me. I'm grateful to the Blogger Team for taking my feedback seriously and removing the unjustified warning for sensitive content. 

So, back to the first week of September it is!

We woke up to a sunny but again quite windy morning on Tuesday the 2nd of September. 

The forecast was for highs of just 19°C with a high chance of rain in the afternoon.

After a botched attempt at fried eggs for breakfast (don't ask!), we were ready for another day of adventures. 

A leisurely 35 minute drive from our cottage, our chosen destination was border town Wervik. 

With the combined attractions of a nature reserve and a museum, it's astonishing that we've never visited the town before in the 14 years that we've been holidaying in this part of Belgium.

Wervik is one of the oldest towns in Belgium, going back to the Romans, who called it Viroviacum.

During the First World War, the town was occupied by the German Army for four years. Wervik was for the Germans what Poperinge was for the British: a place to rest, behind the lines.

However, the town's greatest claim to fame lies in a very different direction: tobacco! 

Once Belgium's main tobacco-growing region, today only a handful of tobacco fields remain.

Happily, the story of the industry's past has been preserved in the National Tobacco Museum, which was part of our reason for visiting the town. The museum has been housed in the annexes of an 18th-century windmill called the Briekenmolen - which you can see in the first collage - since 1987. A new, modern wing was added in 2003.

Wervik has had a long tradition as a tobacco-growing region. In fact, tobacco has been cultivated here since around 1650. 

The industry experienced a boom in the 18th century. As France levied very high excise duties on tobacco, the town's situation near the border made it the perfect operating base for smugglers!

Today, over 98% of Belgian tobacco is still produced here, but its heyday has definitely come to an end as tobacco cultivation is no longer profitable, particularly due to the gradual reduction in EC subsidies given to Belgian tobacco farmers.

Apart from the history of tobacco, and how it conquered the world, the museum also charts the history of smoking as well as other, forgotten forms of tobacco use.

The advert on the top left actually encourages young men to start smoking a pipe as it was beneficial for both one's heart and one's purse strings. How times have changed!

There's also a reconstruction of a tobacconist’s shop from the 1920s and a very covetable collection of advertising signs from a bygone age.

Although both non-smokers - Jos has never smoked in his life and I quit nearly 30 years ago - we found the museum interesting and endlessly fascinating.

It was well past midday by the time we'd finished our tour, so the on-site retro café, In den Grooten Moriaen, was beckoning us with its lunch menu and extensive choice of non-alcoholic beers. We would return to this delightful café, which was clearly frequented by tourists and locals alike, for a shared waffle and our customary cappuccinos in the afternoon.

The sun was still shining in a patchy blue sky when we made our way to the back of the museum towards the footbridge leading into nature reserve De Balokken.

The straightening of a bend in the River Lys (Leie in Flemish) in 1990 resulted in the formation of a 36-hectare island which is nestled between two arms of the river. It was laid out as a varied landscape park with footpaths and a boardwalk through a marshy area.

France lies on the other side of the river and, in fact, a small part of the island is French territory. 

I'd downloaded a walk from the town's tourist website, which would take us into France after crossing the little footbridge you can see on the centre right in the below collage. According to the walk's instructions, we would then be able to walk along the river's towpath on the French side and return to Belgium via the main bridge a little further on.

The instructions, however, turned out to be outdated as, crossing the footbridge, we had no choice but to keep walking along a path which was fenced off on both sides, until we reached the outskirts of the French village called Wervicq-Sud.

Neither the village nor the rapidly darkening sky were appealing to us, so that we decided to return to the island and, ultimately, to the cozy café for the aforementioned waffle and cappuccinos.

But not before admiring some local artwork (above, centre left and bottom right). And my outfit, of course: I was wearing my linen blend embroidered Zara skirt again, this time combined with a charity shopped yellow patterned long-sleeved t-shirt and my denim jacket from Think Twice.

It finally started raining while we were driving back to the cottage and apparently we couldn't get away fast enough as we received a speeding ticket about two weeks later! Oh well ...

On Wednesday the 3rd, the weather that greeted us as we opened our curtains was a bit of a letdown. The blustery wind and granite grey sky weren't exactly spurring us into action, so that we stayed in bed a bit longer until we'd decided on our plans for the day.

After eggs and soldiers for breakfast, we drove to Ypres, about twenty minutes up the road from our holiday home. Unlike last year, finding a parking spot was a doddle, as we left our car in the edge of town car park we'd ultimately stumbled upon last year.

It was still dry by then, and we were even treated to a couple of short-lived sunny spells. Still, we decided to walk to the town centre the direct way instead of taking the 2,6 kilometer ramparts walk.

Our first port of call was St. George's Memorial Church. The church was designed by architect Sir Reginald Blomfield and built to commemorate the over 500,000 British and Commonwealth troops who died in the three battles fought for the Ypres Salient during the Great War. It was completed in 1929.

Walking through the Kloosterpoort (Cloister Gate) across the square, the stone garden of the Lapidarium is reached. Lying in the shadow of St. Martin's Cathedral, it contains the older ruins of St. Martin’s monastery and cloisters. One of the few remaining ruins in the town centre, the Lapidarium is a permanent reminder of the destruction caused by the First World War.

The Cloister Gate (above, top left), which dates from about 1780, was one of the few structures which was not completely demolished by the end of the war. It was still standing while almost everything around it was reduced to piles of rubble.

It had started drizzling by now so, still a tiny bit too early for lunch, we took refuge inside St. Martin's Cathedral, whose entrance lies around the corner from the Lapidarium.

No matter how many times we've visited, we can't help but being impressed by it sumptuous and lofty interior. It's rather mind-boggling that the cathedral, which like most of the brave city of Ypres was in ruins after the war, was actually completely rebuilt in the 20th Century!

Lunch was had at a brasserie called In het Kleine Stadhuis, which is tucked into the corner of the main square, next to the Cloth Hall. 

It had started raining in earnest while we were waiting for the bill, but had virtually stopped by the time we were back outside. Not for long though. In fact, it would be raining on and off for the rest of the afternoon.

Thankfully we'd come armed with our umbrellas - mine a poppy one I'd actually bought here in Ypres back in 2017 - so out they came. 

The Menin Street - which leads towards the impressive Menin Gate - was suitably decorated with garlands of filigree umbrellas.

The largest memorial to the First World War, the Menin Gate is the spot where the Last Post has been sounded every evening at 8 o’clock since 1928.

This memorial, which is in the form of a Roman triumphal arch, and was designed - again - by Sir Reginald Blomfield, displays the names of 54,896 soldiers of the then British Empire who went missing in action. It lists the names from the beginning of the war until 15 August 1917.

One cannot be but moved by those interminable lists of names carved into the stone of the walls and the surrounding loggias.

After a two-year restoration project designed to bring the monument back to its best in time for its centenary in 2027, the Menin Gate was re-opened to the public earlier this year. It now has a living roof’ with vegetation planted on top as part of a new waterproofing system.

In spite of the stormy weather conditions, we decided to walk back to the car park the long way, via the delightful ramparts walk, which can be accessed from the Menin Gate.

The sign in the centre of the collage made me smile. For my non-Dutch speaking readers, the word Ergens translates as Somewhere ... 

The somewhere we were going to was back to our cottage!

I'll be back with further adventures soon.

Back in time for August - Part 2

Edit Saturday, 27 September 2025

I am pleased to inform you that the Blogger team has replied to my feedback and that they have re-evaluated and reinstated my previous post as it is no longer considered to be sensitive. Phew, what a relief! This means that those of you who don't have a Google account can now access the post without logging in. 

Thank you for bearing with me!

Original post:

Dear readers, I have received a notice that the post I published earlier today was was put behind a warning for readers because it contains sensitive content as outlined in Blogger’s community guidelines.

As this post mostly contains outfits I wore back in August, I have absolutely no idea what I did wrong and have therefore asked Blogger for feedback.

Please do not worry and just click on I understand and wish to continue, which allows you to read my post. 

If anyone of you should detect my error, please do not hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Thank you for your understanding.

Back in time to August

Apologies to those of you who were looking forward to another installment of this year's September travelogue. Don't worry: as we were only two days in, I've obviously got another couple of travel posts up my sleeve. However, as I'm way (and I mean way!) behind with posting about my month of August, I'm treating you to a veritable barrage of Summer outfits. In fact, there are so many I haven't posted yet that I'll be needing a second post to cover the rest. 

So, without further ado, here's what I've been wearing - and doing - in the first half of the month.

The weather gods were on their best behaviour in the first week of August, starting off with a mixed menu of clouds and sunny spells accompanied with temperatures in the low twenties from Monday to Wednesday.

On Tuesday the 5th this Diolen Delight made it out of my wardrobe. My wardrobe has its fair share of Diolen, a popular 1960s/1970s polyester, its bright colours and prints vying for attention. Most of these frocks were picked up from Think Twice and other vintage shops over the years, but this particular one was a rare charity shop find back in 2023.

For my accessories I picked orange to contrast with its funky pattern of blue dots. All of these were second-hand finds, except for the cat brooch, which came from the delightful Katshop. Right opposite my hairdresser's salon, this wonderful little shop caters for cats as well as for their long-suffering servants.

By Thursday the 7th, the mercury had managed to climb to 26°C. During my lunch break, I took refuge from my hectic office by going for a cappuccino catch-up with my friend Inez. She's more like a sister than a friend, really, and we're actually calling each other big sister (that's me!) and little sister.

Anyway, I was wearing this vintage frock I'd picked up from a Shrewsbury antique centre in June 2024.

The turquoise flowers in its pattern shouted for attention, which I gave them by adding more turquoise by way of my accessories.

Suitably caffeinated, we finished by going for a rummage. Well, that's what you get when you meet up in the coffee corner of one's favourite vintage shop! 

I fell head over heels for this vintage floral maxi skirt, which you've already seen me wearing as it accompanied me on our September travels.

Friday's weather was a repeat of Thursday's. Although it was my day off, sleeping in wasn't on the menu, as I had an appointment with Michel, my hairdresser of 30 years (!), for a colour and cut. Unfortunately, Michel's retirement is on the cards in the near future. I will be devastated, as finding someone to follow in Michel's shoes will be verging on the impossible ...

The vintage dress I was wearing was another lucky charity shop find, which made it entrance into my wardrobe in the Summer of 2021. Trimmed with white bias tape at the collar and cuffs, with an abstract seascape decal and a wave-like pattern on the skirt, it was definitely love at first sight.

I always seem to go for blue as its companion, and as it works so well I didn't see any reason not to this time around. Particularly as it allowed me to wear the matching sandals I charity shopped back in June.

Friday the 8th of August was also International Cat Day, and Bess willingly posed for me for her annual state portrait. But oh dear, being a model is quite exhausting!

Saturday was yet another sunny day, with the temperature slowly but surely creeping towards the high twenties.

I kept cool by wearing a mix of millefiori patterns. My vintage button-through cotton skirt was an old Think Twice find, while the top with it eye-catching collar, which is by Belgian label Lucy Has A Secret, was charity shopped for a fraction of its undoubtedly astronomical retail price in 2019.

Unusually for me, all my accessories (belt, butterfly brooch and perspex ring) were picked up from the high street at various times.

Same weather again on Sunday the 10th when, after our usual Sunday morning chores, we drove down to the municipal park in the nearby town of Boom.

Instead of walking along the brook which runs through the park like we usually do, we took the park's perimeter path until we arrived at 't Kleibrood, a centre for environmental education. There's a herb and flower garden as well as some vegetable beds which seemed to have yielded a good crop of courgettes. We were even offered some by one of the caretakers!

From there, we ventured into the heart of the park where, unsurprisingly, we found the water levels in the brook and ponds to be very low. It had been some time since we'd had a decent amount of rain. As I'd suspected at the time, the weather gods were saving it all up for our holiday ...

We finally came across some of the park's population of waterfowl at the edge of the largest of the ponds, where I instantly took a liking to these youngsters, who were kind - and tame - enough to pose for me.

Much as I loved their black and white outfits, I opted for full-on colour and a mix of patterns. My curtain couture skirt - its moniker was earned by the fact that it was obviously, and rather rudimentary sewn from an old curtain - came out to play. The exotically patterned and frilly butterfly-sleeved top was charity shopped in the Spring of 2023.

It's been a while since I shared my reads, so here's the novel I was engrossed in at the time. Set in the US in 1960, its backdrop ranges from the jazz clubs of Greenwich Village to the smoke-filled rooms of the Kennedy campaign.

We were in for a heatwave in August's second week, with temperatures effortlessly reaching highs of 30°C and more.

My hot weather wardrobe came into its own that week, starting with this combo I wore on Monday. My crisp organic cotton maxi skirt with its flower meadow print and two fuchsia pink crocheted lace strips at the hem was bought brand new from C&A three summers ago. The bright orange cotton top - by the Belgian Gigue label - was charity shopped around the same time.

The cotton shirt dress with its funky floral pattern was a Think Twice sales bargain back in June 2017.  It has been a Summer staple ever since and has featured on the blog many a time over the years. It's definitely in my top 10 of favourite Summer frocks!

The flowers in its print were echoed by my brooch - a pink straw sunflower - and the flowers adorning my ancient Clarks sandals. 

And look who wanted a piece of the action!

I'd missed my usual tram when going home, and as I wasn't keen on waiting for the next one to come around while wilting in full-on sunshine at 33°C, I crossed the street and walked into the airconditioned Veritas shop, where I was seduced by this € 3 sales bargain gecko brooch ... 

... which obviously I had to wear the next day.

Hopefully, the little fellow liked ice cream, as I pinned him to the green ice cream cone patterned Only t-shirt I charity shopped last Summer. 

The Vero Moda red and white tiered faux-patchwork maxi skirt was a recent bargainous outlet shop buy.

With the mercury stuck at 33°C, the day was yet another scorcher, from which I took refuge in the small shopping centre near my office during my lunch break. 

It was in one of the few remaining shops which hadn't yet closed down that my eyes alighted on this dream of a skirt. With a fantastic pattern like that, I'm sure you'll understand that resistance was futile ...

Part 2 of my August outfits to follow shortly. But first things first: part 3 of this year's September travelogue will be coming up next!

Hope to see you soon!