Five dogs and a suitcase

After the endless string of gloomy days we've had in January and early February, it was an utter joy to finally have the sun come out to play in the week before last. If the mornings were chilly and bright, as the day progressed the temperature climbed to the lofty heights of about 15°C.

The sky was such an unaccustomed shade of blue that I decided to join in and wear a bit of sky blue too.

And yes, it was still just light enough for outfit photos when I got home!

The dress I wore on Friday has a sprinkling of white dots and flowers, a full pleated skirt perfect for a twirl or two and a neck tie.

Wearing yellow with it was almost mandatory, so I chose a yellow belt and opaques and pinned a yellow bird brooch to my dress's collar. The yellow cardigan I'd started out with had long been discarded, and I'm only wearing the vintage teal new wool jacket with its grey furry colour for the photos.

On Saturday we had a flea market to go to. We'd made a late start as some paperwork related to the sale of the parental home had to be signed.

Consequently, it was nearly lunch time when we finally set off, deciding to make outfit photos afterwards.

This turned out not to be the best decision, as by then our garden was bathing in dazzling sunlight, bleaching out my outfit's colours and giving my already pale face a ghostly translucency.

I picked up the pussy bow blouse with its magenta Paisley pattern for € 2 at Think Twice the other week. It's vintage St. Michael. I'm surprised the nylon it is made of didn't make me sweat, but then again it was quite chilly inside the flea market venue. However, the slipperiness of the fabric ensured that the blouse kept escaping from my skirt's waistband, even with the addition of the sturdy belt.

Putting this outfit together was a doddle, as I'd already decided on the green skirt, which was lurking in the depths of my wardrobe. The happy marriage of green and magenta made my heart sing!

I balanced out the equation by adding maroon opaques. These are Falke and came from a posh department store in Antwerp, which has an extensive collection of stockings and tights. Under normal circumstances, I hardly ever venture into this shop, but they are worth checking out at the tail end of the sales, when good quality opaques in unusual colours can be found for very reasonable prices.

I needed comfortable footwear which wouldn't pinch my feet or kill my back while trawling the flea market aisles, so I opted for these age-old tan ankle boots.

Tired of my Winter coats, I chose a green tweedy jacket I charity shopped last Autumn, adding a large brooch depicting a glamorous, green turbaned lady for good measure.

As you can see, I was wearing another lady brooch, this one wearing a feathered hat, at my throat. Only, it isn't a brooch but a scarf clip, which I'd used to secure the pussy bow.

My handbag of choice was this glorious tapestry covered one - I am such a sucker for them! - which looks a bit like an overgrown purse, and is big enough to carry my flea market essentials and more.

There were stalls a-plenty at the flea market and in spite of the gorgeous weather it was busier than usual, but we didn't seem to be in the right mood. Consequently, it took us longer than usual to make our first purchases.

Now, without further ado, here's a little group photo of what we came home with.

The vintage cheese grater (our old one recently died) and the deer ornament came from Ilona's stall. She's a flea market regular whom we have become friendly with over the years. I don't think we ever left her stall empty handed.

At a jewellery stall we usually avoid as we think its goods are rather overpriced, I was drawn to a box full of 1970s deadstock earrings. As my ears are no longer pierced, I was pleased to see there were many pairs of clip earrings, even dangly ones, so I bought 5 pairs for a total of € 10.

Funnily enough, only one brooch came home with me, but isn't this trio of doggies the cutest?

Speaking of dogs, I happened upon this tiny ceramic dog. Its head is a lid, and can be removed, but what is it? A little trinket box, perhaps? Anyway, he caught my attention as he reminded me of another ceramic dog we have. This one can do a little trick, which magically transforms him into a jug. So, I took the tiny one home, and lo and behold, they're like a reunited little family!

Our final buy was this magnificent vintage Lady Baltimore suitcase from Tania's stall, which is another one of our favourites. It's in pristine condition, inside and out, and even retains its matching label with the original owner's name and address pencilled in.

Not much actual information is found on the Internet about these suitcases and the company who produced them, but the Baltimore Luggage Co. registered the "Lady Baltimore" Trademark in 1954.

The luggage came in different sizes and colours, and are selling like hot cakes on eBay and various Etsy shops.

Mine dates from the early 1960s, as testified by these delightful ads. One thing is certain: I will travel in style!

At a rough guess, there must be at least a dozen suitcases at Dove Cottage, all picked up at charity shops and flea markets. They all serve their purpose as storage for out of season clothes and shoes, handbags, scarves, belts, Etc.

Then there's a stack of old brown suitcases. We used to look out for these, their common factor being that they have a wooden frame, a necessity to convert them into ... Barbie wardrobes!

I am storing all my vintage Barbie (and family) clothing sets in them and, organized as I am, they are all in plastic bags with the various accessories belonging to them, labelled with their names and stock numbers, the year they were issued and the page(s) of the reference book(s) where more information on them can be found.

Even if I've stopped actively collecting, my collection still gives me so much joy. But I do blame those dolls for wanting a vintage wardrobe of my own!

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday and Mica's Weekday Wear Linkup!