Wearing, reading and charity shopping

As promised, I'm back with a final November update. And about time too, I guess, as Christmas is almost upon at the time of writing. We put up our Christmas tree two weekends ago, deciding to leave our fragile vintage decorations for (at least) another year and using our small collection of wooden, felted, fabric, resin and papier-mâché ones instead. 

As you can see, it was a good thing that we did! Ever since Bess came to live at Dove Cottage back in 2021, it has become a tradition to post a photo of her shenanigans involving the tree, so here is this year's contribution. She wasted no time in climbing it the minute it was up and I'd finished decorating it with all those tempting toys!

As my blog hasn't actually made it to Christmas yet, why don't we retrace our steps to Friday the 21st of November? On the menu that day was my penultimate visit to Michel, my hairdresser of more than 30 years, who will be retiring at the end of next week. Sob!

I might not have been ready for the silly season yet but the streets of Antwerp were already decked out with garlands of greenery and festive light displays. 

It was a sunny but crispy cold day on which the mercury didn't climb any higher than 4°C.

I was wearing a chevron patterned plaid skirt in browns, oranges and a dash of white, which I wrestled off a charity shop dummy in January 2022. Its companion, an aubergine blouse sprinkled with colourful spots, was an old Think Twice find, its collar kept under control with a sparkly peach-coloured brooch I picked up from H&M in the late noughties. 

For extra warmth, I added a lavender tank top, bought at 70% off in the closing down sale of the Belgian Terre Bleue label in September 2024. To this I pinned one of my Autumn leaf brooches. Then I selected an orange stretchy belt with massive round metal buckle - a cheeky high street buy - to accentuate my waist.

The temperature was down to 2°C on Saturday, when we woke up to the first of the night frost having sugar-coated the plants in the jungle garden.

The sudden cold snap spurred me into action, and I spent the morning unearthing some of my warmer skirts and exchanging a shelf full of short-sleeved knits for long-sleeved Winter jumpers.

Then I walked into the village as I needed to run an errand at Kruidvat, which is the Low Countries' equivalent of Superdrug.

My blue cord skirt was bought in a high street shop in November 2023 and has become a true Autumn/Winter staple ever since. My diagonally striped polo neck, in a slightly darker shade of blue, was a € 5 Think Twice sales bargain one year later. 

Both the belt and necklace were relatively recent charity shop finds. A pre-blog rummage at the indoor flea market yielded the vintage enamelled metal brooch featuring an Edelweiss, a Gentian and a couple of smaller daisy-like flowers.  

Talking of rummages, we drove down to the Went to charity shop in Mortsel after lunch, where I found a Diolen button through skirt, a Nordic style jumper by the Belgian high street label JBC, a black and white patterned orange blouse and some aqua beads.

It had actually snowed overnight on Sunday the 23rd of November, but apart from the odd dot of the fluffy stuff, it had all gone by morning. In its wake, we were left with a gloomy and utterly grey day on which an icy cold wind made it feel considerably colder that the day's highs of 2°C.

As Bess had been having episodes of regular vomiting, which we suspected was hairball related but wanted to be sure, we made an online appointment with a local vet for Tuesday morning. Much to our regret our former vet, whom we'd had since Phoebe's predecessor Poesie back in the mid-1990s, had recently closed her practice. As she used to do house visits, it would be the first time we'd have to take Bess anywhere in the cat carrier we last used when we picked her up from the shelter which, needless to say, we were a bit nervous about ...

Thankfully we were able to take our minds off things by visiting our friends Ingrid and Luc in he afternoon. We hadn't seen each other for a while, so it was nice to be able to catch up.

Ingrid and I were at secondary school together, where we were the one and only punks. Those were the days!

Monday was the start of a three-day general strike in Belgium, with little or no public transport, which meant that Jos not only had to drive me into Antwerp like he usually does, but pick me up again as well. This was easier said than done, as, due to parking restrictions, there is nowhere for him to park the car and wait for me. This meant leaving the office ahead of time to make sure I'd be at our designated pick-up point by the time he arrived.

After a foggy commute on Tuesday morning, this was my view from the office window (above, left): apparently Antwerp's cathedral had gone AWOL!  I'm including the view on the right, taken a couple of hours later, for comparison.

It was the day of Bess's appointment with the vet, where she was declared to be in perfect health and was given an injection to help her with the hairball issues. Jos reported that she meowed loudly during the car trip - which took all of five minutes - but that she was on her best behaviour at the vet's. 

I walked to the nearest Think Twice shop during lunch break, where I found this amazing vintage dress from a German label called Rawe Rheda. When I posted my find on Instagram that day, I was told by Lynn that she used to have the exact same dress.

And just like that, another week had gone by!

Another gloomy and mizzly day was our lot on Friday the 28th of November, accompanied with a neither here nor there 9°C.

I had a dentist appointment for a check-up at 11 am, but as there were no issues I was in and out in less than 15 minutes.

Back at home, I tackled a couple of minor sewing jobs after lunch, after which we went food shopping.

My outfit was based around the olive green polyester knit vintage dress I found at the vintage per kilo shop back in October. 

Both the chunky knit long-line orange cardigan and the orange fake-snake belt were charity shopped, while the orange and green mottled brooch was a flea market find. My necklace is a holiday souvenir, bought from an antiques centre in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales in June 2017. It seems that it's one of the necklaces I'm reaching for the most.

The rest of the day was spent engrossed in my latest read, Muriel Spark's The Girls of Slender Means. This early 1960s vintage Penguin has been on my shelves for decades but caught my eye as I was rearranging the latter to make some space. I couldn't actually remember ever reading it, so that was my next read sorted.

The novel is set in London in 1945 at the end of the war in a shabby boarding house for young ladies called the May of Teck Club. It follows their lives and love affairs over a period of a few weeks but ends in tragedy. It's a very witty novel which I loved, although I initially had a difficult time getting into it.

There was no improvement in the weather on Saturday.  Apart from a handful of sunny days, it had been a gloomy month of November, but still an improvement on October, which was considered the bleakest month here in Belgium since records began.

As it was once again left to yours truly to provide a daily dose of sunshine, I plucked this teal cowl-necked and pleated dress from my wardrobe. A Think Twice find back in March 2022, I initially left it behind, but as luck would have it, it had been reduced by 30% when I went back for it the next day.

From its groovy colourful pattern, I selected ochre for my fluffy cardigan and tan for my belt, adding even more colour with my beaded necklace and brooch. Apart from the latter, which was a flea market find, all were supplied by the gods of the charity shops.

Speaking of which, the weather dictated that we went for another rummage, for which we selected the shop at the edge of our village.

Here I found no less than three vintage dresses, which I'm sure were leftovers from the infamous Day of the Charity Shops, on which they break out all of the vintage items they've hoarded for months, to be sold at inflated prices. 

There were two modern dresses as well. The burnt orange floral shift dress is by Belgian label Claude Arielle (I've already got a couple of blouses by them) while the tropical patterned one is a King Louie.

My final finds of the day were two more books to add to my already toppling pile. I must be one of the only people in the world who hasn't yet read Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring ... and nor have I seen the film!

So, that's it for now. I've just finished my final day at the office this year and, as I'm only due back on Monday the 5th of January, I'm looking forward to 12 days of freedom from the shackles of time.

All that's left is to wish you all a wonderful Christmas. 

See you on the other side!

Dreamcoat

Coming back home from sunny, blue-skied Bruges on Saturday the 8th of November was a bit of a let-down, particularly since I was plagued by that pesky cold I told you about a couple of posts ago.

Having said our goodbyes to Veronique after breakfast, we were expecting to get home well before midday.  However, as extensive roadworks were taking place in the north of Antwerp that weekend, our Satnav decided to make a detour via Brussels, making our journey just that little bit longer.

I wasted no time in getting our stuff unpacked while Jos went food shopping in the afternoon, but then I started feeling unwell, a tickle in my throat announcing the fact that I was coming down with a cold.

I thought I'd escaped the worst when I felt reasonably well upon getting up on Sunday. 

It was mostly overcast with the odd sunny spell and highs of around 14°C. Still, I didn't leave the house all day, catching up with blogland and gearing myself for the ordeal of going back to work on Monday. 

As for my outfit, I opted for a comfy skirt and blouse combo, with both the grey and red tartan circle skirt and the King Louie blouse supplied by the gods of the charity shops.

I enhanced the tiny pops of red in my skirt and blouse with a wine coloured beaded necklace and elasticated belt with massive white metal buckle (both charity shopped). I was wearing not one but two brooches that day. The plastic cat brooch got the company of a red-hearted white metal one which I used to tame the collar of my blouse.  

By mid-afternoon it became clear that I spoke too soon. My scratchy throat might have done a runner, I was now suffering from an alternately blocked and leaking nose, lots of sneezing, watery eyes and an annoying and persistent little cough. Not fun at all. 

There was nothing for it but to join Bess on the sofa. 

It was a wrench getting out of bed at an ungodly hour again on Monday, particularly as the day promised to be a mind-numbingly gloomy one. Courtesy of my cold, I was feeling a bit zombie-ish but otherwise ok. As usual, there was lots to catch up on at the office, but I'd managed to get through most of it by the end of the day. 

Which was a good thing as Tuesday was the 11th of November, Armistice Day, which is a public holiday here in Belgium.

Again, it was dark and gloomy and, although the day's highs of 10°C weren't too bad at all, again I didn't leave the house all day. 

My cold was still very much present, but there's no rest for the wicked, as I actually had things to do.

But first things first: I was wearing a burnt orange polyester dress, closing with a zip at the front. The zip pull is missing, but I can't be bothered to replace the zip, especially as it's still in good working order. Replacing the zip pull is out of the question as well, as there's hardly anything left to attach it to. But then I had the brainwave of using a single, orphan earring instead.

The dress's print has bottle green in it, so I piled on the green accessories. 

Just before we were off to Bruges, I was contacted by Patricia, a lovely lady who lives in our village, is into vintage and always buys lots of stuff from my flea market stall. She'd asked if she could come around for a rummage some time and we'd agreed on Friday the 14th; Making use of my day off, I spent it going through my flea market boxes and wardrobe(s), selecting some items I was ready to let go.

More about that later ...

Meanwhile, it was back to work on Wednesday, which was a rare sunny day with a balmy 16°C temperature. As my cold, which had taken a backseat on Tuesday, was back with a vengeance, I went to pick up some cold relief medicines during my lunch break, stopping for a rummage at Think Twice on my way back to the office.

Obviously, there was no way I could leave this gorgeous orange handbag behind!

Although there are no less than five Think Twice (or T2 as they are commonly known) shops in Antwerp, I do not visit them all on a regular basis. Most of my purchases are made in the two shops which are only a couple of minutes' walk from the office. 

A slightly longer walk takes me to the shop in Antwerp's vibrant Kammenstraat which offers a refreshing alternative to mainstream shopping with its array of independent boutiques. In spite of the gloom and impending rain, this is where I was headed during Thursday's lunch break.

My self-imposed coat ban proved to be futile when I came face to face with this stunner of a coat. Nevertheless, I hummed and hawed before deciding on its purchase as it's got a couple of issues. When I finally took it to the check-out, I ended up chatting to the shop assistants. It was at that point that my beloved sage green beret, which I'd taken off in the fitting rooms, must have fallen out of my bag. I only realized I'd lost it when I was going home that night, but I had no idea where. Fast forward to three weeks later, when I visited the shop again and was stopped and asked whether the beret was mine. They'd kept it for me all that time and I couldn't have been happier to have been reunited with it. The girls were duly rewarded with chocolates!

It was only when I got the coat home that I discovered a Bernat Klein tag inside. A bit of research revealed that Bernat Klein CBE (6 November 1922 – 17 April 2014) was a Serbian born textile designer and painter. Based in Scotland, Klein supplied textiles to haute couture designers in the 1960s and 1970s, and later sold his own clothing collections. Here's a link to the Bernat Klein Foundation if you would like to find out more. Please do not blame me if this makes you go down a rabbit hole like I did.

His obituary in The Scotsman was calling him the colour wizard of the Scottish textile industry who brought tweed to world's catwalks. 

And I've got one of his coats for less than € 30!  The photo doesn't really do it justice, but I'll show it to you properly once I've fixed the partly detached lining and slightly wonky hem.

Edit: I've added a close-up of its glorious tweed, taken when light conditions were better.

Anyway, after this short on and off working week, Friday the 14th of  November rolled along in no time.

It might have been gloomy and mizzly outside, I had no intention of leaving Dove Cottage's cozy confines anyway. I spent the morning compiling a rail of clothes, making sure to include some coats and jackets, as that is what Patricia was after in particular.

We chatted over cups of coffee while she was browsing and adding more and more items to her pile of likely candidates. After trying things on, she ended up buying two coats, three jackets, three dresses and some blouses!

My dress, with its glorious mix of abstract stripes on a burgundy background, is an old Think Twice find acquired pre-blog on a Friday afternoon shopping trip with my friend Inez. 

Although the stripes invite it to be accessorized with almost any colour you can think of, I often opt for turquoise, even if that colour doesn't actually appear in the dress's print. The flower embossed belt and the turquoise-rimmed floral brooch were charity shop and flea market finds respectively. The necklace, however, was a sales bargain from the high street last Summer.

Although at 16°C it was still unseasonably warm, it was a dismal and utterly wet day we woke up to on Saturday.

I spent the morning pottering around upstairs, folding away the unsold items in the flea market boxes which live in the built-up cupboard in our bedroom.

It was almost inevitable that one or two things ended up back in my wardrobe, case in point being the dress I wore that day. I know, what was I thinking?

My accessories were having a hard time competing with the dress's exuberant flower garden pattern. In the end, I opted for off-white in the form of a beaded necklace, vintage flower brooch and chunky plastic ring. 

We were itching to go for a rummage at the charity shops after lunch, but as Opnieuw & Co., our local chain of shops, were having a Christmas event which we wanted to avoid at all cost, we drove to the small charity shop in Reet instead. And no, I didn't find a single thing!

Back at home, we went to feed our neighbours' cats Bobby, Billie and Pip, as their personnel was off gallivanting around Paris.

This was followed with a cuddling session with our very own pampered little feline!

Yet another dismal day awaited us on Sunday, but as it looked set to remain dry, we were adamant to go for a much needed head-clearing walk. The temperature had halved over night, leaving us with highs of just 8°C, which were much more appropriate for the time of year.

Our walk took us to the park in the nearby town of Boom, which is only a 15-minute drive from home.

The earthy, musky-sweet scent of Autumn leaves greeted us once we stepped through the gates, and surely there's nothing like a good old crunch through a deep pile carpet of them to lift the spirits.

 

Apart from the odd dog walker, the utter greyness of the day must have kept people at home, so that it wasn't hard to imagine being somewhere far away from humanity, with only the trees in their Autumnal splendour and the resident waterfowl for company.

There's a brook running through the park, interspersed by one or two shallow waterfalls whose frothy cascades of water adds to the magical atmosphere of the park.

Much to our delight, when we got home it was still light enough for outfit photos without having to rely on harsh artificial light, which I'm sure is the bane of many of us at this time of year.

My dress, which is yet another old Think Twice find, is a thin yet deceptively warm one in a wool and polyester Trevira blend. Its dark green background is enhanced with swirls of orange and greyish green. A sage green long-sleeved t-shirt was layered underneath.

Again, I used a brooch (picked up from a flea market in Carmarthen, Wales) to tame its collar. Both my necklace and belt were charity shop finds.

There's nothing much to tell you about the working week that followed, apart from the fact that it remained gloomy and mizzly, with temperatures between 5 and 7°C.

There was the usual cappuccino catch-up with Inez on Tuesday, followed by a round of the rails at Think Twice, where I fell for this green and yellow tweed skirt.

Then, on Wednesday, I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen in person in at least 40 years. He'd moved to Spain many years ago and we lost touch. However, we subsequently reconnected on Facebook in 2009, which is why we instantly recognized each other when we were both walking along Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare. 

I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

So, that's if for now. I'll try and squeeze in a final November update before Christmas. 

See you soon!

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!