Sweet charity

We're more than halfway through March, and Spring has officially sprung. I'm usually bored with my Winter wardrobe by now, and this year is certainly no exception.

In all honesty, the season could hardly be classed as Winter in terms of weather. We've only had a handful of frosty days and there was even less snow than usual. Instead, it seemed like one long, grey and wet Autumn (the nasty stage!) merging into early Spring.

No wait, we already had Spring, didn't we? It was the sunny intermezzo we had for two weeks or so in February, which was followed by very windy and very wet weather.

This is the time of year when I'm critically eyeing my Winter wardrobe, looking at any unworn items and putting aside anything I don't think I'll ever wear again. This, mind you, isn't an easy task, as I usually find it hard to part with things I once loved. But I'm learning! Baby steps, though.

The absence of a really cold Winter means that there are quite a few - more than usual - unworn things in my wardrobe. My warmest dresses, woollen skirts and jumpers: I hardly had any use for them and, unless we're faced with a very late Beast from the East, I'm probably done with them for this season.

Last Saturday, as a last attempt to wear any other items which remained unworn, I pulled out this handmade shift dress, which has the grooviest of prints.

When I found it at Blender Vintage Shop, a gem of a shop that's sadly no longer trading, the sleeves had turned-up cuffs closing with two gold buttons.

However, the turn-ups made the sleeves a tiny bit too short and too narrow, which is why I hardly ever wore it. But oh, I loved that print, and pretty much else about the dress, apart from those pesky sleeves. So, I took it out, had a good look at the cuffs and noticed that the finish looked quite alright on the reverse side. Thus, I removed the buttons and moved them to what was once the inside of the cuffs, making the sleeves longer and less restricted in the process. Oh, and I replaced those boring gold ones with ... green buttons!

It's obvious that it's not going to exit my wardrobe any time soon now!

I topped my frock with a burnt orange cardigan, to which I pinned a brown-bodied cat brooch, a present from Goody.  Brown vintage beads and a plastic orange ring with shimmering green specks were my other accessories.

The rain had temporarily stopped, but with a gale force wind blowing, the weather was best suited for staying indoors. However, we did escape for a brief charity shop rummage after lunch.

I was back to wearing my Princess coat and was glad of its warmth with all that wind. My sage green beret came from Think Twice and the orange plaid scarf was a charity shop find.

So were the boots, which cost all of € 2, and which I've been wearing constantly. They are super comfortable, their only disadvantage being that they are pull-on ones. I'm also wearing an old pair of green opaques.

We drove down to a charity shop we hardly ever visit these days, to have a look at the leftovers of Retrodag. I almost got a fit when I saw a vintage handbag - OK, it was a nice one but still - priced at € 50. I actually threw it down in disgust ...

Purely out of habit, I had a look at the jewellery, some of which is displayed in a - very scratched - glass topped drawer built into the counter. I thought I detected a carved celluloid brooch, and if my eyes weren't deceiving me, its price label said € 1.

I wasted no time in asking if I could have a look at the drawer's contents.

These are the ones that came home with me for the ridiculous total price of € 7. I admit I couldn't help gloating just a little bit.

On the top left is the brooch I'd first spied. Continuing clockwise, this one is very similar to one I've already got, but at € 1 I wasn't going to leave it behind. In the end, it turned out to be sufficiently different to justify keeping them both. 

The delicate brooch on the bottom right might be missing some of its little flowers, but € 0,50 seemed a fair price for it. The little holes on both sides of the stag brooch (bottom left) are a clear indication that something is missing from it, although I have no idea what. It's perfectly wearable, though, and at € 1, I was prepared to give it a home.

Scottie dogs were a popular subject for brooches and other novelty jewellery from the 1930s onwards. I'm presuming these two are 1950s.

The twosome of dogs on the left used to have movable heads but age, possibly with the aid of some glue, has put paid to any further movement.

The brown Scottie beating a drum was priced at € 0,5. This in itself was sweet revenge for the ridiculously priced handbag, as I already have two of these brooches. See here. I don't remember what I paid for the plain green one which was bought from an antiques shop in Cardigan, but my blog tells me I paid € 20 (with reduction!) for the black one, found at a flea market last year.

I'm always on the lookout for cheap 'n cheerful vintage novelty brooches. These charming ones were € 0,50 each. My favourite is the one on the bottom right, the girl holding an umbrella over a gaggle of ducks.

Needless to say, I'm very pleased with my haul, as brooch pickings had been rather meagre lately.

Before going home, we stopped at the charity shop in our village, where the Retrodag remnants included six egg cups with matching spoons, still in their original packing, as well as an Emsa party dish.

The egg cups have been added to our kitchen display, while the party dish has already been roped in to house some of my jewellery collection.

So that were our charity shop finds, but I still need to show you what I picked up earlier that week at Think Twice, who were having another one of their famous sales.

It had been quite a while since I had a decent haul there as well.

The floral Diolen frock with its butterfly sleeves was € 5. Its print is very reminiscent of the one in this dress.

As a lover of green, I simply can't have enough green frocks! Isn't this one fabulous? I fell in love with its mix of plain green and printed bodice and its gorgeous chevron patterned skirt. This was € 5 as well.

This plain green dress (yes, another one!) isn't even vintage but from Belgian label Wow To Go. 

Back in 2012, I used to have the same model of dress but in burgundy, with a burgundy and turquoise striped bodice. I dearly loved that dress but it had become too snug, so eventually I gave it away to a friend.

You can see part of it in this photo dating from way back. Note the very short hair and the tiny spectacles. And Phoebe!

As this green version is a perfect fit and in pristine condition, I couldn't hand over my € 4 fast enough.

Meanwhile, I've selected some dresses and other stuff I no longer love and bagged them up ready for our next trip to the charity shops. 

There, you see, I can do it!

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

Mellow yellow

After hearing about the extreme weather conditions in other parts of the globe, it seems a bit silly to complain about grey skies and a bit of rain.

Still, there have been more rainy days than we've bargained for and we've hardly seen more than a few hours of sunshine in the last two months.

When the weather forecast promised us a long-awaited sunny weekend, we did a little jig and made some plans.

But Saturday dawned with a persistent fog, against which the feeble January sun hardly stood a chance.

To cheer ourselves up, we decided on some retail therapy, in our case, of course, involving a trip to the charity shops! What an exciting life we are leading ...

A long overdue outing for this mellow yellow dress!

It's made from a heavy polyester fabric, which the label identifies as Crinklé Terylene. The bulk of the dress has got a simple, slightly shiny, yellow flower print on an off-white background, with strips of solid yellow accenting the collar and the fake pocket tabs. The buttons are covered in the same yellow fabric.

To break up the pattern I used a shiny vinyl belt in a caramel brown, echoing the hearts of the flowers in the print. My other accessories were amber coloured beads and a blue framed plastic flower brooch.

Another wear of my burnt orange tights! They seem to go with quite a lot of my outfits, so it's a good thing I was able to find another couple of pairs at the market stall. To balance it out, I added the chunky orange cardigan I charity shopped during the Christmas break.

The embellished brown boots (I love the cutouts at the top) were charity shopped as well, back in December.

In fear of getting bored with the coats and jackets I have on rotation, I pulled out this brown checked swing coat, which I found it at Oxfam about two years ago.

You've probably noticed my yellow beret, which I couldn't take off as my hair was all over the place. I also wore my green furry supermarket scarf (so soft and cosy!) and a pair of teal gloves. I love how my cardigan's orange cuffs are cheekily peeking out from under my coat sleeves ...

On to our shopping trip, which certainly wasn't a wasted one. Minutes after walking into shop number one, we spotted this plaster bust of a pale but blushing Mary and baby Jesus. Even though poor Mary has had an accident, they pair came home with us joining our little collection living on top of a bookcase in our front room.

I also found several items of new-to-me clothing. From top to bottom: a blue and pink cardigan from retro label Zoë Loveborn, a hairy green cardigan from Thelma & Louise (a ridiculously expensive Belgian label), a King Louie dress and a charcoal skirt in a fine charcoal corduroy fabric by River Woods.

If I'd bought these new, they would have cost me around € 300 - gasp! - so the € 19 I paid for all four items can be considered quite a bargain!

The sun was making headway through the clouds when we came out of shop number two so, as we were parked near the small park in Duffel, we wasted no time, threw our gear in the boot, grabbed the camera and went for a walk.

The perfect backdrop to show you my final finds of the day: these two miniature Spanish fans, for € 0,25 each. Even though they are tiny, they seem to be quite effective, so ideal for keeping in my handbag to combat any hot flushes en route.

The park in question is not very large, but always a joy to visit, with its imaginative planting, water garden with stone fountain, pond complete with waterfowl of all plumage, and access to the adjacent river's towpath.

But all is not well. Although the council is doing its utmost to keep it all nice and tidy, their well meant plans keep being thwarted by the resident hoodlums, who leave mountains of empty beer cans as well as a trail of destruction in their wake.

An avenue of newly planted trees had been decimated, several young saplings deliberately snapped off.

At least this tree was allowed to grow old and die gracefully and is now playing host to a colony of fungi.

As the sun was sinking lower, we made our way back to our car, with sore feet in my case, as my boots were definitely not made for any substantial walking.

Before I sign off, let me show you some of the bargains I bagged in the sales last week.

These rings were going at € 1 each in the closing down sale of an accessories shop.

And last but not least, these wonderful teal Miz Mooz shoes, which I managed to grab with 60% off, including a snug orange box for Miz Phoebe!

Linking again to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

Fell in love with a dress

In my previous post, I hinted at the fact that there was something going on at the charity shops on Saturday before last.

Yes, it was time again for that yearly event to promote their shops, the notorious Day of the Charity Shops (Dag van de Kringwinkel in Flemish)!

It's an event which is loved and hated in equal measure by any vintage aficionado, as much of the interesting stuff is being kept behind especially for this day, while on the day itself the shops are full of fabulous, yet often overpriced, goodies.

The diehards take up their posts at the shop's entrance well before opening time, pushing and shoving their way into the shop once the doors are opened, in order to get first dibs at the goods on offer.

Not us! No, obviously we are far too civilized and laid back for such behaviour!
Although I have to admit that, once inside the shop, all manners can be thrown overboard if anyone even dares going near the object(s) of my desire!

So, we walked in at leisure one hour later, past table after table groaning under the weight of vintage crockery, casting a cursory glance, then went down to the textiles department in the basement.

There, we were halted in our tracks by the display on the half landing. That dress! Minutes later, the mannequin wearing it was left bare, and I was on my way to the fitting rooms ...

I could have hit myself for not taking a before photo, but apparently the charity shop people did and posted it on their Facebook page, so this photo is courtesy of them.

The dress is just a tiny bit too wide on me, but there was no way I was leaving it behind. Surely, that's what belts were invented for?

I had the perfect boots to wear with it as well. And no, I am not trying to walk like an Egyptian: I was telling Jos I could feel the first drops of rain ...

From the same shop came these two vintage handbags.

At first, the black bag with the tortoise shell ring got us stumped, as we couldn't seem to open it. Then Jos noticed this hidden lever, which releases the opening mechanism, and hey presto!

It had to come home with me, even if for the unusual catch alone, as this is exactly the kind of quirky thing that I love, justifying why I've just bought another black handbag ...

For good measure, here's a closer look at the small but sturdy and surprisingly roomy tan leather handbag.

Jos bought this revolving device containing a barometer, thermometer and a hygrometer, for his small collection.

After our walk in the park, we drove down to a shop we only visit once or twice a year. By then, afternoon was well on its way, and we expected it to be stripped bare. Not so! Here too, there were endless shelves of vintage china, even more than at the first shop.

We noted there were hardly any gaps in the shelves, so we don't think much of it was sold. Serves them right, they should put  these things out into their shops all year round!

Jos browsed the cartons of vinyl, but didn't find anything he liked.

He then settled for a vintage portable record player. Not that we didn't have one yet ... This one will need some TLC.

After a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie, we made a final round, and I found this vintage St. Michaels melamine tray.

Sunday was all work and no play. Oh, OK, just a little bit of play then: I had the day earmarked for the continuation of my wardrobe switch-over.

Dressed in this stretchy retro frock by Zoë Loveborn, I matched our Emsa kitchenware perfectly!

Here are my Summer frocks ready to be put into vacuum bags. I am only keeping out the ones which are tricky to iron.

Then came the fun bit, as one by one my long-sleeved dresses were taken out of the bags they've been in since late Spring.

As usual, there were the old favourites as well as one or two surprises I'd completely forgotten about!

I also took the opportunity to have a cull and fill a bag full of clothes to sell on.

There, don't they look nice hanging ready to wear in my wardrobe?

Wardrobe woes

After Mr. S. and Phoebe, my wardrobe is the love of my life, but still there are mornings I am stood in front of my full to bursting wardrobe not knowing what to wear.

I blame this on circumstances beyond my control, such as the weather. Mainly the weather.

The main culprit, of course, is that I've got so much choice, and so little time to wear it all.

This is especially true in Summer, let's say from May to early October (if we're lucky). One way or another, the summer season, as in warm enough to wear frivolous summer frocks, is far too short. We can fake it a little, by wearing tights and a cardigan (both of which I therefore have in abundance) but all too soon the day will come when the summer stuff has to be put away in favour of one's winter wardrobe.

So, there is no time to lose as, even in the best circumstances there will still be lots of unworn stuff by the end of Summer.

I am making a concentrated effort to wear those things which haven't been worn for a while. These can be things I'm not or no longer sure are me or that for one reason or another have slightly gone out of favour. I think I owe them at least another wear before making any drastic decisions.

Take this Diolen dress, picked up at the much missed Blender Vintage Shop a couple of years ago. I like the print, its cut and especially its collar. But it is lined, making it too thick for a hot day, and I think it's a tiny bit too short on me.

Out it came anyway, on Saturday before last, and at first I was sure it would be a goner. I added a belt: better.  A butterfly brooch on the collar, to keep the flowers company. A lime green necklace and ditto ring: not too bad. Still, I wasn't totally convinced ...

It was too chilly outside to go it alone,  so I needed to add a cardie. As the dress is rather short, none of my cardigans looked right, and believe me: I tried a lot of them. Then I pulled this green cropped cardigan out of the wardrobe, charity shopped and completely forgotten about. Problem solved!  I added not one but two flower brooches which seem to grow naturally along the cardie's neckline. My favourite green shoes and a tan handbag bought in Wales, and I was ready for some charity shopping. What else?

Wonder if the charity shop gods were good to us again?

This kitschy souvenir is from Scherpenheuvel, a famous Belgian place of pilgrimage, which we visited last November. Someone has written the date on the back, May 1961, and it says it was a gift from a grandmother to someone called Liliane. I find such things quite poignant and cannot help but embroider some story, ending with the sad fact that in all probability Liliane isn't around anymore and that her relatives saw no worth in keeping in what essentially is just a piece of varnished and decorated plywood.

I also found two pairs of blue shoes, a pair of peep-toes and a pair of sandals. As lately I'd been lamenting the lack of decent blue shoes, they were lucky finds, really!

Then there were these two bags.

Other buys were a yellow batwing cardigan, originally from H&M, and two belts.

While we were queuing at the till, I spotted this gorgeous plastic vintage brooch among a jumble of stuff in a display case.

On our way home, we passed the Art Deco water tower which is a favourite place for a picnic. We had the place to ourselves and sat enjoying our sandwiches and a cup of coffee in the sunshine, which had briefly appeared out of nowhere. While I was taking photographs, I saw dark clouds gathering in the distance. Minutes later, we had to flee to our car, dodging the first drops of rain.

We even had to wait out the worst of it in the car, while parked in front of our second charity shop of the day. A wasted trip, I should add, as there was nothing remotely interesting to be found.

Summer returned briefly on Sunday and what's more, we had a flea market to go to.

After some deliberation, I chose this dress, which came from Vintage Styling, another shop that is no more. It is, in effect, a black dress with a print, but the flower pattern, in reds and pinks, is so abundant that I tend to forget the black. It's got a tie as well as a self fabric belt, and it's one of those frocks I feel totally at ease in.

To start with, I was wearing a pink cardigan but it soon became too hot for it. I got my sunglasses with me, but wasn't wearing a hat, whereas Jos was wearing a hat but had left his sunglasses behind in the car, so that the first purchases we made were of a practical nature.

This simple straw hat served its purpose and can always be jazzed up with one of my flower hairbands.

Jos's solution was buying clip-on sunglasses, which were buy one, get one free.

In spite of a profusion of stalls, pickings were meagre, with stall after stall selling toys, children's clothes and retired household goods, so that we were more than bored by the time we reached the end.

Still, I spied a couple of brooches (yes, I know!) ...

...and a handful of rings!

To combat the feeling of defeat brought on by the uninspiring market, we finished the day by going for a little walk.

Nothing too strenuous, as my knee is still playing up. I really shouldn't have climbed up there ...

It's a good thing there were some conveniently placed tree stumps to rest the weary legs!