There are so many new things in this post that I am ashamed. I am very aware of the sustainability problems and the urgency to do something about it. Ron and I separate our rubbish, use as little plastic as we can, have 16 solar panels on the roof, double glazed windows everywhere etc etc, but I should not buy so many clothes and shoes. I never buy fast fashion and I give away everything I do not use, but the fact that I am still buying new stuff is not sustainable. I just cannot banish this devil.
The Saturday Loes took these photos, I had been to the hairdresser in the morning. Across the road from the hairdresser is Essentiel Antwerp and they are closing shop in my town next week. I went in because I wanted to say goodbye to a particularly good sales assistant (Sedje) who has always helped me so well. As it was the last week, the discount on all stuff was big and a black dress with blue flowers caught my eye. It was in the shape of a blazer which I thought would suit me very well. It didn’t. The alternative was an A-line dress and I really liked it on jeans. I have never liked dresses on trousers, which is an entirely personal thing. My friend Sylvia of 40+Style loves dresses on trousers and I really like them on her. This Essentiel dress was the first one which I liked wearing with my jeans.
Walking home I had half an hour left to change for the photo shoot with Loes. I decided to wear the dress immediately and in 15 minutes I styled it as a dress without the jeans. It would have been better if I had taken a bit longer to find out the particularities of this dress. More about that later.
Below: When the wind gets hold of my hair, it slumps immediately and even more when it is fresh from the hairdresser. Loes and I tried to find a spot with no wind and failed at that. The light was also very harsh so I wasn’t too keen on this spot. The ankle boots with the zip are the ones you saw me thinking about in my post two weeks ago. They are by Kendall & Kylie (not my favourite people but they have nice boots, I’ll give them that).
We decided to duck the wind by descending to the brick bench near the small canal.
Below: Here you see me inspecting the bench. A new dress and a bench out in the open? Is it wise to sit on it? The photo at the top of this post, shows that I have risked it.
Below: We found a little spot between the houses with hardly any wind. The light was still harsh but that couldn’t be helped.
You can see that the dress is longer at the front than at the back. That, however, is not true.
Below: I love it from the back. Only, the deep pleat in the middle means there is more material at the back than at the front. This causes the dress to pull and drop at the back, subsequently rise at the front. One of the “particularities” of this dress.
Below: Of course I had seen the drop to the back and thought I had solved it by pinning the dress at the front to the Uniqlo top I was wearing underneath for warmth. That wasn’t enough. When I got home I found out the trick was to put dress tape on my shoulders, thus sticking the dress to my skin. Too late for this post, the pictures were already taken.
Below: Details. The green bag is very vintage and I bought it two years ago in a vintage bag shop. It looks very flat and small but it holds a lot.
We went to another place where I was protected from the wind (mind you, not from the cold…).
Below: This is how I bought it: dress over my (new) jeans. I like the combination of tough at the bottom and feminine at the top.
These new jeans are my ideal skinny jeans. They are by G-Star Raw, which is a Dutch brand. I have long been searching for skinny jeans which were just that tiny bit loser at the thigh and even more at the calves and couldn’t find them. They were all like tights and I don’t like that on me. These jeans ticked all the boxes: they are midrise (check), very long so I can turn them up (check), the right mid blue jeans colour (check), elasticized for stretch so they fit my small hips (check) and as I mentioned, not too tight but still skinnies (check). How demanding can you get, right?
Below: Checking the hair. The heels of these boots (no, these are not the ones with the zipper at the front you saw above) look high but for me these are flat boots. Extremely comfortable.
Below: I found these boots in the sale as well and think they look tough. Husband Ron thinks they look common.
Below: This photo illustrates the dropping of the dress at the back very well. See how the collar is gapping at the back?
Below: Yep, I think I prefer the dress with jeans. Who would have thought?
Below: And it has pockets.
Below: Close-up of the green ring. I have a bunch of these artificial rings. Nice for a change.
Below: Of course I made Loes take off her coat as well. She was wearing a tweed skirt and gorgeous earrings.
When we got home to warm up and have a coffee, we looked through the photos and Loes said: “Is this tweed skirt too long for me?” We discussed the three horizontal sight lines in her outfit (hem of the jumper, hem of the skirt and the top of her boots). We also discussed proportions and I told her about the “ideal” 1/3 and 2/3 proportions. Then Loes tried the trick of tucking her jumper into the skirt.
Below: We both liked this.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday was a busy and lovely day. As I mentioned above it started with a visit to the hairdresser, followed by the photo shoot for this post. At the end of the afternoon Ron and I went next door as our neighbour celebrated his birthday. Party time! Drinks and an Indonesian buffet (delicious). During this delightful evening I met a woman who is starting a business and who needs a storyteller. Her plans are still to be developed but I am already recruited as storyteller haha. Love it.
Sunday: quiet day creating this blog post and doing laundry. With the last laundry load the dryer gave up. BUMMER.
Monday: work and fitness, nothing special. Phoned a friend who wanted to recruit me for the cancer institute he is working for; I had to turn down his offer. The job sounded nice but I know I am over-sensitive and cannot deal with all the grief and sadness I would see and hear. Phoned the dryer company for a repair man.
Tuesday: work again, nothing special. Got a phone call from a man of the dryer company with a tip to “repair” the dryer myself. This heat-source dryer is at least as sensitive as I am. It is on the blink very easily.
I was wearing my lilac Max Mara-outlet dress that day. One of my colleagues took the photo with my iPhone. They all know about my crazy hobby. If you want to see more pictures of this dress or the boots, here is the link to the post. In 2016 I called it a lavender dress but I think it is more lilac.
Wednesday: no appointments, did some errands. Got the dog bed from the seamstress with two new covers: looking good. And I tried the repair tip for the dryer: IT WORKED!! Apparently when you use liquid laundry detergent all the time, the little holes in the filters get clogged up. It will stop the dryer from working, even though you have taken the fluff out and you don’t see anything. The man had said: put the filters under the tap. If the water lays on the filter instead of seeping through, you’ll know that is the problem. Solution: put the filters in the dish washer on high temperature. Tssss… such an easy way of fixing. Never mentioned in the manual though.
Thursday: not much to say about this day, just work and a quiet evening. I watched an old episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot adventures. Knew who’d done it and how immediately. That’s what you get when it is a film instead of a book. It is far easier to recognize someone in a disguise.
Friday: worked from home and did a photo shoot with Kitty in the afternoon. You will see the result next week.
Greetje
PS I am participating in the link-up with a lot of bloggers at Patti’s Not Dead Yet Style blog. The item is called Visible Monday. Do click to have a look.
I like this dress styled either way. The blue in the floral makes it easy to wear over jeans (I so wish I could find a pair that fit me like those ones fit you). Even though it’s a more casual style than I know you prefer, it looks good on you. Shelley
Thanks Shelley. As you have my shape, you could try the one I have by G-Star RAW. Here is the link to the one I have:
https://www.g-star.com/en_ca/shop/women/jeans/60885-6550-071
They ship to Canada. I have a 29 waist and 36 length. 34 length would have been good too, but I like to turn the hem up.
As for the style: some people love it, some people hate it, which is good. We cannot all like the same.
Greetje
Lovely floral dress, I have a weakness for this kind of ‘dark florals’ and yours is really fabulous, has a lovely shape and looks really flattering!. It looks lovely with black tights, and makes your legs look (even) longer, but I also prefer how it looks over jeans (and such fab jeans!). You look modern, cool and elegant too.
Love particularly your green bag, so cute!
And also lovely lilac dress, once more you look fabulously elegant!
And I’m amazed by the tip to ‘repair’ your dryer. It looks like many devices and home appliances could be ‘repaired’ using this kind of tips that we usually ignore.
besos
The problem with the dryer was the liquid detergent I used. I didn’t ignore the tip, I never got the tip until this repair man phoned me. Nothing in the manual and nothing from the woman who made an appointment to have it repaired. So it must have been new to them as well.
The lilac dress makes me feel elegant. The floral dress doesn’t really. I find that more average, lovely as it may be.
Thank you for all your kind words.
Greetje
That first floral dress is lovely – I like the shape of it, but that fussing with it sliding around would drive me insane. I can see the genetics of my own PANK dress (which is Essentiel Antwerp) in this one: same neckline (only mine has a million buttons and must be done up to the top), and same cuffs, and same shape.
You look amazing in that lilac dress, Greetje. Ron is wrong on those booties. “Common”, Ron? No way! Greetje will kick you butt in those!
Hahaha.. The common boots are just a matter of taste I suppose. Ron has a good styling eye but sometimes we just like different things. The lilac dress is by Max Mara, such a good brand.
The sliding of the dress is solved with two pieces of dress tape on my shoulders. No problem.
Ah love this winter florals. You look great 🙂
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Thanks Allie. It is an easy peasy dress and very comfortable.
Greetje
I love that lavender dress with the taupe boots and tights! So chic!
I have to say I’m not a fan of the other dress, with or without the jeans. I figure if you have to do too much to something to make it work it wasn’t made correctly.
So cool that you already have people reaching out to snatch you up for work.
Suzanne
http://www.suzannecarillo.com
In the end I didn’t have to do too much to the dress: just stick dress tape on both my shoulders and it is solved. I am very familair with the concept of dress tape haha, using it at least once a week.
As for people reaching out to offer me a job: it is too soon to be cheering. I don’t want to fool myself into thinking it is going to be easy finding another job at 66.
Great to see you’re embracing the dress over pants look and looking fab! I love the combination of the other dress too. It looks very good sitting down anyways 🙂
As for not wanting to buy more clothes, your WHY isn’t big enough. I could coach you on this haha I’m surprised that you can still find lots of things you like. I’ve become so picky with my clothes while making sure it’s absolutely something I need and that I don’t have something similar already in my closet, that I can’t find anything! Very good for my bank account. And that’s despite me walking past shops now every single day!
Fun to see that you’re already exploring all kinds of new work opportunities. People are already snapping you up!
I don’t know whether I am embracing the dress over pants look. That might be an overstatement. But I do like this version. The lilac dress you can also see standing up if you click the link I provided haha.
I know my WHY isn’t big enough. That voice in my head keeps saying: “Other people go on expensive holidays or collect rare (expensive) items. You collect clothes… so what?”
When I cannot silence that reasoning, if I cannot find the WHY, I am not going to succeed. I think you can only coach me in the process from a firm WHY to execution. But if I don’t know of any other reason for the WHY than “I think it is socially quite unexeptable”.. we won’t get very far.
And yes, I do buy things which are already in my closet but just slightly different, so for a different look. Like you (used to) I am easily bored.
I agree with you about the dress looking good over the jeans — and like you, I’m not usually a fan of that look. But you have nailed it! And you are right, we need to curb our consumption. I was coasting along fine until the Eileen Fisher 60% off sale!
Thank you for the compliments 😊. Had to laugh as I read your comment: Eileen Fisher items at 60%.. such temptation, that is work of the devil haha.
Greetje
I do like the dress over the jeans. It’s a different look for you, but it works. And probably a little warmer too… The green ring is a perfect accessory: it echoes the floral pattern and the green in the print. Well done!
Between recent vet bills, replacing our old roof (and adding solar panels) and planned travel, I’m committed to spending (much) less this year on clothes and accessories. Did buy one pair of shoes on sale, and a bathing suit for our upcoming Mexico trip.
We have some hefty bills coming in as well so I have to seriously cut down on spending my money on clothes. Which I find difficult 😬.
When you figure out how to “banish this devil”, do share. I know a lot of mine is psychological(years and years of not having much at all, and finally having the funds to buy clothes). I too refrain from fast fashion, resell or donate what I do not wear, but it seems I am always in search of illusive perfect fitting clothes and what seems to work one season, aggravates me the next with it’s peculiarities, as you so well put it. I love this dress over jeans look, not sure if I am brave enough to try it.
There is a little voice in my head that says: “Other people go on expensive holidays or have an expensive hobby, or are collectors of rare items. Nobody thinks twice about them spending a lot of money. I collect clothes. So what?”
As long as that voice and that reasoning is in my head, I will get nowhere.
As for dresses over jeans… what’s there to be brave about? It is not as if you will show a lot of flesh! Quite the contrary. Do dare.. go on, live dangerously.
Greetje
I’m like Sylvia too, love to pop a dress over jeans/pants! Speaking of dresses, the Max Mara one you wore on Tuesday is gorgeous with those brown boots. Who would have thought brown and lavender together? Not me. I will now though 😉
The brown and lavender wasn’t my styling. I had been to the Max Mara outlet and came home with quite a lot of dresses. I put them in a big bag together with a lot of boots and took them to the woman who runs a shop in tights. She made all the combinations and found the perfect tights to go with everything. I have my little helpers haha.
Greetje
I love this post Greetje, because you have articulated what very often happens to me when I buy something. Some things look great in the changing room, or when I buy something online, However, it happens to me too often that when I come to wear something for the first time that I then discover its peculiarities. Anyway, I love all your posts. I have said it before, and I will say it again, your and Nikki’s (Midlifechic) are the posts I most look forward to reading.
I don’t mind hearing you saw this time after time Carole (grin). It pleases me no end.
At the moment I am having problems with the appearance of my latest post. On some devices, with some people my new post only materializes after a couple of days. Very odd and not funny. Obviously my blog refreshes perfectly with you.
Greetje
“My new post only materializes after a couple of days”——-On my Kindle, your blog always arrived on Sundays at about the same time, right up to your post about what you would wear at Christmas. Since then, your posts couldn’t be seen until a few days later.
Amazon do something to “optimize” Kindle and after the “optimize” that happened today, when I turned on my Kindle tonight your Sunday post could again be seen on Sunday!!
So perhaps it is not your problem? If you still think it is something you have caused, perhaps you may find out by comparing that pre- Christmas post with those since then?
Sorry that I do not know how to make this message private to you.
In the top navigation of my blog you will find the tab Contact which gives you my email. But I don’t mind this discussion in the open as there are perhaps more readers with this problem.
I thought it was indeed a matter of removing cookies and history by the reader itself. But then I found out that somebody with a new iPhone who had recently watched my blog for the first time, didn’t get the new post either. I am trying to solve it from my end, but don’t know yet whether I am succesful. (And I forgot to implement the solution this week…).
Hi, only lately your blog is not available on Sunday nights. I am not a subscriber. I use a laptop and have not changed anything. Lise
Thanks ever so much for telling me Lise. I will try and solve it from my end . “Purge the cashes” seems to be the answer. A bit out of my depth here but I’ll get there.