Black tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumperYou might think it makes me look like a layer cake but I find this tiered ruffle skirt fantastic. It is by Hope Fashion UK and it is still available at £95 but the stock is low. Here is the link to the skirt. Although I take a size 14 in waist, I ordered the slim (size 10-12). It has an elastic waistband and it fits beautifully.

It was late afternoon on Wednesday the 18th of December when I tried to order the skirt on Hope Fashion’s website. I had problems with my password logging in, so I sent an email with my Dutch phone number for help. Half an hour later a sales lady of Hope (with a terrible cold, the poor dear) rang me, solved the issue and promised to send the skirt straight away. She did warn me that due to the large number of packages to deliver, the post might not bring it before Christmas, perhaps not even before New Year. I didn’t mind much as I wanted the skirt anyway. To my utter surprise it arrived the day before Christmas. I think Hope Fashion gave me excellent service. (This is not a sponsored post; Hope didn’t pay me and they didn’t give me the skirt. It is just a very good company, run by women with a big heart.)

The first time I saw the skirt, was in the summer on Nikki’s blog: Midlifechic. Loved it then but was really sold on the skirt when she wore it later in the year.

Below: Nikki of Midlifechic. I combined two photos of her in a collage which doesn’t do her justice but leaves some room for me to shine.

Nikki of Midlifechic in tiered ruffle skirt by Hope Fashion UK

As you can see, I just copied her by adding the bright pink jumper.

Loes and I did the photo shoot at the Haarlem railway station, which is in Art Nouveau style. The history of this railway station is a nice read. It was built to accommodate the first railway in the Netherlands between Haarlem and Amsterdam. I have also used this station in 2014 as background for my leather jogging trousers. You don’t mind, do you?

Below: This is a chic way of telling the arriving passengers in which town the train has stopped.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Entering the station was a bit of a giggle as Loes had forgotten to bring her public transport card, so she couldn’t go through the security gates to the platform. She had a solution for that: she stayed very close to me as I went through the tourniquet. We shuffled like penguins. Nobody stopped us.

Brown coat Marella

Below: A beautiful sign that says “Waiting room 3rd class“.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: First I “waited” on the platform. These black suede boots by IRO need another spray of black as they give off an old and tired vibe. Mind you, I haven’t worn them much.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: The sun was shining so brightly, I needed sunglasses.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: As I felt more of a First class passenger in this outfit, we went to the other side of the platform to the 1st class waiting room.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Lots of beautiful wood and cut glass.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: The waiting room for “first class” passengers (anybody can sit here these days), isn’t too shabby.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: One of the waiting rooms has been turned into a gift shop. Always handy if you have forgotten to bring something.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: A Christmas star was still hanging from the ceiling.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Little plants in a hanging pot, very cute.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: And many, many candles.

Candles at railway station Haarlem

Below: Great station. See the “balcony” on the left?

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Close-up of the balcony. I wonder what these little rooms were for.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: The necklace and the bracelet are made of rubber and a find at a market in Amsterdam. The jumper is old.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: As we were about to leave the platform, we saw this tile art.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Majestic is the word I was looking for.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Bye station.

Tiered ruffle skirt with bright pink jumper

Below: Part of the station from the outside in bright sunlight.

Railway station Haarlem

Below: Loes and I went for a drink in a restaurant at the back of the station, called Vooges Centraal. As we arrived, a band was practising for a life performance that evening.

Vooges Centraal

Below: I took a photo outside of Loes in her new coat.

Loes

Below: And indoors of her fun and very well coordinated outfit.

Loes

Below: Found a nice lamp again to show you.

lamps

Below: This time I remembered to ask the waiter to take a photo of Loes and me. These waiters have an entirely new job description nowadays.

Me and Loes

What happened in my life this week

Saturday: did all sorts of shopping. Saturday is my favourite day of the week; I just love the atmosphere in the city on this day. After all my shopping I had lunch with friends Misja and Anja. You will see the post on that next week. A cold was starting to raise its ugly head.

Sunday: had to stay in bed until 2 p.m. as my cold was really bad. As I had nothing planned I thought it would be best to rest as long as possible. This way my body could dedicate all its energy to fighting the cold. Got up in the afternoon and pottered about.

Monday: I got up to go to work and then decided to work from home. Why give this cold to my colleagues, right? I was still sneezing and sniffling. Printed the application form for my pension and asked Ron to co-sign it, waving his right to benefit from my pension if I die before he does. I figured he already has enough money and this way I get more while I live. He signed, the darling.

Tuesday: Went to the plastic surgeon in the afternoon to check my repaired earlobes. He was very content and said I could get them pierced again. Of course I immediately set the wheels in motion. One of my colleagues gave me the address of a good piercing shop. She said they were far more precise than jewellers. The shop got back to me and said I could come round but warned me that in their opinion 3 1/2 months after surgery was too soon. Damn. I will give it until the middle of April before I go to them. The earlobes feel and look good but the scars haven’t disappeared completely yet.

Wednesday: fitness class of course and in the afternoon a photo shoot with Kitty. After the shoot we went for the usual coffee in a restaurant. As we were snuggling by the fire, we decided to extend our visit and have nibbles and drinks. I arrived home later than expected and husband Ron didn’t feel like cooking. He felt very much like going out for steak at Loetje (a restaurant famous for its steaks). Although I didn’t want to spend money this month on extras like going out to dinner or buying expensive stuff, I succumbed. The steak and fries were delicious and I put on extra weight from all the calories that day.

Thursday: a small fire in the parking garage at work caused a total evacuation of the building. And I was wearing high heels! Had to go down three stairs and walk quite a long way to the meeting point. My knee is not OK with these things. After an hour we could return. In the meantime we hit a restaurant and had coffee. No need to stand outside in the cold.

Friday: working from home. My lunch appointment with a former colleague was postponed by her (she woke up with a headache). In the afternoon I fetched sushi which we ate at our friend’s house. All very hunky dory. Wore this:

Big yellow jumper

Greetje

No Fear of Fashion

 

 

 

 

error: Content is protected !!