Occasionally I post an outfit that I am not so keen on. Today is such a day. This pink and green blouse was meant to be worn with a skirt as it is narrower than tops I usually wear with trousers. Only I don’t really have a skirt for the blouse. I can hear you think “Then why did you buy it??” and you are right. Anyway, it arrived and I combined it with both my flared jeans which I think is not too bad and with wide green trousers. The latter outfit is a bit of a mistake as you will see.
Below: Kitty took the photos of the blouse with the flared jeans in front of Jasmijn Bloembinders, my florist. They have such a nice store. As you can see, my hair is having lock-down problems. Fortunately I now have an instrument with a sharp blade to cut my fringe.
Below: A friend of ours across the road posed haha. He is an artistic theatre person.
Below: Besides flowers the florist sells cushions, ornaments, plants, lights…all sort of things. I love the bench. Flared jeans are Paige, pink ankle boots EIJK Amsterdam, pink and green blouse J.P. Boden.
The photos with the flared jeans were to rescue this outfit post. Kitty had done a full photo shoot a couple of days earlier. When I saw the photos, I knew I should have paid better attention to the outfit when I put it together. Let’s go back to the original shoot with the wide green trousers.
Below: Because of the colours of the blouse, we decided to shoot it near a big magnolia tree. Such an adorable flower/tree.
Below: This is one of the best shots out of 100 or so. It doesn’t look bad but my hips are really too narrow to be wearing the blouse like this. These green trousers are from the Max Mara outlet in Turin (see a previous post of these trousers with purple jumper here).
Below: And my bum is too flat as well. Again, this is rather a good photo. I couldn’t bring myself to use the really terrible ones.
Below: OK…let me post a photo showing a bit better what I mean. Is it because the trousers are very high waisted? I think it makes me look odd and as straight as a lamp post and it makes my upper body too short. On top of that the belt went lopsided the whole time plus the blouse creased. So I am not happy with it. I suppose it could be a lot worse but this is definitely not something I will wear again.
Below: Photos can make you believe anything though, like “isn’t this lovely?” haha.
Below: No idea what the flower is called that was blooming so beautifully.
Below: Kitty, warm in her coat. It was sunny that day but not warm. If you want to see Kitty’s assignment photography, have a look at her work.
Enough of this blouse.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday. When I visited my mum last week, she gave me back the bright pink trousers. She said they were too ostentatious for her. Only after I had come home, she admitted having felt a little guilty as well because she thought I really liked them myself. That is the thing if your mother reads your blog and you make jokes like “What else could I do but strip and give her the trousers?” I explained I write to make you girls laugh, but she was adamant.
I added these clip-on earrings to the original outfit.
Sunday I wore a new outfit, so no photos. Instead I will show you our garden.
Because we anticipated having to take blog photos in the garden, my husband Ron decided to make it prettier. Starting with painting the shed and “redecorating” the porch (as we call it) beside it. Below an overview of the garden. Because I took this photo in the morning, the sun is shining on the row of houses behind the shed and you don’t see them.
Below: In front of the shed is an antique wash basin, turned into a flower bed. (By the way, the green doors still have to be painted again.) Ron planted two young catalpa trees and painted the stakes black as well as the metal “hats” on top of them. The latter are to protect the stakes from the weather. The new plants need a bit more time to grow.
Below: The wood for the fireplace is now neatly stacked in this stand. Ron fancied the chandelier which was on offer for a sweet price on the Dutch equivalent of e-Bay. I was against it for a couple of days but gave in. As soon as I said yes, he ran into the house to his iPad to see whether it was still for sale haha. We had discussions about the wood stand being centred or in the corner, about the place of the easy chair and the painting. Although of different opinions, we discussed it in harmony, which surprised and pleased us. Ron also painted the ladder (for the cat to get on the fence) black.
Below: This is the back of the house.
Below: Close-up of the garden chairs. (Gosh, those sunscreens are dirty. They will be cleaned this month. We finally found somebody to do that.) A friend of ours made the table for us.
Below: Close-up of the pond. The water from the lion head is on a timer. We don’t have any fish in this pond as they were eaten by herons all the time. We do however, have many salamanders, in many colours.
Monday: Of course starting with exercises and cycling. It was still nice weather so I took this photo of Haarlem; the city was not completely awake yet. The canal has been renovated which is why the trees are still young. On the left you can see the tower of the cathedral (more photos of the cathedral here).
But… that Monday, the 27th of April, it was King’s Day, celebrating the King’s birthday. Not in the usual exuberant way and not in the Amsterdam way. Click on this link if you want to see a real celebration of King’s Day in 2014 (Donna, if you read this, that is with your photo in it). Nevertheless almost everybody was dressed in orange (after the last name of the King) or in red/white/blue (flag colours). We started with the traditional orange “tompoezen” (mille-feuille vanilla slices). Our neighbours got in line at the bakery to get some (see below).
So we sat in front of the house, in the sunshine, at the required distance from each other. And we fetched the coffee from our own kitchen. Our neighbours were in orange and so was Ron (you only see his knee).
Below: I was dressed in red, white and blue this year. I do make a point of always being rather stylish although it is a crazy day. Noblesse oblige, as the French say haha. Here is the link to the original outfit post with white trousers and sequinned sneakers).
It was a lovely day. In the afternoon we sat in front of the house again, across the street. It was meant to be only the five of us but more and more neighbours joined. We all kept our required distance, which made the circle very large. Nevertheless, it is forbidden to gather with more than three people and the police was patrolling. So we packed it up.
Tuesday. I felt the need for some elegant dressing up. The studded belt is burgundy. Link to the post with the tiered ruffle skirt in winter. This is one of these rare occasions where I wear a white shirt.
Wednesday. I wore new trousers, so instead of an outfit photo, I give you a photo of Marianne in her garden, with cat. I had to pick up my shoes from the cobbler and past her house again, like last week. An hour chatting in the sunshine (which was a surprise that day) at the required distance. Marianne’s hair is getting as unruly as mine. Rest of the day just reading, blogging and exercising.
Thursday. I cut my fringe that day, after taking this photo. It is getting more difficult every day to shape my hair in a nice way. In Corona times Ron and I go to his allotment garden on Thursday mornings to avoid our help, so jeans and sneakers. Here is the link to the post. I am wearing a smashing lime jacket/coat with it. You can also see a close-up of the bangles in the post.
Friday: nothing special, just exercising, reading and blogging. Finished the 6th book of the Seven Sisters. I am beginning to miss people. Tonight I am Facetiming with Susan of Une femme d’un certain âge. I have to plan more of these virtual get-togethers. Wore this outfit and forgot to check. My other pearls look nicer with it. Link to post.
Which concludes the week.
Greetje
You have a lovely garden! I like the addition of the chandelier by the shed. I’m not a big fan of prints like the one on the blouse in the first photo and I see what you mean about the outfit not being very flattering to your shape. That said, I do like the photo of you from the side, kicking up your heel.
The other outfits are all much nicer on you – I am envious of your jean collection.
I have said goodbye to the pink and green printed blouse. It doesn’t do me any/enough favours, so my stepdaughter is trying it now. The photo of me from the side kicking up my heel is just a lucky shot haha. What strikes me every week, is that you comment on the blog post of the previous week. Don’t you see my newest blog post on Sunday? It should me of that day. Perhaps you have to clear your cache/your history?
Lovely to see the photographs of your charming house; also love the account of King’s Day and relaxing with your neighbours- you are such a laid back nation, it’s great 😊
I don’t really know whether we are indeed a laid back nation haha. No idea. But the people in my street sure are. Our house isn’t big but has a lot of character.
Lovely outfits, and lovely blouse. I have a weakness for you wearing jeans, so I prefer your first outfit, even if those green trousers are so beautiful and cool. Probably a wider belt or an obi could make them more flattering with a tucked in blouse, or perhaps it’s better to place the belt in a lower position. Just an idea!. I’m short waisted, so very concerned about ‘proportions problems’ ;DD
It’s lovely to see your garden and cute terrace, those striped sunscreens look really summery and joyful!
And I’ve enjoyed a trip to your amazing neighbourhood and how delightful that you celebrated this holiday together (even if safely distanced).
besos
Thanks for all your lovely words. You will see a lot of jeans on me in the near future as most of my outfit trials seem to have jeans as the best outcome (sigh).
I am short-waisted as well. I have tried lower and bigger belts on trousers like the green ones but the problem is, they start gapping at the front. Because there is no loop at the back to hold the belt in its place, it “falls” at the front. Perhaps I should just sew a loop. Thanks for the idea.
First of all, I love the pink boots! i need to see more of those…just the peak of them, i can see how the leather is really pretty…
Second of all, you have an amazing sense of style–not matter if you dress up or down!
lovely,
Eva
Hi Eva, if you want to have a better look at the pink boots, click this link to a previous post:
https://www.nofearoffashion.com/2017/11/05/isabel-marant-necklace-anke-sabine/
As for having a sense of style.. hmm…it doesn’t come easy to me. If I start trying out clothes to combine, it is through a lot of trial and error that I achieve a nice outfit. Not by just going to my wardrobe and picking the right things in one go. Well, there are more ways leading to Rome.
I love your green trouser outfit, you look so elegant. The plant is a pieris, if no one else has said ! I really like reading your blog, it is so warm and ‘comfortable’.
Thanks. No one else had said the name of the shrub. It looks like one, everybody should have in their garden (I looked it up now I know the name).
I am very pleased that you like my blog Barbara. That is why I do it and knowing that people enjoy it, is so rewarding.
I actually think you are being too hard on yourself with the green print blouse and wide-legged, high-waisted trousers – it does look good! You have the perfect figure for jeans and trousers, sigh – those flared jeans look AMAZING on you – you have legs for miles! I’m not 100% on the blouse – the style is tricky with that stand-up collar and the print is a little on the busy side (for my taste).
I adore the yellow and pink outfit, but oh, I gasped at that studded belt and that tiered black skirt! That is a fabulous skirt!! I would like to see it styled “tough” with a graphic tee or leather jacket and studded boots, although I do love the styling you’ve done here! Definitely my kind of look!
Wow, your back garden is LOVELY! I’m so envious that you have this space (my deck is fine, but small). You did a wonderful job on tidying it up, painting (way to go, Ron!), and arranging things.
Nope, I am not being too hard on myself with the wide-legged, high-waisted trousers. I can do a lot better than that.
And you look good in trousers as well. It just takes different trousers for you than for me. I can never show my butt. You, on the other hand, can present a lovely one. We all have our good and bad things.
The flared jeans by Paige, are the ones I bought with you lot in Vancouver. The studded belt hasn’t had too much attention of me, but I know it is good and it will be very useful. Thanks for your suggestions with the tiered skirt. I will try this in autumn, although I do not have a leather jacket. Somehow they never seem to look good on me.
Loved the red, white, and blue blouse you wore on King’s Day- you look great in a high contrast print, and the neckline of it is so interesting! I’m with Susan, I think the yellow and white stripe awnings are great! Thanks for your post!
Because it makes me look good, I love high contrast print and bright colours. The top is by COS. I hesitated to buy it as you are likely to see thousands with the same top, but took the risk. I have only seen a dress with this pattern on somebody once.
The awnings (no idea they were called this) are very beautiful for a lot of houses, certainly for an old house like ours (1903). The difficult part is to keep them clean. We have found somebody who can do it, but now my husband is afraid the stuff they will be using might damage the plants in the garden.
Loved the photos of your backyard. It is charming. I hope we’ll get to see more pictures as the season progresses and the trees leaf out. I like that blouse, especially with the jeans. I would have thought it would have looked good with the green pants, too. I’ve never had your problem of narrow hips. I have enough hips for the both of us!😂
Wouldn’t it be perfect if you could give me some ” hip”? 😂
I will post garden photos again once everything is in bloom.
The 2014 King’s Day post is when I started following your blog. I loved your simple jeans and tee outfit and thought you looked so classically chic!
Wow, you have been following my blog for 6 years then. That is what I call a loyal reader. Thank you very much.
I do try to entertain and make people smile or laugh even. Who wouldn’t like that?
Jean outfit looks really super. Pink boots add a charming kick. The green trousers appear to have too much fabric and overwhelm your slender silhouette. And, I so enjoy “traveling” with you each Sunday.
I am very glad to hear you enjoy my blog JoAnn. Makes me really happy to know there are women out there for whom I can write and show outfits.
The green trousers are OK but I really need to style them differently. Which I will.
Oh Greetje, your backyard is charming! I love the chandelier in the shed, and your yellow and white striped window awnings. Clever to put a timer on the fountain too.
You’re right about the blouse with the green trousers, something about the proportions just isn’t working. But the side shot is really cute! And the blouse looks good with the jeans. I wouldn’t chuck it just yet.
Had such fun chatting with you! Let’s do again soon!
I will wear this blouse with something else. Just don’t know yet with what haha. And of course we’ll chat again.
I love your back garden. It is so tranquil and inviting. Seeing the pictures you post of your city has inspired me to put it in my bucket list. Hopefully we will be Abel to travel again at some point.
Really, I should be paid for attracting so many tourists haha. Just kidding. I am glad you enjoy my blog.