The outfit for this sunny day consists of grey trousers with a yellow jumper, green accessories and black+white shoes (5 colours in one outfit, yay). The location is a courtyard with almshouses called Teylers Hofje. Most ‘hofjes’ in the old days housed mainly elderly women, because there were far more poor aged women in the streets than poor aged men. Here is some information about ‘hofjes’ and also some information about Teylers Hofje.
Ron was my photographer and did a very good job.
Below: I had found the entrance of this hofje as I was cycling on one of my exercise days. It had rained that day.
Below: You can see the sky is grey but it made a pretty picture and having the photos on my iPhone meant I wouldn’t forget the location. Cute locations like this are not easy to find and you, my readers, love them so much.
Below: As you can see on the second previous photo, there are beautiful wooden doors on each side of the entrance with a crest above it.
Below: Dark wooden doors are the best as background for my blonde hair.
Bag and belt are by Essentiel Antwerp. The trousers are old and you have seen them a couple of times before, like when Daniela came to Amsterdam.
Below: The courtyard as we entered. So much more friendly when the sun shines.
Below: Two detail photos. One of the church behind the courtyard and one of a beautiful old window.
Below: As we walked through it, I saw this chair and it seemed like a nice spot to take a photo. My behind had only touched the chair for two seconds (and luckily Ron immediately took this photo) when a loud voice from across the courtyard told me off. A lady who lives there said in a sharp and unpleasant way that the chair was private property and I was not to sit on it. I got up like a shot, as if the chair was burning my bottom. I apologized and we went on.
It felt a bit weird though. I mean, the courtyard is open all days of the week (except for Sundays) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. So, 6 out of 7 days strangers are walking through this courtyard. Surely at these days/times it is communal territory? If you put a chair outside your front door in such a situation, is it realistic to expect people not to sit on it? I didn’t want to upset anyone and there were plenty of other photo opportunities, but I felt slightly wronged.
Below: I was allowed to sit on the communal bench.
Below: Walking on the shade side of the courtyard as there weren’t any ladies sitting outside whom we might bother. They all have lovely plants in front of their houses.
Below: On the other end of the courtyard there was an arched passage we went through. As you can see, I tucked my jumper (sweater) in my trousers at the front and left it hanging loose at the back. The brand name of the jumper is Marc Aurel.
Below: There wasn’t much to see at the back apart from a lady who was nestling in her chair to sunbathe. Ron took this photo in the arched passage which gives a lovely effect (at least that is what I think).
Below: View from back to front.
Below: The sundial above the entrance.
Below: Returning home. (It is not easy to walk on these streets with stiletto heels you know.)
Below: Back outside I looked up and took another photo of the grand entrance, carefully avoiding all the cars that were parked in front of it. I had left my tote bag on the pavement and as I was standing in the street I heard a lady say (again in a loud voice): “What is this bag doing here?” I told her it was mine and I had left it there as not to carry it while photographing. “That is all wrong”, she said, “You cannot trust people to leave it alone”. I replied I had a very trusting nature and wasn’t worried. “Well, you should be. I live here and I can tell you, you should be. Then again, not that I care of course….”
Perhaps I was unlucky and most of the ladies living here are sweet, but these experiences led me to the conclusion I never want to live there.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday. Busy day with glorious sunshine. Well, busy in retirement terms. Ron and I had a big piece of cake and coffee in the garden in the morning. Courtesy of neighbour and friend Froukje. So nice to enjoy the sunshine in the garden like that. Then in the afternoon a young woman collected an old coat from Ron and some travel bags. I had put them all on the Dutch equivalent of e-Bay: “to collect free of charge”. That is a good way of getting rid of your stuff. She was happy (for her boyfriend) and I was happy. Got some haberdasheries in town and got flirty remarks from a few older men. I was walking on high heels, wearing my RIXO London dress, which always gets a lot of compliments. Link to original post with far better colours.
At 5 p.m. we were off to eat sushi in Georg and Marla’s garden, which, of course, was sooooo nice. Below photos of Marla and Georg and of Ron. Normally Marla has the table beautifully set and the sushi would be on fancy dishes. Given this virus, we opted for touching as little as possible and left the sushi in the box. Marla still hasn’t been to the hairdresser, so it is getting wild. She cut Georg’s hair herself.
Sunday. Again a nice and sunny day and Sylvia of 40plusstyle is back in the Netherlands!
Anja (Curly Traveller) invited us both in her home and we had such a lot to catch up on, yap yap yap. Below photos of Anja, Sylvia and me (in that order). It struck me when I saw the photos that we all have our arms and legs folded in such a ladylike manner haha.
Monday. Big day for me as I had my earlobes pierced again by a professional piercing shop Classic Ink & Mods. A lovely colleague of mine advised me not to go to a jeweller who would have pierced my earlobes with a sort of a gun. My piercer (Roberto) told me that such a gun is far blunter than the needle he is using. Therefore damaging my earlobe more than necessary. He was so professional, everything was so clean. He used about 10 different pairs of gloves. No COVID danger there. This is what my earlobes look like now. The scars of repairing the holes back in October are still visible but I am sure they will fade in time.
Because it is murder to park in the centre of Amsterdam, Ron drove me to the piercer and waited in the car for an hour before picking me up again. Sooo sweet. I was still a bit wary of using public transport.
Tuesday. On one of the BVA girls meeting we did a clothes swap and I got a button up shirtdress for summer. As the sun is out now, I got the dress out of the wardrobe. It is fine but was gaping at the bosom. As I can easily get it on over my head, I sewed it tight. Problem solved.
I sunbathed a little. One and a half hour from 3 to 4.30 p.m. with a lot of SPF 30 slapped on. I presume I shouldn’t sunbathe at all, but it is so hard not to. I am still gathering information on tan from a bottle (they all seem to stink). Wore my blue floral dress that day. In the original post I am wearing a different belt which is better. This wide yellow belt isn’t that bad on this dress but on anything else it is. Wide belts are no good for a person with a short upper body. Learned another lesson.
Wednesday. Nice day: sunny and a lovely temperature, fantastic for wearing this outfit. Here is the link to the original post with far better colours. The shoes are different from the original as the purple ones are still at the cobblers.
Sylvia and I met in the morning for coffee and lunch on one of the terraces. There weren’t a lot of people so we could keep enough distance. Here is she is, a worldly-wise lady.
And here am I. The colours are much better in this photo.
To sit there again, it was heaven. The number of new COVID cases in the Netherlands are getting lower and lower. The government is now slowly loosening up the lock-down measurements. Still with restrictions of course. We aren’t going back to ‘normal’. We now have the ‘one and a half metre economy’, which is the distance the Dutch must be apart.
Had a nice talk with my friend Marjolein in the afternoon and we agreed on going to the museum where Ann Wood has an exposition of her botanic art in paper. Check out her Instagram account; her art is so pretty. Ann and her husband (also an artist) were supposed to meet me in March when they would have come over for the exhibition. Alas. The museum is now open again (with restrictions) and I want to see what her art looks like in real life.
Thursday. The usual visit to Ron’s allotment garden to avoid the cleaning lady (just for virus reasons, she is a lovely person). Fortunately he has a little gas heater in his shed as it was COLD. The sun has given in to the rain, which is great for the land, the crops, the rivers, the foundations. You won’t hear me complain. Below scenes from neigbouring allotment gardens, like beautiful pink roses and a duck that hurried back to the ditch after paying us a visit.
I wore a new combination with old clothes, which is why I am not showing you the outfit. It wasn’t spectacular but I will still save it for a proper post. After all, I have less money now that I am retired, so I have to shop my wardrobe a lot more. Very sustainable as well. Should have done that ages ago.
Didn’t do anything else but read and create this blogpost. With the rain I don’t want to go out.
Friday. A boring day with rain. Did my exercises but postponed the cycling to Saturday morning when it is dry again. Reading and finishing this blogpost. Had a short Facetime conversation with my brother and his wife. I love that, we have far more contact these days than before COVID. Wore this. (Link to original post with wide black trousers and worn like below when I was out with Sabine and Anke.
Till next week.
Greetje
Wow, all wonderful outfits, Greetje! I love the yellow jumper and that RIXO dress – it’s spectacular, so no wonder you had some reaction from gents in the ‘hood.
Some people get so cranky about things, jeez. That seems very rude of the lady about the chair. Ron took some excellent pictures! I’m glad you’re getting to see everyone (hi, Sylvia!), and staying so fabulous. I’m also happy to see you had a properly training piercer doing your new holes. I had my first two holes done as a kid/teen with “the gun” and it just kills. When I had my 3rd and upper ear piercing I went to a tattoo shop and a professional piercer and they’ve been awesome.
Yes, this outfit with the grey, green, yellow, black and white, will go straight to my list of favourites (it is getting crowded there).
As for being rude, you know we Dutch speak our minds very freely, so I am used to that. It wasn’t so much WHAT the lady said, it was the TONE she used, that got up my nose.
So far, dressing up every day isn’t too difficult, although I sometimes question myself when I shuffle through the house on the parquet floor with my stiletto heels haha.
I am very grateful that my colleague advised me to go to this piercer. I hadn’t thought of it myself and I agree with you… it is so much better than the jeweller. Those earlobes are healing perfectly, no problem at all. Check-up next Monday.
The Hofje is such a lovely space for photographs, it’s too bad you were shouted at by cranky people. It is a very challenging time, and people are feeling a lot of stress so hopefully they aren’t like that all the time! I like yellow paired with grey – you have a good eye for putting colours together.
I’m envious that you are going to see Ann Wood’s exhibit. I have followed her on IG for some time and would love to see her paper flowers in person. Nice to see Sylvia is back too.
Well Shelley, about those cranky people… it could also well be that I cannot deal with criticism haha. But I think it was more the tone than the content of their comment.
I never had a good eye for putting colours together but I think that I have gotten better through blogging. What I lack in talent I appear to make up in persistance.
Tomorrow I will see Ann Wood’s exhibition. Who would have thought she would have an exhibit in my neck of the woods? I hope she will be able to come over to the Netherlands and see it for herself (and see me…).
It is indeed very nice to have Sylvia back.
Lots of great stories, scenery and outfits. It’s so nice to have you close again!
Yes indeed, although we both have been pretty busy. Glad you enjoyed the post. Let’s arranged to meet again before you are off again.
A gorgeous outfit, Greetje. I love how the yellow, grey and green interact together, creating a summery outfit. That “hofje” is very picturesque! I have never been to Haarlem but I’ve visited the “hofjes” in Amsterdam. And we have some of these courtyards too, particularly in Bruges. That lady must have given you quite a fright 🙂 It looks like you had a lovely week. I love the outfit with the pale yellow trousers and the funky print shirt. And isn’t that allotment garden looking lush? We have 1,5 metre economy here in Belgium too, by the way. xxx
Indeed all those colours in this outfit go so well together. I was really proud of myself for coming up with the combination.
I have been to Bruges and indeed it is as picturesque as Amsterdam, but smaller. Lovely place.
The lady in the courtyard didn’t really give me a fright; it is more that I don’t want any scenes or arguments in public. She did get me off my bum very quickly though haha.
The pale yellow trousers by the way, are bright yellow trousers. Nothing pale about it (wink).
Love that last outfit- will be shopping my wardrobe to recreate!
I’m sorry you faced such rudeness from plthose ladies. People seem to be stretched so thin after this long dealing with the pandemic stress… it’s hard to have grace about it and not get flustered and annoyed- but it’s so hard! Last night at the grocery store there was a rude man talking to his girlfriend about how all these idiots are still buying the lies and wearing masks, and he did it while intentionally standing too close to me. (I was in a mask). What to do?! I do NOT mind making a scene normally, but these people seem raring for a fight and I’d hate to give them what they want. Also, it wouldn’t change their thinking, so what would the point be? I was so thrown off by the whole thing I forgot to pick up my bag of ice I paid for- grrr!
That last outfit? You mean with the pinkish/black top, the jeans and flat black shoes? Tsss… I didn’t think it was anything special. But recreate whatever you want. This blog is here to provide inspiration.
As for the ladies in the courtyard, it wasn’t so much WHAT they said, it was the TONE they used that got up my nose. I will never make a scene in public, so I complied. As with people who don’t take the distance measures seriously and start to comment on it (and others), I let them be and go and stand somewhere else. As you say, arguing about it, won’t change their thinking. Sorry you got so upset you forgot your bag of ice.
I love the yellow and grey combo…. it works so well on you. As for self tan, I use Bondi Sands gradual daily tan, stroked on with a mitt which eliminates streaks and gives a nice, even glow. It is available on lookfantastic.com if you can’t buy it locally. I think it smells of biscuits (which can never be bad!).
No indeed, the smell of biscuits is never bad. I also had two readers recommend me St. Tropez which apparently smells of water melon, also not bad.
I will investigate.
For the time being I am allowed to sunbathe but with SPF 50. W’ll see… (heavy sigh).
Glad you liked the yellow and grey combo. I think it is going to be a favourite.
I’m sorry you had bad experiences. They were unnecessary and caused by ladies lacking grace.
You can come sit on my patio furniture anytime and leave your bag anywhere. I don’t know why people act rude but we’re seeing it more and more. Sad.
Or Ally… I just cannot take criticism very well haha. As for being rude, we Dutch have the monopoly. I don’t mind so much WHAT they said, it was the TONE they used that went right up my nose. But again, perhaps I cannot take criticism well.
Hello you…
Love your outfits, especially the Rixo London dress.
As for the city locations, aaah! How I miss visiting ‘my’ Amsterdam.
As for sitting outside one of almshouses, or rather, not sitting outside one of them, well, actually, I agree. I’d suggest the benches are there for the residents and the communal ones for casual visitors. I wouldn’t expect a stranger to park herself outside my front window I have to say! But it was a shame the lady had to be so blunt although I know you’ve always said that the Dutch have a tendency to speak out.
As for the totebag episode, again, I agree with that lady as well. You do not ever take your eyes off any bag, let alone put it down and leave it! She was right but her final remark as a little unkind.
Ron’s allotment looks good. Ditto him, but don’t tell him I said so!
You both continue to take care. Your lockdown measures are more free than those across the Channel but that doesn’t mean you can let down your guard.
Take care
G
Ron and I are not letting our guard down; we will remain very careful.
As for not sitting on the chair or leaving the bag in the street… I suppose I have difficulties with criticism. Especially if the tone isn’t right. I am also more relaxed with such things than the ladies at the almshouses, but hey, we all differ. I don’t mind people speaking their mind. Only the tone… oh the tone… that is an issue with me. Anyway, I responded in a way they were pleased as I will never create a scene. I hate a scene in public.
As for the G… there was only a G at the end so I didn’t have to correct it.
Nice photos and I really like the Lauren blouse.
You know, I could never style that Ralph Lauren blouse. I bought it because I loved the pattern, the shape and the colours. Then all of a sudden there were three outfit options, all superb, like with the yellow trousers.
I have to look harder.
Looking super Greetje and I love the location!!!!
I do like those shoes you are wearing with those grey trousers and the dress lower down is beautiful,
Hugs,Paula B,XXX
Those white patent leather shoes with their black heel lift any outfit. They were such a good purchase.
I am always on the look-out for nice locations, nice backgrounds. It is getting harder to find new places, but I keep trying.
So enjoy your blog, love looking at the lovely old buildings etc.(and your clothes obviously!)
Not so much the old inhabitants in today’s post though – they sounded a bit sour!
It will be nice when you can go out with your friends and go shopping, I like those posts also.
I have been to Amsterdam a couple of times and wish I had discovered your blog before then – I would have loved looking in the streets and the shops you mention.
Kindest wishes, Anne from Tasmania.
(pictures are still loading nice and fast)
Indeed, and clothes! For certain. The lovely buildings are there to bring you back to the days you visited Amsterdam. As you have been a couple of times, I presume you won’t visit again. The world is such a big place.
As for shopping with friends, yes I am doing that again but just with one friend. I have to be more careful with spending as well now that I am retired.
Lovely Greetje,
I’m a blast from the past – your old colleague Alexandra P.
I’m living in Los Angeles 3 years now and I recently thought of you, your stunning feminism and your amazing confidence in mixing colors and outfits. I missed you somehow and tried to google your blog.
I’m so happy you’re still posting outfits and keeping other fashion-minded women inspired.
Keep up the good work Greetje! You’re an inspiration for under and over 40 women. What’s age after all?
Your heart is young!
Hugs and kisses from LA
Oh I definitely remember you. And our photo sessions!! That was fun. Never knew you moved to L.A. I am a bit shy with all your compliments.
I am now 66 and retired haha. But I will continue with my blog as I still love it. Found two photographers who are pleased to help me. YAY
Hope you are happy in L.A. and fulfilling your dreams.
Not sure what you can buy since brands and availability differ country to country…..but you might find that you like the gradual tan product by St Torpez that smells like watermellon. I use it at the beginning of the season just to take the edge of my glaring white legs. I use it about once a week. As Summer progresses I get some natural tan that is gradual due to the use of sunscreen.
Hi Lauren, you are the second person to promote St Tropez self tanner. And they do sell it in the Netherlands. I will definitely try it. Thanks.
Now I need to find a SPF 50 which isn’t greasy on my skin.
I too look forward to your Sunday postings and all the interesting places you find to do your photo shoots. Being Dutch, but having my relative s arrive in the 1860’s in Wisconsin – Vande Wall relatives. I have an insane desire to see all of Holland soon, thanks to all the lovely places you go.
I also love the color and variety of your outfits. While I’d never wear yellow pants, I think they look smashing on you! It’s interesting to see how you are adjusting to retirement too. All in all I love your blog
1860… that is a long time ago haha. But Dutch is in your blood. I do hope you will ever get the chance to visit my (our?) little country.
I think any colour can be worn by any woman no matter her age as long as it is a colour which suits you. In my case the bright colours suit me best.
Greetje, I love the location images you share each week. I am storing up places I want to visit when we can travel again. While my husband and I visited Amsterdam briefly ten years ago, I want to come back. Ron’s allotment is lovely with all the surrounding gardens and flowers, and I love all the unique locations you find for your photoshoots. Of course, I love all the photos of clothes too!
The cities of Haarlem and Amsterdam should really pay me for attracting tourists, shouldn’t they haha?
They are both great cities…. when the sun shines.
When I saw the comments of my readers on the locations, I started to search even more for nice backgrounds. Not easy, but I will persist.
What a charming little courtyard! Too bad some of the inhabitants weren’t so charming….
You always look smashing in yellow! I think it works nicely with the grey trousers, and the white shoes give it a nice pop. And I remember that Rixo dress…you wore it when we met up in London last year! And so many people came up to compliment you on it.
Oh well, perhaps I cannot take criticism too well haha. No, I think it was the tone that got to me. As you know:’C’est le ton qui fait la musique’.
That RIXO dress does it every time but the shoes (although the really compliment the dress) aren’t the easiest ones to walk on. It was fine in London, in Belgravia, where the pavement (sidewalk) is really flat and smooth. In Haarlem where the pavements and the streets are really more like cobbles, it is difficult.
Miss Greetje, I adore the architecture & places you chose to photograph! So much history & beauty you share.
Yours is one of the weekly blogs I anticipate come each Sunday. Thoroughly enjoyable & colourful. Did I mention colourful? =}. You definitely have an eye for creating joyous outfits.
Well thank you Miss Beverly, much obliged. I love creating my blog posts. Everything is fun, from creating outfits to the photo shoot, to selecting the photos and writing the post. Even the technical stuff has my interest. The reward for all the work is in comments like yours.