My friend Marianne gave me this colourful midi shirt dress on one of the get-togethers of the BVA girls (my group of friends). She got it from her daughter and it is by H&M. It came with a belt in the same fabric, but somehow I lost that. I tried about seven different belts and suddenly remembered that I had a purple belt, bought in the sale with my Shopping Saturday girlfriends (in this post, scroll down). All right, I thought, perfect colour and shape.
However…I have to really pay attention to this belt and push it down, otherwise I get a big fat belly, as you can see in the photo below:
It was sweltering hot at 15.30 that day as Kitty shot these photos. Because I know a body shaper takes a size off me, I wore one. Not funny in this heat. Don’t tell me I am mad; I know I am an idiot.
Below: We chose the Ripperda park as our background. Wigbolt Ripperda was a very historic figure. Together with another historic figure, a woman called Kenau Simonsdochter, he resisted the Spanish army in a 7-months siege of Haarlem. In the end they had to give up and Ripperda was beheaded. Read more about Ripperda here.
Below: Nice statue of two bears in the park. Fighting or playing?
Below: Kitty made me walk on grass with my high heels. These photographers have no mercy. Ron used to place me in the sand of the dunes with stiletto heels.
Below: We continued at the big park a few metres away.
Below: It is a grand square with the houses built in a circle around the park.
Below: I ‘climbed’ on this stump myself, no pressure from Kitty. It looks really low, but for a woman of 66 with a bad knee and on high heels, this is high enough. Getting on it wasn’t a problem, but getting down again, was. Oh, I am getting old. I am demonstrating here that the golden chain can turn this clutch into a shoulder bag.
Below: The tree was too lovely not to use as background.
Below: Besides the belt/belly thing, there is another tricky thing about this dress: the slits at the sides. I might want to look for a pink or purple underskirt. This black one isn’t really elegant. Or I can sew up the slits a bit more.
Below: There is a very low fence around the park and I managed fine. Still…at my age and on heels…
Below: I am cheeky enough to sit on somebody’s windowsill.
Below: Or on somebody’s bench. This is my more serious face. Makes a change from my eternal grin.
Below: Trying to blow some air on my face and wave some air under my skirt. Not very lady-like but these were desperate times.
Below: Close-up of face, eyebrows, belt and pattern dress. And… I finally have my own earrings in. The right earlobe is fully healed, unfortunately the left one is not. The eyebrows still have to get a bit lighter.
Below: Kitty, just back from a holiday in Italy (COVID-proof holiday), very tanned, in a new dress and with streaks in her hair.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday. Not an awful lot, just blogging, reading. In the afternoon Ron and I went into town to sit on a terrace (in the shade), have a drink and watch the people walk by. I always love that. Ron got overly enthusiastic and urged me to go into a shop to search for new shorts as he isn’t too fond of the white ones. I tried but couldn’t find anything. In the shop Ron had me try on a yellow and white dress which was heavily reduced. It was a darling dress but the hem ended the width of a hand above the knee. I just cannot do that. Ron and the shop owner couldn’t see the problem. Cannot remember what I wore that day and didn’t take a photo either.
At the end of the afternoon Kitty took photos of me in two different outfits. And it was hot again.
Sunday. Did my exercises. Still very proud of myself. Rest of the day was really quiet. Did a little survey amongst the neighbours how they dealt with the heat. Four women admitted to sitting in their living room in their underwear, behind closed curtains. Like us haha.
Monday. My step daughter’s wedding dress had arrived at the shop and we immediately went for the first fitting. As it had cooled down a bit I could finally wear jeans again. (Link to original post.) And I did walk on these heels. It takes a bit of effort. They are by Michel Vivien. I prefer the original styling with the legs of the jeans longer and with the silver pumps. The temperature required sandals though.
Below: After the fitting (which went really well) we had lunch together. In the Netherlands we are now obliged to leave our name and telephone number at every restaurant, bar etc. in case COVID-19 breaks out in a place.
Tuesday. Exercise in the morning, some blogging and gardening and in the afternoon meeting friend Misja (blog MisjaB) at Vascobelo (one of my two favourite coffee places). Below: We sat in the garden of the restaurant and I took this photo of her. As always she was perfectly dressed, very arty. She is growing her hair longer, so she needed to pin her long fringe away from her face.
That day I wore this (link to original post):
Wednesday. Photoshoot with Loes as I wanted enough blog photos in stock. Just in case ‘my’ photographers cannot do a shoot. We had lovely cappuccinos and ‘pastel de nata’ (Portuguese pasty) afterwards. Yummy.
In the afternoon Ron and I had to sign a legal document at the notary in Amsterdam, so I dressed for the occasion. Link to original post from 2013 (!!) when I still had brown hair. You see, some clothes are so good, you will keep them forever. That is why my wardrobe is so big.
Then Ron and I got into an argument, a fight. I won’t go into the details as I don’t want to air my dirty laundry in public. But, as I always tell the nice stories about us, I want you to know there are these moments as well. Don’t want you to think we are Mr. and Mrs. Perfect. Even in a loving marriage there are moments when you don’t see eye to eye.
Thursday. Ron and I went to his allotment garden in the morning and settled our ‘fight’ as mature people by talking and listening to each other. We are good now.
As it was still warm, I wore cut-off jeans and a linen shirt. Did some blogging and reading in the afternoon. A bit boring but I cannot venture out. Our prime minister has urged us to respect the measurements to control the COVID-19 virus as the cases are increasing again. In the evening we walked the dog along the seashore. Watson loves to dive into the sea, swim and chase the seagulls.
Friday. Fun day. Exercises of course and at noon I met my friend Marjolein in Amsterdam to go to an art fair. Here she is, totally colour coordinated:
She has the same chocolate box bag as I do (she spotted it first in the shop), so she texted me to ask whether I was wearing mine that day haha.
The art fair was about up-and-coming and established contemporary artists and was held in the Amsterdam Westergasfabriek, a fabulous series of buildings.
Here you see Marjolein in front of artwork by Thomas Trum we both liked. Wonderful with the vibrant colours she was wearing as well.
And I really liked this artwork by Gilleam Trapenberg.
Afterwards we had lunch in one of the many restaurants on the premises. We also paid a visit to the Tony Chocolonely chocolate shop. Their main office is in one of the buildings of the Westergasfabriek. Below: Marjolein pretending to eat the mini chocolate bars.
After a stroll around the adjacent park we said goodbye. A lovely afternoon with a lovely woman.
Greetje
The colours in that dress suit you perfectly, and they absolutely pop against the background of the green tree and grass.
I am happy to see you wear those denim shorts – you have great legs and the shorts show them off so well! You have a lot of lovely dresses and they all look very nice on you, but as someone who can’t find a pair of jeans that fit well, I am envious of all your fabulous pairs of jeans.
Green trees and grass always make such good backgrounds haha. Especially for blondes, fake or real. Finding the right jeans is not an easy task. As I love shopping for clothes, I can put a lot of time and effort in finding the right one(s). It helps that I know two brands which fit me very well: G-Star Raw (especially their boyfriend jeans) and Denham, the jeans makers.
Love this colorful dress and I think you look Fabulous in it, the belt really makes a difference!. And so brave to wear shape wear in the heat!, the things we girls do for our blogs! ;DD
You totally rock your jeans, love to see you styling them so nicely!. Also lovely to see you meeting your friends safely and looking so fabulous!. Glad to see such glamourous ladies!.
Your polka dots dress is a stunning piece, really elegant and intemporal!, a really perfect piece to keep in your wardrobe.
Also looking fab in shorts! (you rock a cool and casual vibe too!)
besos
What can I say after this shower of compliments? THANK YOU. I feel overwhelmed, but it is nice to read. Doing my blog best.
Enjoyed your blog. Glad you are staying safe. Pretty photos.
Thanks Linda. Yes we are trying to stay as safe as possible with COVID-19 luring from everywhere and still have some sort of a normal life.
Great shots of very colorful ensembles!! hey, no more climbing on stumps and over fences!!! RISKY! Sewed a few people in ER in my timeI still think the very long flowery dress could be shortened for better proportions. Especially since you wear it with sneakers!! Too flat! Lovely background shots as well.
Thanks Danielle. We just have to agree to disgree on the length of the very long flowery dress. I love it that long and with the sneakers it is soooo comfortable. It is all the rage here in the Netherlands. Which of course totally irrelevant when it doesn’t suit me. But again, I beg to differ.
When I got of the stump, Kitty helped me. I am very careful when I do these things.
That dress is really good on you! You wear those mixed prints well. I love that green top you show with the jeans too. That is SUCH a fabulous color on you!
Oh the green with yellow top you mean? Yes I adore it too. I think I held my breath when I saw it first. Came all the way from Switzerland.
I LOVE YOUR OUT TAKE SHOTS……..underwear showing and climbing over fence in heels!
PEOPLE MUST ADORE YOU!
HOT HERE TOO AND LOADS OF FIRES………….cant open windows and doors because of smoke!SO here I sit in my little office with a fan on!
XX
I have no idea whether people adore me. Perhaps they do but I bet just as many think I am annoying, self centred or a twit haha.
Fortunately the rain has set in again here in the Netherlands. Which keeps me indoors again as I don’t like walking in the rain.
Greetje, you really suit the colourful print on the H&M dress and the proportions are perfect for your height and figure. Personally, I would have to sew up the side splits; I would find them too annoying! (However, this is purely academic as I don’t wear shirt dresses, belts of any kind, rarely wear footwear with higher heels and am too short to carry off the length : ) In the heat I wear short, swingy dresses as they are so much cooler)
I very much enjoy reading about your everyday life and seeing your photos. Do keep them coming!
The splits aren’t annoying to wear or walk in, just a bit too revealing to my taste. Sounds like you have your perfect hot summer wear sussed out. Thanks for the compliments and I will surely keep them coming.
You may not always agree but I think your hair always looks lovely. And it’s *especially* lovely in the old blog post. In those pictures, you must have just had your hair done as it is so vibrant and pretty and shiny and stylish. Oh, that doesn’t sound right. I don’t mean to say that your hair doesn’t look lovely when you do it yourself, but I just was blown away by the older picture. As always, I enjoyed reading your blog this week. You lead an fun, interesting lifestyle.
Hahaha… you had me laughing out loud when I read your comment. Don’t worry, I am not easily offended. And yes, when I have just washed and blowdried my hair, it looks best. But not when I have just come back from the hairdresser. Funnily enough it looks best three days later when I have done it again myself. I think it is too oily from the dye or something.
Sometimes I am bored with all the lunches and coffee dates and then I kick myself and say: “So many people would love to trade places with you”. I suppose it is like cake; when you eat it every day it becomes like cheese haha.
Loving that H & M dress on you! You styled it beautifully with the purple belt and turquoise bag. But I must also note your cool beachy cutoffs, linen blouse, and flat sandals. Very California. (I’m not there but you certainly could be.)
I was suprised it is an H&M dress as well. As for the shorts…funny that you all like them so much on me as I never wore or wear them, apart from the last two weeks (heat!).
Oh, I love that dress – and it’s by H&M?? Wow, every so often they have something I like. I love your polka-dotted dress too – it’s so nice on you. Your friends are such snappy dressers – those golden trousers are amazing.
L and I have fights too. My blog is not the place to chat about them, ha ha!
The only thing I do not like about the dress, is the fact that the inside of the fabric is white. So it is printed not woven. You and me, we like woven. But if I sew the slits up, it doesn’t show that much. My friends being snappy dressers, I do agree. I always wonder whether I picked them because of that haha.
I’m not in love with your dresses, except the polka dot one. The print is lovely but really over powers you. You can sew up the slit to the place you want. You look fab in your bright colors. I look forward to your Sunday blogs!
Ah, well Lucretia, I always say: “you cannot please everybody all of the time”. But I appreciate you being frank with me, I really do. And I will keep those blog posts coming every Sunday.
Cute dress. Nice obi belt. Snappy sandals. A winner!
Hi Ally, you used little words but said a lot. Thank you for the compliments.
You can imagine it, right? I love this dress. I love this wonderful print, the shirt pattern and the midi length, all so feminine and elegant. I love that sash at the waist and also he outfit with the bag and those beautiful shoes. The sexy photo lifting the dress and your close-up complement all that wonderful catwalk.
Oh yes, I knew this dress would be your taste. I didn’t lift my dress to be sexy, I just wanted to cool down a bit. It was sooo hot.
Love the first picture of you with you, your smile, and your hair blowing! The dress is beautiful too. Thanks for brightening my day, here in the smokey air of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Heh heh heh…that is why it has become the first picture…because it is such a nice one. I do select them well you know. And it is always a pleasure to brightening up your day.
I really like the H&M dress on you! The belt is perfect! Also the midi length is great, shows some of your shapely legs! I find that Maxi dresses Cover too much up!
Nice pictures again! Appreciate all of them!
Thanks Renate. I do think the slits show a bit too much leg. I will see what I will do about that. I have two options: a pretty underskirt in that colour or sew them up a bit more.