Apparently, the clothes I am wearing are called: trousers and top co-ord. If I hadn’t heard Trinny Woodall mention this term ‘co-ord’ a lot, I would never have known what it was. Cambridge dictionary says: co-ord is short for coordinates: clothes, especially for women, that are made in matching colours or styles so that they can be worn together. It is as close as I will ever get to a jumpsuit as they look horrible on me. The top of this ensemble covers my bum and the slanting sides give nothing away about my hips. They could be big or small, who is to know.
Stylish friend Misja ‘approved’ of my choice of necklace but advised to use a pink top instead of a white one. That gave me the idea of the fuchsia bag because pink and green is a good combination.
My friend Sylvia of 40PlusStyle is in the Netherlands again (yay) and we had a day in the lovely town of Alkmaar. She kindly offered to take photos.
Below: Sylvia on a terrace in the centre of Alkmaar.
Below: As Alkmaar is famous for its cheese markets, we thought it was appropriate to pose in front of a cheese store. My cross-over mini bag won’t hold a camera so I took a shopper with me (brand Obag).
Alkmaar has tiny streets with lots of little shops, a heaven for shoppers. Nevertheless neither of us bought anything this time.
Below: This old town has beautiful houses.
Below: Canals, churches, terraces…the lot.
Below: Sylvia.
Below: The trousers have a fancy seam at the sides.
Below: The back of the co-ord.
Below: We had lunch on a terrace and later stopped for a drink on another terrace. Sylvia enjoying the sun. Look at her cool boots.
Below: Of course we also took a head to toe shot.
Then a woman sat next to us, looking so good in her dress that I asked her to pose for the blog. Her daughter encouraged her and I am so glad for that.
Below: This is Monique in a green corduroy shirt dress. (If it shows up grey on your screen, I am sorry, it is green.)
Doesn’t she look good? Great dress, so well fitted, beautifully combined with the fashionable sneakers.
Below: For those of you who are in lock-down or have to walk the streets with a mask, it must be bizarre to see these photos. As if nothing is the matter. Well there is and the virus cases are rapidly increasing again in the Netherlands. Mostly in the big cities, which is why I chose Alkmaar to go to. In this area there are less cases. Smart as that may have been, a Saturday wasn’t the best choice. Next time I will not go to town again in the weekend. Too busy.
Below: See how busy it is? Luckily when we had lunch there, it wasn’t this busy.
Below: Close-up of the necklace and the pink top. The slashed sleeves close with two golden buttons.
Below: A similar photo as the first one for the details. You can see the side seam very well in this photo. Trousers and top co-ord: Dante, fuchsia bag: Manoukian, pearl necklace: from a friend of a friend, sneakers: Pavement, plastic ring: present from Tiffany, a fellow Instagrammer. Haircut: my hairdressing salon Rob Peetoom.
If you want to see more of Alkmaar, check this post of a previous visit to this city, also with Sylvia.
What happened in my life this week
The weekend was fine, starting on Saturday morning with coffee and a chat at Loes (across the road) who had her garden done. I can do that all day and week as you know. The visit to Alkmaar with Sylvia is described above and on Sunday Ron and I visited my mum. We brought food to eat together, saving mum from having to cook and left an extra portion in her freezer.
The week began with a visit to the hairdresser which I love. The pampering, the looking good afterwards: top. After that, my agenda was empty, which scared me. I have never had nothing to do for a whole week.
Having nothing to do is dangerous for me, as that leaves me a lot of time to shop. Luckily this time I visited a second-hand shop, called Appel & Ei, fairly new to this town. Translated it is Apple and Egg and it comes from a Dutch saying: when you get something for next to nothing, you have bought it for ‘an apple and an egg’. Clever to use that as the name for the shop. The shop was like a luxury shop: spacious, everything hung nicely colour by colour, nice fitting rooms (click the link to see). Nothing like the second-hand shops I am used to. Nevertheless I couldn’t find anything until a pair of golden slingbacks caught my eye. My size, exactly the shape I am after, metal gold (although I prefer silver) and the price was 12 euro, which is indeed nothing. I wore them the next day and they even carried me to town and back (litmus test). Great find.
The next day was a glorious day and I wanted to sit in the sun on a terrace but couldn’t find a friend to join me. Ron stepped in and we wandered to town, me wearing those golden slingbacks. I bought a hat, Ron bought very warm slippers, we chatted with shop owners and indeed sat on a terrace in the sun. And who was also on that terrace? My successor in my old job, the lovely Astrid. She has a couple of weeks holiday and visited a friend in Haarlem, saying: “Who knows, I might see Greetje”. The odds that we’d actually meet were pretty slim, but there you go. She took an usie to show to the colleagues.
Another lunch with Sylvia, making the most of her short stay here. We chose a fancy estate to have lunch: Plantage Rococo which is a hotel and a restaurant with organic and sustainable food. The dishes were delicious and the ambiance superb.
As you didn’t mind the six photos of the passageway two weeks ago, I am sure you won’t mind a couple of photos of this estate.
Below: The house on the estate, converted into hotel and restaurant.
Below: I wore my baby blue pane checked trousers with the jumper which is the nicest on it. Everything Essentiel Antwerp.
Below: Sylvia, wearing a silver jumper, talking to the waiter.
Below: The restaurant we were in. Posh, right?
Below: The hall.
Below: The stairs to the rooms of the hotel.
Below: The sitting room of the hotel (I presume).
It was really lovely and not even very expensive. I think I will go there again. My friend Anja spent her wedding night here.
Further in the week Loes and I did a photo shoot. I like having enough photos in stock. If the rain and cold hit us again, there might not be many options to shoot. Loes is doing most of the photography as Kitty had computer problems and has to catch up on a lot of work. Better not to bother her too much.
Ron and I visited the hat shop again as he was keen on a particular hat and his size had to be ordered. He came away with the first one he put on his head. Ron loves hats and in particular caps. I hate caps on him. The pork pie hat he chose this time is quite all right. Makes him look like a musician, which he is. He was a singer in a band one time as he has a very good singing voice.
Ending the week wearing this. Ron was very appreciative of that. He likes it.
See you next week.
Greetje
Your “Co-rd” outfit really does look like a jumpsuit (until you turn around and we can see your shirt tail). I was very surprised to see all the people walking around without masks. We have had a spike in cases here in Ontario after the students started school, and wearing masks on public transit and in indoor spaces is mandatory.
Sylvia always looks so stylish! So nice to see you are able to get together with her. The restaurant in the estate is lovely – the decor is very elegant.
Ron looks quite dapper in his hat!
Funny, you are always a blog post behind. Was that Blogin’s “fault”?
Wearing masks on public transit was already mandatory. Now wearing masks in indoor spaces is too. They have heavily increased the measures. I am very careful now and don’t go into town anymore. Good for my finances as well.
Sylvia and I had one last lunch yesterday and tomorrow she is off again. Of course she looks stylish, noblesse oblige haha.
Ron is happy with his hat. For a change I like his hat as well.
Would like to know what brand is the bootie that Sylvia is wearing!!
They are by a Dutch brand called Sacha, premium collection, so I am afraid it makes things difficult.
Hello, I’ve found the booties on Sacha online shop😊😊 Thanks Greetje
Oh great, I had no idea they would be selling abroad too.
I have never, ever heard the term “co-ords” for matching pieces! That is a new one. The bright pink looks great with that shade of green, and how lovely to see Sylvia again! I WAS wondering why no one was wearing masks! We’ve had increases in our Covid cases here, and masks are everywhere (although not mandatory). Sylvia’s boots are fabulous, and how awesome is that lady’s corduroy dress!
Gosh, it is so pretty there, from the houses to all the greenery. I may make it over to Europe one of these years, and the Netherlands is on my list (Belgium too).
I love Ron’s porkpie! L has one too, and looks like a musician when he wears his (although he has a terrible singing voice). Ha!
Have a good week, Greetje! BTW, my shoe size is 40, so very close to yours. You might have to start noting the shoes you want, hee hee.
Perhaps co-ord is British? Or an invention of Trinny? Although I did find it in an online dictionary. In the Netherlands the Covid cases have increased dramatically. Lots of extra measures now. Masks, pubs closing at 22.00 hrs. No more than 30 people in a room etc etc. I am voluntarily staying home. No more shopping in cities with girlfriends.
I would love for you to come over to my little country. Let’s dream about that.
Oh and size 40 is really too big for me.
I just adore that green co-ords suit on you! And spending time with you of course 🙂
It is always nice to spend time with you. Pity that Covid is limiting our possibilities. I am mostly staying home now.
I have seen the ‘co-ord’ look called ‘dress like a Crayon’, which I guess is one colour from head to toe. I really like your little pops of pink that make the outfit interesting. Enjoy your posts, so keep up the good work!
I am trying to make outfits more interesting by adding a different colour, a quirky accessory, belt or scarf. Still learning. Glad you like my posts. Nice to hear!
Just one question….how could you stand in front of that cheese shop and not go inside to buy enough cheese to fill that tote bag LOL I would have done that 🙂
Simple… we have cheese shops on every corner and in every supermarket. It is no biggie. Scarcity drives up the longing and the price, right? Basics of capitalism haha.
The green co-ord you are wearing looks so stylish and comfortable. I think it would be good for car travel or plane. Your friend, Sylvia, has the cutest smile and yes, her boots are cha cha. The place you ate lunch is just lovely. You are lucky to have so many nice places close to where you live. And I am envious of the cheese shop. I live in a rural area, so no such luck. My husband likes hats too. Never goes out without one.
p.s. Van der Valk tonight. Yea!
You are right about the co-ord: very comfortable, non creasing. Also good for holiday as you can sling it in the washing machine and when it is dry, it is ready to wear. No ironing.
The Netherlands is a small country, with a lot of people, so everything is close. And we like ‘cosiness’ although that is not the right translation for ‘gezellig’.
Sylvia is always stylish. I will tell her you said she has the cutest smile.
This was an extra good post: two great outfits on you, plus two very stylish friends to admire!
It’s true, your street and restaurant photos with no one wearing a mask cause me anxiety. I feel we (my husband and I) may be acting overly cautious, rarely going anywhere but the grocery store and the post office, but it’s so hard to know what is the correct level of caution. Anyway, I don’t think it’s possible for you to show too many photos of towns, etc. It feels like a mini vacation for those of us stuck at home, wishing we were traveling!
I like your first outfit as a great substitute for a jumpsuit, but I LOVE that brighter green top on you! Thanks again for the Sunday fun!
You are not acting overly cautious. Since last Monday we have moved up on the scale of lock-down: you can only go to three major towns if you have an urgent reason (how on earth they are going to check that, beats me). Also in the three major towns and in the shops you should wear a face mask. Pubs cannot accept more clients after 21.00 hours and have to close at 22.00 hours. Parties are permitted with a max of 30 guests, all sitting at the appropriate distance, no dancing or walking around. And in your house you can only receive three people max. Of course these are guidelines. The police cannot check every house, but sensible people will follow these guidelines.
I have cancelled all my outings with friends to cities and will stay at home as much as possible.
There are still 2 photo shoots in stock and after that I will see what I can do in these Covid times to make a post interesting.
The bright green top was a steal on holiday in Rome, very simply made. You can see it in this post: https://www.nofearoffashion.com/2013/09/02/green-italian-kimono-top/
As usual, lovely combos. Sylvia shows a lot of pizzaz. Alkmaar is a gem of a city. The chateau hotel/restaurant reminds me of New Orleans in Louisiana. Your husband seems like a “mensch” an idish (Jewish expression) word for a ham of a husband. Keep Him!!
Mensch is quite a compliment; I will tell him this. We are together for 32 years now, I expect we will stay together to the end (whenever that may be). But you can never be totally certain of that.
Sylvia indeed has a lot of pizzaz, she has her website 40PlusStyle to prove it.
I like monochrome, they are quite elegant combinations. I like the color you have chosen and the mix with the fuchsia bag, it’s a nice combination. I love Sylvia’s look, too. That boho skirt and that beautiful jacket. And, as always, I love to see photos of those beautiful places. I loved the latest white and pink look, it’s gorgeous.
This green combination is sooo comfortable, it is like wearing PJ’s. Now that I am retired, comfortable outfits are high on my list. I hope I don’t lose the desire to dress up though. Thank you for all the compliments.
The fuchsia bag is such a great accent with the green! Your mention of Trinny Woodall reminded me that I’ve been wanting to go back and watch some of her IGTV’s. So thanks!
Oh yes, I often look at Trinny’s Closet Confessions. I wished she had my body shape, but she is a pear and I am an inverted triangle.
Such a plethora of gorgeous outfits in this post! I love the green “co-ord” with the pink accents. You always have such interesting colour combinations. I also love the striped sweater/blue check pants. Your location photos are always fascinating too.
I always try to make the most interesting photos for you to look at Cynthia. I don’t go to many cities anymore because of Covid (and also because my darling photographers don’t want to spend half a day in the car to a location). So it is becoming more difficult to find new places around here. Which made me glad that Sylvia was prepared to take photos when we went to Alkmaar. Creating outfits is what I love most which makes it easier.