The sequinned jumper I am wearing today is the total opposite of last week’s sweater. That is, financially. Both garments that draw attention but contrary to the Dries van Noten sweater of last week, the sequinned jumper cost me only €25. Found it at the brilliant vintage store of Laura Dolls. Never miss this shop if you are in the famous 9 streets of Amsterdam. It is a favourite among stylists as you can find unique pieces for little money.
A couple of years ago I bought a new sequinned jumper in Paris (see this post). It was really nice, but a little too short in proportion to my body shape. Too short to wear with jeans and too long to wear with skirts. So I gave it away.
This purple and black vintage jumper is longer and the colour is more flattering. The purple on a few sequins (not many) had flaked, leaving them silver. I am not sure whether it was due to the dry cleaning or whether I bought it like that. With a red felt pen I turned some silver sequins into red ones (the purple is nearly red). It would have been smart if I had tested one before I did them all as the ink came off when I rubbed over it. Darn. I took it all off and applied a new “coat” with a permanent marker. Problem solved. There were also a few loose threads that needed to be fixed which is no problem as I belong to the generation that was taught how to sew.
The photo shoot
My darling husband Ron suggested some statues in Amsterdam to be the background of a photo shoot. That takes time and I didn’t want to burden Kitty with it as she works full-time. I am not sure how I am going to proceed with “my” other photographer Loes. Loes and I need to share the camera during the shoot and I have to find a way to do this Covid-proof. So far it hasn’t been a problem, but we are extra careful again now that the contamination numbers have increased severely.
We started early on a Friday and it was such a lovely day, everything went smoothly. We found a parking spot next to the first statue, which is a rarity in Amsterdam. Then it turned out there were three statues within 50 metres that were linked. The artist is Peter Erftemeijer. The three statues form a walking route from the Van Limburg Stirum square to the Westerpark.
Below: The first bronze statue. Wearing my red patent leather pumps with my jeans, which is so very me. I like pumps with jeans. They are red and the jumper is purple but that is not a problem in my eyes. I actually like them in a different colour. And both items are shiny.
Below: Statue number 2. Ron asked me to assume the same pose as the bronze woman.
There were men at work across the street. I am sure they were amused, but they didn’t comment. Perhaps they just didn’t care as after all, it is Amsterdam. Stranger things happen here.
Below: Hugging the bronze man, statue number 3. It makes my head and neck look a little weird but I liked the shot.
Below: Ron discovered this very strange storage place for two wheelchairs. Why? Why in the open? Are they connected, tandem wheelchairs? Is one of them a tandem wheelchair to be connected to a bike? Is it art? So many questions.
The Westergasfabriek
As we already had three statues, we decided not to venture further into Amsterdam (there are more). Instead we went across the street to the site of the Westergasfabriek (Wester Gas Factory). The 22 beautiful buildings are known as Dutch Neorenaissance. If you click the link, you can read more about the interesting history of the Wester Gas Factory (scroll down a little on the page you’ll land).
Below: The old bridge to enter the site. The weather was cloudy that day which is great for outfit photos but a little more sun would have been nice for the photos below.
Below: Part of the buildings, seen from the street.
Below: Ron spotted this cabinet at the side of one of the historic buildings. The sign above it says: “Exchange library” above it. You can put a book in it that you have finished reading and want to give to someone else or take a book out. Very social.
Below: It made a fun background.
Below: No, I didn’t take a book out, it is just a pose for the photo. I wisely changed my stiletto pumps for boots, also in red.
Below: No idea whether this gentleman took a book out or put it in.
Photos were taken and it was time for cappuccinos. The restaurants and pubs are closed again because of the increasing amount of Covid cases, so most of them are again offering takeaway coffee and food.
Below: We turned round and Bernadette, one of the cooks of IZ Amsterdam Flavours opened shop. Amsterdam Flavours is a terrific place to host events and they cater on location as well. Of course, business has shrunk thanks to Covid.
Below: Bernadette (I nicked this photo of their website, so it is small). She was very warm and hospitable, a very nice woman. Also, a ‘go-with-the-flow’ woman as she said she really liked the atmosphere of the takeaway business. Adapting is a good strategy in these difficult times.
Below: We got very chatty with these two lovely ladies, friends and both schoolteachers. They had scones with jam and cream with their cappuccinos.
Below: When I joined with my second cappuccino, I nearly crashed as I sat down as the bench worked like a see-saw, if you put your weight on one end.
Below: We were looking at a beautiful winter cherry plant.
Below: Trees in autumn are gorgeous.
Below: And they make a perfect background. I know this photo below is very similar to the one at the top, but I love it. Indulge me.
Below: We strolled around the premises. The buildings are grand, housing all sorts of businesses (mainly creative) and restaurants.
Below: Here is a cat again, “crossing” our way.
Below: Two more photos of the buildings. (Are you already bored with them?)
Below: There is a bakery in this building, selling their baked goods and coffee on the right. We prefer Amsterdam Flavours though. Well, as long as the takeaway system is in place.
Below: Ron spotted this woman, who is a little early with her Christmas reindeer hat.
Below: Close-up of my new camera bag. I have been searching for a dark blue cross body bag for a year and a half now. And I love camera bags. This example by L.K. Bennett was in the sale, so I snapped it up. My friend Marianne has given me a brighter blue cross body bag (see in this post) which is great fun, but for some outfits that one is too bright blue or attracts too much attention. How fussy can you get eh?
What happened in my life this week
The weekend was pretty boring. No dates with friends, nothing. Being in partly lock-down, with temperatures dropping and a lot of rain falling since Saturday, we just stay in. It is a pleasure to meet your neighbours in the street and have a little conversation.
Below: Meet my neighbours Ingrid and her daughter Famke. I am rather proud of this shot (iPhoneX in Portrait mode). I told Menno (the father) to step aside as he is not a woman and this blog is for women. I hope I didn’t offend him. Famke is teaching me the finer techniques of Instagram.
Below: My Sunday outfit. The same outfit as last week’s post but with different jeans and boots. Plus, I didn’t tuck the sweater.
Monday was a lot nicer. My ex-colleague and friend Janneke came to visit and I bought delicious cakes with our coffee. We had a lovely couple of hours at the appropriate distance.
Below: Black linen shirt from kpa.haarlem, which you have seen before with my yellow/black pleated skirt. The Max Mara necklace I have worn on a yellow jumper. I wasn’t sure about the type and colour jeans to wear with the shirt.
Alert…too much information coming up
On Tuesday (chronological again haha) I had to swing by the hospital for an echo of my uterus (transvaginal ultrasonography it is called). I have been losing a few drops of blood a couple of times in the past month. Not major but at my age, no blood whatsoever should spring from this area. My GP took a smear and in a fortnight I should hear the next steps. I was afraid of having cancer but after the echo I think it might be myoma trouble. Anticipating on a non-life-threatening outcome, I went into town (the shops are still open) and bought myself a snuggly cardigan at kpa.haarlem. That is my reaction to stuff like this: “Who knows how much time I have left? Let’s indulge.” The cardigan is acrylic but looks like wool. Perfect for me as I feel itchy even looking at wool.
Wednesday (better continue with being chronological) the painter and his son came to finish the wall we have had repaired.
Ron took dog Watson to his allotment garden so he was out of the way (the dog, not Ron). He spent 6 hours in his little cabin. It has heating but it is not the nicest place to be when it pours.
Below: Finished. Well nearly. It still had to dry in this photo. The colour is khaki/grey. Skirting boards were done as well. I so love a well painted house.
One little thing which I hope isn’t going to nag me: the red stripe in the parquet floor is now too close to the wall on the long side as we have had side sheeting put in front of the original wall.
Thursday was a boring day. Did my exercises and bike ride. Had my friend Marianne’s bracelet fixed at the goldsmith and drank coffee with the brilliant lady who keeps our home clean. Wouldn’t know what to do without her. Despair I suppose. After lunch I just read a magazine and looked scruffy.
Below: Me at 13.30 hours. Theme: “Let it all hang out”.
Below: Me at 14.30 hours. Theme: “Let’s go out for dinner”. The power of blow drying and make-up.
Friday was a better day. Before 9 a.m. I was fully dressed and in make-up. The sun was shining and I wanted to make it a good day. Wore my red trouser suit. As I said on Instagram: “It is loud, colourful, funny and comfortable. I hope it reflects me” (big grin). Link to original post.
In the morning I had a nice chat with my neighbours and in the afternoon I went to the cobbler (story of my life) and visited Marianne. Here we are:
Below: To end this post with some amusement, here is our curious dog Watson in a 23 second video.
Greetje
Love your sequined jumper and how fabulous you look in your jeans!. And also love red boots or shoes, I think they rock! and so original to wear them with the purple&black jumper, they work together nicely!. So fab ensemble and lovely photos in a cool background!
Lots of lovely outfits, and loving your red suit (totally a mood booster!)
Always lovely dog Watson, so cute!
besos
(hope these miomas don’t bother you too much!)
The red shoes/boots with the purple was actually a silly mistake. I thought the sequins were red haha. When I found out they were purple, I rather liked it.
The red suit with tigers is what you would call “a conversation piece”.
My myomas do not bother me at all, but the doctor hasn’t finished yet with the smear.
I really like the sequinned jumper – I would wear it too! The photo of you hugging the arm of the statue is very cute.
That is a lovely shot of Ingrid and Famke – I like using the portrait mode on my phone too for the background blur.
Sorry to hear about the myomas and having to have another smear done. Our female parts can be such a pain in the ass as you get older!
I understand this was a good post for you. The portrait mode is a great feature on the iPhone but I often forget about it. Not anymore as I agree with you the shot of Ingrid and Famke is lovely.
My female parts have never bothered me much through my life and I think this time I will be let off scot-free as well. Although I shouldn’t jump the gun.
Heerlijk al die foto’s van het Westergasfabriek terrein. Ben al zolang niet meer in de stad geweest. Zo leuk die foto’s met de standbeelden. Dank je wel dat je iedere keer van die mooie foto’s maakt.
Oh heerlijk, een Nederlandse lezeres. 75% van mijn lezers zijn Amerikaans of Engels. Vind ik wel jammer, maar ja, moet je maar niet in het Engels bloggen he?
Ik vind het Westergasfabriekterrein fantastisch. Te bedenken dat ze de gebouwen hebben neergezet met in het achterhoofd dat ze de functie van het terrein moesten uitstralen. Nu zouden ze er rechthoekige blokken neerzetten.
Het genoegen is overigens geheel aan mijn kant.
That top is a great find and you styled it really well. Lovely informative post and images too. Your posts are a great way to stay in touch a bit with The Netherlands although, of course, we mainly get to see it on its good days!
Of course! I keep saying: “never believe a photo”. Although I do not photoshop the wrinkles from my face or anything like that, I do choose the nicest photos and take them at pretty places when the weather is good. You know how much it can rain here, how many ugly buildings we have too and the wind… don’t get me started on the wind.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed it.
Love those dark full length jeans. Where are they from please. I have a sister who lives in Den Haag, I love looking at pictures of Dutch architecture, so different from here in Ireland.
The dark full length jeans are by a Dutch brand called Denham the Jeans maker: https://www.denhamthejeanmaker.com/en/women/
Only they are two years old and I don’t see them in their online collection anymore. And I am glad you like my photos with the Dutch backgrounds.
Very lovely photos. You wear jeans so well. You should share with your blog fans which exercises you do that keep you looking so svelte. Nice job!
p.s. Watson is hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the compliments. I always appreciate them and never take them for granted.
It is a good thing I wear jeans so well as I really like wearing them. I have quite a few, all different shapes.
The exercises I do are in two videos of my physiotherapist. Although they show you how to do it, they give verbal advice as well. In Dutch. So I don’t think it will help anybody speaking English (the majority of my readers). The exercises on the floor are the ones I remember from class, like tummy exercises.
Watson has absolutely no fear, or he is just plain stupid, not seeing any danger.
I look forward every week to reading your post. It’s a nice break to see the architecture, the clothing, and social customs of your part of the world.
Thank you Riley. It is nice to hear that my little blog is appreciated. Social customs in the Netherlands will shock everybody from another country. There are a lot of sites, run by English speaking people living in the Netherlands, that show the amazement about our customs. Most people think we are utterly rude. We say: “Heck no, we are direct and honest. What you see is what you get. Not that beating around the bush stuff that gets you nowhere”, haha. It’s what you have been brought up with.
I love the new sequined sweater, Greetje – that little bit of extra length is good (I also love the old one, but I see what you mean about the length). I adore the shiny red pumps with it! Great pictures of the statues and buildings (well done, Ron!). All those leaves are so pretty!
Good luck with your scan! I hope it’s nothing. Your fixed and painted wall is lovely – I adore those high ceilings.
Dark jeans, definitely, with that black top. You know I am completely in love with that tiger suit – I would steal it from your closet! Ha! I’m always amazed by what a lift my spirits get when I do my hair and make-up.
That video of Watson was funny! he totally disappeared! Glad there was nothing bitey in there!
Have a good week, my dear friend!
You know the importance of proportions. Something which has always been difficult for me. But I got it right with this jumper. Not in one go but in two. Not too bad.
The doctor told me that the blood drops were indeed probably caused by myomas. Only the smear has to be done again in 6 weeks as there wasn’t enough material to judge from. Sigh. Smears hurt.
I agree with the dark jeans (in hindsight) with the black top.
I have my tiger suit, you have your red leopard suit. So you don’t have to steal.
Pet animals are fun, but often also a worry. Like “Will Watson ever appear from that hole again or choke?” Of course he came out. And my cat caught a mouse this morning. I rescued it and kept the cat indoors for a few hours but after that she came in with the same one again. I rescued it again and became totally hysterical because it had obviously broken his right hindleg. So the merciful thing to do was kill the mouse in one go, but I couldn’t. These things haunt me for the rest of my life. Can you imagine I cannot take much in this area? Which is why I don’t read papers or watch the news. Too sensitive.
What did Watson find? There was obviously something very interesting down that hole. Don’t apologise for the number of building photos you post. I love different styles of architecture and one of my favourite things about your blog (after the clothes, of course) is looking at the different buildings and settings you take your photos in. Have a lovely week!
Ron thinks it was a fox hole. Fortunately he didn’t find anything AND he came out again. I would have been scared to death but Ron wasn’t. He says the dog knows what he is doing. Hmmm. Well so far he has always returned and never drowned but he is a rascal, a real hunting dog. But we don’t hunt.
Thanks for setting my mind at ease about the many building photos. I am never too sure.
I should correct myself after looking closer. Your red suit is not floral!!!!! its even better than that, and certainly more fun!! sorry for not getting right from the beginning.!!
The sequin outfit is fun, fun, fun!! Great pics with the statues! never heard of the ‘winter cherry plant’ , quite lovely, we, here in N. Cal, don’t really have a ‘winter’! Your neighbor, Ingrid, looks like a model in our Sundance Catalog, a Robert Redford Western country, commercial success. Outstanding red floral suit, Toned down by the white shirt and black shoes!! A winner! Not fond of black anything close to one face after a certain age. Anyway, it looks better with the darker jeans and great with the red belt. sorry, but I don’t get Dries. Trying too hard. Ain’t working, in my opinion. Wishing you best of health. Keep us up to date! Be well. Watson is a brave dog. Luckily, he has a long tail and one could pull him out of the hole if necessary. Mine, has too little a tail. No tunneling allowed!!
I will forward your compliment to my neighbour Ingrid.
Indeed, the red suit has grey tigers on the fabric, not flowers. Glad you like it.
Dries van Noten clothes you like or you don’t. It certainly isn’t everybody’s taste, but I can live with that (grin).
I agree about black near your face. Usually I put colourful earrings in to make up for it.
Watson is a hunting dog and he gets into all sorts of trouble. Luckily he always finds his way back.
This sequin jumper is cute. Combined with jeans it looks great, the mix is daring and original, and the red stilettos still give the proposal more eye-catching. It is always a pleasure to contemplate the photos of your urban landscape and to know a little more about your country.
I love it, I already told you on instagram, the tiger print suit is super elegant and colorful.
I never thought of this outfit as being daring, but I will take your word for it. The tiger print suit is a favourite, elegant without wearing a dress (wink).
Dag Greetje
Heel blij word ik van ‘je week’ te lezen , juist omdat zo herkenbaar is ( inclusief je onderzoek) .
Voelt als een koffie gesprek!
Heerlijk compliment want dit is exact wat ik wil bereiken. Dank je wel. Zelf volg ik altijd Midlifechic omdat ze me hetzelfde gevoel geeft.
Your friend Marianne always looks a lot smarter in her wheelchair than I do in mine. I sometimes look like a bag lady. (Not very PC to say that but you get the idea)
I had to look up “not very PC” haha. Marianne is a great stylist, her daughter inherited this and made it her profession. She is bloody good at it.
Whenever Marianne and I go out she is always dressed to the nines. But like all of us, she has her slouchy days too. Nobody looks perfect all the time.
Ohhh, I loved that sequin animal print top you gave away! You could have it sent to me lol!!! I do love the new one you just bought. The new paint in your living room looks really nice. what color was it before? I cannot remember. I love looking at all of your pictures.
I think I also pleased the woman to whom I gave the sequin animal print top haha. I really liked it myself but the shape was just not right for me.
The paint in our living room (on that wall) is the same as it was before: khaki/grey. We don’t change a lot. Perhaps a bit boring but it takes all kinds, right? If you want to see the living room again, type in the search box: colourful living room.
Hi Greetje, I’ve been reading your blog for over 2 years now and always look forward to your funny, candid comments on a Sunday evening (plus the fashion of course!). Keep it up please! Gilly
That is so sweet of you to say. It warms my heart when I get a comment like this. I am glad I can contribute in making this world a little lighter and I will continue. Nearly 8 years now.
But did Watson get back out of the hole???? I couldn’t believe it when he shoved himself all the way into it 🙂
Another lovely post — your posts are a mini-break in the Netherlands for me. When you said you were visiting a former gas plant, I did not envisage such lovely buildings — so picturesque.
I love this post Greetje, your stories are always so much fun. Love how you confess to boring and then tell about fun days xoxo
Yvonne
http://www.funkyforty.com
Haha Yvonne, I bet you typed this comment in a hurry, in the morning without your glasses on (like I often do). But I get your drift. Thanks. (Note: I edited it according to your instructions.)
Yes Watson got back out of the hole. I would have been scared to death but Ron wasn’t. He thinks it was a fox hole.
I am glad I can take you on a mini-break. After all, there isn’t much travelling possible, so I consider this as a good deed (grin).
It is amazing that they built this gas plant in such a pretty way, isn’t it? If you read the history (with the link I provided), you see that they went for functional design.(..??)
You may say it was a boring week but you always manage to make it sound interesting and fun…and fashionable!
I must be a better writer than I think haha, if I can make something boring sound interesting. I take that as a big compliment. Thanks.