Sequinned jumperThe 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.

Sequinned jumper

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.

Sequinned jumper

Below: Hugging the bronze man, statue number 3. It makes my head and neck look a little weird but I liked the shot.

Sequinned jumper

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.

Westergasfabriek

Below: Part of the buildings, seen from the street.

Westergasfabriek

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.

Westergasfabriek

Below: It made a fun background.

Sequinned jumper

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.

Sequinned jumper

Below: No idea whether this gentleman took a book out or put it in.

Westergasfabriek

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.

IZ Amsterdam Flavours at Westergasfabriek

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.

Bernadette, cook at IZ Amsterdam Flavours

Below: We got very chatty with these two lovely ladies, friends and both schoolteachers. They had scones with jam and cream with their cappuccinos.

IZ Amsterdam Flavours

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.

IZ Amsterdam Flavours

Below: We were looking at a beautiful winter cherry plant.

Winter cherry lampionplant

Below: Trees in autumn are gorgeous.

Westergasfabriek

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.

Sequinned jumper

Below: We strolled around the premises. The buildings are grand, housing all sorts of businesses (mainly creative) and restaurants.

Westergasfabriek

Below: Here is a cat again, “crossing” our way.

Westergasfabriek

Below: Two more photos of the buildings. (Are you already bored with them?)

Westergasfabriek

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.

Westergasfabriek

Below: Ron spotted this woman, who is a little early with her Christmas reindeer hat.

Christmas is here already

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?

Blue camera bag

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.

neighbours

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.

Dries van Noten sweater with black ribbons

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.

Black linen shirt on two different jeans

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.

Painter at work

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.

Painting of the wall finished

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”.

floral sweater

Below: Me at 14.30 hours. Theme: “Let’s go out for dinner”. The power of blow drying and make-up.

red, blue and white shirt

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.

Red trouser suit with tigers

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:

Marianne and me

Below: To end this post with some amusement, here is our curious dog Watson in a 23 second video.

Greetje

No Fear of Fashion

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