Apparently this is a houndstooth blazer, not a houndstooth jacket or worse, a checked jacket as I would have called it. I went back to the site of ME+EM, where I bought it, to see what they said about their garment: a houndstooth blazer it is. They showed it with green 7/8 trousers and black sneakers. The whole outfit was lovely, so I ordered the trousers as well. What a disappointment that was when I tried it at home. The trousers with sneakers looked ridiculous on me. For some reason 7/8 trousers and sneakers make me look very scruffy.
So I used the trousers from ME+EM which I had already bought one and a half year ago (see the post pretty in pink). I quite liked the outfit, even though Ron said it was rather a “corporate look” and I don’t lead a “corporate life” anymore. Hmmm…I see what he means. I will try and find THE perfect match for this blazer to fit my current lifestyle.
Kitty and I took the photos in the courtyard of the Haarlem town hall. That means pretty pictures.
Below: Coming in from the market square, looking into the courtyard.
Below: And the view from the back towards the market square side.
Below: Beautiful sun dial and a wind-swept look.
Below: We had cycled to the town hall and to protect my wide trouser legs, I had pegged them. Kitty never noticed that haha, as you can see below.
I also wore my crossbody bag as a shoulder bag, with the strap just a bit too long. It lifted my blazer.
Below: Kitty took the photo again after I removed the pegs. I chose to wear my cream boots to elongate the trousers. I either have to wear a pump with them, showing some flesh in ankle and foot or I have to wear cream boots. This is something I discovered, after I wore these trousers with brown boots, not a good combination.
Below: You may think “What’s with the hat?” Or: “Did she deliberately wear a blue bag because she has a blue hat?” To answer the last question, no I chose the bag because I wanted a different colour bag with the outfit and blue is what I fancied with green and cream.
The hat is a new purchase and although lovely, it was wrong to buy it. I should know by now that hats don’t really suit me, whatever I try on. Every time I am in a good hat shop (and I was in one: The English Hatter), I am so tempted to give it another go. The English Hatter opened a shop in Haarlem and Ron bought his pork pie hat, while I browsed….
Below: The courtyard has many beautiful old items, like this water basin.
Below: And a water pump. During this photo shoot, I held on to anything that was there. Taught me a lesson: DON’T DO THAT. It looks silly (as Ron has told me many times).
Below: The back. Hopefully you don’t notice that standing up straight and walking upright is still something I have not mastered.
Below: We moved into the street for one last photo. With hat. Never will I buy a hat ever again.
I am going to study on combinations with this jacket. I want to tone it down from corporate to casual chic. But I get so tired of that exercise. Isn’t that strange? I love clothes and dressing up, but finding new combinations to style with items I already have…not my thing.
Below: As we left the courtyard, a bride and groom with their two children came out of the town hall. We didn’t think it would be very nice to stand in front of the photographer and snap our own pictures haha. Which is why you see the back of them. It has become quite the custom to marry after children are born.
Below: It was chilly and a reception indoors was forbidden because of Covid, so the bride had to wear a coat and they got elbow congratulations. Trying times.
Kitty and I had take-away cappuccinos at Vascobelo and were lucky enough to be able to sit on a little bench (at the appropriate distance from each other). We got chatty with a mother and daughter who also had take-away coffee. They were in desperate need of a toilet but the restaurants aren’t allowed to let you use the toilets. I nudged them towards a shop where I knew a friendly saleswoman would understand and help them. Aweek later, the city authorised a truck containing toilets to be situated at the market for public use. WITH somebody to clean it. YAY. Shops are open and allow two customers at the time, but shopping is out of the question if you cannot use the bathroom, right?
Below: Kitty didn’t take her coat off in town. Instead we took these two photos of her and her new dress in her garden where there was no wind. Doesn’t she look lovely?
What happened in my life this week
Not much, apart from forgetting my appointment at the garage for my car’s annual service. Duh.
Visit to the cobbler combined with a visit to my friend Marianne (forgot to take a photo). Been working off and on checking the earrings on laradesign.nl as Marcella (the owner) is updating her website and I am helping her by checking. We have a lot of fun together.
She also fixed 4 sets of earrings for me. They were all made with silver and I am very much a person for gold. All four of them (as many other earrings of mine) have a link at the top through which I stick my stud earrings. That way I am always sure that the button (stud) on my earlobe covers the hole. Before my earlobe operation, this was a necessary thing. You will see a close-up of this further down.
Below: These ochre earrings are a pair of the altered earrings, made from corrugated cardboard.
Below: I wore this outfit with the earrings. Black jacket by Reiss, blue jeans, black pumps and a very old leopard top. When you click this link to the original outfit, you will see the outfit with a black top and different jeans.
Below: Another outfit with high heels I wore this week. Link to original post with much better photos. Oops, forgot to wear that necklace I wore before.
Below: These are the earrings I wore with them. They are a present from Nicolene (@stylecuratrix). See the post when I met her in Amsterdam. Her blog is called Fifty Fabulous.
Below: This is the trick with the stud earrings through the last link. As you can see, the new piercing is beautifully set in the middle of the earlobe, Still, the earlobes are a bit saggy and have a few creases. I could use fillers, but what the heck, the creases are everywhere and who will notice, right?
Other “events” this week
Walked along the seashore with dog Watson and husband Ron twice this week. The second time we arranged to meet neighbours and friends (Froukje and Petro) at the beach and have a coffee (and later French fries) together. Lovely French fries, so we only opened a can of soup for our evening meal. (For the Dutch: erwtensoep.)
Did a photo shoot with Kitty and as the weather was mild, we sat outside on a bench in town with take-away coffee (and cakes). We chatted for at least an hour or more. So nice. We had our cappuccinos at Vascobelo and I saw that they sold cups and saucers. And I don’t have one decent coffee cup at home, let alone cappuccino cups. So I bought two. I loved the wrapping very much.
My brother had his birthday this week, but…Covid, so no party. He will age anyway haha.
All in all, not too bad a week.
Greetje
You look great, Greetje. The white pants are eye-catching.
Oh great, somebody who likes the outfit. Thanks. I started to wonder as most of the positive comments were about the jeans with black jacket outfit. Perhaps the blazer/cream pants outfit is too polished for a lot of my readers.
I love the outfit also. Never had a green houndstooth blazer before so I think I will be buying one myself. Thanks for the inspiration and I will try to see which pants will work best with it from my closet. I love green and I have various shades of green tops. I also have a green fedora hat…..hmmm. Lol!
Aii.. I am tempting you to buy a houndstooth blazer. Hope you can find the right one and things to wear it with. I have styled it with boyfriend jeans and with a slim pair of green trousers and both look good. Better even than with the (lovely) cream trousers, less formal. And I use a cream top.
Love the hat! I think you are just not used to them. If you wear a hat more often, you will not feel so out of place in them.
I think you are right. I have tried to wear it more straight as some of my readers suggested and I think I nailed it now. You can see it in next week’s post.
I love this blazer, and I love the elegance and softness of the outfit, some very delicate and beautiful colors. The accessories are also beautiful, even the hat, something that I do not usually see in your post, but when you wear it it fits you very well. Always beautiful photos, elegant friends and lately some close-ups that move me by their naturalness and beauty.
Really, Josep-Maria, you know what a woman wants to hear. I always look forward to your comments as they fill me with glee, with happiness. I mean, that remark about my close-ups… ahhh, you flatterer haha.
There is nothing wrong with how you look in a hat. However, like the other comment you need to wear this type of hat lower on the forehead and straight/level front to back and side to side
Thank you Lauren, I will give the hat another try and wear it straight. Never thought so many readers would like this hat.
I think you look great in that hat.
Well thank you Pat. Most readers seems to think the hat suits me, so perhaps it is because I am not accustomed to wearing hats. I will give it another try.
Loved the outfit with the black jacket, blue jeans, and leopard top! You have great legs!! It was my favorite outfit of the whole blog. And,I think you look really cute in the hat❤️
You are not the only one who likes the black jacket, blue jeans and leopard top outfit. Darn.. I am going to keep such new combinations as head feature of a new post.
Here I am, thinking that green and cream blazer is going to blow everybody away… nope, it is the old jacket with the old jeans.
And most readers like the hat on me, so I will give it another try.
Yup, I agree with the jeans recommendation with that jacket, Greetje. Those skinny ones in your first ‘home’ outfit would look good. You could also try the blazer with a skinny belt and a full 3/4 skirt and some chunky boots – I think that would be a good look to try too.
I like the hat! You look fabulous in that last shot. You just need to play with it and get your jaunty angles right. 🙂
Kitty’s dress is fantastic – it’s autumn camouflage!
Have a good week, Greetje!
I will try all my different shapes of jeans with the jacket. It was just too easy to start with jeans again. Those skinny ones in my first ‘home’ outfit, I bought at that department store in Vancouver.
The blazer is quite thick, I don’t know whether a belt can work, but I will certainly try it. Any chunky boots I have are ankle boots… and with a skirt, hmmm… you know my conservative style.
The hat will get another go, see whether I can make it work with jeans.
Hope you have a nice week as well. Mine is already filled with nice things again.
You look “soigné” in your checkered blazer and the fab pants! Of course, you can switch to jeans but your Ron is quite right, go for the green ones for a change!!
despite your objections, you look great with that hat style or most likely any style hat. lovely earrings, lovely tops, shoes, etc.. you l;ook quite “chic” in just about anything. your height can carry anything and Oh! those legs.
Love Kitty’s dress.
As usual, i love your blog and happenings, even with Covid hanging in every corner!
Be safe!! a vaccine is coming soon!!
It isn’t bad to be looking ‘soigné’ for a change, right? I am very surprised and pleased that you (and so many other readers) like the hat on me.
My legs are indeed my assets and I have the sense to emphasize them haha.
Greetje,
The hat is great! You look very stylish with the hat. The problem with wearing a hat (for those of us who don’t usually wear one) is that we are not accustomed to seeing ourselves with something on our heads. May I suggest that you continue to wear it. A hat adds a bit of panache to an outfit. Plop it on then go about your business and try for forget that you “have something on your head”. As you become less self-conscious, you might actually enjoy wearing a hat. . .but, beware, a hat does set one apart from the crowd. We stopped wearing hats in the ’60’s when those enormous beehive styles, etc. precluded putting anything on top of them. Now that hairstyles are more “hat friendly”, maybe hats will, once more, become fashionable.
You are so right Candace. We are certainly not accustomed to seeing people with hats anymore. I am surprised so many readers think the hat is fine on me, so I will try a bit harder to getting used to it.
Greetje, the hat STYLE is fine for your face, but the SIZE is too small for your head. Here’s how to choose a fedora style hat that fits you, (for either women or men):
1 Put the hat straight on your head. Don’t tilt the brim to either side, or tilt the hat to the back of your head.
2 Face the mirror straight on. No turning or sideways views.
3 Ignore the brim and focus your view just on the crown and top part of the hat.
4 Observe if the crown and top part look like a natural extension of your head. This is the secret to finding a great fitting fedora, and other fedora-like styles. If the hat is too small, it will make the upper part of your head look compressed, or ‘pointed’. If it is too big, it will make the part of your face that is visible below the hat look undersized.
5 It is impossible to check the correct fit this way by doing a side view. But if the size looks right from the front, it will also look correct from any other direction.
6 There IS a hat for everyone, so don’t give up finding a style AND size that suits /fits you perfectly. Hope this helps!
And many thanks for excellent blog.
These are very good tips. I wished I had known this before. The size of the hat is right in the sense that it doesn’t get blown off my head and it also doesn’t feel too right. I am always afraid that the top part, the crown isn’t big enough, which would mean I don’t have a “fold” in the middle. I am going to evaluate the hat this afternoon, bearing in mind your tips. Many thanks.
Thanks for the earring tip. I have some earrings that are really too long for me, and using a stud instead of the hook might make them work! I like the hat on you, but you look uncomfortable wearing it. More practice, perhaps?
My trick box is pretty full. Glad if I can help. I hope it works with your earrings.
As most of my readers quite like the hat on me, I will give it another chance. This afternoon to be exact.
I can’t wear hats either ( a have a big head). Can I say, without offending you, this is not your best outfit? Ron was right,
corporate. Nevertheless, your post is, as always, a pleasure to read.
I thought I would do something else than jeans. Plus, I don’t mind corporate. It is just that it doesn’t suit my lifestyle anymore.
And you may always say anything to me, I am not easily offended haha. When I write a blog I expect people to give me honest opinions, not to clap for me.
Hello You
LOVE the outfit with the Reiss jacket, jeans and leopard top.
Now, The Hat! Love that also, but it does need to be a touch more over the face – a bit mysterious, if you will, either straight, or slightly tilted. I think you’d be surprised – and happier – with how much better it would look. Try it with the Reiss endemble: you’d look stunning.
Trust me, kiddo!
Have a good week.
Gee
Isn’t it funny… you like the iPhone outfit with the Reiss jacket more than the green/cream blazer. I often hesitate when I create another outfit with partly the same pieces: “Shall I post it as an outfit I wore this week? Or shall I save it as main feature for a post?” Your reaction gives me the push to saving them. I am going to try the hat again today as I am wearing my jeans and the cream jumper with buttons on the sleeves. That is casual. And I will wear it straight today more over my face.
Love the houndstooth blazer, but I agree with Susan B. that you should try styling it with jeans. I wear jeans with everything, and I like pairing something more upscale like the blazer with something more casual like jeans.
Love the hot pink clothespins!
Kitty looks so great in her leaf print dress.
And I also think the hat looks great on you!
Hahaha, yes of course I will style the blazer with jeans. But that option was so obvious and I am showing jeans so much, that I tried something else. It also looks good on a pair of 7/8 green trousers I own.
The clothes pegs are a scream aren’t they.
Thanks for the compliments on the hat. Perhaps I shouldn’t write it off so quickly.
The hat looks good, a bit sassy, just wear it with different clothes. It’s closer to your desired casual chic, I think than the pants and boots which can’t really avoid looking smart.
👍🏻
That is good news, as I really bought it to look sassy haha, and indeed to wear it with jeans. No idea why I grabbed the hat before I went out of the door. Because it was new?
I will give it another go with jeans. Thanks for the encouragement.
You have some fun, funky jewelry that would be nice with a crew neck with that blazer.
I will look through my jewellery Sharon, but in my experience a necklace (I think you mean that) will fight with the lapels of the blazer. But you are right, I have one in particular that might be just right.
Very nice jacket! I’d try styling it with jeans for a more casual look (but then, I style everything with jeans ha ha!). I like those pants with the cream boots. It’s a fun but sharp look.
I remember hat shopping with you in Paris. I think the blue one is cute, but if you’re not comfortable wearing it…
And those yellow earrings are so good! And I love Kitty’s leaf print dress.
I also style everything with jeans haha. I tried something else this time. Ron liked it better on green 7/8 trousers, so that is also an option.
I got the suggestion to wear the hat with a casual outfit. And as you know I have LOADS of casual outfits. The yellow earrings are an Etsy purchase, probably still being sold. I also have red and green ones in different shapes.
I like you in the hat.
You do????!!? I am amazed. I don’t like it at all, but I am pleased somebody likes it haha.