Crossbody bags across an ample bosom…is tricky. Let’s just ignore it. This leopard mini bag (gift from Marianne) went well with the leopard belt and both items added interest to the outfit.
The coral jumper is the same jumper as the white one in the post with my blue skirt. Also by Bellamy Gallery which means sustainable and affordable. It is a perfect style for me. It has my preferred neckline, sleeves which I can easily roll up to the desired length and although rather fitted, loose enough not to show lumps and bumps. It came in many more colours which I didn’t buy, not even the bright yellow one.
The shop stylist told me that these jumpers would come back in winter in merino wool. Hmm… wool and I are not friends. Having said that…be prepared to see many photos related to wool in this post.
The photo above was taken with my iPhone by my friend Katrien at her house. I never intended to shoot for a blog post so I didn’t bring my camera (stupid). We decided to shoot everything with my iPhone so you are about to see some funny colours sometimes. With every new release, Apple claims that the camera of the iPhone has become even better. I beg to differ.
Below: As I said, strange colours. The earrings are glass dropped, made with anti-allergic steel and gilded with 16 carat gold. By Lara Design.
Below: Katrien with a skirt of Kemi Telford. I gave it to her as I didn’t think it suited me. She altered it slightly with a fitted waistband rather than an elastic waistband. And she put in some flat pleats. She is a clever seamstress.
Below: Katrien and I decided to visit Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden, situated in a beautiful old building, exhibiting a great variety of art. The museum is housed in a monumental 17th-century hall for wool fabrics. ‘Laken’ is the Dutch word for very high-quality wool, usually dyed black, which was an extremely difficult colour to achieve in the old days. That is the reason why you see so many people in old paintings dressed in black. It showed how wealthy they were.
Below: Well…you know me by now. I’ll never pass up an opportunity to be photographed on stairs.
Below: The museum has ‘normal’ historic pieces, like this silver.
Below: And this mirror (reflecting Katrien and me). What a beauty to have in your hall (if you have a very high ceiling, that is).
Below: Talking about ceiling…what a grand room.
Below: Looking up pays off. A magnificent roof.
Below: View from a window in the museum.
Below: Triptych painted by Lucas van Leyden around 1526 called The Last Judgement.
Below: The back of the Last Judgement, left and right.
Rather than painting the donors on the outer side, as per tradition, Lucas van Leyden portrayed Leiden’s patron saints instead: the Apostles Paul (wearing a red cloak, book in his hand and a sword at his feet) and Peter (in green, with a key in his hand).
Below: The chapel.
Now, we will move on to more modern art.
Below: Skin or hides of wool. Artwork by artist Claudia Jongstra. (You can learn more about her here.) She is a visual artist, shepherd, farmer and activist.
It may look like slaughtered cows, but it is wool felt.
Below: Close-up of a hide. See? It is wool.
Below: The back view. It does look a lot like skin, even though you know it is fabric.
Below: This artwork by Claudia Jongstra is called NINE and Cosmic Cry. It is like an earthly landscape. In doing so Claudia Jongstra places a critical note on monoculture and landscapes filled with solar panels.
Below: This is how the wool samples were registered in the old days.
Below: When artists work together: wool fabric from Claudia Jongstra was used by Victor & Rolf to design this dress.
Below: Also in the museum, fashion photos of Vivienne Westwood clothes by our famous Dutch photographer Inez van Lamsweerde.
Below: As we left the museum, I had to buy this brooch of a wool sheep. So cute.
Below: In the café where we had lunch, I took this photo of Katrien’s silver earring.
The next stop was the second-hand store Lionheart Vintage.
Below: The owner of Lionheart Vintage, Antoinette. (How can anybody have such a tiny waist?)
Below: Katrien loves the style of Antoinette’s clothes and they have become friends.
Of course we had to try things.
Below: Katrien in a blue with yellow dress.
Below: And in a golden yellow dress with striped shirt underneath it.
Below: Loved this floaty summer dress on her.
Below: The shop looks really inviting.
Below: Again, the colours of this photo are very strange, especially because we are indoors in lamp light. I am wearing my green trench coat which you have already seen. The sheep brooch is now permanently on my collar. (Link to the post about the shoes.)
Yes, I also bought something. I am keeping it hidden from you to show in a blog post.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday I stopped by Kitty’s house to congratulate her with her birthday and bring a present. Did I take a photo of the beautifully dressed Kitty? Nope. Forgot.
At the end of the afternoon we had dinner at a neighbouring allotment garden of Ron. We were with 4 couples and everybody contributed food or drinks. The food was delicious; we had a dish with very small (young) sole, finger licking good. Plus, a lovely salad and fresh fruit for dessert. As it was pouring with rain most of the time, we sat underneath a big sailcloth which assembled a lot of water in the middle. From time to time the host thumped it with a broomstick, causing a ‘flood’ left and right from the table. It didn’t matter at all; we had a lovely time.
Sunday both Ron and I visited mum. Ron did some weeds plucking and fetched groceries for mum. I sat and chatted with her.
Below: Mum and her hydrangea. She cannot water the plants in the garden any longer as she hasn’t got the energy for it. But this summer it has been rain – sunshine – rain – sunshine, alternating all the time. All gardens are blossoming.
Monday was a day of creating this blog post and finding things out for mum. Nothing interesting happened.
Tuesday darling Ron took photos for my blog in Amsterdam. Both Kitty and Loes were unavailable this week and I needed material for next Sunday. The fact that he does this, even though he dislikes it a lot, is a true act of love.
Below: This is one of the photos he took and he said the caption should be ‘WANTED‘.
Wednesday Helena came to Haarlem. You have seen her on my blog a couple of times, like in this post and in this post. We had a wonderful day with bright sunshine, coffee, lunch and a lot of talking. See below in front of Het Koffiekantoor (The Coffee Office). (Link to the blog post with this Kenzo dress. That belt has become TIGHT!)
Below: A glimpse of the recently renovated town hall.
In the evening we had our neighbours Menno and Ingrid over for dinner. Ron cooked sole and it was absolutely delicious. I had made dessert (yay, I ‘cooked’; call the papers, breaking news). My weight is disastrous and it gets harder and harder to hide my tummy. I cannot find my mental STOP button.
Thursday my photographer Kitty came over to teach me Photoshop Elements. We consumed lunch (provided by darling husband) without tasting anything. We concentrated and carried on for 4 hours. Now I have to practice.
Friday. No time to practise Photoshop as Marianne and Marijke came to Haarlem. We had coffee and lunch, we shopped and we chatted for hours. Perfect.
Below: Marijke, always extremely difficult to photograph as her face moves all the time.
Below: Marianne, looking naughty. The shrug behind her gives the impression she’s got wings.
Below: And the three of us. A warped iPhone photo as Marijke’s arms are half the size as in this photo.
Busy, busy week.
Greetje
I like Lionheart Vintage too, but sizes are really tiny. Often a disappointment for me…
I agree. Antoinette often tries the things she buys for the shop and she is really tiny. She does have larger sizes as well though. From the two visits to her shop I got two good jackets and a pair of flared white trousers and I am a size 40/L.
I haven’t succeeded yet,should try to loos a few kilo’s 😂 However across the street from Lionheart are two more secondhand shops, less fancy but worth a good look. I found a beautiful organza Dries van Nooten shirt for next to nothing there.
I am not in Leiden that often, so I don’t know the other ones. Scoring a Dries van Noten item for next to nothing is a kick.
Late to the party, have been catching up all week since our vacation. Love the red jumper and touches of leopard!
That looks like a lovely museum to explore. Having done Renaissance costuming, I’d be especially fascinated by the wool samples exhibits.
Can’t wait to see what you bought at the vintage shop!
When you are ever over in the Netherlands, we can go there. It isn’t far from Amsterdam. Never knew that you did Renaissance costuming. Well, well. In our next Facetime conversation you will have to tell me more about it.
I also struggle with finding sweaters/jumpers that look right on me (ah, the perils of being big-bosomed, eg, Greetje! Let’s not even start on cross-body bags, seat belts…). I love the touches of leopard in your outfit. Lovely skirt on your friend! I adore the big yellow belt.
That wool exhibit was so interesting! I have an artist friend who does work in hair (human) and some of those things reminded me of her work. Your little sheep brooch is wonderful.
Your mum looks beautiful, with her lovely velvet slippers – her flowers are very lush and bright! Ron’s “Wanted” photo is so fun. You and your friends look so lovely and happy!
My stomach is also intruding on a lot of my clothing. I do not like it.
The touches of leopard really add interest to the outfit, don’t they? The big belt of Katrien used to be a fancy of mine too. Bought a couple but had to give them away. After 66 years I discovered I have a short torso. I already knew I have not much of a waist, not in width and not in height, so it really made me look odd-shaped.
And the stomach… one of these things of aging we just have to deal with.
Really like the coral jumper and white trousers – very sporty and my kind of look. Great pic on the steps. The museum is fascinating and I love your sheep brooch. Laken is German for sheets (those for the bed) although they’re not usually in wool. Your photos are fantastic!
This outfit is also very comfortable. And who doesn’t want to look stylish and be comfortable at the same time? So I am very pleased with it.
Laken is also the Dutch word for (normal cotton) bed sheets but in the old days it had a different meaning.
Thank you for the compliments. iPhone photos of objects aren’t so bad, but of people…
I really like Claudia Jongstra’s pieces that you have shown in this post. The felted wool “animal hides” are very realistic looking. Antoinette’s shop is lovely – I’m sure I would find something I like there.
I have the same problem with cross-body bags with narrow straps – they either end up between your breasts or on the outside of one or the other.
Claudia Jongstra is an activist and wants to make a point through her art.
I am certain you would find something in Antoinette’s shop. It is full of little treasures. She also investigates stories behind the items she buys for the shop.
The cross-body bags will remain a problem with you and me.
I like the coral sweater with the white pants, it looks cute. The thing about the bag across the chest … no comment. I love your long earrings. Beautiful photos of the museum, thank you very much for coming there. Katrien really has a tiny waist! LOL . Some beautiful photos of your friends, they also have a lot of style.
The bag across the chest…no comment hahaha. Right you are. Don’t burn your fingers on this subject.
The museum was a delightful surprise to me. Katrien suggested it because I didn’t want to go shopping (have to stop spending money).
I have always wondered whether my friends became my friends because we share style? No, I don’t think so, as I never used to have style myself when I was younger (assuming I have now). And most of my friends I have known for decades.
Another delightful slice of your life. It makes me feel like I’m a part of a life far away in a beautiful part of the world. Thanks for this.
This blog is a bit like a reality show, isn’t it? I cannot help being such an extravert, that I share everything with the world. Always have been too.
I will continue with this hobby.
What a very busy week! The museum is remarkable both architecturally and with its baroque content. So European!!
The textile artist is very clever and talented indeed, but, please, spare me a full room of what looks like aging meat depots!! May be she is promoting a vegan diet, she strikes me as an “Activiste”. Aesthetics be damned!! Victor and Rolf coat is a beauty, though, I would be afraid that some critter might decide to reside in one of its sleeves!!
Your friend Katrien, looks splendid in the dresses she tried on, the golden dress sans chemise, though. Marianne, a real beauty in her white top, and Antoinette resembles Linda Evans, the beautiful American actress. Her oversized shoulders make her waist look small. Quite a sexy, chic look.
Life is good so far, and I’m getting fat just looking at your appetizing selections in attractive restaurants. My mother, however, told me that i should be more vane than hungry! Not a bad advise in the long run.
Wishing you another fun week ahead. Keep them coming!!
Hahahaha.. “spare me a room of aging meat depots”. You are right, she is an activist and her work reflects that.
I think the Victor and Rolf dress will be well looked after. No critters there.
Antoinette’s tiny waist is not just an optical illusion, she really has a tiny waist.
I am gaining weight like mad and I am vain too, so I have to get a grip on my food intake.
This week will probably be nice too. Wishing you the same.
What a busy week you have had! Beautiful photos in the museum. Just lovely. And the little lamb brooch is so cute. It will add whimsy to your outfits. Have a good week. I am excited to head to California. The scenery (coastline) is just gorgeous.
Who wouldn’t like to add whimsy to one’s outfit? I think that is a nice word.
Have a lovely time in California but be careful about the fires.