Jackpot! I think this combination of the green jumper with leopard print trousers is fantastic. I was really pleased with myself for coming up with this outfit. To complement the combination of the top with the champagne-coloured boots and the leopard print trousers, I chose my infamous Paris Necklace.
Below: Close-up of the necklace, it has the same colours as the trousers and the lustre of the boots.
I wore this to a get-together of ‘the BVA girls” as we call ourselves. One day, way back, we were colleagues (at the BVA) and for the last 23 years we get together a couple of times a year on a Saturday. Starting at 11.00 and finishing around 21.30. The hostess is the one that provides the home, food and drinks. Of course we take turns.
Below: We always start with coffee and cake. Like the yummy cake this time.
Below: This time we gathered at Jilske’s place, who has a new kitten.
Below: Ooh…what a darling. Very playful and cuddly.
Below: Marianne had the privilege of the kitten’s attention; she jumped on her lap.
Below: Marianne’s funky boots. She is always so stylish.
Below: No privilege here; I was sitting on the cat’s chair and she tried to push me off LOL.
Below: The next member of our group that day is Claudia; the youngest and the sporty one. Beautiful eyes.
Below: And the fifth member that day is Marijke. Can you see the mischief in her eyes?
Marianna (with an ‘a’ at the end), the sixth member of our group, unfortunately had to cancel.
I started with taking photos of everybody head to toe. They are all used to that by now and always comply.
Below: Jilske, with glasses this time.
Below: Claudia, adding bright yellow to her outfit.
Below: Marijke, always classy.
Below: And of course, Marianne.
Below: Marijke took photos of me later as we were shopping. Grey/green jumper (sweater): American Vintage; they sell my favourite jumpers. Leopard print trousers brand:Ā FRNCH, bought at kpa.haarlem. (See the post of these trousers with a very bright pink jacket.) Champagne-coloured boots: Eijk Amsterdam (seen before in this post). The bag is ‘leather-look’ and was very budget friendly at the Max Mara outlet near Haarlem.
Below: It was afternoon which means ‘shopping time’. We all went into one car, wheelchair and all. The centre of Veenendaal was our destination that day.
Below: Into several shops, searching, discussing, contemplating, trying-on. I am not sure whether every shop enjoyed our invasion. Did you spot that Marianne has the same bag as I have?
Below: We got to a shop where we found a comatose headless mannequin reclining on a table…
Below: Marijke attempted to revive the mannequin hahaha. Alas.
Below: Claudia tried on this soft off-white jumper. No idea why she decided against it.
Below: On to another shop, where we were successful. Jilske bought this blouse and the snuggly cardigan.
Below: Claudia pulled a funny face every time she tried something on, so I cannot publish her attempts.
Below: Marianne had her eyes on this skirt, but it is quite a hassle for her to get out of her wheelchair and take her coat and clothes off. We have a trick for that; one of us tries it on and shows Marianne what it looks like. Claudia didn’t remove her sneakers or trousers LOL and Marianne bought the skirt.
Below: Marijke uses more or less the same method for a quick try-on. The skirt she has on underneath her dress came home with her. I really liked it too and tried it on. Whahaha…it looked hideous on me.
Below: This dress was lovely on Jilske but it wasn’t the right size. She was going to trawl the internet for the right size.
Below: Marijke in a lovely leopard print jumper (over her dress).
Below: We all thought this leopard print was a warmer hue and she bought this one. I was so occupied taking photos that I missed trying this jumper on as well. It is really nice. Oh well, it probably would have been just as bad on me as the skirt.
Marijke and I went outside for some daylight and she took a couple of photos of me. The ones without the coat you have already seen.
Below: This is the kimono-type jacket I was wearing. Note that the gloves match the trousers. The gloves were a gift I think.
Below: There is a label on the back of the coat. I never knew whether it was the designer’s intention to have a great, big label on the back, as a joke about small labels on the outside of sleeves. Or whether I was meant to take it off. I like it, so I leave it on.
Below: A bit of a funny photo of me, but I am showing it to you to have a closer look at the bag. Also to point out that the trousers didn’t really sit right. They were too tight in my waist and too high up. After I saw these photos I took the trousers to the seamstress who inserted 4 cm in the waist and let out two darts at the back. Beautiful solution.
We had drinks and French cheese when we got back to Jilske’s place and an evening meal after that.
Such a lovely day, such lovely friends.
What happened in my life this week
It was a reasonably quiet week. Heard some disturbing news from my optometrist, who said I should consult an eye doctor about macula, glaucoma and cataract. The latter is nothing really, we all have to deal with that as we get older, but the first two are no fun. It is much too soon to scream blue murder though and I have booked an appointment with an eye doctor next Tuesday. Booking an appointment with a medical specialist turned out to be difficult. Most of them are fully booked and the hospitals are understaffed. Logical with Covid-19 wearing them all out. Anyway, the first step is taken.
I visited friends one evening whom I hadn’t seen for the last 1Ā½ years. As we have been friends for about 35 years that is no problem. We just pick up where we left off. It was a very enjoyable evening.
The usual stuff happened, like creating a video with Marcella of Lara Design and researching things for both Marcella and Karlijn (of kpa.haarlem). Those things give me a sense of fulfilment, helping nice people and achieving something. I cannot live on coffee dates with friends alone.
Below: Marcella at work.
As you will see in the photo below, the hairdresser did her work again, so it is a lot shorter. This was one of my outfits this week. See original post here. For choosing an outfit in the morning it is really handy to have an Outfit Gallery on my blog (button at the top navigation). I just scroll through all my outfits and when I click through I can see all the details as shoes, belts, earrings etc. as well.
Below: I just switched the earrings with stingray earrings by Lara Design. The stingray is left-over material which otherwise would have been wasted. You can browse on her site to see many more of such earrings (filter on ‘materiaal’ and choose ‘roggenleer’). If you prefer another combination, for instance another colour with a certain top, just send an email and Marcella will create them for you. (This was a little advertising for a friend. I hope you won’t mind.)
I want to show you the work my seamstress has done on the leopard print trousers.
Below: She took a bit of fabric from the inside waist and replaced it with plain black fabric. I love how she stitched the brand label back on.
Below: Then she took the waistband off at the back, let out two darts to create more width and elongated the waistband with the obtained piece of fabric. Resourceful woman!
My Friday dinner date with a friend fell through because she had a cold and the Covid rules are strict. We will meet some other time.
It made me realise I had only seen friends one evening this week. (And my mum on Sunday.) I remedied that immediately for next week. Four dates with friends are in my agenda.
Greetje
Yes Greertje, the leopard pants outfit is just gorgeous! Love it! Fab jumper.
Your friends also look effortlessly stylish!
Thanks Linda. My friends are stylish and also do make an effort when they know we are getting together. And of course also because I will be featuring them on the blog haha.
You already know from my comment on your IG post that I love this outfit. I’m glad your seamstress was able to give you a bit more room in the waistband of your trousers. I need to find a good seamstress in my neighbourhood.
Your friends always look so beautifully put-together and it would be fun to go shopping with you, although I think you would be a bad influence on me š Jilske’s new kitten is adorable!
My mother has glaucoma and uses eye drops daily. I am closely monitored by my optometrist because the pressure in my eyes fluctuates, so I’m at risk for it too. The joys of our aging body parts!
With our figure (after all, we have the same figure), adjusting trousers is often a necessity. My friends are stylish but also make the extra effort because they know I like it and because they will be featured on the blog haha.
My mother has wet macular degeneration in one eye and over the years lost almost all sight in that eye, despite the injections. After a certain point the injections don’t help anymore.
Indeed the joys of aging body parts. We will have to deal with it.
You have fabulous friends. You all look so chic! And Jilske’s kitten is precious.
All my friends make an effort when we meet. A) because they are indeed stylish and B) because they know they will be featured on my blog haha.
Jackpot indeed Greetje. You look fabulous in this outfit and it really captures your spirit.
What a lovely compliment Kath. Thanks very much.
Well done on your seamstress for working that magic on those FAB trousers, Greetje! They are too amazing not to have fitting perfectly.
Your group is like my Winesday Women, only we don’t go shopping (we just eat and drink all night). I love it – it’s so wonderful having a group of friends like that. I loved going shopping with you!
Have a good week!
You, as an accomplished seamstress, can do these alterations yourself. I can’t, so I am very grateful for my seamstress.
And you are right about the similarity of your Winesday Women. I have often thought the same.
I wonder whether we will ever go shopping again as we are literally worlds apart.
Hi, Greetje! Sorry my comment is so late this week. You look absolutely stunning in the leopard pants outfit — so chic! You’ve had comments already about your eyes — I just wanted to echo the reassurance about glaucoma and macular degeneration — there are so many excellent treatment options available.
Please thank your friends for agreeing to appear on your blog. I so enjoy seeing them (and your mother).
You never have to apologize for your ‘commenting behaviour’ Cynthia. I love it when you do comment, but life sometimes get in the way. I get that as I forever feel quilty not being able to visit the sites of all my blogging friends.
My appointment with the eye doctor was cancelled this morning. She is ill. Well, that happens to doctors too. Rescheduled for next week. We’ll see.
I am always very grateful that my friends agree to appear on my blog. It isn’t a must of course.
HOW FAR AWAY ARE YOU FROM THE BELGIUM BORDER?
I HAVE A FRIEND SALLY I MIGHT SEND TO FIND YOU!
XXX
A two and a half hours’ drive. About 250 kilometres.
Such a great outfit!! It all works so well together and I love that you’re getting the Paris Necklace out to play. š
Your friends are all so stylish!
It was about time that necklace got a bit of use again haha. I will email my friends your compliment. I think only one of them (Marianne) actually reads my blog haha.
OMG Greetje, you and your gal pals are all so beautiful and stylish!! And I love that outfit with the white jumper, jeans and white boots. Perfection! Your posts are always so uplifting to me. Always look forward to Sundays for that reason. Great idea for the leopard pants. My waist, which used to be 23 inches is now 30….though my hips are the same 35″ Hard to find pants that fit in both the waist and hips. What happens when you are 80. Lol. Do you have an instagram account? I do. It is @ashleylynda1 in case you are interested. Have a most lovely upcoming week.
Your comment made me very happy. At least I am not blogging without a purpose. If I can make people happy, I am happy. I looked at your IG account…your ceramics are beautiful. And I saw your face too. Incredible that you are 80. You look so much younger and I am not saying this to flatter you.
My IG account is @no_fear_of_fashion but I only use that as a sort of an advertising medium. My blog is my happy place, IG is not.
Wow! Stunning outfit. The deep green, the cognac color of the pants and the gloves, and the champagne boots are .
Love the photos of the BVA girls. You make an elegant ensemble.
I do hope “the girls” are reading all the comments. I bet they don’t though, so I will email them and forward the compliments. Glad you like the outfit so much. It will be in my top 10 (it is getting crowded there LOL).
This outfit is everything! I love the whole thing: leopard, metallic, textures and jewels. The coat and gloves are fab too. Maybe one of my favourite of your looks.
Wow thank you Sue. I notice that this outfit really gets a lot of compliments. Many more than I expected. But I am quite smitten with it myself LOL.
A wonderful post with pictures of your good friends. They are all so stylish. I can see why you all love to get together. When you all show up together in a shop you bring a bundle of energy. Hopefully the sales people take it in stride and are rewarded with sales.
Thank you very much for the compliments. We are always in the mood to buy something, but it doesn’t always happen. This time we (as a group) bought two skirts, a sweater, a shirt and a cardigan in one shop. Not bad for their sales. And they didn’t even have to help us as we help each other.
Aloha from Maui, Hawaii!
!
Great outfit!! Quite chic without trying!! Ha,ha
Your friends are āau courantā, a cheerful group. Fun, fun!!
Hope you are having a very nice time in Hawaii. So nice of you to still comment on my blog post. And with so many compliments LOL.
Gorgeous combination indeed. The pants look like they have a bit of a crop flare fit. Suits you brilliant. I especially like the look with the coat. Beautifully styled with the gloves and silver booties. Stay safe and I hope the new lockdown rules won’t spoil your dates with girl friends.
I will be more careful than I was with the rising contaminations, but one to one dates should still be possible.
Thank you for all your nice compliments. Oh and the booties are champagne-coloured, not silver. Although I can see why you’d think that.
This is one of your best outfits ever! You always look good in greens, particularly the darker, olive color. Metallics are also so good on you. My favorite is the kimono jacket. A very sophisticated outfit.
So many compliments!! Thank you very much. I was pretty chuffed myself for coming up with this outfit, but never expected the appreciation I am getting.
Great minds! I just bought a Gap sweater that is almost the same green as yours. Green is not one of my usual colors, especially now that my hair is silver. But this one is a cool green, and I really like the way it looks.
I’m glad you’re taking care of your eyes. My mother and husband have both had very successful cataract surgery. My mother has controlled glaucoma. The drops she takes for it make her eyelashes very long! A friend has macular degen, but they caught it early, and he is doing well.
Take care and have a good week.
If there is anything the matter with my eyes, it will be in an early stage, so I don’t worry too much.
I think green suits most people but I might be biased haha. Those glucoma drops are also used in a serum you can apply to your eyelashes (where they spring from your eyelid). I am using it and indeed it makes your eyelashes very long.
H! i so enjoyed seeing your good friends. i love the pants and top together…a very sophisticated combo. On to more serious stuff, i have wet macular degeneration. First, I had the dry version and after a couple years I had to get injections in both eyes for the wet kind in order to keep my sight. If you are ever faced with that please never worry about the injections as they don’t hurt. You may never have to get to that point but I wanted you to know that it’s very doable. We are so lucky, and I’m so grateful. to live in these times as medical advancements are at our disposal. Big love to you always!
Thank you very much for your reassurance. That is so sweet of you. My mum has wet macular degeneration, so I already knew from her that the injections, although it sounds awful, aren’t bad. It helped for a bit, but now she only has 1% eye sight left in one eye. But hey.. she is 93.