Not only these white combat boots are new, so are the earrings. The bag is pretty recent, the blazer and the trousers are ancient. Oh, I forgot, the merino wool top is also new and by my favourite sustainable brand Bellamy Gallery.
My friend Marjolein and I had a lovely day in Haarlem and she kindly offered to be my blog photographer for the day. We started with coffee (of course) at Vascobelo and took photos in their courtyard.
Below: Marjolein wearing cream boots which are stylish, so cool and low heeled. Win-win.
Below: Also in the courtyard, me in this outfit. So comfy. The blazer is by Reiss and the trousers by Sportmax. The trousers came with an orange jumper and were a gift from Ron.
Link to original post way back in 2012 when I was still a brunette. In those days I used Blogger as a system to create posts and the Blogger photo transfer to the new system has glitches.
Below: The combat boots are by CPNHGN (Copenhagen) and I bought them at LAB Women’s Clothing, another favourite shop of mine. I turned up a trouser leg to show more of the boot. They have a loop at the front and the back to make it easier to put on. Gosh are these boots comfortable! And warm. I adore them.
Below: Marjolein wore a fab leopard midi skirt combined beautifully with that jumper.
Below: Somewhere around September/October I had the chance to score this second-hand coat by Salvatore Ferragamo. It is soft as a kitten, long and very warm. I was so pleased with it. The price was a steal for this quality. Bought it at Paragons, a designer second-hand shop in Haarlem.
This is the coat worn open.
Below: And this is the coat buttoned up. The coat comes with a belt which creates a very flattering silhouette, which I didn’t expect. I thought it would be quite bulky.
Below: I loved Marjolein’s coat as well. You can never go wrong with leopard.
Below: Let’s throw in a statue which we passed by. The tree behind it is perhaps more spectacular.
Below: On our tour through Haarlem I had the opportunity for a sit-down pose. Isn’t the cat behind me sweet?
Below: We have come to the earrings. They are made with polymer clay and the brand is Baublehaus, a small business in the USA.
These earrings are also from her Art Deco collection as are the black ones you saw in this post.
Below: I love Art Deco but Anne of Baublehaus has many cool designs, like these Atomic Statement earrings.
Now for some ‘colour locale‘, here are a few photos of buildings we passed.
Below: Starting with this mural.
Below: A magnificent building right in the main shopping street. I had never looked up before.
Below: Detail of the house in the photo above. There is one of these birds (?) on both sides on the roof.
Below: Buildings on the market square with a restaurant on the ground floor. Even in this cold weather there is a terrace in front of it. I suspect they use heaters to keep the clients warm as this isn’t Italy.
Below: The big Saint Bavo church on the market square.
What happened in my life this week
Of course I visited mum. Ron joined me and the three of us played cards. Mum usually wins every time. The game we played is a bit like Gin Rummy but slightly different. If you want to start laying cards on the table (=to open), the cards must be in a specific order (melds) with a minimum of 40 points.
At a certain moment, having won two games, mum said to Ron: “Why can’t you open? You are holding a joker! Surely you have enough points?”
Ron (very indignant) replied: “How do you know that? Have you been eying my cards?”
Mum: “I can see it on your left. It is staring at me.”
That lead to quite some laughter and Ron thought he could remedy that by putting up large books in front of him, sheltering behind it. He cannot hold cards like mum does in the photo below.
Then he said: “If I win now, it is proof you only won because you cheated.” As you can imagine we had a very jolly afternoon with lots of laughter.
Below: At a certain point Ron left the game to walk the dog and I continued with mum. Before he left, I shouted to Ron “She is winning again!” To which he replied: “Put a few books in front of you” LOL.
Below: I wore my lavender Max Mara dress that day with the mint green Baublehaus earrings. Link to original post showing the boots and tights better.
Below: Another day I went ‘chic’ in my yellow, black and cream Sportmax dress, which you have seen a couple of times. This time with black boots. The earrings are my first pair of Lara Design earrings. They match the dress so well.
A couple of neighbours hung up a ball of lights on their flagpole. Ron and two other neighbours got together and decided to join. It was rather a search to get the balls as they were so popular and sold out quickly. Our next-door neighbour and we didn’t have a flagpole, so that had to be bought and screwed on to the house as well. Below: look at the proud guys after they succeeded.
Below: This is what it looks like early evening. We now have 7 of these at our end of the street.
Marcella and I were busy with the wholesale platform which she joined and we celebrated the first order that came in with a puff cake and whipped cream. She also gave me earrings as a thank-you for my work. So nice!!
And I went to the eye doctor again. No glaucoma. Just cataract. YAY. CELEBRATION. After this doctor visit I went to the shop of Hella Pais, an interior designer, who helped us with our interior decoration. She is very good and I love the things in her shop, especially the Designers Guild stuff she sells. See the 2 photos below.
Below: When I came home, Ron had decorated the windowsills and put little Christmas trees in the plant pots outside. So sweet of him.
Greetje
I ADORE that outfit with your combat boots, Greetje! It’s the kind of thing I love to wear. So comfortable, yet so stylish!
Hugs
Suzy xx
Great praise my dear. I do agree with you on the stylish and comfortable. Doesn’t always work out that way so I am pleased it does now.
I haven’t been a fan of the combat boots this season but you wear them well. You are just sassy enough to look good wearing them. And I am always amazed at how lovely your Mother looks. Fountain of youth? The lights in your neighborhood are festive. I like them.
p.s. Still a fan of your Sportmax dress. Stylish.
Those combat boots grew on me. In the beginning I thought they were hideous. Then I thought they were just for young women. And suddenly I succumbed. Apparently my eyes and brain had gotten used to them.
I am also still a fan of that Sportmax dress, but also of the Max Mara dress. They will never go out of style (I hope).
I smiled ear to ear over your card game shenanigans with your mom, Greetje. 🙂 She looks like she counts cards!
Wonderful outfits on both you and Marjolein (she’s a great pattern-mixer). That Ferragamo coat is incredible on you! Wow.
So glad that you don’t have cataracts! Woo!
Thanks for this comment Sheila. One thing you got wrong though. I do have cataracts and I am planning an operation. No big deal, it is a simple operation.
I love the fact that you show us items that have been in your closet for a long time as well as new ones and also that you shop second-hand. Of course, I also enjoy the photos of European architecture. The globe lights on your street are gorgeous! I had to show hubby that picture!
The fact that so many clothes I have are still good and loved by me, is a difficult fact as my wardrobe is full. More than full, but it is hard to say goodbye to anything when you can still create good outfits with them.
They globe lights were not expensive and the effect is lovely.
I love the way you have styled the trousers with the boots, and blazer. I bought a similar pair of boots from Boden the other week but I haven’t worn them yet. I love how the cat in the window behind you colour coordinates with your outfit.
Your street looks lovely and festive. I am not a big fan of Christmas but I do love seeing festive lights as they lighten up the dark winter days.
I had the boots in my closet for at least a month and didn’t really know how to style them. So I went back to the shop (LAB Women’s Clothing) and asked for advice. They gave me lots of tips. The trouser choice was mine as I didn’t want just black trousers. I will try just black trousers too, just to see the effect.
Please start wearing the boots. They are so comfortable and make any outfit instantly modern.
Great white combat boots! I have a similar pair from United Nude!! Most comfortable. Marjolein is turning into a “coquette”. Cool! I used to have a few pairs of western boots which I bought locally from a western shop which now, after 100 years in business is closing down. I got rid of most of them, but kept a white pair, similar to the ones your friend is wearing.
Love the earrings and your Max Mara dress. simplicity at its best.
Great Holiday decor in your neighborhood.
I will forward the compliments to Marjolein.
I find white boots go with nearly every outfit. The earrings are great to liven up a black and white outfit.
The Max Mara dress is so good and the design seems so simple. As you say, simplicity at its best. Even though I bought it in an outlet in Turin where they take the brand labels out, I know it is Max Mara Studio because of the finishing.
Sometimes you get lucky.
Ik vind al je outfits super gaaf. En zag ook de match van de poes met jouw kleding.
Prachtige Kerstverlichting in jullie straat.
Thanks voor de leuke blog.
Tot snel xx
Ach wat leuk om dit allemaal te horen. Ach ja, een mens moet een hobby hebben he? LOL
As always, a lovely post. Our family plays a similar game called Liverpool Rummy (no idea where the name comes from). Your games sound much like ours with much hilarity and fun.
Marjolein’s outfit is so stylish. I love her boots and yours too. That lavender dress is stunning.
Thanks for all the local colour!
Once again I succeeded to let you enjoy a post. Makes me happy. The lavender dress is nicest with those high heeled boots, which are of course murder to walk on.
I will forward your compliment to Marjolein.
I love how the cat colors are color coated with your outfit! lol. I so miss wearing jumpers and coats! I live in Florida which is very warm! I bought a sweatshirt yesterday, but probably won’t be able to wear it unless we go on a trip to a cold country! lol
I hadn’t noticed that the cat and I were wearing the same colours haha. I get what you mean by missing wearing jumpers and coats. When the weather is horrible and cold you’d wish you were in Florida, but not having 4 seasons to vary your wardrobe is a downside of lovely weather all the time.
Love both pairs of white boots – very chic. I also love the ball light arrangement on your street. Thanks for including a night picture – it’s beautiful!
I had no idea that you used to be a brunette. You look so different. Do you prefer being blonde now?
Have a good week.
White boots are so easy to combine. They hardly never clash.
It is hard to say whether I prefer blonde or brown. Brown certainly was much, much easier especially in photography.
But the outgrow as a brunette was too much work. And when I tried blonde, my husband liked it. He said, it makes you look softer. And who doesn’t want that?
Love those boots and the earrings! (And I really like Marjolein’s boots too.)
I like the “ball” light arrangement on your street, very nice! I wish that home decor shop was near me! I’ve decided to redecorate our living room next year, but everything here is so neutral. I’ll have to add some pillows for color!
Light coloured boots always had my fancy. I think they brighten outfits up. I bet when you really search, you will find a home decor shop with colour. It is not something you look for every day, so it is easily overlooked.
But I cannot imagine that in your big town, there isn’t one that embraces colour.