Apologies for the bad quality of the photos in this post. I wasn’t planning on using them, but decided to do so anyway. The quality is also bad because of the recent iPhone update. The ‘improvement’ Apple made, was to switch photos from JPG format to HEIC format. And this new HEIC format cannot be read by my Photoshop Elements programme. I have to convert them to JPG and with that, lose a lot of quality.
I have changed my iPhone camera settings to ‘Most compatible’ which brings me back to JPG.
Anyway, that’s just technical stuff which you are probably not interested in.
My neighbour and friend Monique likes to go to museums and exhibitions. Usually Monique comes up with a suggestion; this time I had read about the Groote Museum of Artis in Amsterdam. Please take a minute to look at their site and you will grasp a bit better what the museum is all about than from just the photos below.
The weather was fickle again but no rain. Hmmm…my umbrella came with me in the red tote anyway because if you have an umbrella with you, it won’t rain. If you leave the house without one, it will pour down. Everybody knows that.
A coat wasn’t necessary and after a lot of thinking, I decided to wear my polka dot dress with black cigarette trousers and trainers. Here is the link to the original post where I am wearing it as a dress with a pencil skirt underneath it as the slits at the sides are pretty high up.
The Museum is in a very old building. It opened as a museum in 1855. The floorboards creak although it has been renovated.
Below: In the photo below you can see there is a gallery above the windows, going all the way round.
Below: Let me (re-)introduce Monique who is posing with a giraffe. She is standing on the gallery.
There are only two halls, but it is interactive and you have to listen to the stories that are told at each stop which takes you a couple of hours. I have learned so much and amazed myself. You become very much aware how humans, animals, plants, trees…actually everything living on earth, is connected. I always knew but I absorbed a lot of information to make me even more knowledgeable.
Below: Photo taken from the gallery in hall number 2. See the tree hanging from the ceiling?
Below: Monique and I started with this display in hall 1, ground floor but you can pick and choose your own journey through the museum. The headphones you see in the middle at the bottom are the ones for the explanation of this display. We were lucky that we picked a Monday at an early time. You don’t want to wait.
As there are no seats at the museum you have to stand all the time. My body (knees) cannot take that for more than one and a half hour, so we didn’t make it all the way through. I was also hungry as we started at noon. I am definitely going back to ‘do’ the rest. We left to get some lunch.
After lunch in a nearby pub, we took the tram into the centre in order to find a good coffee restaurant.
Below: You can shoot such lovely pictures as this. Amsterdam the way I love it most.
Below: Near Hotel l’Europe which you see on the left. Canals everywhere.
Below: We passed a shop called Dsign, a shop with Dutch designer gifts where I saw this cute bag by Mrs. Rosehip.
I had drooled over her design before. You can see a larger version of this bag in red in the post about the Design & Craft fair. It is expensive and probably highly impractical. Besides, I’d better start using my yellow Coach bag before I buy another yellow one.
Below: When I chose this dress to wear with the trousers, I wasn’t sure whether to use the belt or not. Below is the dress with belt. As you can see from the photos above I wore it without the belt, but I am still not 100% sure which is better. I also changed to trainers just before I left.
Below: Close-up of the corrugated cardboard earrings.
It’s a bit of an impromptu shoot and post. Next week you will see a post with loads of photos.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday was mostly a day in the car. Ron asked me to help evaluate 2 cars of which he wanted to buy one. Of course the dealers were miles apart. After much deliberation he decided on one; soon he will be the proud owner of it.
My brother and SIL visited mum on Sunday, so no ‘mum photo’. I pottered around all day and did a lot of chores.
As there was so little space in my wardrobe my new clothes (most of which you have seen) were scattered everywhere. I was on my way to buy new hangers when I realized that that was stupid. Those hangers wouldn’t fit in the wardrobe. I needed to weed. Picked some clothes which didn’t have my love anymore and gave them away. And there is space again. Yes, it’s a hobby, dear readers.
Monday Monique and I went to the museum and this post is the result.
Tuesday was a quiet day with fitness exercises, a visit from the plumber (our shower is leaking but it is a minor problem apparently) and dog walking. I was helping Ron with the dog as he had an important meeting.
Wednesday was a lovely day in the old town of Delft with Peggy. She took photos for another blog post. Yay.
Below: Peggy in a shoe shop. A wonderful, intelligent and positive woman.
Thursday, another quiet day. There is not much to show or tell when it is so quiet, sorry.
Friday I was invited by Marcella (of Lara Design) for lunch. Before that I enjoyed being in her atelier where she put a red bouton on my black and white striped earrings (they were a gift from her a month ago). You can see them at the bottom left of the photo.
Below: Perfect weather, perfect company, perfect lunch. (Link to the original post of my outfit.) Glad she is back from holiday.
Greetje
Love the dress as a tunic with the leggings and sneakers. Casual but so chic!
And very easy and comfortable to wear. I do like dresses a lot, but they never seem to be the right length for me.
For me, the dress should be unbelted when worn with the trousers, and belted when worn as a dress. It’s all about the proportions.
That museum looks so cool! I tend to not like headphone-led tours, though.
I’m gearing up for a major “weed” of my closet as well – at the end of September, which gives me time to let my crankiness wear off.
I agree about the belt thing and I did exactly that.
Headphone led tours aren’t my thing either, but A) you only needed to listen with one ear and B) it was so interesting.
I am weeding my closets all the time but never seem to have real space, just enough the add the latest stuff.
Do love your posts: each one is like a delightful mini-trip for me, now that I don’t travel much nowadays. The photos of all the Dutch towns are charming and your friends seem a great bunch of women.
Approaching my 81st birthday, I still enjoy looking at outfits and getting ideas! Thank you for enhancing my days. Your charm and geniality are a delight.
p.s. NO BELT is best over narrow trousers, and you’ve given me the notion to style my oversize cobalt silk shirt in similar fashion…
Vicariously travelling..it is so 2022 haha.
I imagine I will still enjoy outfits no matter what age I’ll get. Thank you for mentioning my geniality hahaha. I think that it is a bit over the top but it made me chuckle.
Inspiration is something we get from so many things. I am glad I could contribute.
Another vote for wearing the dress without the belt. Makes you look very slim. The red accessories look good too (I also like to accessorise black and white outfits with red). The museum looks fascinating and they have a great website too, really draws you in. Haven’t been to A’dam for years but will definitely visit this museum if I do. And the Nemo too!
Oh yes Nemo is another really good museum. Near that you will find the VOC ship, which is a remake of an old ship the Dutch used to sail to the east. And next to that is Scheepvaartmuseum.
The dress is so cute, it goes very well with the pants, but you could wear it without them too. The option with the skirt underneath, which you propose in another post, is also perfect. he museum of great questions seems very interesting, I didn’t know about it, thanks for showing it to me. I like the dress better without a belt. Very nice earrings and, as always, you gorgeous in the foreground.
The pencil skirt underneath a dress which is too short, is a trick I got from Daniela. I miss her, but cannot get in touch with her. So strange.
Everybody votes for the dress without the belt if I wear trousers with it. So it is unanimous.
I agree with everyone on the belt issue. I like the pants, black trainers and red bag. The photo of Amsterdam is delicious! Makes me want to hop on a plane right now. I’ll have to add that to my bucket list – staying right on a canal like that. I’m grounded at home right now with some severe neck pain so it’s great to read of your adventures.
Aiii…that doesn’t sound good. I do hope that pain will go away, and quickly too.
If it isn’t Covid, it’s this that keeps you grounded. No fun.
I will gladly show you my ‘adventures’ so you can travel vicariously.
As usual your blog is entertaining and informative. The dress with the trainers and the pants are perfect. So cute. The museum is quite interesting. When I finally go back (to live) in Portugal I will be able to travel and get to see the Netherlands (I hope). Have a great week.
Thanks for the compliments. Much obliged. When you go back to live in Portugal, there are so many places you want to visit. How about nearly every town in Italy? Or Madrid? Or Barcelona? Or Paris? Or Prague? Just to name a few. You will have to make a list haha.
I think that dress is fun both with and without the belt. I bet it would even work with other colors of belts. So much variety, so little time.
Those museums are exactly where we love to go and learn. I always feel so smart after we come out of them, haha.
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
As you might already know, I am not that good at mixing and matching. I lack the creativity. But sometimes I surprise myself.
I agree about leaving off the belt — this outfit with the cigarette pants, black trainers, and red tote is perfect. I wish I could find similar trainers here — so stylish!
Love the museum photos — as always, you share such interesting locations.
I too agree about leaving off the belt, a fabulous outfit (love those trainers).
It is unanimous I think…belt off. The trainers were such a good find at Essentiel Antwerp, a Belgian company. Found them years ago.
I was very lucky with my trainers. Two pairs from Essentiel Antwerp, a Belgian company (he black ones I am wearing in this post are one of those), and also two pairs of Vic Matié, a French company. All of them really good.
Trying to find a good location is not that easy but it makes a post more interesting.
This was an interesting post, comparing the different looks with this polka dot dress. I loved it with the leggings but without the belt; would prefer it a few inches shorter though. Not so keen on the skirt underneath.
The skirt underneath is clearly born out of necessity. I cannot wear it that short. So far most of my ‘just above the knee’ dresses end up being worn with trousers. I wasn’t wearing leggings with the polka dot dress; they are proper trousers.
Love the outfit with the cigarette pants and trainers, and without the belt. I’d like an outfit like that! The museum looks fascinating. I have been a big fan of museums all my life, starting with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I mostly grew up.
My week was not a great one. Lots of health problems with my 93 year old mother. She is currently in assisted living after having lived independently for her whole life. Not sure yet what the next chapter will be. On Friday, I tested positive for covid in spite of being vaccinated and boostered. Fortunately the symptoms have been fairly mild, and I’m feeling better today. My husband tested positive this morning, and he seems to have the same crappy but mild symptoms. What a week!
Sounds like a week from hell indeed. The good thing about getting Covid and having mild symptoms that your immune system got a great boost. I wouldn’t have dared risking getting it on purpose for this reason as you never know how your body is going to react, despite vaccination and boosters.
As for good natural history museums, we have a few.
I love this outfit, and I vote for without the belt.
Your vote is the vote of the majority and clearly mine too as I went without the belt. Susan said she would only do the belt if I wore it as a dress with my pencil skirt and I fully agree.
Such a great blog with so much info and lovely scenic ” visits”…and of course, all the fun fashion sharing.
And I love the photos of Mum !
Happy summer from Regina Saskatchewan Canada.🌞🌻
So glad you enjoyed my blog posts Marena. I love to entertain and here comments like yours. Thanks for taking the time.
Hello Greetje! The museum looks very interesting! I do hope you get to go back. Congrats to your hubby on his new wheels- that is exciting!
Hello lovely Bella. It will be very easy to go back once Ron isn’t working so hard as he does at the moment. Because I really want to go on a Monday morning again.
What an interesting museum! That’s one I’d enjoy.
I think the dress looks better without the belt when worn with the pants. If you’re wearing as a dress (+ skirt) then use a belt. Just my opinion. 😉
Gosh, I sure want to come back to Amsterdam sometime….so lovely!
We have another very interesting, very interactive museum in Amsterdam, called Nemo.
I totally agree with your opinion about the belt, worn with the dress when I wear it with a skirt.
When you come back to Amsterdam I will pray for good weather and welcome you with open arms.
Always a big pleasure with you Greetje!
And vice versa. Next week the blog post will be with the photos you took.