My friend Marianne’s daughter is a stylist and she is really good. I follow her Instagram account and got inspired to create an outfit with patterned trousers and burgundy boots.
Below: This is my example, the post by Marianne’s daughter. Had I paid a bit more attention, I would have also added a touch of yellow somewhere in the outfit. Even at blatant copying I am not really observant on the details LOL.
Below: Anyway, the outfit I originally created had a shirt underneath the jumper which was a bit shorter. One of my friends asked whether perhaps the shirt should be a bit longer? I didn’t check to see if it would work for me, I just put on a longer shirt. In hindsight, I think the shorter one creates better proportions.
Below: See? The white shirt tails underneath the jumper are a bit too much.
My friend Marijke took the photos in about ten minutes during our visit to Marianne.
Below: Marijke and Marianne.
I wanted to take a nice photo of Marijke on her own, outside where photos always turn out better than when you take them inside.
Below: Alas…capturing Marijke is a job for a photographer who does babies and animals, moving objects so to speak. She just cannot help goofing around. As soon as the camera points at her she pulls faces and gets into weird body positions.
Below: She did a good job of photographing my outfit though. Nice “bokeh” photo (= blurry background).
I was clutching the Max Mara bag which I scored at an outlet last year and never realised that doing so made my jumper ride up, revealing even more of the shirt. Wrong move.
Below: A view of the back.
Below: Close-up of the boots which you saw for the first time with my green dress. So comfortable. I have to take them to the cobbler to elongate the sole at the pointed toe. Otherwise I will damage them.
Below: The burgundy earrings by Lara Design. I should have worn yellow ones.
This time no beautiful location, no interesting stories and no old buildings. Sorry, it is what it is. I was grateful that at least the outfit was documented.
What happened in my life this week
Funny week. I strolled through the centre of town, across the market and came home with just a sausage. Didn’t go into clothes or shoe shops so I wouldn’t be tempted. Gave myself a pat on the back on arriving home.
Below: Mum in purple. Still cannot get her to smile when I take her photo LOL.
Went to the movies with friend and neighbour Monique; to see Living with Bill Nighy. I love that actor.
Below: The trailer for Living.
We thought it was a touching movie, beautifully executed. To some people very slow perhaps, but full of gems and with such good acting, especially by Bill. It is set at London townhall in the fifties.
I used to work at the Dutch Department of Public Housing in 1976 and it was very much like this haha.
Below: Monique and me in a bar, after the movie was finished. (Link to original post with this outfit.)
Facetimed with my friend Anja who now lives in Spain. We had a lovely couple of hours.
And I saw Misja for coffee when it was pouring with rain. (Link to Misja’s blog.) We had to take a photo indoors. See the rain on the windows? (Link to original post with this outfit.) The café where we met was only 3 minutes by bike or a 10 minutes’ walk, but I took the car. Pouring rain and my hair are enemies.
Below: Misja and me.
Below: She wore such a cute jacket.
Ron and I had a lovely meal at café-restaurant Coster 52 with our friends Georg and Marla. We had been here once before and really liked it. Simple but very tasty and a warm atmosphere. This time we were less enthusiastic. The food was good, we had a lot of laughs, so the evening was very enjoyable. But the prices they charged were too high for what we got.
Below: Ron and me. Georg and Marla preferred not to be on the internet this time. Not everybody is an extreme extrovert like me. This is what my hair looks like most of the time.
Below: I wore the same jumper as in the main outfit of this post and copied Misja’s trick of a colour peeping out above and under the jumper. She also gave me the advice to use a brooch in a totally different colour to jazz things up. This is the result.
The photo reminded me that these jeans are at the end of their life cycle. I need to replace them as they look old and tired and I need no help with that look LOL. Mind you, a scarf wouldn’t be a bad idea either as the boat neck is rather cold, especially as we have turned the heater down.
Kitty came over for a cup of coffee and this time I did think of taking a photo. It was a really cosy afternoon.
Below: Kitty.
Below: I was wearing my Sportmax jeans dress which is about 6 years old (see the original post) with blue leggings. Snuggly warm. Earrings by Baublehaus.
Below: Kitty took this photo of me in the chair and I realised that I’d better wear this dress as a jacket because it is too tight. Just as I have done in this post with the printed T-shirt and in this post with a long vest.
That’s it for this week.
Greetje
Your camera must have a burst-mode? I think that’s what you need to photograph Marijke.
I loved that movie. I saw it here in the small village cinema. Really endearing.
Not a fan of the first outfit. But i do like the second one, with the jeans and the pop of colour.
What a good idea! Yes, my camera does have a burst-mode. Next time I photograph her, I will use that.
Great movie, what?
Funny, the outfit with the jeans is a little ‘off’ in my opinion. Perhaps because the jeans look tired?
Meeting up for a coffee was a great idea Greetje! Thanks for sharing.
Always a pleasure seeing you.
The pants are very pretty and I like the look with the boots and the lady touch of the sweater with the shirt that peeks out. I love this casual style, but always keeping that personal touch of style.
I think you know my personal style better than I do. I often think my style is all over the place.
I would love to wear more skirts and dresses but tend to keep on buying trousers. Very strange.
I love that you got inspired and went for it, and tried something new! Learning little bits like adding yellow, will come. I like this outfit, white shirt hanging out. A scarf at your neck or a bright brooch (I love the one you wore out to dinner) would also create a bit more visual interest. You’re right on the jeans – they look worn and not as classy as they could be. You’re so tall – what about a wider straight-leg jean on you? I know you have a million pairs, though, ha ha!
I love seeing your beautiful friends, and Mum looks very classy in her purple stripes.
Dining experiences are different now, aren’t they? Everything is so expensive. The simple mushroom toast I had for brunch last weekend was $19.00!! I didn’t add potatoes for $3.00 each. :-O
I have this really nice yellow eye brooch, very modern. That would have been nice too. But then I have to wear small earrings otherwise they compete with each other.
Scarfs and me…it has never been a good combination. No idea how I always make them look as if I am having a cold.
I found the perfect wide straight-leg jeans. Only the webshop sent me an email that unfortunately they were out of stock after all (on the website it said there were still 2 in stock). Soooo disappointing.
Perhaps the dinner was also a little disappointing because we had something for our main course which was not really something we liked.
Greetje, You looked very nice in all of your outfits. The white shirt under the jumper looks better in the slightly longer version. If the shirt is short, the jumper pulls up the shirt making the stomach appear “poofy”!
so very glad you had fun with your friends They all looked nice.
Your mom looked beautiful.
I missed a few days because of unsafe roads for snow.
Thanks Catherine. I will experiment with a longer jumper and these patterned trousers.
Your comment on not liking the restaurant as much the second time rang a bell here. Lately, perhaps after being forced to stay home and cook for a few years, I’m not finding restaurants as fun as they once were.
You mentioned being too matchy matchy and not experimenting with color. Your living room tells me you are not afraid of color at all. Maybe a color wheel would help with clothing choices? I use an online version to suggest colors I would never otherwise consider pairing.
As I am a terrible cook, I don’t think your argument applies to this restaurant. Perhaps just the different food we had this time?
Matchy matchy, yes I am. Afraid of experimenting with colour…no, I am not. No knowing which colour, texture or proportions are right…OH YES.
Thanks for the reminder. I should use that colour wheel and the help of Pinterest etc. I never do it and it is so helpful.
Oops! Forgot to mention how much I would like to see “Living.” I agree that Bill Nighy is terrific.
The movie will probably run in smaller cinemas. It is meant for the crowd I think.
Looking good in your photos. I always admire your ability to put outfits together in interesting ways. A few random thoughts: love your hair, love Misja’s photos, and those metallic boots are great.
I wouldn’t call it my ability haha. It is a lot of blood, sweat and tears, although ‘tears’ is too strong. Tantrums and anger yes.
Thanks for all your compliments. I’ll pass them on to Misja as well.
Enjoying reading your latest blog, and do like the sweater ( jumper) with the blouse underneath. I guess it’s all about proportion. I am finding that like you, Greetje, with wider openings I add a warming scarf to keep my neck cosy…especially required during these rainy winter months. Do so in the evenings indoors too.
Here, where we live by the Salish Sea in BC 🇨🇦, at least all of the rainfall runs down towards the water quite easily. Not so in California unfortunately.
Walking down to the beach is done hastily between showers.
Thanks for including Misja’s link…I like her style too and happy to see how easily I could translate it into English. My Dutch is non existent!
Don’t get me started on rain…we are having so much rain these weeks. The Dutch are very good with water though so there isn’t a problem (yet?). After all 26% of the Netherlands (almost a third) is situated below sea level. So we have to deal with water in a big way.
I am still having fond memories of Vancouver.
Thank you Cath! Glad to know that it’s easily to translate my blogposts.
I love your Sportmax dress with leggings. It doesn’t look too tight on you, but it would also work very well as a jacket and being comfortable in your clothes is so important. Perhaps you can show us that look in another post.
You probably overlooked them, but there are two links in my blog post to previous posts where I wore the Sportmax dress as a jacket.
This one: https://www.nofearoffashion.com/2022/03/13/jeans-dress-with-a-printed-top/
and this one: https://www.nofearoffashion.com/2016/05/07/max-mara-jeans-dress-worn-jacket/
Oops! You’re right! I did overlook those links. Now that I’ve looked at them, I can say for sure that I love the dress worn as a jacket!
Perhaps I should choose another colour for links, although I am pretty sure I already chose the brightest one.
The dress will continue in my wardrobe as a jacket.
I love the patterned pants too! I have a couple of pairs and need to work on styling them so I will wear them more! Such great ideas and fun post! Thank you!
I have to work on a couple of patterned trousers too. My pitfall is my tendency for matchy matchy. I always look for a combination in a colour which is in the pattern. But that is totally unnecessary and limits me.
Happy belated New Year. I think your Mom has a light smile on her face. Your burgundy boots are a great find as are the silver booties. The printed pants are daring, but you styled them well and made them so you. Love the look. Stay warm. Days are getting longer!
And a Happy New Year to you too.
The silver booties are champagne coloured in reality, but I have ordered them in silver as well. They will arrive shortly (I hope).
Do you think the printed trousers are daring? My husband chose them for me.
I am staying warm with layers but it is POURING with rain here for weeks. So fed up with it.
I actually like the shirt showing below jumper, but would love to see one without for comparison. Yes, would love to see a pop of yellow with this outfit!
I love Misja’s style too. She always looks great!
I also like the shirt below my jumper, but as I said, a little shorter shirt is better. I have a photo of the outfit without the shirt. It is OK but I like this much more.
Misja is very good.
Thank you so much Susan!
A belated happy new year, Greetje! I agree with you about the shirt hanging out of the trousers. I think the shorter jumper and seeing more of the trousers looks more modern. Love the trousers btw, as well as the burgundy boots. You look great in the Sportmax dress too. I’d forgotten about Bill N. as I left England decades ago. Will see if I can catch the film anywhere here. Have a good week!
Thanks Liz. Happy New Year to you too.
Every Christmas you are reminded of Bill N. as Love Actually is then on TV everywhere.
I LOVE Bill Nighy!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a performance by him that I didn’t enjoy. He’s got the amazing voice too. I’m definitely going to look out for this film, because I know it’ll be fabulous. Did you see that one called….hm, I’m trying to remember…set in the Victorian era?? Er….The Limehouse Golem? I loved that one!
I also love what you wore to the cinema. It’s such a classic and timeless look and you wear it so well!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
The Limehouse Golem? Never heard of. I am going to look on the various platforms.
The cinema outfit was my first try at men’s blazers.
(Oh no.. it is a horror movie. I can see horror movies; they upset me.)
LOL!!! Yes… I guess it would come under the horror guise. Such a shame though because his performance is brilliant (as always). I love anything set in Victorian times….I suppose they’re often very dark!!!
Hugs xx
I am a very (over?) sensitive person. There are very few movies and series I can watch. The same applies to newspapers, radio etc.
I get upset very easily.
I’ve just watched lighthouse golem, what a good film
Such a cool outfit! Those burgundy boots are gorgeous. I too love Bill Nighy so must look for this movie. I always enjoy seeing photos of your friends and your mom.
I think the movie with Bill Nighy will be in smaller cinemas. It is not a mass movie.
Thanks for being always such a loyal reader.
This is a cool and funky outfit, that you totally pull off. Agree that a different color bag would be nice. This was such a great post. Different people, styles, etc.
I really love this outfit on you. Just my sort of thing. I wonder if the best of all would have been the longer shirt but with a slightly longer jumper to preserve the proportions. But only a perfectionist would quibble. You make it look really good as it was.
I don’t mind quibbling haha. A longer jumper might be a good idea. I have to search my wardrobe. Being a very matchy matchy person (and hating that fact), I always look for matching colour items in such patterned trousers. Which is of course totally unnecessary.
Thanks for kicking me off this stupid idea.
There’s nothing wrong with matchy matchy in my opinion. I love it.
Sometimes it can look a bit dated so I want to stay away from that.
That is a good idea. The yellow bag for instance would have been so much better. Thanks. I was wondering how I could incorporate yellow.
Glad you liked the post. I wasn’t so sure about it.
Wow – I love this outfit with the patterned pants and boots! You look so cool. I like the white shirt under the sweater. It gives a nice contrast.
I also love Bill Nighy, but that movie looks a little sad to me. What do you think? My favorite Bill Nighy roles are in Love, Actually and Pirate Radio. He’s so great!
Have a good week. I’m in Northern California with our “atmospheric rivers”. Fortunately we are in good shape so far…
Doesn’t sound good…atmospheric rivers.
Was the movie sad?? Hmmm, no I don’t think so. It ended happy. Yes, he dies, but he dies a happy man.
Bill in Love Actually was hilarious. This Christmas I saw a little documentary with the main cast members, twenty years later.
I learned that Bill hadn’t been cast for the role originally, he was only at the first reading of the script as a stand-in. But he did it so brilliantly that everybody was in stitches. And he got the part.
That’s a great story! I’ll try to find the documentary, but I think I’ll pass on Living. I have a lot of difficult stuff going on in my life right now, and I’m feeling pretty fragile. So no movies with dying!