Another outfit created with my own wardrobe items. One day I saw that this yellow and black pleated skirt had olive as a third colour. A perfect match with my olive coloured jumper. Combining winter and summer clothes is something I normally would never do. It means a warm winter jumper with a flimsy summer skirt (see this skirt with a yellow summer top). To me that is ‘hot on top‘ and ‘cold at the bottom‘.
But I got a clever idea (tooting my own horn here).
Normally I wear a pleated skirt with a short wide linen skirt underneath it to create an A-line shape. Having no hips or bum, my longer sleek skirts tend to make me look like a lamppost and this is my trick to avoid that. With this winter outfit I wore a woollen knee-length skirt underneath the pleated one, creating the same A-line shape and keeping me nice and warm. Changing summer sandals for winter boots and Bob’s your uncle. To me this is still odd as I never mix winter and summer clothes. But the stylist of LAB Women’s Clothing, whom I consulted (she often gives me free advice by WhatsApp, bless her) said that combining different textures is totally on trend.
Below: The Loewe belt turned out to be a fantastic purchase and the second-hand bronze metallic Mulberry bag goes with half my winter wardrobe.
(I really shouldn’t talk during a photo shoot.)
Below: Being unable to fight my matchy matchy inclinations, I chose my neon yellow earrings from Lara Design to go with the outfit.
Below: Loes was my photographer and I had no mercy on her. Coat off for the head to toe shot.
Below: We were on a hunt for nice doors for a background because our initial plan to use this neighbourhood didn’t give us what we expected.
Below: Close-up of the street decoration in the above photo. Looking at the decoration I think that the green door is a church door.
Below: I had chosen this building as background but on arrival it didn’t look half as nice as I remembered. It is a restaurant in what used to be a convent.
Below: This is the interior of restaurant De Kloosterkeuken (translation: convent kitchen). And that was the atmosphere I was after.
Below: After the photo shoot we had coffee in an old café / restaurant called “In den Swarten Hondt” (In the Black Dog in old Dutch). They employ people with a labour market disadvantage and have a terrace with a terrific view of the Spaarne canal.
Below: Two photos taken from the terrace. First photo to the left of the restaurant and the second one to the right. There is a beautiful old bridge right in front of the café but my photo was lousy so I left it out. Just imagine this in summer with green trees.
Below: A three-dimensional image of the café.
Below: I always come across a cat on a photo shoot.
What happened in my life this week
Busy week. Well…busy as in a retired life. If I have two appointments in one day, then that is one more than usual haha.
When I was still working I used to get 7 1/2 hours sleep a night (for 20 years); I now get 9 hours sleep. If I am really lazy, even 10 hours. How did I manage all those years?
Below: I met Marita on a day when it was raining cats and dogs. Marita suggested to postpone our date, but that would have been too much of a disappointment for me. Instead of going to a restaurant in town, I picked her up in my car and we went to a café where I could park close by. A quick run to the front door and we were dry. I wore my black and white blazer with dark flared jeans as suggested by one of the readers. Marita had found herself a beautiful black blouse with puffy sleeves.
Below: Mum with half a smile haha. She might be 94, but she can handle an iPad. Not to a large extend but still. We play WordFeud together.
Ron came with me (as he does every fortnight) and we ate at mum’s place this time, bringing a pan with food.
Below: Marcella visited me and I forgot to take her photo.
I wore this outfit. See original post with many outfits featuring these jeans and booties. I know I said I was not going to wear skinny jeans anymore, but this outfit “needed” these jeans.
When I was chatting to Karlijn of kpa.haarlem one day, I told her that I needed to replace my tattered boyfriend jeans. She gave me 5 different pairs of jeans to try and see which style would suit me. She had the perfect jeans for me but one leg was an inch too short. Or better put, my right leg is an inch too long. Karlijn said she couldn’t order a longer one for me (as a retailer) but that on the website of the brand, Samsøe & Samsøe, there were two jeans left in my desired length. I ordered one straight away, only to get an email from the brand that there had been an error on the website and they didn’t have it in stock after all. I was sooo disappointed. They advised me to keep on trying their website for returns. Which I did and a couple of days later they had one in stock again. Which I immediately ordered. And which got cancelled again due to an “error on the website” and “not being in stock”.
I trawled the internet, believe me, but the darned thing is nowhere to be found. On the bright side…if these are my worries, I do not have any.
Below: A joke Ron found for me. My kind of humour. I can so imagine this.
Below: Reality check. This is me at home with my iPhone, greasy hair and reading glasses. In the photo on the right you can see a glimpse of my big warm house shoes. It’s not all glamour darlings.
Being on your iPhone the whole time is not a good thing (I think). A reader of the blog Midlifechic gave me a link with instructions on how to put your iPhone screen on grayscale instead of nice bright colours. It diminishes the desire to click on an app. I can reverse it to colour by pressing the side button three times.
Then I found out how to only watch funny videos on Instagram. Sometimes I am in stitches. Which means I allow myself 15 minutes twice a day to have a good laugh. It replaces the banter which I used to have with my colleagues.
Below: As meeting friends is a big hobby of mine, I try to have at least one or two appointments every week. Like with Janneke, one of my former colleagues at the bank She still works there but part-time now as she is developing her yoga business. She is a very good yoga teacher and that brings her so much joy and fulfilment.
(Side notes: my hair had collapsed again and scarves are not my forté, even though I watched many videos how to wear them.)
Our painter came round to give us an estimate for painting inside our house. Things are getting a bit frayed at the edges. The job won’t be done before 2024 because he is fully booked in 2023 and we have to save up for the bill.
Greetje
Nice enough outfit. Maybe adding a third-colour brooch would have spiced it up a bit?
I do combine winter and summer clothes. I have thermo tops, leggings, etc. Wearing this allows me to wear thinner stuff over it.
The daughter of my friend Luus works as a waitress at the black dog restaurant!
Please keep at least mentioning boring days. See it as a small comfort to your readers who otherwise might think ‘why doesn’t MY life exist of purely highlights??’ Just kidding…
My bright green brooch might have been nice, good idea.
Hahaha, no I am not going to write about boring stuff like ‘I did the laundry today’.
I will mention that there have been boring days. OK?
An excellent hack to winterize a skirt. I agree with you on your summer v winter logic. Summer skirts are usually too flimsy for winter jumpers. I like your looks and would wear them in a heartbeat.
(Briefly on the comments section of my blog. Disqus is incompatible with Blogger, but I use it because Blogger is not good for comments. It’s best viewed on a pc or tablet. On my Samsung phone, if you scroll to the bottom there’s an option to view Web version, which shows all the Disqus comments. I don’t know if that’s possible on an iPhone).
Glad you like the outfit.
I often have problems commenting on blogs with my phone. But with you it was just a matter of you approving, a message I missed the first time.
Gosh, he must be a good painter if he is booked the entire year!!
I love the idea of wearing a skirt beneath another to ensure your warmth. I would wear fleece-lined leggings if I had them!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
He is an excellent painter and not cheap. Still, everybody wants him (and his son).
No problem to buy fleece-lined leggings or tights, but I hear that it is hard to find a pair that fits properly. I heard complains about feet being too small or the whole tights being too short.
I love the top and jewelry on you–that is a great color for you. I’ll have to get used to the skirt. Aha, it dawns on me that I have a long pleated summer skirt that I haven’t worn much lately–I’ll bet if I put something under it–and I think I have just the skirt–it might work well with my heavier winter tops.
Thanks for the idea!
No idea why you have to get used to the skirt. Especially when you have one yourself.
I took a woolen A-line skirt to wear under the summer skirt A) for warmth and B) for creating the body shape I don’t have but desire.
Women with more hips than I do, could easily just wear warm tights or leggings instead of the woolen skirt.
I am glad I could inspire you, as I was inspired by others.
I love your combination of long skirt and jumper but I certainly wouldn’t get another under it as my hips would look huge. I would wear leggings, thick or thin which I do wear anyway under it. Also love your bright pink furnishings and is your tree in the pot real or imitation? Your mom looks great too.
My body shape is the reverse from yours: an inverted triangle, so I need to create hips haha.
Our living room is very colourful (type in “colourful living room” in the search box of my blog and you’ll see more).
The tree in the pot is imitation as it is in the middle of the room and real plants never got enough light. We tried several plants and gave up in the end.
Hi Greetje,I am loving the skirt and boots combo hun,it and you look super!!!
I also like the leopard print boots and jeans too,very chic!!!
Hugs,Paula B,XXX
Thank you very much. My outfits go down well with you. Pleases me a lot.
I love oversized sweaters and also these long printed skirts, so I think this look is great. The small flower print is very cute and I like the combination with brown. I really like the purple sweater in the last photo and that pretty scarf you’re wearing.
Apparently the colour olive of the sweater is not olive on all screens. Sheila thought it was beige and you think it is brown. Oh well, never mind, you like the outfit so I am pleased.
The purple sweater is a work horse in my wardrobe although you don’t see it much on the blog. This bright purple suits me.
If you’re going to wear beige, putting yellow with it is the way to go! I love the ditsy floral print with the chunky sweater, such a good look. The bag, boots and belt are so good. Loewe, nice! I like how you’re showing off your classy designer, Greetje!
Good to see your mum! She is more tech-savvy than my mom who can only do the internet and email.
I am envious of your retired lifestyle! I still have about 5 years to go, if I’m lucky!
Normally I do not have the money for classy designer items but once in while I cave.
I think the opposite: your mum is more tech-savvy, as my mum can email and play WordFeud but she cannot really work the internet.
Silly to be envious of my retired lifestyle. I am older than you so a few years closer to death haha. Although we can never predict when our time has come.
By the way, to me the jumper is olive coloured, certainly not beige as beige is terrible on me.
Greetje, I LOVE your jumper with the skirt! The colors of the skirt make it easy to wear year round. I can’t imagine wearing a skirt under the outer skirt! Not with my hips since I am an hour glass shape!
Your restaurants are so beautiful inside!
My body shape is quite the opposite: an inverted triangle, so it works for me.
Also…very funny phone joke!
My thoughts exactly. I can so imagine this haha.
I very much like both outfits, and I think you came up with an immensely clever way to change the shape of the skirt AND keep yourself warm. I’ve worn knit leggings under a long summer skirt, but that’s not nearly as imaginative. That metallic bag is so good!
I had to come up with a solution for my small hips/no bum in longer skirts. I stood in front of the mirror stretching both sides of the skirt, thinking “How do I get this shape?” Coming up with another model skirt underneath it, was of course the solution. I bought a cheap, rather stiff model and that was me in the summer. No big leap to my winter A-line skirt.
I agree about the metallic bag. In the summer, just after I bought it, I was afraid I would never use it. It turned out to be a winter work horse.
The skirt combo is very cool. And that Belt!! The best! wish my waist was tiny enough to do that. I used to have a 23″ waist. Now it is 33″ LOL! What happens when you are 81.
23″, my word, what a tiny waist. I never had that. My waist is now 33″ as well (I am 5ft74 / 1m175). So I don’t have a waist either haha. Just faking it. Unless it is the length that does it.
Love the skirt/jumper combo, it’s nice and bright for a winter’s day. Clever you for putting a warmer skirt under it – never would have thought of that (although I hardly ever wear skirts or dresses anyway…). You look very “rock chick” in the jeans and leather jacket, totally something I would wear too. I think skinnies still have their place, especially with boots. Jeans are my go-to; I’m self-employed so work from home and wear them practically every day. Have a great week! Lx
I must admit that being at home most of the time, does not invite wearing dresses and skirts with high heels.
But I am trying to fight it. I love that side as well. But it isn’t easy.
That leather jacket and jeans outfit is everything!
I am so surprised. Here I am, finally creating another outfit with a skirt and everybody compliments me on the jeans and leather jacket outfit.
What am I doing wrong?
Wrong? I think not! Anytime you can shop your own closet and look so effortlessly elegant you are winning!!
As I spent far too much last year, I am trying to put that money back into my savings. Which means I have to buy less. Or better said MUCH less and “shop my closet”.
I am notoriously bad at creating outfits, even though you might think the opposite. It really is a struggle to come up with something good.
You can imagine how proud I feel if I do succeed.
Love yellow on you and the skirt/ sweater adds a nice variety. You look cool & edgy in the jeans and jacket. All inspiring to me! Thank you Greetje for sharing your creativity!
I love creating a blog post. Only the fact that my MailChimp email (to warn subscribers there is a new post) is still not working properly, bugs me enormously.
Such a cute skirt and sweater outfit Greetje.
Wishing you another great week.
xxx Yvonne
I am getting better and better at coming up with good outfits from my wardrobe. Must have learned something in these last 10 years of blogging heh heh.
I aspire to your hobby of meeting friends in cafes at least twice a week. I have at least 10 years until I retire so I’ll have to be patient.
Good luck in the hunt for new jeans!
Don’t forget to meet your friends now as well. I always made sure there was a good balance between now and later. I don’t want to be gloomy but you never know.
I think the outfit is smashing, and clever you for finding a way to incorporate a summer skirt! That metallic bag is just SO good….
Love your Mum’s multicolored sweater!
I was quite pleased with myself for coming up with this outfit haha. You know it doesn’t come easy to me.
The metallic bag proved to be so much better than I feared after I just bought it.
I agree with others that you look great in the leather jacket plus skinny jeans outfit.
I love your idea of wearing a warmer skirt underneath the lightweight one. I’m going to try that myself. Love the sweater/long skirt. boots combo.
Ah, as you started with the leather jacket plus skinny jeans outfit, I thought you didn’t like the skirt combination. But you do.
Thanks for for the compliment.
I have several types of skirts and some of them I bought with the sole purpose of wearing them underneath another skirt or a dress.
I do like the black and white blazer with the darker jeans and I totally agree that there’s still a place in our wardrobes for skinny jeans. I actually just bought a new pair of skinny corduroy pants that will appear on my blog on Friday.
I must schedule your blog on Friday. Because I am veering away from skinny but there is skinny and skinny.
Cool outfit – you look great!
Have a wonderful week.
I was quite surprised that I came up with this outfit haha. Thanks. May your week be full of joy.
Hands down, the leather jacket (gorgeous), with the skinny jeans. This is your personality! And perfect accessories. I so enjoy your posts.
Hah…I am hearing the compliment but I am also hearing “don’t like the skirt combination that much”.
To tell you the truth, I have no idea what my style personality is. Although, put a gun against my head and I will say jeans and blazer.