When I saw Karlijn of kpa.haarlem wearing this yellow summer dress on Instagram, I was very quick to buy it. This is an ideal dress for me. Maxi, with which I don’t mind wearing flat shoes so much. Long sleeves to hide wrinkly arms. Darts at the top to allow my ample bosom to fit with no gaping between the buttons. A collar, which I prefer to no collar. A wide skirt to hide my small hips and bum. Not that all these ‘flaws’ are that important and always need to be hidden, but if an item of clothing can do that, I will not say no to it.
Again I ‘tested’ the dress before wearing it for a photo shoot and found out that wearing the belt around my waist was totally wrong. It rode up, creating a short upper body and a bulging belly. Who needs that? Wearing it as a scarf or a tie is much more flattering, in my opinion.
Below: The blue patent shoes which I chose for two reasons, 1) they are flat and I can walk in them very well and 2) they add another colour to the outfit. You have seen them before with my grey summer trousers.
It was gorgeous weather that day. Finally, I might add, although that north wind was still blowing. Only when it is 23 degrees Celsius it isn’t so bad.
Loes was my photographer again and we found a spot in Haarlem we hadn’t utilised yet (very rare).
Below: We photographed near Bakenessergracht (too difficult to translate). By the time I took this photo it was around midday and with the sun beaming down on us, this iPhone photo doesn’t do the canal justice. The railing you see to the left of the cars, doesn’t go all the way down. Where I parked there was no rail which means you need to know how to park your car otherwise you’ll end up in the canal LOL.
Below: The canal is surrounded by pretty houses. Can you see the top of that church? To the right of the tree? You will see more of that further down.
Below: We started with the sitting-down-pose as this bench was the first thing we saw. Nobody to chase us away. I like the pointed toes peeping coyly from under the dress.
Below: Across the street, the sun was blazing. When I look at the darts on the dress, I get the impression that my breasts are either too low or too big. As I know they are not too low, they probably are a bit big for this dress haha. Never mind. Without darts it would have been impossible to wear the dress.
Below: A cat came investigating what we were doing. We always see a cat on our photo shoots.
Below: We passed this building. The words written in tiles say: Christian School. I don’t think it is anymore.
Below: There was a gate next to it, access to a newly developed courtyard with houses. The dress is gathered at the back with smock work. Very handy.
By the way, I had just been to the hairdressers two days before. I had it cut shorter at the back, leaving it long at the front. Very pleased with it.
Below: We found another green door. You can see that the waistline is without smock work at the front, which is also very flattering.
The green bag is the second colour I added. After all, green is created from mixing yellow with blue.
Below: The multi-coloured earrings are by Lara Design and combine yellow and green and blue. They scream summer to me.
Below: Just as this multi-coloured bracelet combines those colours. It is a present from my friend Marianne.
Below: Further down the street is this pretty house. It is a very old neighbourhood.
Below: As I looked up this house, I saw the top of that church again. I had seen it many times before but could never get enough space between me and the church to photograph it. The streets are very narrow, as was common in the old days.
Below: And then we entered the newly-built courtyard and found the desired space between my camera and the church. It is called the Bakkenesserkerk. (The English Wikipedia page about this church tells a completely different story than the Dutch page. Very strange. If you want to see more of this church, here are the Google photos.
Below: Close-up of the cream top, which was added later.
Below: The entrance to the church, which is a different one than the original entrance.
Below: I photographed Loes in front of what I think, was the original entrance. Doesn’t she look good? Classy outfit.
Below: After we sat down at a little restaurant overlooking the Spaarne (big canal running through Haarlem), I took a close-up of Loes’ cute bag.
Below: I rushed across the street with my iPhone to take a shot of the drawbridge being opened. You can see the bridge operator in the middle in his white shirt.
Below: Ships passing.
Below: And the bridge closed again.
Brilliant morning.
What happened in my life this week
Visiting mum of course. Look how tech-savvy she looks with her iPad (below). Don’t be deceived, she cannot do a lot with it. She can play WordFeud, read mail and I taught her how to save photos that my brother and I email her.
Below: I had coffee with Misja (blog MisjaB). There is a translation button on her blog. Talk about looking good…she always dresses so well and unique.
Below: A close-up.
Below: Something completely different and random…Ron bought a water clock. It turns out that water clocks are one of the oldest time-measuring instruments. As the name implies, time is measured by the flow of the water. The simplest form was a bowl-shaped outflow and is known to have existed in Babylon, Egypt, and Persia around the 16th century BC. (Yes BC.) You can read the fascinating story on Wikipedia.
I spent a day in Amsterdam with Sylvia of 40PlusStyle as she is in the country again. The weather was sunny, the shops were nice, the terraces half empty and the food was good. Most important of all, we caught up with each other. Such a great blather. See a very blurry photo of Sylvia below. I cannot show you more as we shot a few photos with my iPhone to use for next week’s blog post.
Below: An update on the garden. We’re not there yet, but all plants are growing nicely.
All of a sudden, without any time to adjust, it is hot and sunny in the Netherlands. I am taking all the summer dresses for a spin.
Greetje
Beautiful dress. The color looks great on you. It’s so cheerful. I saw that you were wearing it when you met Nikki and thought it was lovely.
I like the overview of your garden. Now that I’ve seen closeups of some of the plants, I can better picture where they are in your garden landscape.
Glad you clicked through to my garden photos. We are pretty pleased with how it turned out, as we “redid” the garden this spring. Yellow is one of my best colours. Since I have had a colour analysis, I know which colours make me sparkle (yellow, red, orange, some greens) as long as the colour has enough yellow hue in it and as long as it is bright.
Such a bright and sunny dress! Looks lovely. 🙂
Thanks. It is like a ray of sunshine, isn’t it?
Just saw you on Pinterest in this dreamy dress. Such an elegant 50s vibe. You look stunning. As usual, the scenic photos are a delight. I envy your garden. I want to sit there with a bottle (bottles) of wine.
And the ladies were pretty elegant in the 50s, weren’t they?
When I sit in the garden I either drink coffee or Kahlua (a coffee liqueur).
Can I join you in your garden? I love it!
I am doing “gardening work” more and more. It really calms you. But I cannot do a lot more than removing dead leaves and stuff like that. As I do not really know the difference between a plant and weed haha.
Such a perfect dress on you! Love your friends’ outfits too, and nice to see a photo of your mom.
Glad I was able to create a post you enjoyed. Have a lovely week Cynthia.
How wonderful was your dress! I loved the style. My computer monitor is a tv. The dress was the color of orange juice on my screen. From your descripton, It seems to be sunshine yellow. The earrings look like a lot ofd fun!
The canal street was so very nice and the church wonderful.
I loved all of the outfits, especially Misjb.
Your mother looks wonderful. I am glad she is in good health.
As my friend Sheila describes it, the colour is marigold yellow.
Misja’s style is what I aspire to, but know I will never gain. Not without her constant guidance. And she has better things to do.
Just smashing on you. You have such a sunny personality and this gorgeous dress just enhances that.
What a sweet thing to say. I will remember it when I am raging again in anger haha.
That is a glorious marigold yellow dress, Greetje! I love it on you, and of course it reminds me of my “Greetje dress” which is due a wearing soon! Love the blue shoes and green bag with it – it’s a great basis for adding colours, isn’t it? Lovely to see you out with friends – hello, Sylvia!
Your mum does look very techie, ha ha!
This shape is very “Greetje” haha. As it is a solid colour, you cannot really go wrong with whatever you add, although my slate grey bag would not have matched. Mum does look techie with the emphasis on look.
I love the dress! The colour is beautiful and your choice of accessories is fabulous. I have a green dress in a similar style that always rides up and as I have a long torso, belts never sit in the right place. Your idea of wearing it around your neck is a clever styling trick – I will try it.
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
I have the opposite problem, a short torso and a very short waist which is why a belt is a problem with me too. Glad I could inspire you.
Greetje,
You look fabulous in your yellow dress. What a great color for you! Your garden looks fabulous too. I am envious. What a talented gardener you found. Your mom does look very tech savvy with her tablet. I bet she’s a young-at-heart soul. She looks like she’s doing quite well health-wise. That warms my heart. I am within a few months of your age and am fortunate to still have my mother too.
Speaking of health, I am so glad to see that you have recovered so well from your surgery. May you, your mother, and all of your family continue to be blessed with good health.
I adore your cheerful golden dress! I so enjoy your scenic photos and sense of humor. I smile all the way through your posts.
Thank you so much for your comment. That means I reach my blog goal with you and that is to let you smile. Or perhaps sometimes even laugh?
The funny thing is, that our friend and neighbour Froukje designed this garden, together with my husband. The gardener thought of the height difference in the pond.
My mum looks better than she feels. Mind you, it could be a lot worse.
Thank you for all your good wishes. You can never get enough of those.
The yellow dress suits your sunny disposition. Love the slingbacks too. I need a pair!
Thanks for the compliments. I was rather pleased myself with this outfit.
You look great in your yellow dress! It might also look good without the neck tie. And your friends are so stylish. Thanks also for the pictures of Harlem. Have a great week.
You are right, I can wear it without the neck tie, but I would probably then add something else, like a brooch.
What I like about my friends (photographers) that they make an effort with their outfit when we go out.
Great dress! I think the fit is fine on top. You don’t want too much fabric volume there and as long as the buttons aren’t gaping, it’s all good. Fabulous color and the earrings are so nice with it!
Your garden looks lovely!
I didn’t do too badly, right? Quite pleased myself. Thanks for the compliments.
This sunflower yellow looks great on you. I love the cut and length. It showcases your beautiful shoes. You have a dream shoe wardrobe!
I will admit, I do have a lot of shoes. Imelda Marcos (famous for her vast shoe collection) on a small scale haha.
Love the yellow dress! It looks lovely on you, those earrings and bracelet are perfect. Mom on the iPad!
As soon as I saw the dress worn by Karlijn, the shop owner, I knew it would be perfect for me. I need to see a garment on a person before I know this.