The previous outfit which I created with this long denim skirt, was much cooler, more edgy with the Dries van Noten sweater. Only I don’t have that many trendy tops, so I choose colourful instead. The long denim skirt with a fluffy orange jumper is not too bad, but it isn’t cool. I did add some trendiness with the leopard boots by EIJK. They have been in my wardrobe for a long time and they are still available in the webshop. Not cheap but fabulous to walk on because of the special heel. To add a leopard print belt as well was irresistible but I badly need a new one. As the waistband is dipping in the middle with the fly being off-centre, the belt looks a bit funny. Hmmm…what to do about that?
Loes took the photos and we chose a shopping street in Haarlem for the background.
Below: I am standing in front of a second-hand designer wear shop called Paragons. Bought a few pieces here in the past.
Below: The sitting-down pose in front of a café.
Below: I wanted to add a bit of pizzazz to the outfit and opted for the bling bling brooch. To not overdo it, I wore little gold earrings with a tiny diamond in the middle (mum’s).
Below: Being photographed in a shopping street means many curious people, smiling at you and making remarks. I can see the fun in that. Quaint old-fashioned lamp shop behind me. They don’t make them like that anymore.
Below: Talking about old… an antique bookshop with vintage comic books. It brought back memories.
Below: Across from the bookshop is an old-fashioned haberdashery shop. We are so lucky to still have one of those.
Below: A ginger cat crossed our path. Loes and I love cats.
Below: To my surprise there is also a liquorice shop in this street. Very rare.
Below: Couldn’t resist having my photo taken with the housekeeper. Or would she be the cook? Liquorice is as Dutch as Dutch can be.
Below: In the right window of the liquorice shop I discovered this reading board. When I was 6 years old, I was taught the alphabet, reading and spelling with this board. That was in 1960, 64 years ago. After that year they used more modern methods. I can still recite the words by heart.
They should rename this street, called Kleine Houtstraat, to Memory Lane haha.
Below: Time to take a photo of Loes in her new yellow coat.
Below: I made her take off her coat. Only for half a minute. Some quick shots of her tone-on-tone outfit.
Below: A kind woman took our photo in a restaurant. We chose to sit in front of an ‘instagrammable wall’ as these things are called.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday was for shopping and taking some trousers to the tailor. In the afternoon and evening I played chauffeur to Ron and his friend. They were going to a restaurant and afterwards to the theatre. At both locations it is hard to find a parking space, so I took them to both places and fetched them again. They were grateful.
Sunday we visited our friends Georg and Marla. As they don’t really want to appear on the internet, I don’t take photos of them (anymore).
Monday Ron and I were busy creating another little booklet for granddaughter Zoë. It is Saint Nicolas soon (5th of December) and that is a huge celebration for children in the Netherlands. Like Santa Claus but with a different saint, and a horse instead of reindeers.
In the old days (1850 or so) the helpers of Saint Nicolas (who is from Spain) were Moors called Black Peet. For decades, when celebrating this event, people dressed up as Saint Nicolas and…also as Moors, with black faces. I don’t have to tell you that nowadays this leads to riots. Fortunately the majority of the Dutch see why this is offensive and now a Peet can be all colours of the rainbow. You will find more explanation in this post.
Below: Two pages from the booklet. The pages will be printed on thick cardboard. As you can see, grandma and grandpa are also at the party.
Tuesday a technician came to install our fibre optic cable. Alas, after checking the incoming signal, he discovered it wasn’t there. Two new appointments are in the making.
Below: One outfit I wore this week. You can see it better in the original post.
Rest of the week went by quietly without much to do. It is nice for a change but after a few days I really need to see people again.
The lack of events this week, does allow me to ‘freestyle’ a bit. I hope you like it. Below are all photos I came across on my iPhone.
Below: A joke that made me laugh. Hopefully I translated the text well enough for you to get the joke.
Ron saw this joke in the paper and cut it out for me, as I am a terrible cook. Vegetables, potatoes and meat is all I can do. And not very fancy either.
Below: My family, a grainy photo which I love. Dad, mum, my brother with his son, my granddad and (bottom left) me, holding my brother’s first daughter. It must have been summer 1980, as my niece was born May 1980. Which means I was 26. Such happy days. (This was one of the best skirt suits I have ever had.)
My lovely SIL is in another, very similar, photo.
Below: Melanie and me in Vancouver in 2015. One of the best blogger experiences I have had, meeting 23 other bloggers for 3 days. My friend Suzanne organised it after we met in Amsterdam in 2014, together with Melanie and Sue.
Melanie has a blog but nowadays usually posts most of her stuff on Instagram. (Here are links to her blog Bag and a Beret and to her Instagram account.) She is an artist, crazy like a bat, funny, immensely creative and one of the sweetest women I know.
And that is it for this week.
Greetje
Mel! Logan and I meet up with her still, every year we go to Vancouver. That blogger meet-up was so fun!
I love this denim skirt and I like the styling with the orange jumper and the big brooch.
I always see you and Logan meeting Mel, wishing I was there. Indeed the meet-up was great fun. Fond memories.
The styling of this skirt is not 100% to my liking. I want the skirt to be styled more edgy, cool. I will have to try harder.
Marvelous post, as usual. A little trick for the belt that seems to be conflicting with the off-center slit in the skirt — move the buckle either to the side or the back. It disappears from the front view and gives a little extra something to a side or rear view, without sacrificing the spice of the leopard print.
Aren’t granddaughters wonderful?
Thanks Elizabeth. My friend Marjolein suggested the same. Strange that I never thought of this myself LOL. Perhaps I can also put a scarf through the loops instead of a belt. Although a scarf is usually elegant and smart and I want this skirt to be edgy and cool.
Granddaughters are indeed wonderful.
The brooch really catches my eye. Very nice. And as always you look so stylish. Showcasing the special little shops you visit on your outings is like a vicarious trip and I enjoy it. Haarlem must be so interesting. I hope to see it one day. Nice to see the 1980 photo of your family. That is the year I married my husband. p.s. cat and dog photos are always good too!
Good to know you liked the post. I wasn’t sure it was nice enough. Haarlem is indeed a pretty and old town.
Fabulous boots!!
The boots are fabulous in more than one way. The heel is only 6 cm high, but still it is a heel and at the back it looks like a stiletto heel. But…big difference, it is a wedged heel, and longer than usual. When you walk on them, it feels as if you are wearing flat boots. I love this design of EIJK shoes.
Oh, I LOVE that orange jumper with the skirt! And the brooch is such a fun, whimsical touch!
I think Zoë is going to love the booklet; it’s adorable!
Orange is one of my favourite colours, though I have many. As long as they are bright.
The outfit needed something extra, hence the brooch. But I like the skirt better when it is styled more trendy, cool.
Zoë is indeed going to like the booklet, but I bet when she is a bit older.
Love the orange top with the denim skirt and leopard boots.
Your trip down memory lane reminds me of visiting a local museum and seeing the dollhouse I had when I was a child!
I love your family photo. Obviously you always loved gorgeous clothes!
I will put some more effort in styling this skirt. This was a bit of a lazy slap together styling. Which is why I like the first styling more.
You had a dollhouse! Lucky you, I never had that.
As for loving gorgeous clothes…oh yes from a very early age on. Mum told me that my aunt asked her what was wrong with me, as I changed clothes three times a day when I stayed with her for a week. I must have been 10 or 12? And I didn’t have a lot of clothes, so how I manages to change so many times, I don’t know.
I’ve missed commenting, but days are so busy here, with Christmas coming soon. My favorite outfit, maybe of all of them, is the jeans/blazer/shirt/sneakers outfit. It looks so young! I love jeans, and this is a polished jeans look. I loved your family photo – you’re so pretty! Have a nice week – our Thanksgiving is in a few days – another reason for the busy!
Don’t you worry, I completely understand when you don’t comment. We are all busy and commenting can never have priority. So relax.
To tell you the truth, the combination of jeans, blazer, shirt and sneakers is my favourite combination. I love a polished jeans look. Just as I loved the juxtaposition last week created by the beautiful blouse with the jeans. But, I don’t want to ALWAYS be in jeans. Which is pretty hard as that is what I wear most days.
Have a lovely Thanksgiving. We don’t have Thanksgiving Day.
I love orange so was happy to see your outfit. I am not currently fashionable as I do not like shirts or sweaters tucked in. No matter how many people advise me to do it, I find it shortens the torso and calls attention to my bust and waist. I think this outfit would be gorgeous untucked. Just my opinion!
That is funny. I have the same ‘issues’ as you but I praise the day that tucking your shirt in became fashionable. Especially untucked at the back. I use this trick to disguise my short torso and non-existing waist. I pull a bit of the shirt or jumper out and let it overhang the skirt or trousers. Or I use a belt in the same colour as the top to elongate my upper body. This way my torso becomes longer and my waist is hidden. When I only tuck in at the front, I drape the sides in such a way nobody can see whether I have small or wide hips. And my flat bum is covered as well. The bust is hidden when I don’t wear a top which is too tight.
I loved your family photo. And seeing that one of Mel brought back so many great memories.
The joke you translated was funny.
I’d happily wear your first outfit in a heartbeat…including the cute brooch.
Suzanne
Glad you enjoyed my outfit and the ‘freestying” part of the post. Every time I look at my Vancouver blog post, so many memories flood back.
The brooch was only €10 at the Noordermarkt, where we took you too. Remember how difficult it was for Ron to moor there and let us off the boat?
Another super cute post dear Greetje.
I love your family photo – you look absolutely stunning!!!
About todays outfit – try the skirt once with nude tights – I always think these long dark skirts look so much nicer with something light sticking out 🙂
I know it’s not natural as I tend to prefer black stockings too in general. However I have noticed wearing nude under long things picks the whole look up a little.
xxx Yvonne
Oh funny. When I first styled this skirt I was wearing nude hold-ups. And I thought “perhaps I should opt for black tights”. Tights because hold-ups are risky with a split that goes up pretty high. I will try the nude again. Thanks for the advice.