As this is my first ever post I thought I’d kick off with an outfit I wore on the first day of my Provencal holiday from a couple of weeks ago. We were in the South of France visiting my in-laws who live there and it’s one of my favourite places to stay. Who needs exotic destinations when you have the Cote d’Azur in one direction, the mountains of the Alps in the other and as much tarte tartin as you can bear eating.
This is the land and light that drew the great artistic talents to the French Riviera – Monet, Matisse, Chagall, Picasso, Van Gogh et al. The first day was true to form, a bright, blue-skied day – hence my funky purple, prescription sunglasses – and I just had to reflect that vibrant light in my clothes. We
were off to a local, weekly car boot sale, which my Dad-in-Law likes to
frequent and as it takes place in a dusty field, it meant sensible
slip-ons, over my first choice of footwear; sparkly sandals.
And
in another first, this was the first time I’d actually worn the floral print cami top. I was
rather taken with the detail around the yoke when I saw it on ebay over
a year ago. Yes, I know, over a year to wear, but it’s been waiting for the perfect time for
its debut! One particular aspect I like about this cami is something that unfortunately you can’t see (note to self; take more photos of detail next time). It has adjustable,
spaghetti straps, vital for me with my short torso, otherwise the
neckline would end up sitting down around my navel.
I fell in love with both the stunning colours and the bold, floral print of the cami – a double whammy you
might say. It’s the perfect compliment to the pale pink of the
trousers and the turquoise of the cardigan. The material is so soft (100% cotton), so felt light and easy to wear against my skin.
I have such
ridiculously fair skin, meaning a hat is de rigeur when out and about on
sunny days, unless I want my nose to resemble the colour of a cooked
lobster tail. This jaunty number I bought from New Look a couple of
months ago and it seems almost stuck to my head, I’ve worn it so much.
The side-on view just shows off the jauntiness of the Trilby, don’t you think? And the bright bands add a pop of colour without being garish. Although, they can’t compete with the gorgeous, purple flowers growing out of the back of my head and shoulders!
The necklace is
from New Look too and is the perfect length to add some detail around
the neck, without pulling focus from the print of the top.
Because that
would be rude.
And I wouldn’t want the cami to have a strop on its first
outing.
The necklace was a complete impromptu purchase the week before
the holiday. I spied it in the sale for £2. I know, a whopping £2!
It’s a layered necklace with a small silver heart, an even smaller gold heart, a clear glass pendant and tiny, delicate, pearlised spheres.
But if you want
to talk bargains, let’s talk bargains. My silver bag was a steal from ebay. I won it for the princely sum of .99p!
I’d been looking for an ‘everyday’ bag in silver, well, because
I’m a magpie when it comes to silver (could you have guessed this, I
wonder????) and this ticked the box. It’s a bright silver without being
so shiny you’d need shades to look at it.
And the pockets! What’s not to
love about those pockets?!?
So hat and necklace are new from New Look. The hat is still available to buy: Straw Trilby Hat
Bag and top are preloved, originally from Next and Monsoon respectively.
Cardigan is old from Next.
Pink skinny jeans are SS14 from Dorothy Perkins Petite.
Shoes are Skechers.
So all dressed up, off we trotted to the car boot sale. We didn’t buy anything despite seeing some eye-catching wares and some, honest-to-god-awful-tat; as is often the case at boot sales. But I couldn’t finish my first ever blog post without showing you a couple of items that sorely tempted both me and my husband, TallBrownFox.
I’m very happy to
admit I’m rather partial to abit of kitsch and let’s face it, you can’t
get much kitsch-er than this; a collection of Snow White and the Seven
Dwarves garden gnomes. Look at the detail on the faces. You know
exactly which dwarf is which. And there’s Snow White, bless her, at the back,
keeping a watchful eye on them in case they go on a rampage around the French field.
My immediate thought was, will TallBrownFox allow me to buy another 8 suitcases and a shed load of bubblewrap so that I can whisk them back to Blighty, to take pride of place in the garden.
He saw me twitching with excitement and swiftly put paid to my mini Disney dream and said;
“Don’t even think about it.”.
So, I hope they’ve gone to a good home because sadly, it’s not mine.
Here, have a hankie to wipe away your tears.
And lastly, I give you a can. Not any can. Nooooo. A stereo system cunningly disguised as a Coca-Cola can.
I turned swifty to Mr TallBrownFox and said;
“Don’t even think about it.”.
Linking with Turning Heads / Sydney Fashion Hunter: Mental Health Hat Day /
Ha ha ha ha! You hubby and mine would do quite well together I think.
Wow! Looks like I'm your first comment : ) How exciting. Once you pass a certain age in life it is harder to find things to do for "the first time". It's not much, but I'll take what I can get now.
Love the whole bright ensemble, especially the hat and bag. I also require hats an loads of sunscreen in the sun.
From one lanky tall Swedish prepubescent blond to another… congrats on your new blog!
bisous
Suzanne
That's so kind of you to comment. You are indeed number 1! And your reference at the end tickled me pink! I suggest that at some point in the future we meet with our husbands to eat meatballs.
True, it is harder to do first's, but I seem to be doing quite well with them in my 40s, so onwards and upwards.
Thanks for popping over with your good wishes. Much appreciated.
Congratulations on your first post! I'm sure this will be the first step to many, many more. I loved seeing the Snow White garden gnomes. I would have wanted to snatch them up if I were there. Thank you for stopping by She Thought She Could.
You're welcome; I'll be stopping by again. And thank you for your kind wishes. The gnomes are fun, aren't they?
Your very first post ever?! Nice job. Welcome to the world of blogging.
Yes, first one out of the bag,Stacy! Thank you, glad you like it. Can't wait to do more posts.
So glad to bear witness to you first post!! Great job. Love the bright pastel ensemble of the pale pink and pretty blue hue with floral pattern. I was laughing, as I wanted to say, " Oh Gnomes!" but they seem to be peacefully placedin people's gardens.
You travel to such wonderful locals I am looking forward to hearing of your adventures. I wouldnt mind visiting France! I enjoyed reading your first post and look forward to more!
Thanks for linking up with Turning Heads Tuesday!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Thanks Jess for your lovely comments. You'll certainly be hearing/reading more about France so maybe we can lure you over to this side of the pond at some point!