There is always that first really hot day that feels like the actual beginning of summer. Freshening up your memory of how summer really feels. Usually it is in late spring or early summer. This year it was last Friday with temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius in the Netherlands.
As I did not have any obligations that day and did not want to simmer in the city I payed a visit to my parents who live in the countryside in the east of the Netherlands. Hot weather calls for special outfits. A bit like the ladies in the picture below.
At noon when the morning freshness was fading I went for a swim in the local open air pool. This is called 'strandbad', which literally means beachbath. It was build in the 1930's and remains in a somewhat original state. The perfect location for a vintage style dip in the water.
On the picture you can see a sign that means that swimming is only allowed in bathing costume.
I wore one of my favorite vintage bathing suits. Bought it at a flea market years ago. It is also the most practical one as it is made of elastic fabric (all my other ones are made of cotton that is more challenging to wear when you actually want to swim).
It probably dates from the 50's but because it is quite neutral in style it works for a 30's of 40's look as well.
And yes, I go swimming with red lips, earrings in and my sunglasses on. Why not?
After my swim I returned home and changed into my oufit for the rest of the day which was spent around a log cabin with veranda in the back of the garden.
The cardigan is from Primark and only a few years old but looks from a different era.
Now let me introduce me to my favorite part of the outfit: THE straw hat for me this summer. I bought it from a friend a few months ago. I was so glad to find it: so very simple and elegant it goes with almost every summer outfit.
The straw is very fine and light. Hardly any decoration except for the broad blue grosgrain ribbon.
The label is of Metz & Co. an expensive Dutch department store that does not exist anymore.
In 1939-40 the store was refurbished into a clear alsmost minimalistic style by Willem Penaat, a famous Dutch interior disigner. These photo's of the couture department were taken just after the redecoration had taken place.
The second picture shows a woman trying on hats. When you look closer you can see some are quite similar to mine:
Maybe this picture can help date the hat more precisely, but straw summer hats did not change as much as the more dressy examples.
From a Metz catalogue of 1940.
And another one from 1937. The woman on the left wears a similar hat. You can also see a range of summer wardrobe items which brings me to the rest of my outfit.
I was wearing a playsuit that is not vintage at all but looks the part. For hot days full of sunscreen it might be for the best to wear something low maintenance.
Below just a few examples from vintage magazines:
And then there was the glorious nature baking in the sun. As spring has been cold lots of flowers were still in bloom.
The view from the veranda.
The pond
As there were no icecubes at first I started using frozen raspberries to cool my lemonade. This was so lovely I used it with icecubes later on as a bowl meets lemonade kind of drink.
Oh and there are my shoes between the grass and flowers against the clear blue sky. I love espadrilles for summer. Easy to find in any collor and I've seen them quite a bit on old photographs.
The heat was to stay only for a day. And heat ends in a thunderstorm, that came in the middle of the night. But at the end of the evening the wind allready foretold what was coming. However the birds kept singing. And so my first summer day ended.
