The last and the comming weekends are full of sleepovers, but I'll try to post a full catch up somewhere next week. This post is about my trip of this weekend only. I went to my grandparents by bike togehter with my dad. We made this trip every year when I was little and was brought there to spend a few weeks during the summer. So it was very litterally a trip down memory lane.
Eventhough it was only a 3 day trip I packed several (too many) outfits.
We left from my parents house. I wore a practical skirt with kick pleat and a little rayon knit top. Practicality was important because it was a 70 km bikeride.
Some flowers along the way.
We visited the gardens of Warmelo Castle near Diepenheim.
Because the summer has been so wet (and cold) there was a lot of intense green.
View of the castle from over the pond.
There were some sand sculptures in the garden and here I'm posing in a silly way.
This is my childhood bedroom at my grandparent's, it has hardly changed since I was little. It is called the little flower room, maybe this is were my love for floral prints started. The walls are covered with paintings of fairytales made by my grandfather.
My grandmother was very happy to have a granddaughter (she had two sons) and spoiled me with lots of dolls that were dressed differently every time I visited. I had my own toys, books and wardrobe at my grandparent's as I spent several vacations a year there. My gran made clothes for me from her old (floral) dresses.
I dressed barbie dolls in clothes made from scraps of material and ribbons.
I only just realized how bizarre all the arrangements of toys really are ;)
I mean a bus full of plastic pigs?
From my bedroom window I could see the Palthe Tower on a hill. This fueled many Rapunzellike childhood fantasies (I loved fairytales). In fact it was built in the early 20th century by a rich textile family, so there was nothing romantic about it except the view.
In 1998 I first made the entire journey by bike myself and a picture was taken in the heather front of the Palthe Tower. The distance seemed so much longer when I was little. I was a bit apprehensive of getting a sore backside and legs but it turned out a piece of cake. We took another picture at the same spot, 18 years later. It was taken during a bikeride the next day as you can see by my changed outfit.
Before this we had made a walk on the heath during the morning. My grandparents live next to a beautiful nature conservation area on the 'Sallandse Heuvelrug'. My father and I go there for a walk when the heather is in bloom every August.
The dress I'm wearing is an actual 1940's red polkadot dress. Though many repro 40's/50's dresses are red with polkadots actual garments from the era with this print are not that common. I was in serious doubt whether to buy the dress because it might look to 'repro'. Quite silly, I know, with all those black dresses being around and this being a nice color and cut. So I bought it. I only had to add some new shoulderpads as you could still see where the old ones were cut out. Nothing beats a well padded shoulderline ;)
Contemplation on the moor
All the nature made me remember this girl's book from 1942. My gran got it as a present in 1944 when she was 13. I read it during my holiday at about the same age. The story isn't anything special, a soppy romance, but the pictures are wonderful. This was the reason the book was quite special to my gran, something so pretty during a time when there was almost nothing in the stores.
The paper is of that greyish wartime quality but the illustrations are on thick shiny pages.
Cornflowers and heather.
The main character sports some lovely outfits. You can see the pictures were drawn over several times (by my gran as a girl).
That red and white combo! Next to the outfits I like the flowers that are so particular for the different seasons. The illustrations look like they belong in a fairytalebook, yet they capture the look of the time too.
A very true 40's autumn look.
The detail of the little girl's stockings! There is clearly some comment on social circumstances such as the main character's love interest being a healthy young man out of a job and finally becomming a farmer. Not sure how to place them in the time it was published.
The folklore element is also very present, the settings are all very Dutch.
Women in regional dress in the eastern part of the country. They're eating 'krentewegge', bread with currants.
And the very particular style worn on Marken.
I noticed the main character is wearing a dirndl style ensemble on this picture, which also has a (albeit different) folkore element in it next to being in fashion at the time.
The 3rd day we cycled back home without any pictures being taken and that concludes my trip down memory lane!
Will be back next week!
Birthe
