dinsdag 12 mei 2015

Tweedride Urtecht

 
 
This will be a quick post with mainly photo's from last Sunday's Tweedride.
 
So firstly my outfit (as that is what my blog is about)
 
Tweed jacket, Episode Amsterdam
green skirt: H&M
Two tone shoes: Stijlloods Haarlem
Silk blouse: textile market
Bangles: H&M and flea market
1940's hat: bought from a friend
 
 
The hat was actually the starting point of my outfit. I matched all other garments with it. It is perfect for cycling as it has a strap at the back so it can be attached to your hair easily.
 
 
You can see the hat more clearly in this picture. I was in quite a lot of pictures I love this one the best (taken by Rene Bosch).
 
We left from Amsterdam Central Station with a group of 7 people. Quite a challenge to fit all our bikes in the same compartment of the train.



 
Below just some pictures I took of  some of stylish people before the ride started:
 
 
 



We set off at 13.30 accompanies by Sunshine, it was such a lovely day! Good for my curls as well

 
About halfway we had a stop so we could have our sandwiches and something to drink.
 
 
This group picture was a challenge to arrange as there were about 60 people! For more pictures check out: https://www.facebook.com/tweedriderotterdam/
 
 
 
Another stop was made at Madame the Pompadou a vintage haidresser in the city centre of Urtecht. Here we had gin-tonic with lots of ice in huge glasses, cheers!
 


 
We ended near the Dom tower the main focal point of Urtecht.
 

 
There will probably be another Tweedride again in the autumn, I can't wait!!
 
 
 
 

vrijdag 8 mei 2015

Tweedride outfit inspiration

 
 
This Sunday I will partake in the Tweedride in Urtecht. Next to the bikes the dresscode is an important part of the event. So in this post some outfit inspiration.
I love this picture of a woman in a very stylish cycling outfit. It was taken in 1938 by one of the Séeberger brothers who made 'steetstyle' photo's  in France in the first half of the 20th century. Maybe this photograph was taken at the 'Journée Mondaine de la Bicyclette' a fashionable event that was organised in Paris in the late 30's. I don't know a lot about it but I could immagine it to be a kind of precedent of the Tweedrides of today.  I found some more photo's of it (also by the Séeberger brothers) in the French fashion magazine L'Officiel. Their archive is accessible online but unfortunately the pictures cannot be copied. Do have a look, amazing source:
 
The couture cycling gear in the Séeberger pictures is a for cry from what an average person would have worn cycling.
 
 
The Dutch notoriously do everything by bike. So what to what were upper-middle class Dutch women advised to wear when riding a bike? This article from a Dutch fashion magazine from 1937 decribes it as following:

'Riding bikes is our national sport. What does the Dutchwoman do when the first spring winds blow? She will go for a a short bikeride. And when she is very sporty she will make it quite a long ride!
For a birkeride like that she will need a practical comfortable little suit. It is true we don't need an entire biking outfit when we go to work, bring our children to school, or do some shopping by bike in the city. But when we are making a truly long bikeride and want to enjoy it as much as possible then a simple blouse and pantskirt in which we can move freely is the thing to wear.'

The picture next to the article shows some examples:

 
 
Another article also gives advice about clothes when going to the countryside to cycle, walk or camp.
 
'Your traveling outfit should be practical and simple. No white collars and cuffs, no bows or other dainty decorations, but clothes that are meant to last'.
 



The woman in the picture is wearing practical culottes but also a dainty hat! Now that IS inspiring to me :)  The text underneath the header glorifies the bike, how fitting for a Tweedride!



 
I love all of these outfits!
 
 



 
The pictures of tweed jackets with plain skirts are the inspiration for my actual outfit. This will be my first Tweedride in tweed (I just did not have anything in tweed to wear before exept a very warm coat). Below a little preview of what my outfit is going to look like on Sunday:
 
 
 
Just to get an idea: here are a few pictures of what I wore on the last two Dutch Tweedrides in The Hague and Rotterdam.
 


 
 
I am looking forward to the ride on Sunday! The weather is supposed to be quite good and not too warm (which is a good thing when wearing tweed).
More on my entire oufit and the event in a next post!

zondag 3 mei 2015

Cleaning my new summer coat & a vintage bikeride




Spring has had a rather slow start so I only started waering my spring/summer coat a few weeks ago. I found it at the Waterlooplein fleamarket together with the fur trimmed coat I wrote about a while ago.

I was so lucky to find a coat in such a light color for a good price! It also features some nice decorative padded stitching in the front.



Because of that it looks like quite a thick coat but it isn't, the wool is very thin as is the rayon lining.
The coat was not in mint condition: some stains and smelly armpits. Here is how I took care of the latter. It is a different method than the one I decribed here: http://vintagewardrobe-of-missb.blogspot.nl/2015/02/from-frump-to-fab-some-basics-of.html

Because it is impossible to wash the entire coat, vinigar could not be used. Another good method  for removing smells is the use of 'baking soda' (not to be confused with regular soda used for cleaning), ' called 'zuiveringszout' in Dutch and 'natron' in German where I sometimes buy it because it is cheaper.
Baking soda can be used for many things, like cleaning your teeth (tastes salty, but removes stains much better than toothpaste).

It is very effective with bad smells and some stains in clothes that cannot be washed but can stand some moisture/damp. So you have to check if the fabric is not prone to water staining first by putting a drop of watter on a hidden place (seam) and letting it dry.

I mainly use baking soda for heavy garments made of wool, like coats and jackets. Normally the baking soda does not leave any residue if removed properly. I've only noticed a faint white glow on some lining satin once (could be removed with water). There are two ways of applying the baking soda onto your garment. I used both of them for my coat:

1st All you have to do is put the baking soda in a cup and add a little (really only very little) water
to make a paste. You can rub this on the affected area and let it dry. When it is dry the baking soda has turned into powder again and you can brush it off.
I used this method for the lining (when you have a garment with a lining you have to treat both lining and outer fabric).



The method above I see most described, but it can be rather messy when you apply the paste.

2nd When you have a thick fabric that can take some moisture you can also choose to wetten or dampen the fabric. The baking soda will stick and form a crust. This can be removed in the same way after it is dry. I used this method for the outer fabric.



After this treatment the smell was removed. I did have to send this particular coat to the drycleaners because it was a bit grubby allover (not strange given the color). I chose to remove the smell first because experience has learned drycleaning does not resolve smells that have been there for some time.

One of the first times (and the one best documented) I actually wore this coat was on a vintage bikeride in Leiden two weeks ago.



Normally I would opt for a more 'sporty 'outfit for a bikeride.
The event however cosisted nog only of a bikeride but also a party in the evening. As there would be no time in between to travel home and change my outfit had to be both bikeride and party proof.




 My shoes had sensible heels. I wore my favorite beret/hat on top of a curly updo. As feared loose curls would not survive a windy bikeride. Quite dressy but still cyclable. During a stop a woman asked me if I could actually cycle in that oufit, haha well of course (it was hardly a ballgown).




Here I am toghether with Martine who organised the event, we obviously had fun! Check out her website: http://www.beleefhetverleden.nl/

The weather was so nice I did not wear my coat all the time. Underneath my coat I wore a 1940's rayon floral dress that is both sturdy and flowy.To match the hat I wore a dark blue cardigan with leg of mutton sleeves.





For the evening I let my hair down and changed into thinner stockings. Party proof!

 
Next week I will be joining another vintage bikeride, this time the Tweedride in Urtecht. But more on that later.