A stylish start to the new year

It has been a while since I've written anything here, so this will be my first post of the year. As a late new years resolution I intend blog at least every two weeks.

I will start the year with pictures of New Years Eve. I stayed with a befriended couple and finally the pictures are of decent quality because there was someone with a good camera  who took wonderfull shots of all 3 outfits we wore.
YES 3 outfits, one for every part of the evening.
All photo's  in this post are by Loïc Benot!

We took this 1920's picture as an inspiration as I was the only guest and we had such fun recreating this 1920's set of people in all our different outfits:

 

Outfit number 1:

This was actually our dinner outfit:

Me in a 1930's dress & Martine in a 1910's dress she made herself!

Cute: Martine & Loïc (in a smart suit)

 

Good food is essential to New Years Eve:

 

 

Table setting with our first course

 

 

And the second!

 

Cheers!

 

Those ever hungry birds ;)

 

 

And as Loïc is French there is cheese before desert!

 

 

Now I looove cheese!

 

After desert as 12 a clock was nearly there we changed into our second outfit, the most party proof & flapperesque of the night!

 

This captures the spirit of the original picture best I think. Rather risque but I like it ;)

 

 

Martine was wearing a very good 1920's reproduction that can actually be worn without risk! My mid/late 20's number kept loosing sequins....Had it for years and this was the reason I'd never worn it, and maybe this was the first and last time I did. For 1920's party dresses I'm pro-repro.

 

 

 

It looked fabulous though! Look how we glittered! I'm normally not such a fan of the very straight lines of 20's dresses because I have hips and all. But this look I loved :)

 

The sequins are in a kind of zebra pattern. Because they are facetted they reflect light very well, such sparkles! This dress is definately best when worn, such a pity it probalby would not survive a wild dance ;(

 

 

The other man in Martines house is Nelson (the cat). Such a rag doll!

 

 

And the poor thing did not get any attention ;)

 

 

 

I wore my hair in a faux bob, with lots of curls at the back. I was wearing my haircomb again, it has become a favorite lately! Next to is is a hairclip with a braid of real hair.

 

 

Cheers again! Really nearly midnight!

 

Champangne!

 

 

Happy new year!!!

 

And on to the last outfit of the evening: loungewear 1920's style :)

 

 

A negligé dress for Martine, velvet smoking jacket for Loïc and lounging PJ's for me, worn WITH evening shoes.

 

Love how comfi & stylish this outfit is, maybe my favorite of the evening.

 

Martine made this dress in luxurious silk form a 1920's pattern.

You can see it here:

http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a16cf253de5d1b4bb05c170b2&id=e105875d19

 

And her other projects on het company website:

 

www.beleefhetverleden.nl

 

So this was a recap of my pretty stylish end of 2015 and start of 2016:

And after a late resolution a late wish:

 

 

 

This picture shows the wishes of a worldly woman for 1931, guess that still goes!

 

Hope to be back soon!

Birthe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Christmas Outfits

 This will be a post with mainly pictures. Thought I'd just show you my Christmassy outfits before they become irrelevant in the new year.
The problem is that the days before Christmas are so dark and there are few moments with decent light to take good pictures. So I regret to say that most of the pictures in this post are of quite a poor quality, but think they do catch the spirit of the season.
First there's the picture above. I'm wearing a knitted cardigan with a silk blouse that goes ever so well with it. A hat in matching color. What you cannot see is that it has a matching skirt but that will feature later on.


I wore this outfit to a Christmas market in Germany in the end of November. Kind of the beginning of the dressing for the festive season for me. I wore a coat trimmed with black fox fur with it.

Next 'thing' was the Christmas party at work:

I'm wearing a late 40's early 50's rayon crepe and voile dress in a dark blue shade. Love the bodice!

My parents have a huge tree (3 meters) every year with only silver decorations, and I helped decorating it as always. I wore a red day dress I usually wear around Christmas when I have to actually do things.

A few days before Christmas, on midwinter, I had a small party at my place. Everybody dressed up in style.

Next to my regular guests from the Netherlands I had the pleasure of welcoming Laurence (who had the most amazing blog on the 1950's! http://lostin1950.blogspot.com/)  and Sylvain from France who were staying in Amsterdam.

The ultimate Christmas material for me is velvet. I wore this ensemble I'd bought a few weeks before for an abosulute bargain price. I'ts an early 30's evening dress with matching bolero jacket in a stunning silk velvet in a very bright red.

My curls had already died that morning so I opted for an updo with a comb. To fill up the punging neckline I wore a green and black necklace with art deco earrings.

The party was quite informal so there was no real need for a full length dress but on the other hand, why not?

I lighted some real candles in the tree:

 Now over to Christmas itself:

On Christmas eve I wore a rayon print dress with the cardigan from the aforementioned knitted set. I made my mother wear the 1940's dress I gave her quite some time ago.

That evening and the next we opened out gifts. A lot of vintage goodies for me.

Some of these could be used for the outfits of the days to come.

I got this huge suitcase for hats. Bit bigger than expected. Now I need bigger hats ;)

The outfit for Christmas day, 1930's red velvet again. This time in a much darker shade, combined with a brooch I'd got the evening before.

Another gift was this shoe made of white chocolate, way to pretty to eat.

On to boxing day (second Christmas day here in the Netherlands)

Here you can see the skirt that belonges to the cardigan.  It was way to warm to wear them as a set though.The elastic band has to be replaced, so I wore it with a belt.

Because we had Christmas dinner with family this day I dressed for dinner. Again in velvet, dark blue this time, with the most amazing sleeves. Not a vintage but made by me several years ago form an old pattern. Wore the brooch and earrings I'd gotten the days before.

I put my hair up, and it turned out quite Edwardian.

And that's it for now. But the festive season isn't quite over yet so who knows what may follow. I've already got too many options for new years eve............

Wonder what I will wear ;)

Birthe

A weekend of family visits and heirlooms

A few weeks ago my father and I decided to spend a weekend calling on some family. It were two great days of talking about the old days, looking at old photographs and collecting some family heirlooms for my house.

The family history of my fathers side of the family is quite well documented. My grandfather made several albums with photo's (even some lovely CDVs from the 19th c.) and stories. My uncle and cousin digitized them and made them into books. But eventhough I've seen many pictures this weekend brought some new things. They were in the private albums of my grandparents and my great-aunt.

On Saturday we visited my grandparents. I feel they had a big influence on how I grew up out and the things I now like. It always feels like comming home a bit. I've spend so many hollidays there, when my parents had to work. I loved it there, life was very simple, wholesome, and old fashioned: healthy but good food, long walks, books with pictures, classical music, dolls for dressing up and stories read or told to me. I even had my own clothes there (made from my grandmothers old dresses). Mainly skirts & dresses.

This is my grandmother around 1949, love the print of flowers an ferns. She wore a lot of floral dresses throuhout het life. Probably why I love them too.

My grandfather will turn 90 in spring and my gran 85 but they are still very active. They've known each other since the mid 40's and still so cute together!

I found this picture of them from around 1950 in te album of my great-aunt Mimi the next day.

I still wear things from my grandmothers wardrobe from time to time. This time she gave me a crochet cardigan/jacket. I loved the color. Though it was likely made in the 70's it goes ever so well with older styles.

Now to the true heirlooms, not clothes but linens, also somehting I've really taken a fancy to since moving into my own appartment:

My grandmother had talked of a long tablecloth that had belonged to her mother. She did not know what to do with it an wanted to dontate it to a hotel. I did not want to let that happen.

So I got it from her. It is a linnen damask with flowers and dots. It probably dates from 1926-1928.

 (I'll explain why). With it came some napkins only one of which atucally matched.

 

The next day we went to my great-aunt on the other side of the country. She is my grandmothers younger sister. She had a bag with a letter adressed to me:

Mimi Jansen, your great-grandmother married Willem te Poel on the 14th of November 1928, after they had met 3 years earlier.

She must have made the embroidered contents of this bag in those 3 years. So about from 1926- about 90 years ago now.

So nice you want to have these sheets and pillowcases now!

(In February 1933 Mimi te Poel died, 5 weeks after I was born)

The contents of the bag were 4 sets of a sheets and pillowcases form my great-grandmothers trousseau. All monogrammed MJ, all four with a different band of lace or embroidery.

 

Monogram on the tablecloth

 

 

 

I knew about the pretty bedlinens from my grandmother who uses some of them still in the guest bedroom.

This are my great-grandparents at their wedding in 1928.

I love old bedlinens. I still prefer old wool blankets instead of a duvet, so I can really use them. Pillowcases are easy to find but sheets are far more difficult. Also the idea of sleeping under somthing my great-grandmother made herself makes it rather special.

 

This is the set I've put on my bed first. So much handwork. I thought the flowers looked a bit like Chritsmas bells so appropriate for the season.

 

Some pics of the styles of the bedlinens (just the pillowcases, but the sheets have the same decoration)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a little about my great grandmother, it is the little I know:

Maria Philomena Augustina (Mimi) Jansen was born on the 10th of august 1903 in Dinxperlo. She was the second daughter of Heinrich Jansen and Auguste Schulze-Tast.

 

My great-great grandparents at the time of their wedding around 1901

 

There are quite a lot of pictures from her youth. On this one from 1907 her (left) and her older sister Cilly are dressed in such cute matching outfits.

 

The oldest two sisters often had matching outfits or aprons. Like on this picture taken in the garden.

So many pictures were taken in the garden.

This one from 1916 with three of her sisters (second from the left). Such long locks!

 

 

Well on to the 20's and bobbed hair. I had never seen this picture of Mimi probably taken in the year of her marriage. Love her Art Deco scarf!

This was taken a few years later with her chubby baby boy Heini. Such a happy picture...one of the last pictures of her I have seen.

As she died so young I don't know anything of her personality, neither do her children. The thing that remains is the pictures from what looks like a happy childhood and handcrafted linens, that have probably not suffered to much because she died before they could wear out.....

 

This picture shows my grandmother making a carpet (she made the one in my living room too) in the late 40's with a picture of her mother hanging of the wall of her fathers house behind her. Love her sweater!

 

 

And as it is nearly Christmas: pictures from the Christmas season.

 

My grandmother, late 40's early 50's. White Christmas!

 

Cheeky: My great-aunt fastening her stocking

 

 

And I just adore this picture of my great aunt (secon from the left) with her friends under the Christmas tree. Do wonder what they are drinking.

 

Hope to get back to you soon with some Christmas outfits!

And if not: Merry Christmas :)

 

Birthe