Encouraging outfits

Do clothes improve our health? Yes and no.

Of course you cannot cure diseases or mend broken limbs with clothes. But every improvement to our mental well being, which no doubt is influenced by how good we feel we look, will also have an effect on our physical health. A good reason to dress well - both at the doctor's as well as with friends.

On Thursday last week I had an appointment with one of the specialists. As I felt sorry for myself I wanted to be as comfortable as possible, so I went with joggers and a t-shirt. Adding pearls and leather made me feel better dressed without sacrificing my comfort in any way.

Funny how a teenage room can stretch to every corner of the home!

Glitter, sparkle and shimmer

Friday I had a lunch date with the girls (my old BFF and my new BFF). Aren’t they gorgeous?

The sweetest best friends in the world!

However, everyone’s having health trouble and not feeling very well, so I wanted to wear the most positive and fun outfit I could think of. In the end I put together a somewhat "Christmassy" outfit, all sparkly but in fall colours. 

The necklace is almost diamonds, from Zara a few years ago

The colour of the top normally doesn’t suit my skin colour, but my soul craved it! As an excuse I can add, that my skin colour has actually changed recently due to a large, regular intake of sweet potatoes. Now this mustard-yellow-greenish colour almost suit me - and that’s good enough for a beautiful colour, agree?

The cake is a caramel cheesecake - fantastic!

The back of the top is quite special, and I forgot to get a photo! So, borrowing one with a younger and slimmer model...

How could I forget to get a photo of this?

The skirt is an old one from Phase Eight. The sequins are not very shiny, and the colour is a dark gold.

The boots are from Evans, last year, and EEE width. Since the material is man made I only wear them indoors or in really good weather - and we were indoors all day, perfect!

We had a great time, eating and talking all day, and no shopping!!! That's a first EVER!

Gold and Oriental print

Saturday I had a day long meeting in another part of the country, so I had a bit of a train ride to and from the destination and needed a flexible, warm and comfortable outfit. As it was early and I was tired, I never got a proper camera out to take photos... Apparently my husband was tired too, please try to ignore his hand!

Tilted and with part of a finger - sums up Saturday morning!

What the poor quality photo doesn't show is that the top is gold shimmer, a favourite colour. I find that nothing lifts the spirit like a touch of gold. Here's the outfit without the tired model:

Everything except the Monies necklace

Sunday evening birthday party

In April I saw a dress by Adrianna Papell in red and pink colours, perfect for me, but not in my size. Maybe also too expensive. I had put it on my wishlist but had really given up trying to get it. 

Faux wrap dress in great colours - now mine!

Then last month it was suddenly on sale at House of Fraser, and there was a single one in my size - at a VERY reduced price. I hardly breathed until I had placed my order. Of course I had to wear it at the first opportunity which was this Sunday night.

The dress! With favourite Irregular Choice shoes, homemade necklace and H&M bag

Every time I look at the colours and pattern I get a 1970's feel. I remember seeing my mum in prints like this. 

Even the length is just perfect!

Funny how sparkly I felt without wearing anything shiny at all. This dress is certainly healthy for me!

Next week is going to be busy too, but with a huge reward: Monies is having a sale! Not that I really need more jewellery... Only joking, I always need more jewellery from Monies! Anyway, all the other customers are incredibly stylish ladies and I always sit and watch them after I've made my purchases. I hope I can get a few pictures for you all to enjoy.

Lots of love to all

Kaffesoester

The Singapore Gin Sling cocktail outfit & Copenhagen shots

Remember my last post? I had taken dresses and accessories to make three possible outfits to choose from, for Saturday's cocktail party.

When the day came it was cold (10 degrees C./below 50 degrees F), windy and rainy - and so cloudy I would need to use a flash with my camera, outside. All three outfits just felt too cold.

So I was looking for something warmer, and ended up with this pile of old and seen before items! Notice the wet ground. At least the sky finally cleared. The dress has appeared here and here before, and the jacket here and here.

Upon arrival we were handed our first cocktail - a Singapore Gin Sling, which happened to match my outfit to perfection! I felt a success right from the beginning, and that only improved as the evening progressed, with lots of flattering comments on my outfit :-)

My hair does look strange, but my family reassured me that it was fine once inside!

The new bra worked wonderfully - and with my most comfortable heels, the whole outfit gave me such a relaxed feeling that I haven't experienced in years! It was a great night :-D

Ahead of the party I had agreed to bring Petit Four - and Friday I went shopping for ingredients.

I went to Torvehallerne, Copenhagen's fine food market. As a bit of a food-fanatic this is just heaven! I made a couple of small collages of the delicatessen on offer.

The cakes:

The vegetables (notice the edible flowers in the large photo!):

The relaxed seating:

The place is quite large, with two buildings housing numerous smaller stalls inside, and more outside between the buildings. It's so big I'll have to cover it in another post.

Since Friday was sunny I thought it would be nice and warm as well, so off I went in my little tunic and sandals:

I did wear a coat too, luckily. The temperature was around the same 10/50 degrees. I'm seriously considering learning Spanish and force my family to emigrate!

The colours were warmer than the wind! The sandals by Rieker, are very easy to walk in. There's a chock absorbing sole and elasticated straps to make them fit almost anyone.

The necklace is by Monies, and possibly my favourite piece. I like how the individual pieces resemble my curls.

Sunday I was supposed to try my new herbal wonder, but I was tired... There was a few leftover cakes from the party (I made more than 150 pieces) - here's how they looked:

The white chocolate mousse I originally planned to use didn't work, it was too runny, even with more than double the gelatine in, relative to the recipe. Imagine the panic I went through! Instead I made a whipped cream with vanilla and lemon zest. The bottom is an almond sponge.

Monday was work day, and I thought I was going to the printers in Copenhagen, and then delivering goods to a client. I dressed in corporate grey (again) and a comfortable, long cardigan:

The dress is a cheap version of the Phase Eight dress I wore last week. And it's too short! However a thinner knit is better under a cardigan, so I'm keeping it for now.

The jewellery of the day consists of a few of the usual bangles, the green Mother of pearl by Monies, the other horn, both matching the necklace:

The necklace of the day is also by Monies, a 50th. birthday gift from my friends :-)

It's a unique piece, made from horn, Mother of pearl and ceramic.

As it's such a rare occasion that we get to wear sunglasses in Denmark, I have another photo, showing these Missoni beauties!

For several reasons the visit to the printer and the client was postponed for 24 hours - so staying in the sun for a bit longer - dreaming of Spain :-)

May the sun shine on all of you - and have a lovely week!

Love Kaffeseoster

Easy come, easy go

In a resent post I complained about my waistline.

Today those two inches have gone - celebration?

No! Since Wednesday last week I've been sick from a bad burger. Not the ideal way to loose weight. There's still a few annoying side effects to battle, but in general I'm fine again. Except for the missing appetite. Luckily I'm well padded...

Today's pictures are from last week and last month. It turned out that I missed a planned posting. So, here are the photos

Extremely comfortable outfit

Not so long ago I bought the book Parisian Chic by Ines de la Fressange. That's where I got the idea to match pearls with a t-shirt. As it's still winter up here in Scandinavia I added a denim shirt on top.

Sadly my 15-year old daughter thought I was trying too hard to look young. Well, I just think I'm expressing on the outside what's on the inside :-D

I wore the outfit at a meeting in late February

A few days later I attended yet another meeting, in a slightly more colourful outfit...

Phase Eight dress, Clarks ballet flats all summer 2014

This dress has been quite a favourite of mine. The colours are right up my alley, the drape is very flattering on my figure, and the quality is a light viscose that allows breathing even with a hot flush.

A longer line cardigan would have been better!

So, the wonder is on the other side! It's by UK brand Phase Eight, now a regular name on my bank statements.

The usual big bangles and a silk scarf by Gudrun Sjöden

Just a bit gold in the accessories are perfect, warming the cooler colours up. The dress also appears in an outfit from last summer, in this year's very first post

Last week, on the day that I had the Bad Burger, I went to a business meeting in the morning. Those pink suede shoes from the previous post demanded to be taken out for walk!

Old dress from CC, hardly ever seen on the blog

This dress has been in my wardrobe for years. I've worn it once or twice. It's proven harder than I imagined to style.

Again, my pink shoe-stars are the perfect companion to a difficult dress

I love seeing the heels from behind

This just proves that investing in a great pair of shoes is one of the wisest investments a girl can make. I think maybe even better than diamonds? Well, maybe not!

Sorry about the name tag, I was still tired!

In the next few days Denmark has been promised snow, frost and dark clouds. Sad, when all I want to do is start digging in my garden. Like every year I've already sown the majority of my seeds so I NEED good weather NOW!

Please Sunshine, come back to Denmark, and bring your  friend Warmth!

Have a lovely Easter everyone!

Kaffesoester

Pink stars with purple dress

It's been a fortnight again - how did that happen?

Did I enjoy myself?
Yes, for the most part

Did I have time to relax?
No, not at all!

Will things be different in the future?
Probably not.

My home is a noisy, messy, disorganised place, filled with unexpected guests. Every day I try to follow my agenda, and every day I have undone chores. Instead I have some great laughs - and I do get my (paid) work done. Dressing up in this environment can be a challenge though.

This Friday my husband and I went out to dinner at our best friends. We dressed up, since they really appreciate that

See this dress in an old post here

I do love this print, quite abstract and in lovely colours - purplish grey, aubergine and pearl white.

As always with a flower print I feel aged by it, so I take care to mix it with something unexpected - like these shoes.

Bed of Roses by Irregular Choice

Magically I discovered that these never worn shoes were not at all too high or uncomfortable to wear.

I do love these mad heels

So, I have had them stashed out of site for years - and now I have a pair of totally cool, new shoes, for free! Just how crazy is that? No answer needed :-)


They're by Irregular Choice from the Bed of Roses collection, dating back to November 2012.

The upper is suede, and inside they're stuffed with soft cushions to walk on, covered in rose-printed cotton... They really are the stars of this outfit!

I really walk on roses in these shoes!

The heels are 2,5" so they're certainly not too high. I really don't know what I was thinking when I put them away!


With my terrible feet I don't have many shoes, so this is quite a miracle in my world: Undiscovered, comfortable, cute shoes that will go with a lot outfits. It was a great Friday!


In my previous post I was bothered by my waistline. But who notices that now? Here's how I looked from behind:

I only see the shoes!

These shoes (and I) will be part of Patti's Visible Monday on the Not Dead Yet Style blog because that's where these little pink stars belong :-)

Hopefully my work load will ease up a bit once I've got a routine going - I so miss seeing you all!

Have a great time where ever you are, what ever you're doing!

Love Kaffesoester

Blessed by style angels

The last two weeks have been crazy - I've been working day and night to get a school project ready for handing yesterday. I made it, and so far my group and I have done great.

As if things weren't crazy enough, a friend of mine got tickets for one of the Trinny and Susannah shows here in Copenhagen, and she invited me to come along!As they were cancellation tickets I didn't know until an hour and a half before the show. I was sill at school, a 45 min. train ride from Copenhagen - unable to make it home for a change of clothes or getting rid of my enormous laptop!

Here's how we looked, sitting in the studio, before the show started:

My sweet friend Ayesha

Front row seats the whole evening

Just to prove that we were actually there:

The runway

So, if you ever get to see the T&S in Denmark show, I may appear among the audience since they cut up film into bits and place shots of the audience where ever they feel like it. It could be that I'm on the Aarhus or the Helsingor show, although I was really in Copenhagen!

It was fantastic to see how they changed people's appearance - and the victim's reactions. Most of them were truly happy, as were their friends and family. I don't agree with all their decisions but in general they're spot on.

The ladies themselves were of course very elegant, wearing gorgeous ball gowns by Danish designers. Trinny was in a soft "Pink Panther pink" hi low dress with a sequin waistband, and Susannah was in Lemon a lemon yellow floor length dress which I think was by Malene Birger.

Since I had plenty of eye contact with both ladies I count myself blessed by these style angels! Of course I do realize that the angelic appearance is strongest on the runway, wearing ball gowns!

As soon as I got home that evening I took my outfit photos. But at 10 pm, having only slept 4 hours the previous night, I was dead tired - and I think it shows!

Wishing I was in bed already!

The necklace isn't new, but I've been reluctant to wear it since it's the last item I purchased from H&M. By coincidence this necklace will be on TV. Here's a close up:

Too tired to care about camera angles!

I got home late form school on the day before, so the one photo that isn't all blurred, shows my new shoes, and the lovely green tights that should have been light blue. I was so tired in the morning when I got dressed that I didn't notice the different colour!

 

Green tights instead of light blue

As I mentioned earlier I handed in a project at school yesterday. We also had a presentation so I tried to dress for that:

Coral red and nay blue will be a classic soon?

I glad I kept this dress. It's so easy to style in different ways and with lots of other colours. It looks alright from the back too:

Amazing that polyester can look like this!

I got quite a few suggestions on how to improve the fit of this dress, like taking in the top where it meets the sleeves. But as you see the back is gathered which will course some strange drape like lines on the back. So, I've decided to be  contend with the current shape and fit, and focus on my remixing choices.


The shoes are new, from Irregular Choice's Bed of Roses range, and on sale (around 1/3 of the original price!), and they're a combination of red patent leather and red glitter tweed - who can ask for more in a shoe?

Lovely warm tweed shoes for winter!

The wedge heels are fantastic for hours on my feet, walking to the bus stop and around school.

Glitter tweed!

Mostly I forget to take photos of the coats I'm wearing, but I really liked the result yesterday so here's me, ready to face the Danish autumn weather:

Oops! Forgot to close the bag properly.

Last but certainly not least - my new haircut! There wasn't any wind blowing on the photos in my last post - I just had really bad hair! I'm so happy with this, although the aim is to have a bit more length.

Not a hint of grey hair at my age!

This is it for now - I'm rushing out of the door in a few minutes. I have surprise tickets for the whole family to a fun event in Tivoli in Copenhagen. More on that tomorrow!

Have a lovely weekend!

The pink coat covers it all plus a golden opportunity missed

Monday used to be Dress Your Best day. Now It's becoming Visible Monday.

At the Not Dead Yet Style blog every Monday's post focuses on the visibility of  women. Before I started my blog I experienced several times that I wasn't visible. Waiting in line in shops the assistant wouldn't see me, when I entered a room nobody seemed to notice. It began soon after I turned 40 and started dressing in what I thought was colours for grown up people (all neutrals).

In this cold climate most people only see you wearing big coats, scarves, gloves and boots. Like everywhere else in the Western world the majority of people are wearing black. It's no problem to stand out. Just wear colour!

Had I called today Dress Your Best day I would have put on my new pink coat along with my teal scarf and gloves because I think they're good colours on me.

Now It's Visible Monday so I'm wearing my new pink coat, teal scarf and gloves. This coat covers it all! Every time I wear it I get such positive reactions from people, on the train, in the street and at school. I have certainly become visible. I think people long for colour but lack the confidence to wear it just like I used to.

The outfit underneath has been seen before, only with different jewellery.

As for my obsession with gold - the gold coloured pants I ordered have arrived.

I don't know what they did to that photo, but this was the actual colour:

More grey with a sprinkle of gold dust than really gold coloured, so they're going back. The knitted top was alright, and hopefully to be seen on Friday.  Some time next week I hope to be able to wear these items, that are currently being packed somewhere abroad:

All of the above are bought with a substantial price reduction, and I've waited months for the shoes to go on sale, which does not agree well with my impatient character. They are by the way from Bed of Roses, made by Irregular choice.