A limited rainbow

As promised in my last post here's more, or everything, on my developing wardrobe.

A close up of a former orphan t-shirt (and my red leather jacket)

After you've bought a bouquet of lovely dresses (because they’re easier to fit), a handful of cheap, ill-fitting t-shirts, a few random trousers plus two coats that strangle you - you discover your wardrobe is a kindergarten of orphans!

Great dresses and strangulating coats

What to do?

You experiment and find that a uniform of jersey trousers and fitted t-shirts are great combined with a kimono or a longline cardigan - so far so good. There’s a small problem though - having to return so many things bought online that the extra shipping expenses would buy you several new outfits. What’s wrong? Could it be buying without a plan? Or trouble meeting those fit requirements (as well as problematic feet)?

A selection of returned items

The elements of a buying strategy

First you need some style direction - how do you get that? I have read so many style guides, and unless you see yourself fitting into one of the cliches “Minimalistic”, “Classic”, “Boho” and so on, you’re on your own. Particularly if you love dressing in a riot of colours with lots of gold and glitter on top!

How do you then determine your style?

Anuschka Rees has a post on her blog called “50 ways to break a style rut”. Not doing all 50, I found one in particular was clever: Name your 3 favourite movies (for their visual qualities).

If for example Marie Antoinette (by Sofia Coppola), Memoirs of a Geisha and The Devil wears Prada make your list, you could then identify the elements from each movie that you especially appreciate - like luxurious fabrics of the 1800th century French court, with a good dollop of gold, anything Asian, and how Miranda Priestly always uses layers and looks so polished. These are the elements you translate into your style.

These films are a visual feast to watch!

The dreaded colour palette

Now all style guides will tell you to come up with a limited colour palette based on a couple of neutrals like black, navy or charcoal, and a few additional accent colours ensuring everything in your wardrobe goes together. If you’re a peacock sort of person those neutrals are probably not going to “speak” to you and the accent colours will be too few.

The colours so often recommended by professional stylists

Again, turn to Anuschka Rees! In another blog post she suggests 36 different colour palettes each consisting of nine colours. It may be that none of them are a direct hit. Then how about you then select the nine most common colours from your wardrobe and turn them into your colour palette? Unless of course, you’ve filled your wardrobe with colours that you hate - but how likely is that?  

I'm quite relaxed about matching the colours 100% as long as they still work

With the basics determined it’s time to add the style elements: Brocade, silk and jacquard from one film, Asian flower prints and kimonos from another and maybe more attention to make up and hair in order to look polished or a few tailored jackets, from the third film?

Lovely brocade fabrics

Marriage of style elements and colour palette

The result could then be that you only buy items that are in the colours of your palette, with focus on jersey basics and top layers in luxury fabrics. Step by step you would then build a cohesive wardrobe based on what was already in your closet and hopefully stop waisting money

Most of my wardrobe, without all the dresses though!

The red leather jacket isn't mine, but I was missing a proper photo

Since we all have mood swings you have to leave room for that too. In my wardrobe it’s statement necklaces in natural materials, a well worn denim jacket, and leopard print in not natural colours, that has nothing to do with the style inspiration for the rest of the wardrobe. I’m also dreaming of a pair of combat boots (something to give a good kick when called for).

Fun leopard print in not natural colours

The last check list to go through is the different situations you have to dress for - have you got everything covered? Have you got outfits for all the things you do on a daily basis? Personally I do, however, I know many of the locals think I’m overdressing (I’m really seen as the village idiot by many) in far too many colours with way too much bling. But you know, I couldn’t care less!

Anyway, I feel I’ve come a long way with my new wardrobe. I have given myself buying guidelines for the future and hope to save money and have more options in combining everything.

Later I may try and expand the colour palette, or build another one. I like to see a rainbow when I open my closet doors!

Finally, as I wrote this post I got the sad news of a friend’s death. I dedicate this post to her. 

In loving memory of Karen Palsgaard - a dear friend who fuelled education, personal growth and friendship across continents and cultures, through decades

A spirit who planted a forest of trees for others to walk in

Rest in peace Karen

One necklace, three outfits...

This is my hand in the photo. Isn't this Peony the most magnificent flower ever? I just had to show you right away :-)

The pictures were taken on Sunday when I visited a garden fair in Copenhagen. Before the weekend I had time to show off my new necklace on a number of occasions. First I went for drinks with my neighbours (happens often!) at some other neighbour's - in a rare trouser outfit:

The photo quality is lousy. An unmotivated teenage photographer and an iPhone...
I've had the shirt for two years, but I have doubts about the colour. Is it too warm?

Friday wasn't too warm, it was perfect!

Finally - time for sandals!!! Friday my neighbours and my family went to the anniversary celebration of one neighbour's work place.

I got to wear sandals :-D  If I could I would have worn some neon coloured shoes, inspired by Sacramento of Mis Papelicos. Instead I took this fun clutch. The photographer here is my lovely husband Michael. He took the shoes and the semi close up below as well :-)

With the unpredictable Danish weather it could be a while before I get to wear sandals again, so better enjoy it with this close up!

The very bright sun light changes the colour of my nail polish, it's really a very dramatic dark cherry.

I really enjoyed wearing my new necklace again. It's certainly a conversation piece! The dress is an old CC (also seen here and here), the sandals are by Rieker and unworn (bought on sale at the end of summer last year), very old jacket and new clutch both by H&M.

The necklace is of course by Monies!

Not only did the company get the Danish top pastry baker Mette Blomsterberg to give a crash course on Chocolate mousse, they also had a free bar :-D and absolutely divine little canapés. They're about half an inch in size - little master pieces! This is just a fraction of the whole spread. Next day I had to wear something very loose fitting!!!

Saturday I went to a friends birthday party. Top and skirt are both jersey...

It's the third day in a row that I'm wearing this necklace - is it getting boring?

These sandals are also by Rieker, and just as comfortable as the grey pair.

The skirt has been hanging in my closet for more than a year. I've tried building outfits around it many times, but given up. Every time it just turns out wrong, until now. I think this works.

And now to Sunday! Again a sunny day - but not at all warm! The forecast said warmer temperatures and blue skies. So I dressed in a lovely summer dress, ballet flats that allowed me to be on me feet all day, and a few bangles. No jacket...

Again a CC dress, my Clarks ballet flats and an assortment of bangles. I carried my bag across body to have both hands free for all the lovely free food samples :-D  which meant No Necklace!

Even though I'm not a flower pattern girl, I do like the fit of these dresses so much that I'm compromising. I've worn this particular one with white jeans in winter (here) which I actually prefer. As it turned out, that's also what I should have done on Sunday!

Here's a close up shot of my bangles:

The large cream coloured is by Kenneth Jay Lane, it only comes on/off with baby oil! The rest is a mix of second hand and cheap finds on holidays down South (Spain!). Like my feet I have size issues, and need at least 68 millimetres in diameter (2,75 inches) to squeeze my hand through.

As it turned out, sunday was very windy, got cloudy too, so very cold in the end. I had to cut the visit short and hurry home, with hands and feet turning blue from the low temperature :-(

Before I left I took lots of photos, the essence (apart from the peony up top) is brought to you here, by Picmonkey:

The watering cans in the lower right corner are leather covered! In the mid left, an art installation is inspired by later years flooding problems - I guess!

Monday morning I had an appointment with my optician. The wind had died down, so I went out in sandals again :-)  this time wisely carrying a jacket. I look quite ready for the jungle here, Khaki and animal print...

Yet another CC dress (also seen here and here), the red Rieker sandals, old jacket, and horn necklace from a holiday on Mallorca, three years back.

The fit really is perfect on my body. I've considered taking it up an inch or two. However, it looks great with winter boots in this length, so keeping it as it is.

This has turned out to be another marathon post - and the next one may very well turn out the same, sorry! My schedule is completely out of control these days. I have so many social events lined up this month, I can hardly breathe :-) The main problem is What to Wear! And how to manage everything on time.

On Friday I'm visiting Torvehallerne again, hunting down stuff for Saturday's dinner with our gourmet club - G2712. I'm already dreaming of what delicacies I'm going to eat on both days!

As a huge summer holiday bonus, my daughter's God Mother is coming "home" from Australia to stay with us for some time. Her son Marcus is coming too :-) It's so exciting since we haven't seen her for years - not since Marcus was a toddler.

I hope I can talk them into appearing on the blog :-)

I wish you all a great week and weekend!

Love 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

Out of the blue...

Came two invitations that I had to accept :-)

First one (Wednesday afternoon) was a workshop with the leading trend forecasters in Denmark, the second was a "Spoil yourself" sale event in the Triumph store in Copenhagen. With goodie bags and special offers!

The weather has been extremely wet and windy, what better excuse to show off my first proper raincoat in 5-6 years! And it's blue (the only colour left in the outlet), matching the blue skies I'm dreaming of, and the rain I'm getting instead.

Under the coat I'm wearing a new dress, also bought on sale, from Phase Eight. It matches the coat's lining :-)

The workshop was aimed at professionals in the fashion industry so I went for a corporate feel in my outfit.  I don't feel professional, and I don't have a fancy career. So I wanted an outfit with built-in power and self confidence - or as close as I can get to that.

This dress is so comfortable, the material is thick Viscose jersey, and it's lined in the upper front. This is already a favourite on colder days, when I need to cleanse my mental colour palette :-)

A few good bangles are mandatory! I would have worn grey tights, or nude fish nets, but both couldn't catch any smaller fish anymore :-(  How lucky I had these blue tights, matching the rain coat so nicely!

The workshop turned out to be more of a sales talk about the company's products (busy designers shouldn't be bothered with doing his/her own trend research...). However, they had brought books and reports from a few of their international partners, among those Li Edelkort, who I personally consider The Best!

Among the many trends she sees on the horizon is "Advanced" - as in Advanced Style by Ari Seth Cohen. She predicts that old older women with wrinkles, fun and stylish clothes and some great bling, could become a major trend around 2017 and on! She particularly mentions the 40+ bloggers community!

We will be style icons :-D

Or could become style icons... maybe.... Anyway, there's some recognition here, that we shouldn't overlook. For now, lets pat ourselves on the shoulder for "good work" and "great style"!

Tonight was the second invitation - at Triumph, well know German lingerie company. I got the invite from the shops assistant manager, the gorgeous Janne who also models, and is a former school mate of mine.

There was a minibar:

I stayed away until the candy had gone, wise when slimming! There were bubbles in the wine :-)

I got a new bra, with Magic Wires. The underwire is made of silicone instead of steel, and will take shape after your body. It is perhaps a thousand times more comfortable than regular underwiring!

Above is the model I got. Normally I don't like lace, but it was so little that it didn't matter.  Below is a picture of the inside of the bra. See how smooth it is?

The cups are shaped by foam, but still has strength to hold it all up! With the tight cocktail dresses 48 hours away I also got a pair of shape wear knickers. They were at a reduced price, like the bra, and equally comfortable. On Saturday we'll see how well they perform :-)

You all know I have a transom above average, so no need to enlarge this photo...!

The goodies were both from Triumph and from the Body Shop:

Hand lotion, body butter, perfume samples, cream samples, loofa, small bag for toiletries... And a gift card for a full make up for me and five friends at the Body Shop, nice!

Knowing I would be in a small changing room, getting in and out of too small pieces of shape wear and underwear, not forgetting the trip home in the cold rain and wind on trains and bicycle I decided on a highly functional outfit, in blue :-D

The top is by British brand East, bought on sale last summer. The trousers are the Cellulite-revealing jersey-type from Marks & Spencer, in a pinstripe. Shoes are by Irregular Choice!

The fabric of the top is very light... My hair is light too.

We did get a few sunny spells :-)

Tomorrow I'll be going to Copenhagen again, shopping for ingredients for Petit Four, tiny cakes, that I'm bringing to the cocktail party. Years ago I brought some to a party, and have now been asked for a repetition. I'm also going to pick up some wonder herb remedy for tightening and tucking skin... If I don't have any party photos next week, you know what's gone wrong!

Have a great weekend all, enjoy yourselves - I will :-)

Lots of Love 

Kaffesoester