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

Treasure hunting at Monies - my favourite jewellery pusher :-)

I'm no Imelda Marcos, but I do suffer from a touch of shoe obsession... I always notice people's shoes, and I'd love them to notice mine too :-) However, I have feet like Cinderella's evil sisters!

It's hard to tell how abnormal my feet and legs are just by looking at them. I know, because I have a hard time convincing people how much trouble they're causing.

With half-healed blisters, discoloured toe nails from the pressure of too flat shoe-fronts and an infection in one of the blisters, you'll not see a photo of my nude feet! However, I will show you lots of photos from my latest visit to the shoe shop.

This picture shows the main issues:

The circles are the spots that I've considered having cut off. It would make life so much easier! It's not just about getting fashionable footwear. It's about safety and comfort as well.

The shoe in the photo is a size 6, which is the actual size of my foot, lengthwise. But to have shoes at all, I always wear a size 7 or 8. In some of my footwear I have 2 inches of empty space in front of my toes. It's like wearing clown's shoes, and I often trip over my toes.

After having measured my foot across, I have come to the conclusion that I need a size EEEE, super extra wide, according to the measuring forms. I have tried a few of those too, only to discover, that they're too wide at the base, but too flat in the front. For some reason the industry has decided that if your foot is wide, it's also flat like the feet of Donald Duck! 

So, my foot is really not that wide, only very "full", like my toes, since my nails are getting seriously squashed even though I keep them a short as possible!

This shows a typical shoe shopping session for me:

As usual I'm trying a lot of shoes - and in Denmark they're generally black!

All these shoes are hurting my foot, by being too narrow or flat. The brands are among others Arc, Gabor, Vagabond and Ecco. 

Finally I found two pairs of shoes that fit me, or at least will fit me once I've added little suede cushions inside. They're by German brand Rieker:

The only problem is, that these are not the types of shoes that I need! One is a sandal, the other one is in suede. With the nasty spring weather we're experiencing this year, I need water proof shoes. Colour hasn't even been considered yet!

Add an extra curvy calf to these issues and see if you can find me a pair of boots!

It's not a joke when I say that it has taken me a decade to find the boots I wore this winter.

Unfortunately they're fur-lined and so too hot for 10 degrees celcius/50 degrees Fahrenheit. But very comfortable to walk in. However, they're still so tight fitting that I can only work my foot into them wearing the thinnest tights or nothing at all (on my feet!!!). They go half way up my calf, and so end at the widest point :-(

So, I have a lot of shoes from Irregular Choice, 10 out of 16 pairs. Some of their styles have more room for the toes than other brands. In a size 8 with additional padding I can usually find something fun and stylish.

- The silver boots are way too large, so I can't walk in them - only stand or sit

- The ballet flats never give me blisters

- The sandals don't give me blisters  either

- Nor do the blue suede heels, the pink suede heels or the red tweed wedges

- I also have green wellies and old black Ecco sneaker style shoes, now only fit for gardening :-(

Living in a wet climate demands water proof footwear. Living in a colder climate also demands warmer footwear - not a lot of sandals. In knee high snow warm boots are a must!

Such a thing as a sneaker or a trekking boot is completely out of the question. A couple of years ago my daughter was going on a hike with her scout's group, with parents and all. I tried every major shoe shop and outdoor shop in Copenhagen as well as in Berlin where we went on holiday just prior to the hike. After having tried hundreds of shoes I even contacted headquarters per e-mail, asking if they had other models than those in the shops.

The answer was the same as always: We dont' carry "that size" or "that shape"

I know they probably wouldn't sell many pieces, so I can't blame them. It's just depressing always being called "that shape" or "that size", in shops and by producers. And even more depressing that I can't go with my family on hikes or longer walks, because I can't find footwear. 

More than 10 years ago I looked at bespoke footwear. I can actually get some "okay" shoes and boots, for 10000 to 20000 Danish Kroner (1000 to 2000 UK Pounds/ 1500 to 3000 US Dollars). Sadly they don't do waterproof boots or shoes, and only velcro closing. So, no Pyrenees, Himalayas or Kilimanjaro :-(

Besides, the orthopaedic shoe makers cater for people with ill or seriously deformed feet (these customers apparently being older), and mine are neither, they're not even particularly fuzzy. They're just "a little abnormal", and I'm reluctant to pay so much money for shoes that I really wouldn't give a second thought if I had normal feet. I may have to change my attitude here - later!

For now I've given up. There's not a thing that I haven't tried. With other body issues limiting my clothing choices, it easily becomes a depressing job to get dressed. How do I comfort myself?

Well, from above the knees, what did I wear for my shoe shop visit?

I wore my navy dress, my teal rings and my favourite necklace by Monies. And coloured tights of course :-)

A close up of the necklace and my hair which is alright here!:

The day after I went to Hillerød, a town up North, where my daughter applied for a job. Since she's only 15 and it's the first time, she wanted me to go with her. Although I stayed in the background I managed to stand out anyway!

It wasn't warm but windy, with clouds and a few seconds of sunshine every now and then. With patience I managed to get a photo of myself, in sunshine :-D

Here I'm wearing a dress by H&M, bought in a moment of weakness, together with beautifully matching tights, my pink trench and the lovely horn bead necklace bought on holiday in Mallorca years ago. Who cares if I get another blister on my foot, when I get to wear so much colour?

As regular readers will know, I'm a jewellery addict. My favourite "pusher" being the Danish brand Monies, who happened to have a major sale last week...

I was first in line, an hour early - and so went in ahead of everyone :-) 

I bet I got the best offer in the shop!!!!

Here's what I tried on:

Sorry that I forgot to smile, but I had to concentrate hard to get a useful selfie. I've listed the necklaces in the order I tried them, starting from the top left to right...

So funny how I ended up buying the two first I tried on :-)

At the next sale I'm going to ask permission to take photos because the customers are very picturesque! There are so many extremely stylish and elegant women in there! Many in their 50 and above - and then quite a few gorgeous young models! I couldn't take my eyes off of any of them. I just had to sit down for a whole hour, just admiring all these fantastic women!

The next day I was meeting my BFF for lunch in Torvehallerne (again) - introducing treasure number one :-D 

A weighty double strand of beautiful, smooth Rose Quartz - original price: 13.000,- Danish Kroner (1300 UK Pounds or 2000 US Dollars).... 

Now down to: 1000,00 Danish Kroner (100 UKP/ 154 USD)!!!!!! I dare say that was the catch of the day, including all other items sold that day! 

The rest of the outfit with includes my old Dash dress:

See the colour on my face? All the gardening has given me a tan, so my foundation is too light, and my hairdresser doesn't need to give the roots a touch up :-)

My BFF is always extremely well dressed, Friday no exception...

Aren't those sandals just to die for?

For lunch we had a mix of seafood salads: 

It was fantastic! What looks like beer next to the plate is a lime and mint fizzy drink, very nice too.

Some of us, I, needed a cup of coffee and a small cake for dessert...

It may not look like much, but the taste was amazing! A strong, creamy lemon pudding on the crunchy and light sponge base with the small name plate in dark chocolate. Perfection!

The very next day I had to fight hard to keep my level of glamour up as we went to a photo meet up, on a small, secluded island - in a tent!

The tent is one of those professional mountain climber accomodations that can only be entered or left crawling :-(  To make things worse, leaving the tent would be by backing. Otherwise one's hands would get wet due to the rain.

At my age and size, in my camping gear, this was in no way dignifying! 

I didn't spend much time in the tent. With lots of rain and strong wind I had no choice but wellies for footwear, and skiing underwear under my glamorous maxi dress, and a long cardigan on top, now ready for the mandatory rain coat as outer layer.

These are men's wellies, and they're too narrow for my calves, so they don't come all the way up which is slightly annoying when walking. And there's a 2 inch empty space in the front. I walk carefully in these.

As we had a short moment of dry weather we managed another photo, including our car:

This lovely WV carries all our camping gear and enough photo gear to equip a small studio!

The island was beautiful, and during another dry spell I managed to get a couple of shots:

The typical Danish beach has lots of stones, with smaller sandy parts, and lots of grasses and smaller plants near the water. In the water we have plenty of seaweed, some of which is edible. I'm going to see if I can find an expert to learn more about this. I love seaweed, and it's such a waist not to eat it when it's there - healthy, tasty and free!

Enough of the dreadful weather - introducing treasure number two:

A mix of Bone, Mother of Pearl, Rose Quartz and a huge Fresh Water Pearl. Original price 4000,00 Danish Kroner ( 400,00 UKP/ just under 600 USD), now down to: 800,00 (80,00 UKP/ 120 USD)!!!

Here's how I styled my new necklace:

The jacket is years old, by H&M, as is the beige dress, only never worn and bought last summer. With the newly acquired tan, the necklace really stands out. What you don't get from the photos, is the lovely noise it makes when I move.

This is how I comfort myself when I look at my too small shoe collection, predicting where my next blister pops up or how cold my feet will get during the day.

I might just add, that the sale prices of these necklaces are way lower than any thrift shop or second hand prices. It almost felt like stealing!

Hope summer is somewhere and someone is wearing her sandals...

Lots of warm hugs!

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