My Latest Arnhem Loot

Inge

I was lucky enough to spend an entire day with Angie in Arnhem (the Netherlands) last Friday. We had an absolutely brilliant time catching up and shopping despite the dreadful weather.

I had a long shopping list, and certainly didn’t expect to find everything I was looking for, but with Angie’s expert help, I managed to find most of it!!! Including the most important items, which are also the hardest to shop for: jeans and footwear. Woohoo!!-))

I desperately needed a denim update, and found not one but two pairs of on-trend jeans:
- a pair of dark-wash high-waisted straight leg jeans at Levi’s
- a pair of dark-wash cuffed full-length baby bootcut jeans at Expresso

At Expresso we also saw a beautiful scarf in pink and grey tones (the colours are a bit lighter irl) that worked perfectly with the berry-coloured puffer I was wearing (which I bought at that very same store last time I was in Arnhem with Angie;-)

I was also hoping to find an extra pair of booties that weren’t suede (because we have very rainy Winters in Belgium). I really wanted white booties because I wore my white Zara pointy-toe booties into the ground and had been looking for a replacement ever since. They were incredibly versatile and dressed up everything I paired them with, while making all outfits look extra fresh and modern. I didn’t have high hopes though because the stores here hardly had any white booties available.

But, dear Fabbers, I found a new pair at Gabor!!-)) Hurrah!! They are sporty yet dressy at the same time. And they look amazing with everything I’ve paired them with so far. I am beyond thrilled with them!!

Then at Mephisto, I snapped up a pair of pewter booties in a leather-suede mix. The pewter is a bit shimmery which makes them extra fun, and the cool-toned metallic works great with my wardrobe.

Both pairs are super comfortable and fit my orthotics. I really scored there!

I would have been more than happy to go home with “just” these purchases, but then we stopped by Claudia Sträter and they had so much good stuff!!

I walked out with these gorgeous dressy trousers in a black and ink floral pattern. The fit is fab, and I love that I can wear them for dressy occasions (will be wearing them for at least one holiday party) and dress them down for more casual days. If the matching blazer had been longer, I would have bought that too, it would have made a marvelous suit.

Earlier in the day, I had tried on 2 fantastic green midi sweater dresses at COS. They looked amazing on but were sooooo itchy (lambswool), so I had to leave them at the store. Luck would have it that Claudia Sträter also had a green sweater dress, this one with a beautiful diagonal collar. I had to try it on of course, and I was sold:-))

While Angie was trying on stuff at Scotch & Soda (I’m sure she’ll report on that soon;-), she found me the cutest tweed hat in shades of burgundy that also works perfectly with my puffer. I wore it straight out of the store, added the new Expresso scarf and felt very stylish and warm:-)

Last purchase of the day was a green leopard print scarf that looks great with the new green sweater dress. I can’t find a product photo online, so will take a picture asap.

I came home with quite the haul and am beyond thrilled with everything I found!!!! Angie remarked that I do all of my shopping in Arnhem these days, and she’s right. It appears I'm a seasonal shopper now, and I just save my pennies for our shopping outings;-) In addition to the well-known high-street chains, Arnhem has amazing smaller boutiques, and having Angie help me find things that work for me makes the shopping so much easier, faster and extra fun!!!

Apologies for writing a book:-)