Hi out there. This happened on Monday and I was going to let it go but it just keeps popping up in my head as being blog-worthy so, here it is. You’ve all seen my pictures from various locations here in Belgium and I think we can all agree that there is a definite color scheme to Flanders in general. The colors on the palette mainly consist of brown, black, navy, brownish green, grey, dark grey, and brown-have I mentioned brown? Cause there’s a lot of brown. I took a few more pictures on a random trip to the grocery store today to illustrate my assertion here:
Behold, the drab that is Belgium
Well, I guess blue jeans can be considered an exception to the rule
Here in the centre they add some gilt to some of the buildings, so at least it’s a shiny brown
Anyway, before I came to live with CB he was very very concerned that I be sure to get a waterproof coat as the norm in Belgium is rain, rain and more rain. My mother and I took a look in some catalogs for plus sizes, cause that’s what I am currently (even if I was a normal size, my boobs would still strand me way out in the land of the large) and we found a reasonably priced, warm-looking, water-resistant coat. The options for colors in my size were fuschia or lilac. Well, if you look up there at the title of this blog you should be able to guess which color I opted to go with.
After about a month of wearing this coat I decided that it was sort of puffy and made it hard for me to squeeze between tight places in the house and also into cramped spaces between people on the bus. Also (and dammit, this should have been a red (lilac?) flag) I was getting a bit tired of being the classroom example for learning/practicing to say and use the word for purple (paars…see, now you know some Dutch).
So on Monday I switched over to my non-water resistant coat along with my new hat and went to class. Afterwards CB and I planned on having lunch together at the student restaurant. I headed towards the restaurant and saw my illustrious Belgian standing there waiting for me. I was pretty close to him before I saw any recognition and as he leaned in to give me a kiss he blurted out, “Oh, you look much better….”
pause
“…um, in that jacket…”
pause
“I mean, I meant to say you look more Belgian.”
So I’ve been thinking here that this means I’ve been walking around Gent looking like a total reject (or a bloated grape, you decide) and my boyfriend has either been too afraid to hurt my feelings to clue me in or he has just been watching me walk out the door and into the city of no color, all the while chuckling to himself and hoping for the day when I’d finally put my black jacket on so he could tell me how much more “Belgian” I looked.
I’ll go with the first one….for his sake.
9:53 pm
Have to admit, he’s right…bring the grape home and it’ll go to Goodwill where someone else can use it to keep warm and dry. Now, I’m afraid to put my version of the grape on….shudder…what will daddy say???
11:40 pm
wait till it’s summer… you will see how dark colors will change in flashy…
See you Korie, bey bey!
2:36 am
you look great, but yes, the black is more becoming! you have to admit, cb meant well. I love the hat too
judie
4:24 am
OMG Thiah.. You make me giggle and smile with your blogs. I laughed so hard at this one, my eyes teared up. I have to agree with CB… uhm.. that lilac jacket… needs to be retired.. if not for the color (heaven forbid that I am dissing something purple/lilac), but the puffiness is something to be desired.
<3 <3 <3
Fizzy
3:30 pm
I love that hat!…carrie
3:46 pm
I love the hat,yes I do.You look good in any color,but I’m a bit biased.I do like this look,you look kinda Belgican.
Love Enigma
8:17 pm
Hi there,
I’ve been reading your blog off and on since CB told me about your blog. Love it, so much fun to read!
As for the lilac, nothing wrong with standing out a bit! Who cares if Belgium isn’t used to that… maybe it’s about time they get used to more color!
Say hi to CB from me?
Love “Zand”
9:22 pm
haha
I do like the black coat more as well, but hey I am a Belgian so I am prejudiced :p.
No you have bad luck though: fashion is all about grey and lack of color this winter. Winter usually has less color than the summers, but this winter is a bit more extreme.
you might need an umbrella if your coat is not waterproof though.
bye bye
(came by here after seeing comments at JIH and Brillig’s blogs).