Latest vintage stock - bonnets, and a Dordogne wedding

You know I just love bonnets, and here are a few of my latest little pieces for sale.  Some are for babies, a couple for young girls, and a few for older ladies - any more photos or information, just contact me.

Bonnet now sold
In salmon pink silk, with hand made pin-tucks and lace ruffles, I LOVE this one.. so tiny, just for a new born.

bonnet now sold
This stunning bonnet is peach silk, with little rose ribbon trim, fine handmade lace over the crown, all finished off with pale pink satin ribbons and bow...just lovely.

Bonnet now sold
Cream and white lace and silk, with a long satin ribbon - what you might call a 'frothy confection' and perfect for a vintage styled christening.

 This is a cotton piqué bonnet for a young girl - with an adjustable tie at the nape of the neck.  It would keep the hair neatly tucked away
bonnet now sold.

Another bonnet in cotton, for a young girl or teenager - probably 19thc,  Those frills and ruffles must have been a nightmare to press - you'd need a gauffre iron to do the job properly.  Still, girls didn't have ipads and Facebook to occupy their spare time...
bonnet now sold

Another 'frothy confection'  (seems to be a rather fashionable expression these days!) but this time in pale apricot net and silk ribbon - a little shabby but so pretty - it might have been worn at a wedding, but more likely as a boudoir cap.
bonnet now sold

Bonnet now sold
From Limousin, this is a sun or working bonnet - the flaps at the front can be pulled down to shade the eyes from the sun, or folded back.  I like to think that the front wasn't just for shading the eye -, I bet a lot of flirting went on too...especially when some of the bonnets had a strip of fine gauze stitched to the edge to peek through...lots of room to cover all that hair that most girls had.

Another little bonnet, generally called a 'coiffe'.  Worn in Perigord/Limousin/Charente by elderly ladies, often widows - and usually with every piece of hair scraped back into the gauze. with the ties at the neck adjusting according to how much hair needed to be hidden.
bonnet now sold

If you would like further details, just click here - this takes you to my Ebay shop, with full descriptions of the bonnets.

Here is a wedding photo with three elderly ladies wearing the 'coiffe' - very neat and prim! Incidentally, look at the bride and groom - about 30 years difference I reckon!  And the poor guy on the right with a cover on his eye, and then, there's the little girl at the front rather shy and leaning towards her brother...fascinating. (clic photo to enlarge) 

Oh, I just love old photos - you can learn so much from them, and when you REALLY look, the people then aren't that much different from us today.  I do have a small collection, including wedding photos of various related families, mainly from the area around my home.   I have sold some which I now regret - I am going to keep the rest and try to add to my collection:  I'll put some more on my blog at a later date.

Have a good weekend!

Picnic area at Chateau d'Eveque

We had to drive down into the Dordogne this week - to Perigeux in fact.  Because OH can't always get the food he needs (type2 diabetes) we sometakes take sarnies/yoghurts/fruit etc when going on a little drive.

En route, we saw this little picnic area, just off the main road and stopped to eat.  It was a gorgeous little haven, with a running stream - clear as a bell as you can see.  It is lovely to be able to stop in such a pretty and clean area - although in this part of France, the countryside is just glorious and it's always neat and pretty - but sort of always taken for granted.  This area has been provided as a picnic stop and also for camper vans to sort out their, ahem, arrangements

We had to stop at the level crossing to let a train pass - unusual to actually see a train for us - and although I didn't get a shot of it, here is the ticket office, which shows the name of the village nearby.

 The translation of Chateau d'Eveque is Bishop's Palace, and next time we are down that way, we'll investigate the village. 

The view of Dordogne - and blue wagon wheels!

Storm clouds again but they passed right by...everywhere is beginning to green up after a few night's worth of showers last week, but not enough - we need more rain!


Lovely old cottage - the stone jutting out under the window is actually an 'evier' ie the stone sink on the inside for washing hands, then the dirty water flows through the channel, out to the exterior wall, then drips down onto the ground. The evier was always placed near the doorway so the farm workers could wash their hands as soon as they came home from the fields - the doorway is on the extreme right, just out of view.


The original blue paint - I once had a wheelbarrow in the same local colour - actually, the photo doesn't really do it justice - it is very vivid, and seems to glow and throb - unusual for a blue.


A neighbouring cottage - with that local blue paint again!


The house in the distance is in the Dordogne



Late afternoon - see the shadows. We were making too much noise playing with Riley the black labrador, so most of the wildlife such as owls, woodpeckers, rabbit and deer were probably hiding away from the racket.



One of the joys of living in this part of France is the glorious scenery - forests, lakes and hills. Limousin does get a fair amount of rain, it's true, but of course, if you are famous for your beef cattle, then the grass has to be good and of course, the grass here IS good - partly because of the rain, but also because the air is so pure - no pollution! However - just look at the colour of the grass - no wonder the farmers of the Limousin are worried - they are already using the hay they cut earlier this spring. Someone told me that they have only 45% of the usual fodder, and virtually no straw for bedding the cattle this winter.

You can tell there is very little air pollution as moss grows everywhere in winter - fed by the damp atmosphere of course, but in the summer, it dries up, ready to pop out again later.

Last night, we went to our friends - and had a great barbecue, made special not only by the company but also the view! We all live on the border between the Dordogne, Charente and our department, Haute Vienne. Our friends live only a mile or so away from the border - you can see the Dordogne on the hillside rising up before you - these are the views from their garden - you can hardly tell where their garden finishes and the countryside begins.

Last year, we were able to find our friends a couple of old wagon wheels, and as a bonus, the wheels came in the original paint-work: a chalky but distinctly bright blue, which EXACTLY matches the blue shutters of our friends' house - serendipity! It doesn't often work this way, but when it does, it's magical - and that's why I love dealing in old things - finding objects that I know will be loved and appreciated once more!