Staid or just Dignified?

This week saw another new arrival in Grecondale:

I immediately thought 'matron'' (but not in the nursing sense) when I saw her, so I thought I'd better just check the definition. I immediately found these two:

"An older married woman, especially one who is staid or dignified." and 

"An older married woman who usually has a high social position."

I'm not sure about staid (we've yet to get to know each other) but she definitely looks dignified to me and her outfit and bearing certainly suggest a high social position!

  

This is her Grecon label and she has 'Small Oxford' feet which probably dates her to the mid- to late-1940s.

I love her silk dress with generous black lace trims and collar, and the cream ruffle held by a bugle-bead broach at her neck, but the very best thing about her has to be the wonderful bonnet.

A bit of Googling leads me to believe that the bonnet is in the style of the 'Late-Victorian Small Bonnet'; so it certainly seems to indicate that, even when new, this particular lady had stubbornly ignored changing fashions for a good forty years or so!

I was reminded of this photo of my great great grandparents.

They look fairly dignified to me and maybe a little staid but it's not likely that they held "a high social position" since my great great grandfather was a coal miner just like his father before him and his sons and grandsons after him; though I suppose such things are subjective.

The photo isn't dated but it is labeled 'Venice Dunn, 7&8 Medomsley Road, Consett' (in County Durham) which I believe dates it to between 1891 and 1914.

I have another [very slightly earlier and of the larger 1:12 scale] Grecon granny with this type of bonnet but when I look at her I really don't think 'matron' - I defy anyone to tell me that she's staid and I have serious doubts about her dignity! 'Eccentric' is the word that springs to mind...

This is the new arrival on the right, next to a slightly older granny with the larger Oxford feet dating [probably] to the mid-1940s.  The slightly later lady clearly has more of the matron about her. I wonder how they're going to get along...

Until next time,
Zoe

Welkom Nederlandse Man! (Welcome Netherland Man!)

I'm always excited to acquire any new Grecon but it's especially exciting to welcome a character we've never seen in Grecondale before, such as this little chap:

He might not be wearing clogs and a flat cap, but his outfit does seem to say 'Dutch'.

The first clue is his smart orange tunic top. Orange is very much associated with the Netherlands since it's the colour of their Royal Family which hails front the House of Orange. A quick 'Google' tells me that the colour has been adopted by the Dutch to symbolise national pride and in fact, they even have a couple of words for their obsession with it: Oranjegekte (Orange craze) and Oranjekoorts (Orange fever)!

The next clue is his hat. He seems to be sporting a Dutch whalers' hat which I understand is a traditional part of the national costume in the north of the country.

Then we have the jaunty neckerchief - what self-respecting Dutch man would be seen without one?!

And finally, there are the shoes (they're the ones I call 'small Oxfords' and date him to the mid- to late-1940s) which are painted yellow, as are many of the clogs sold in the shops in the Netherlands today - albeit the touristy ones....

Yep, Dutch is my guess and I'm sticking with it until someone convinces me otherwise!

Here we see him proudly displaying his Grecon credentials - as if he needs them.

I wonder if he was made for this little lady who was already resident in Grecondale?  Her cotton cap is pointed at the top and has the turned-out flaps or wings often seen in Dutch traditional costume.

They do look good and seem very happy together, so I'd like to think they've been reunited after a long separation and I wish them 'veel succes' (good luck)!

Until next time,
Zoe