Monday, March 31, 2014

Blue (and Leopard) Monday

Ah, Monday, suckiest of the suck. I really need to have 3-day weekends and 4-day work weeks. 
I was happy with my outfit today (I may have dressed to match my little green opal in my ear!). I'm not a very adventurous pattern-mixer, as I do love my matchy-matchy, but I liked this quite a bit. The key seems to be have at least one neutral colour in common in both patterns, and make one of the patterns all neutral. This is the same formula as with Friday's red polka-dot pants and black and white striped top. See? Tricky Sheila!

The sweater is my lovely little leopard cardigan, last worn here in December 2013. It's an all-year piece.
I have a black top on underneath for coverage, but it's not really visible.

The skirt is my new SaVVie piece, purchased on our weekend in Vancouver here. I wore a short white slip under it for warmth (I have BARE LEGS, you guys!). It was lovely all day, and I adored the deep pockets.
The boots are the only tall boots that weren't packed away with the fall/winter gear. I last wore them here in early March with skulls. They're another "shoulder season" item that I like to keep out.

The stuff:
Must wear all the blue! I realized after taking all my pictures that I'd forgotten to put the bird cuff on...but I did wear it all day.

Cardigan (XXI, consignment), top (Mossimo, consignment), skirt (SaVVie), boots (Prepare Guides, Fluevog), belt (Plum), necklace (thrifted), cuff (Shi Studios), Fulvia Ring (Wendy Brandes), earrings (Oscar & Libby's).

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Weekend Wrap-Up: Fluevog Friday, Shopping, Attack Cat and Holes in My Ears

Oh my, what a weekend it's been! I started with Friday's Fluevogs.
And a little stripes and polka dots. I wore the jacket all day, except when I was running up and down the stairs. All second-hand, except for the shoes and the earrings, both of which were ethically-sourced/made, so linking up to Bella's "Second-Hand First" here!

The jacket is my Danier Couture consignment leather, last seen here with a pouf in March. 
I like a striped top, but I still haven't found the perfect one. This one was last seen here (2nd outfit) in September 2013.
I loved wearing my red polka-dotted pants again - they were last seen here (2nd outfit) in March with paisley.

Spring temps are finally arriving, although it rains without warning.
Hat needed, as are the scarf and gloves.

The stuff:
Triple green! First wearing of my wonderful Half Truths Tanya shoes (purchased here last weekend). I wore them around all day, including walking to the bus stop, walking several blocks to lunch with my boss, and walking home after work after drinks with my coworkers. My heels did get rubbed by that lip at the back a bit, but overall they were lovely to wear.

Green bling:
The necklace is my mom's, another one pilfered from her jewelry box when I was a teenager, around 1984-5. I think it's from her childhood, so probably from the 50s. I'll probably get corrected on that.

The earrings are new, also purchased last weekend.

Jacket (Danier Couture, consignment), top (Truworth by Finnegan's, consignment), pants (Tara Jarmon, consignment), shoes (Half Truth Tanya, Fluevog), coat (corporate swag, former job), gloves (Parkhurst), scarf (Smoking Lily). 

On Saturday, L and I went for brunch with friends Nick and Elaine. Elaine and I went shopping afterwards.
Dressed for shopping: easy on/off clothes, tights, camisole, and minimal jewelry.

One of my forgotten "soft tops" that doesn't live in my closet, this is a lovely soft blue top that I got at Plum many years ago. I last wore it in August 2013 for L's high school reunion (here, 2nd outfit).
Purple skirt! I did the big closet changeover today, and this skirt stayed out for spring/summer. I probably won't wear it much in the summer, but leather is awesome for our wet, damp springs. I last wore this beauty here in January with the same tights.
I packed these boots away for the season, but I'm hoping to find a replacement pair for them over the next 6 months. I also want to replace my semi-casual brown boots, so I'll be doing a little off-season searching for my long-range wardrobe planning. I last wore these here in February with pink and grey.

I also put this white leather jacket in the giveaway pile (which grew by a lot today, and moved to the library).
It looks nice and white in the pictures, but the quality is not that good (the leather is very stiff), and it's very discoloured in places. Time for a better-quality replacement.

Top (Oxmo), cami (InWear), skirt (Chia, vintage 80s, thrifted), boots (Aldo, consignment), jacket (Le Chateau, consignment).

Someone would like to introduce my shopping loot:
"Yes, yes, I'm happy to see you. Now rub my tummy."
He rolled around back and forth, then went after my feet.
"Go ahead, these claws aren't sharp."
Pink toes on purple hose!

Elaine actually spotted these in the St. Vincent de Paul - they didn't fit her, so I tried them on.
They're a little snug, but they have stretch as they're plastic.

However, Vivienne Westwood "Anglomania + melissa" is a brand I know!
I have these white and copper hearts shoes too (pic).

This is the actual colour.
Bright pink! The design is the "holy hand grenade" symbol that's in the shoe. You can't see it unless you're really close up, but the entire inside surface of the shoes are also embossed with the same design. I saw these same shoes on eBay for $99 US. What did I pay? $4.00. Yup, $4.00.

This isn't good quality by any means, but the cut is really cool.
It actually has belt loops set into it, to cinch the waist with a belt. I liked the "hidden picture mindgames" design. I see zebras and wolves in it! It's by Streetwear Society and was $4.00.

I found this lovely dotty scarf for $2.00.
I like the graphic design and the high-contrast colours. It'll look great with all my yellows this summer.

It's by Echo, and is 100% silk.
Houndstooth thumb update: still no chips although my nail growth is starting to show.

Vizzini cannot resist a scarf. I lay them on the floor to photograph and he gloms onto them right away.
"Now you see it..."
I don't know what it is about scarves. He doesn't do this with anything else.
"...now you don't."
I always keep my eyes out for good items for L. I lucked out with this awesome shirt.
It's a very pale yellow with orange, pink and taupe rings. The content tag has been removed from the neck, but I can tell that it's silk by feel.

I looked up Toscano and see that they are sold at Nordstrom (we don't have those here in my neck of the woods, only south of the border) for between $55 and 65.00.
$4.00 is just fine by me. L loved it - it will go with his orange pants!

You sewers will appreciate the amazing finishing on this shirt.

Every seam was double-stitched; no unbound edges at all. That's quality!

Elaine headed off and I went on to the Hospice Store to check out their new spring stock. I found this lovely silk blend skirt.
It's by Precis Petites, one of my favourite brands. Excellent quality and classic cuts in high-end fabrics. 

You can see the nice weave here. This will be great for summer.
An excellent deal at $12.00. I know that their skirts start around $120.00 new. 

Elaine's also recently cleaned out her closet - she thought I might appreciate this vintage turquoise suit. 
It's that early 60s, Jackie O-inspired cut: a very boxy jacket over a pencil skirt. I love the colour and the awesome brown pearlized buttons.

The skirt is a perfect fit, however, it has some moth damage around the hem.
I'll probably wear it anyways - I love the colour!

The fabric is a knit, as you can see here. Judging by the moths, it must have a large amount of wool in it!
 By Niccolini, and Made in Canada. The company dissolved in 1991.
Nice that this wasn't made in a sweatshop.

I did one other thing while I was out shopping, but we'll get to that. I had Winesday on Saturday night, so I was rushing around after shopping and didn't take a picture of my outfit. Today/Sunday, I wore the exact same outfit again to go get groceries.
Um, and I might have done a bit more shopping after that.

A crazy weekend outfit. Woo hoo!
I swapped out the top for my black Morena skirt, last seen here in March with my Leia jacket.

I also added a Smoking Lily obi, and yeah, I'm wearing knee high socks instead of tights. I was comfy.
I had to wear my new pink shoes! They weren't too bad for an afternoon of walking around, although the toes were a little squished.

Skirt (Morena, consignment), obi (Smoking Lily), cuffs (both thrifted), shoes (Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + melissa, thrifted), necklace charms (various).

I did well at the WIN Boutique, finding this gorgeous Planet blouse:
It has a nice finished bottom, the asymmetrical ruffle and is a gorgeous tonal striped tomato red.
You can see the striping there. It's polyester and machine washable. Not bad for $13.50.

I love finding these structured knit shells; they are perfect under a spring jacket. Much better than a camisole.
This is almost a chartreuse yellow. It's by Cable & Gauge.
 I thought $9.50 was reasonable.

I have been mentally scoffing at the Hawaiian prints in the fashion mags - it always ends up looking cheesy on me.
I don't think I'll look like a tourist in this lovely Talbots skirt. The colours are amazing, aren't they? That yummy citrus orange with the lovely magenta pink?

It's a silk-blend and was $14.50.
I loved this purple, orange and pink scarf:
"Time to play!"
 So did Vizzini.
"I love this scarf soooo much."
He immediately started drooling on it. The scarf was $3.50 and is 100% silk. It's by Perfect Match, and I see by their website that their small scarves start at $15.00, so I did pretty good.

One thing that I didn't buy, but got back yesterday was this vintage belt. This was originally my Mom's belt, from the 60s. I liberated it from her wardrobe in the 80s (probably 1984-5) to augment my own wardrobe.
When I first met my friend Caro, I was close to 200 lbs. She was so gorgeous and slim and I thought this belt would look amazing on her (I could barely do it up), so I gave it to her. She never let go of it, and last night at Winesday she gave it back to me. It means a lot to have it back. I bet my mom will be glad to see it, and know that I didn't irrevocably lose a piece of her history.

Maybe it will make up for getting my ears pierced. Again.
The 3rd hole is new - I had the first hole done with Mom in 1980, I think, when I was 12-13.
 And again.
I had my second holes done a year later -  I had to have a letter from Mom in order for the person in the t-shirt shop to agree to do it!
And again. Sorry, Mom!

I have wanted the 3rd hole on both ears for many years, but I didn't want to go to a teenager in Claire's at the mall to do it with one of  those brutal "staplers", so I went to Hannah at Urge Studios to have it properly done. She was so thorough in explaining everything; it was like being in a dentist's office with all the instruments laid out. I felt very much in safe hands!

I'd been considering having a 4th hole on my right ear, but with the even distribution of the lower 3, for a 4th one to have the same spacing, it would have to go through cartilage. And once we started having that discussion, it was an easy jump for me to want a piercing high up on my ear. I chose a little green opal (my birthstone).

All three piercings were quite sore last night, but I have very little pain today, and there is no bleeding, crusting or general gunkiness and grossness that I recall from my original two holes. I will replace the hoops once my ears have fully healed. I have the matching small diamond earring, and hmmm, what about one of Wendy B's emoji earrings?

I know this isn't to everyone's taste, but I'm very happy with my decision and feel very badass.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Fluevog Week! Last of the Babycakes and More Yellow

Who wants more yellow? I do! I do! 
Seriously, I can't enough of yellow lately.

Today's outfit is mostly dress, this yellow patterned 60s dress, to be precise, which was purchased on our anniversary weekend here.
It was wonderful to wear all day. I flounced about, swooshing the skirt this way and that. I can't wait to wear it with some little flats or sandals in hot weather.

Notice my double belt action? I didn't want to look too vintage-y; there's a fine line between Crazy Lady Vintage and Chic Chick Vintage. I hope I'm balanced right in the middle (I like a little Crazy Lady in my look, heh).
I wore this lovely peach slip underneath and happily hauled the hem of the dress up to show it off to all my fashionably-inclined coworkers.

The stuff:
See? Double-belt. The bottom one came with my Boss Orange skirt. I never wear belts exclusively with the things they came with. All of the jewelry is vintage, from the 60s and 70s (the ring).

Another item to pull my look across the Crazy Lady line is these fabulous boots:
The Babycakes Minis! I love them so much, but away they go until fall/winter when I start missing my boots. I last wore them here (2nd outfit) in December 2013.

Dress (Haybrook Classic, vintage 60s, thrifted), belts (Boss Orange, consignment, and Club Monaco), boots (Babycakes Minis, Fluevog), mink brooch (vintage, thrifted), earrings (Weiss, thrifted, vintage 60s), bracelet (vintage 60s, thrifted), ring (Sarah Coventry, vintage 70s, thrifted).