Neutral Textures - Leather Peplum and Woolly Skirt

It's cooled down to our normal temperatures (around 10-15 degrees this time of year), which I'm actually happy about. I still have a few wintery things that I want to wear before I swap over my closet at the end of the month. 

A good example? This new-to-me very warm and woolly skirt that will be packed away for six months after today.

• Leather peplum top - H&M, consignment; last worn here in April 2018 with a red suede suit
• Skirt - Zara, thrifted; purchased here, new with tags, for ZERO dollars, on a Buy One Get One Free deal
• Shoes - Amante, thrifted; last seen here earlier this month with pink suede and pleats
• Jacket (below) - Simon Chang, vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in October 2018 with a pheasant skirt

I always get strong reactions when I wear this leather peplum top. It's bold, shows all my tattoos, and I look great in it (if I do say so myself!).

 The skirt is a mohair blend and was slightly prickly, but not too bad with nylons on. It was warm, but since I was bare-armed, that actually balanced me out temperature-wise.

Noting the bold black zipper down the back of the top.

 The skirt has no walking slit (why??), so I had to take pretty small steps all day. None of my usual striding about.

Ready for the weekend face! I'm off tomorrow!

 I had a lot of my coworkers and WW people being wowed over all the stuff going on in this outfit. I felt pretty badass all day.

This morning, I went looking for Vizzini to say goodbye.  He was sulking on the bench.

"If you loved me, you'd stay home."

No can do, buddy, but how about a picture instead? Say hi to your fans.

"Hi to your fans."

I've been out a lot lately. Not enough cuddle time.

Outerwear - I much prefer being able to wear my jackets and blazers as outerwear again.

 Double peplum! It's peplum over peplum!

The stuff:

I wore a lot of stuff with this outfit - and the top and skirt are also textured! - but the key is it's all neutrals. Would I do the same with colour? Heh, do you have to ask?

Big fan of those shoes - they always feel great on.

Bronzy bling:

One of my coworkers asked me how I got a belt and skirt that matched - um, I shop a lot? I've had this belt for years, purchased way back here in November 2012.

• Belt - Pringle of Scotland, vintage fair
• Brass cuff - Midzo, vintage fair
• Leather wrist-wrap - Kipling, thrifted
• Necklace - Lucky Brand, thrifted- first wearing, purchased here for $4.95
• Earrings - Glee
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, 1970s, vintage expo

The necklace was too long, so I clipped the closure further down the chain to make it hang where I wanted. Boo-yah!


I'll be off for a few days, so have a great weekend, everyone! Thank you so much for visiting!

"Are my fans out there?"

See you on Monday for tales of adventure!

Two-Fer: Spring Flannel Plaid and Green, and Space Book Club

I am off to Book Club at Yvonne's shortly - it's been another lovely hot day, so I am looking forward to the walk. I'm also 'fessing up to the temps: my deck is glassed in and the thermometer was in the sun - good job, Ann, on spotting that. Our temps yesterday only hit 21 degrees, but that's still 10 degrees higher than our average for this time of year.

Hee hee, I would have gotten away with it if not for those meddling kids!*

*Scooby-Doo reference, and I am silly

 I didn't feel as good wearing this outfit all day as I look in the pictures. Sometimes photos lie, but this is one time I feel like they make me look better than I was. I guess that's the magic of them!

• Blazer - TopShop, thrifted; purchased here for $21.95
• Sweater (underneath) - Gap, thrifted; last worn here in March 2018 with crystal culottes
• Skirt - Pink Tartan, thrifted; last seen here in January with a tiger on my shoulder
• Booties - London; last worn here in January with unexpected legs
• Leather coat (below) - Danier Leather; last seen here in February

I felt iffy on the blazer - it's a thin flannel with a ripple on the black. I thought it was just really wrinkly until I tried to steam it out last night!

 I do really like the way that the plaid is sewn, and how the neck drapes, and the overall cut is really cool.

It has great detail on the back as well - pretty nice quality (although it's not lined at all).

 There is a green stripe in it that's not really visible in photos - a slightly better look here.

There are pockets, but they are kind of awkwardly placed.

 Handy for paperclips and sticky notes.

Coated - it's still chilly in the morning.

 I wore it open and got rather glowy on my walk home!

The stuff:

 These heels are rather high, but it was a pretty quiet day. These booties get packed away for the season - I prefer wearing them with tights or nylons, like I did today.

Matchy bling:

 Some of my slight dissatisfaction is from the red/green colour combo. I worked in a year-round Christmas store (really) for 11 years, from 1986 to 1997 (really! check out my Christmas stuff, here, here and here and I recommend you embiggen the photos if you can to truly take that in), so I'm somewhat averse to spot-on holiday colours.

• Bracelet - thrifted
• Klimt ring - consignment
• Jade/brass ring - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Gold hoops - 5th anniversary gift from L

So, I'm not wearing the above outfit to Book Club, so I changed. Here's a casual look for sitting around eating delicious food and drinking wine with my literary ladies.

 All comfy stuff - once I decided to wear these silver trousers, I had to do the glittery top, and that led to the Star Wars shoes. Space!

• Cardigan - Ports, vintage 80s, consignment; last seen here in January in two different outfits in one day (how unusual)
• Sparkle tee - Ted Baker, thrifted; first worn here in November 2018 with grey and leopard
• Pants - H&M, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in January for brunch
• Shoes - Star Wars collection, Irregular Choice; last worn here in December 2019 with some Friday armour

The cardi can be tossed on a chair if I get too warm, and because it's wool, it'll be warm enough to walk home in buttoned up.

 I love the vibrant blue!

This is one of my best finds, just for sheer quality.

 I always give it a good steam before wearing, as it's kept folded.

All casual and ready to chat books. We read "Asymmetry" by Lisa Halliday, which was Karen's pick.

 I liked the first section the best, and enjoyed it overall. It felt a bit like an exercise in writing. Our next pick will be Mindy's. We rotate the person who picks the book, they buy all of the copies, and present it to us as a surprise when we meet. It's actually a great way to pick books - we have been picking like this for over 10 years. I'm up soon...whatever shall my next book be? Any recommendations from you readers out there?

The stuff:

 Good shoes for walking - I don't wear these enough.

Silver bling:

"Discuss the book we shall."
"No! I forgot to read it!"
"Idiot, you are."

• Crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• White gold hoops - Frances Jewelers, 10th anniversary gift from L

Neoprene and Copper, and 30 Degrees

As we're now in the home stretch of the last days of March, and spring officially starts in the next couple of days, I'm really trying to get a last few wintery things worn before I pack them away. 

I had fully intended to wear my teddy bear shirt (this guy here) with this fabulous new-to-me skirt today, but the weather said, "Nope, no way, no how, not gonna happen."

• Sweater - Judith & Charles, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in February for a weekend hangout with friends
• Skirt - Silvian Heach, consignment; purchased here on the weekend for $35.00
• Shoes - Chie Mihara; last worn here in October 2018 with thrifted Miu Miu
• Cape (below) - Coracle Clothes, vintage 60s, pass-along from Sheila A; last seen here in December 2018

That teddy bear top is HOT. This is the temperature on our deck today, as of 5:45 pm:

Yes, that's 30 degrees! It's nearly 90 F. Zoiks! And it's supposed to stay like this all week. That really throws a wrench in my wardrobe plans! 

So I switched to this simple cropped wool sweater (still good in an air-conditioned office), changed all my accessories to copper, and voila! 

 That's a big blue skirt!

Due to its neoprene nature, it swung like a bell on me, and stood out from my body.

The only place it touched was at my waist (it has a nice wide waistband).

Know what else it has?

 Ginormous pockets! Aw, yeah. A+!

It was a little chilly in the morning - too chilly not to wear a coat at all - so I wore my cape. The colours went perfectly.

 I got a lot of stares on the way to work in this.

Rear view.

I could hide about 20 bags of marshmallows in that skirt! That's my measurement unit for full skirts, in case you're confused, explanation and additional links in this post.

The stuff:

Today was my first day wearing no nylons! I even painted my toenails to match the turquoise. I adore these shoes - they are incredibly comfy to wear. You'll notice that with "platform math" they are actually only about an inch heel.

Copper bling:

I don't keep much of my copper out in the spring/summer (my jewelry also gets the ol' swaperoo), so I was happy to wear these pieces again, and pull out the turquoise colour of the skirt.

• Belt - Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Solid cuff - Renoir, vintage 60s, Grandma J's
• Copper/enamel cuff - Matisse, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Necklace - vintage, consignment
• Earrings - Matisse, vintage 60s, Grandma J's
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

A Fine Skirt, and Bootless

This is a short week for me - I have some vacation time coming this weekend. Woo hoo! 

 I have a backlog of new-to-me items that I want to get worn before I swap my closet over in a couple of weeks, and the weather has suddenly turned sunny and warm. Better re-think some of my cold-weather combos!

• Leather jacket - Danier Couture, consignment; last seen here in November 2018 with rainbow plaid
• Baby blue blouse - vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in January under SOUSes
• Skirt - Mossimo, thrifted; purchased here for $6.95
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last seen here in February with sequins and snakes

I bought this skirt, thinking I'd wear it with my Karl Lagerfeld blazer, but the skirt and the blazer don't work together - wrong shapes. Drat!

Back to my old standby combo: the baby blue blouse with the leather jacket. It's a trusty mix. 

I like the pattern of the skirt. It has no pockets, but it's fine. It was okay to wear. Didn't make my heart sing. It was...fine.

I picked out the tan bits in the design for my boots and belt.

Feeling...fine.

Guess how long things that are "fine" last in my closet? Answer: not long. My coworker Susan is going to get a present tomorrow of a lovely skirt. I didn't hate it - but it was just...fine.

Fine is not good enough.

Outerwear - the jacket done up. I wore it like this walking to work.

I was actually too hot to wear the jacket for most of the day - we were up to 21 degrees today. It's hard to believe there were still melting piles of snow a week ago.

The stuff:

No boots. I'm bootless. I dropped them off at the cobbler near the end of the day to get them re-heeled, ready for another season next fall.

• Belt - Sand Castle USA, thrifted
• Earrings - vintage fair; purchased here for $8.00 - first wearing
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

I opened the deck door for Vizzini this morning.

"Thanks, you can leave now."

Enjoy snoozing in the sun, buddy.

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Black and White (and Red); Marvel-ous Betsey and Jeans; Cat Pictures and a Skirt

Hello, my friends! It's not much of a bigass wrap-up this weekend, as I've been taking it easy and being chill. I need quiet weekends to restore my mental energy - we introverts get our mojo back from being alone. Ahhhh....

 I had fun with Friday's outfit - I adore black and white combinations, and loved how these two items looked together.

This is my entry for Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style. Go!

• Sweater - Club Monaco, thrifted; first worn here with yellow in January
• Trousers - Alexander McQueen, Fall 2003 collection, thrifted; last seen here in December 2018 with bells on
• Shoes - Marc; last worn here in November 2018 with pink and grey
• Coat (below) - Denny Rose, consignment; last seen here in January

Getting another wearing out of my cute winged- shoulder sweater - I really enjoyed how the simple shape and details bounced off the very busy pattern in the trousers.

 The trousers always get most of the love - they are rather bold.

However, they are Alexander McQueen - real McQueen!

 I get a kick out of the looks on people's faces (who know fashion) when I tell them.

The youngsters at the hair salon after work were properly impressed.

 I note that wider-legs/flares are coming back, and I am all over that.

Outerwear - I was pleased with how well this wool coat went with the checkers.

 After my post-work haircut, I met up with L and we bused home together.

• Gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff:

 My feet were very tired after a long day, but I need some height for the length of the trousers.

Black and white (and red) bling:

 Hurray for the black and white cuff!

• Cuff - vintage fair
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Earrings - Tania Gleave, Vancouver

After a fun evening of board games, L and I had a lazy morning before walking to town for lunch at the Pink Bicycle burger joint.

 We went to see Captain Marvel at the movie theatre in town afterwards. Needed to be comfy, but also look badass like Carol Danvers!

• Velvet dress - Betsey Johnson, vintage 90s; purchased here for $32.95
• Jeans - Levi Strauss, thrifted; last seen here in January with Monster Vest and ruffles
• Boots - Ash; last worn here (2nd outfit) in February for snowy shopping
• Coat (below) Vassali, consignment; last seen here in February

I really enjoyed the movie and found it very empowering for women and female friendship - take your girlfriends/daughters/grandkids (there were plenty of kids at our showing).

 I also really enjoyed wearing this fabulous Betsey Johnson mini dress - it's definitely of that era where we wore Lycra bike shorts under our dresses (I did!) but that's not a look I go for now, so skinny jeans filled the same need.

I was also really comfortable for sitting in my cushy recliner for the movie.

 I wish the pattern of the dress was more symmetrically lined up, but eh, whatever.

Close enough.

 The stretch velvet has a shine to it - it's a very dark tan/bronzy shade with black pattern.

Coated up - I did forget the first rule of wearing velvet, though.

 Don't wear other velvets with it! The dress and coat started fighting and riding up on me immediately.

Fortunately, it was a lovely sunny day, so I was able to walk with the coat unbuttoned.

 Better badassery that way, anyway, right?

The stuff:

 These boots mean business! They are great for walking. I love the excessive studs on them.

Badass bling:

 Yeah, I went full-on badass!

• Leather cuff - thrifted, Guess
• Studded cuff - vintage 80s
• Crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy
• Obsidian/silver ring - gift from Mom & Dad, Mexico, c. 1986
• Snake ring - BC Museum Gift Shop, 1986
• White gold earrings - gift from L, 10th anniversary

When we got up Saturday morning, I went looking for Vizzini.

"No, Woman, go away."

He was sleeping in his house!

"I suppose this means I'll have to get up for some cuddles."

He hopped out and listened to us getting ready.

"You better not be out for long!"

Do you see my reflection in the round mirror?

I grabbed him for a quick selfie.

"Make sure you get my good side for my fans."

What a cutie!

Today, I shuffled down to town for my grocery shopping. I may have stopped in briefly at Rich Rags consignment to see if anything had been marked down further. I tend to stalk things there as they go on 50% off after a month.

 I was in luck! This lovely turquoise, brown and purple neoprene long skirt was half off, for only $35.00.

It reminds me of tie-dye.

 It's got pockets!

The brand is Silvian Heach, which I've never heard of (about them here; they apparently are mostly a European-focused business). Their skirts range from $100-150 Canadian, so not too shabby.

 A bit of digging around reveals that this is from their Fall/Winter 2015 collection.

Vizzini's shedding his winter coat (and getting lots of brushing), and waiting for the deck to be warm enough.

"This door should be open immediately, Woman!"

Today, I put his post out there (it will come in when the sun goes down).

"This spot keeps slipping out of my grasp." 

He's chasing the sun-spot reflecting from my ring.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Sending you warm breezes, wherever you are!