Sunday, August 30, 2015

Weekend Wrap-Up: Stormy, Hypno-Dress and Art, and Some Shopping

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend, and now it's time to chill. I might need to sneak another nap in. 

On Saturday, I got ready to go play Ultimate Frisbee. It was very windy and sort of stormy. 
After I took this picture, I noticed, "What is that on my chest?" Ack! Moth attack! I hopped around and swatted it off me. Very traumatizing.


  • Sweater - Talbots, thrifted; last seen here in May with chartreuse
  • Skirt - Club Monaco; last worn here (2nd outfit) in May, again for Ulty
  • Loafers - Land's End, thrifted; last seen here a few times for the 40+ Blogger Meet-Up in July

One of our confirmed players cancelled due to sickness, so we ended up not playing, which was fine by me, as then I could meet up with Elaine a little earlier for our afternoon of brunch and shopping.
As mentioned, it was hugely windy - this skirt billowed massively!
I layered up for the intermittent rain and wind, with my mauve leather jacket.

The stuff:
I love wearing a thin scarf wrapped around my neck. I think I'll be moving these loafers along after this summer - they are a little tight and not as comfy as I'd hoped.

Silver bling:
I admit, it's a plain to wear a bracelet when you're trying stuff on.


  • Scarf - Beecher's Brook, thrifted
  • Bracelet - Fossil, gift from L
  • Earrings - Fossil, thrifted


After brunch, we went to the St. Vincent de Paul. We both had some good luck.
Another amber glass for my collection, for $3.00.

I've been perusing the September issues of the big fashion magazines (the only time of year I buy them) and ripping out inspirations. I'm loving mod and Victorian, so I was on the lookout for bold 60s and 70s graphics, as well as romantic tops. I also tossed a bunch of skirts recently, so generally scoping for interesting new ones for fall, particularly in longer lengths.

For only $1.00, this fabulous 70s scarf was mine. Orange...
Cat-approved
 ...and purple to go with my hair!

This slate blue-y/grey colour is a tricky one for me to wear, but as long as it's a skirt, it's way easier.
It's a 50/50 wool and acrylic blend, and is very thick and soft. The slit goes right up to the waist! It's going to look sweet with winter boots.

And only $4.00.
I've never  heard of Theo Miles but this article talks about how it was dissolved after only a year in business back in 1994. I guess that's a pretty good estimate of the age of this skirt.

I've been really grooving on grey lately, and I like seeing the front slit coming back in longer-length pencil skirts.
Voila! Vintage 80s 100% wool pencil skirt with a slight A-line, and an interesting detail on the front slit.

And just $5.00!
I am sure that label said "Bianca".

I fell hard for this awesome orange vintage 80s blouse.
It's polyester, and has big swooshy sleeves and a little tie at the neck.

Never heard of the brand, but it's before the mid-80s and the Great Size Shift.
13/14 is about a size 8 in modern clothing.

After the SVdeP, we dashed through the rain and wind to the WIN Warehouse store. I love their vintage selection, and it was 40% off all red-starred tags today.
Like this fabulous scarf, which was $6.50 plus 40% off, so $3.90. Love all those mod colours! So very 70s.

I always scope out the lingerie section for nice vintage pieces.
$2.50 plus 40% off for this camisole makes it $1.50.

My skirt luck held out - more skirts!
I like the funky 90s plaid vibe about this skirt. It's black, blue and white.

It was $16.50.
Thank you, Tommy Hilfiger, for putting pockets in it!

The patchwork style on this skirt caught my eye.
It's a mix of black and dark chocolate brown.

A very pretty mix of textures.
It's by Strawberry Jill, and was $12.50. Strawberry Jill was a local company; an article from the local paper in 2007 - here - mentions a store in Fan Tan Alley).

Although I am quite happy with my black leather pencil skirt (this one), I found an even nicer one.
I was shocked at how soft it is - turns out it's a Canadian-made Danier Leather (Italian leather too).
Their Canadian-made line starts around $200.00 and goes up. I think I got a deal at $32.50.

After a brief nap, I changed to meet up with some friends for dinner out.
I was so excited to wear this amazing dress!


  • Lillies and berries dress - vintage 70s, thrifted; purchased here for $19.99
  • Shoes - The Fluevog Vizzinis, aka Wonders Ayers, Fluevog, customized by me and Vizzini; last worn here in July with silver

This dress was a show-stopper, everywhere that I wore it. I'm impressed by the exact matching of the fabric/pattern on the sleeves, and how it lines up on the side-seam as well.
A nice little slit for waling and doing a little leg show.

I had oodles of compliments all night.
From dinner, we walked over to the relaunched G++ Gallery at Limbic Studios (FB link) and oohed and ahhed over the cool exhibits and installations.

The stuff:
L and I stumbled home late. These shoes were made for walkin'!

Simple bling:
I went light on the accessories, since the dress stood very well on its own. 

  • Purse: TakeFive 
  • Earrings - Aldo Accessories
  • Death Star ring - Soul Flower
  • Shield ring - Nine West


L's outfit: 
Looking dapper, cool as f**k, and seriously awesome. His shirt is Le Chateau, the pants are by Etro, and the shoes are the Fluevog Iggys.

This morning, I strolled out to get groceries and to have a wee shop afterwards.  
I'm really feeling soft pinks, purples and mauves lately.


  • Sweater - Harrod's, consignment; last seen here way back in April with more pale pink 
  • Skirt - J. Crew, thrifted; first worn here earlier this month with white and orange
  • Shoes - Chie Mihara; last worn here (3rd outfit) in June to an Ulty game

I felt perfectly spring-y - I wore the same mauve leather jacket over this for my outing.
It was a little warm once the sun came out, but no complaints about all this pink and purple. So pretty!

The stuff:
I just wore stud earrings. No stuff, only shoes.

I strolled up to the WIN Boutique for a poke around. I found my fall purse!
It's a lovely taupe colour (and shows a bit of crocking!) that's been overstitched in a rough plaid/croc pattern. The hardware is all copper-coloured, and the lining is pink.
Although it says it's Coach, and the store has "authenticated" it as real (and accordingly priced it at $42.50), I can't find anything online that matches it, certainly not the serial/edition number, which would be my first confirmation. It's made in China, but it feels conflicted. A good rip-off or the real deal? We have a couple of Coach stores in town (one in the Bay department store), so it could be an older model.

Either way, I'm pretty happy with it.

I've resisted the fall fashion siren call of the turtleneck for a year now...
Um, yes, that might be an orange turtleneck sweater! It was $15.50 and is by Ralph Lauren.

I have problems with chunky sweaters, but I really want to do them with skirts for fall. I'm hoping that this one will work for me.
It's by Vero Moda, and was $12.50 and has a nice thin drape. I also like the longer back and the wider cut of it. The colour is heathered grey with a tint of dark green.

And finally, now that I have a proper strapless bra, I can wear this blouse on its own if I want to.
I love the cream satin and the black and grey mod-ish pattern. It's Canadian-made Jacob and was $9.50. A good deal!

And that's my weekend! I hope yours was lovely and full of good times.

12 comments:

  1. You and L are dazzling in your going-out finery. Don't you know it's bad manners to outshine the artwork? Heh. Stunning. L's pants are awesome - they are from the store that treated you both like a million bucks, right? I love your new fall purse and your orange turtle neck with short sleeves, a great piece for under jackets too. Looks like a great weekend so far...

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  2. Love all your purchases, I can't wait to see how you wear that long grey skirt, and the patchwork one! :) I also really liked all of the outfits you wore this weekend - too hard to pick a favourite, thought it was the first one (you know I love all maxi skirts) but they kept getting better as I read :)

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  3. Oh that maxi dress ... fantastic ... there is just nothing like great vintage is there? Love it!

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  4. Wow, your maxi floral dress is a stunner! And L does look cool as f&*k and what a magnificent couple you make. Great scores on all the skirts - I think the knit maxi is my favorite. xox

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  5. No surprise that I adore your 1970s maxi - I would pinch that off you in a heartbeat, it's fabulous!
    Your found some great stuff, Sheila, demon shopper that you are! Vintage scarves are always great (I'll never understand why people pay huge amounts for a scarf when you can pick them up secondhand so cheaply). I have the same concerns about chunky knits as you (it's a boob thing!) so I will be interested to see how you make them work for you. No such worries about that orange pussy bow blouse though, it's a beauty! xxx

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  6. Sounds like a fantastic weekend! The lilies & berries dress really is great. Love when we get to see L!

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  7. Oh my goodness, so much to love! I am quite envious of the great brands you can find second hand. I most get second hand Reitmans here. I love the pink shoes and your new fall Coach bag. I too love grey and am all about soft greys, pinks and mauves. I have a new to me grey wool skirt I am looking forward to test driving this fall. I don't do chunky sweaters too well either. My body is already thick so adding thick textiles isn't really a good idea. I love them though. L sure is looking handsome and dapper. Better not let him out of the house! xoxoxo

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  8. I've been looking for a good strapless bra. What did you get?
    Love all your wonderful fashion inspirations!

    ella
    TX

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  9. Ella, sorry, I can't remember the brand - I took all the scratchy labels off immediately. I did buy it from a fancy/expensive store, though.

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  10. If you ever, God Forbid, decide to get rid of that spectacular 70's Maxi dress, I will fly out there and pick it up (even if I have to wrestle Curtise for it).

    L deserves an award for rocking those eye-popping plaid pants. The man has great style chops!

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  11. I dont know where to begin…
    The long vintage flowers and berries dress is to die for…. wow !
    and you got some really cool things on your shopping spree, I particularly liked the orange blouse with the blow and the wool pencil skirt. I can picture you wearing these two together and also the scarf with orange print ooooo la la!

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  12. Hi Sheila, I'm gradually working through your posts - I'm impressed at how long you've kept up this standard of blogging! Loved so many things in this post, the beautiful maxi dress, too many of the skirts, but have fallen deeply in love with the retro orange pussy bow blouse - this is right up my street. So I'll just say it now - when you grow tired of it, please think of me. Orange is my favourite colour and this would so suit me.
    I run a little art gallery and you stylish dressers would be a welcome addition ant time. Although its not exactly around the corner...
    Anna
    Anna's Island Style

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