Monday, July 31, 2017

Pink and Cream, and Crow/Cat War

Oh, another week. At least we have the Monday stat holiday to look forward to - and it's supposed to get really hot in the next couple of days, into the 30s. Zoiks!
 In a shocking change of pace, I went nearly all neutral. Cream!? Who is this woman?


  • Sweater - Hawick of Scotland, consignment; last seen here in February with brrrr! SNOW!
  • Skirt - Kate Spade, thrifted; purchased here for $22.95
  • Shoes - Effortless Bebe, Fluevog; first worn here with a zigzag dress earlier this month
  • Jean jacket (below) - Ann Taylor Loft, NYC; last seen here in February 2016 for my at-work Stair Challenge team dress-up day (our team was grunge!)

 Lookin' all perky in my new bra, tee hee! This is a lovely sweater that I keep, even though I don't wear it that often. It's like a white shirt or a black camisole: useful for certain situations and outfits. I vaguely thought about doing a pink top (I have a suede one, but too hot!), but then I just decided that I liked the simplicity of just the sweater.

I loved wearing this swishy silk skirt all day! I steamed it last night, and thought about pressing all the pleats into it (as it's supposed to have) for oh, about 3 seconds and then "NAAAHHHHHH". Forget that!
 I steamed the bottom half (it was quite wrinkled already), and gently allowed the steamer to crease the pleats near the waistband. I quite like the effect, and it's way less work.

Outerwear purely for sun coverage. Now that my hair is dark purple again, we'll make a wee bit of effort to keep it that way.
 I haven't worn this jean jacket on the blog for a long time, but it's still being worn - I wore it all of last spring/summer as outerwear (without taking any pictures of that), and have literally worn it hundreds of times since I got it in 2007 in the Ann Taylor Loft in Times Square, NYC. It's a great cut and shape and I have no need for any other jean jacket.

The stuff:
 Lovely pink shiny shoes! The heels were making farting noises all day, though! WTF? That better not be a new "feature" of them or they will not be lasting long!

Pink and gold bling:
 Round things go with the round polka dots. That's totally a theme.


  • Earrings - gift from Simar
  • Bracelet - Lia Sophia, thrifted
  • Ring - Frances Jewelers, early 60s, Dad's


There was a ruckus out on the deck this morning. Vizzini has an enemy: a crow who lurks in the oak tree out front who taunts him.
"Come down here and say that to my face, crow!"
 Vizzini was chattering away - if cats can swear, he was going a blue streak!
"If I can't bite him, I can at least say nasty things!"
I'm sure he gave as good as he got!

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Weekend Wrap-Up: Hawaiian Friday, Honolulu Gown and a Wee Spree

Well, here we are, at the end of the weekend. It's been a lovely, quiet time for me. A small amount of socializing (not too much), sports (Ulti!), chilling out at home with L and Vizzini (yay!), and my personal therapy time (shopping). 

Are you ready to see what I wore for all these things? Here we go with Friday! 
 This is one of the last of my shirts to be worn this spring/summer season (I could tell because the hanger was still backwards!).


  • Shirt - Tommy Hilfiger, thrifted; last seen here (4th outfit) in July 2016 with a now-gone red skirt
  • Pants - Tara Jarmon, consignment; last worn here in April with awesome heels
  • Shoes - Born, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) for a shopping trip a few weeks ago

I curated the leftover clothes from my recent cull and took four bags of clothes and shoes to work (my female coworkers were very excited!), and put out 4 garbage bags full of lesser items for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters donation pick-up on Friday. My closet is a little leaner, but that just means more room for shopping! 

 I had lots of compliments on this outfit - it does just scream "summer!", doesn't it? I love that the Hawaiian print has little men on outriggers and hula dancers on it. My coworkers were taken with the red pattern of the pants with the printed shirt, and the combination of the orange earrings and turquoise.

"It all goes together!" exclaimed one of the men. "Yes, I planned that. These things don't happen by accident," I said.
 After work, I met up with a bunch of our friends for drinks and dinner at the Garrick's Head Pub downtown. It's a mostly-locals pub right in the middle of the "tourist strip" and is fabulous for people-watching. It was so lovely to chill with the gang and "detox" from a week of work and feeling blah.

The stuff:
 Upgrading my weekend shoes to a rare work appearance. My feet were very happy, especially since I walked home after!


  • Earrings - vintage fair
  • Ring - local


After a quiet night on my own on Friday (self care consisting of cooking shows, a stand-up comedy show by Tig Notaro, and popcorn), I was up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for a game of Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday. It was a hot one, so time to break out my vintage real Hawaiian gown!
 It's an eyeful! I adore it, and it was wonderfully cool and comfy to wear to walk to the field, then have lunch after, and walk home again.


  • Dress - Tori Richard of Honolulu for Andrage of Honolulu, vintage 70s, Joyce's; last seen here (3rd outfit) on the July Canada Day long weekend in 2016
  • Shoes - Franco Sarto, consignment; last worn here (4th outfit) last weekend to get groceries

 I'm like a big Hawaiian sailboat, cruising around the city sidewalks. I get a lot of stares in this.

Our game was excellent - I caught a very low disc, landing on my knees on the grass. I'm happy to report no injuries aside from one snapped nail (ow).
 I had to get L to sunblock my back, but otherwise, I was good to go! 

I tied one of my vintage (thrifted) silk scarves around my straw hat to hide both my grey/white roots and my sweaty post-game hair. 
The long ends of the scarf streamed out behind me.

The stuff:
 These shoes are always a go-to, especially when I've just sprinted up and down a field for two hours in cleats!


  • Earrings - local


Last night, I dyed my hair, and then L and I chilled out with the Vizz-meister, playing boardgames, drinking wine and listening to music. It's my favourite thing in the world to do.

Today, I dressed to go get groceries, followed by one of my dreaded chores: underwear and bra shopping! I am happy to report that I'll be getting rid of some old stuff, and replacing it new. "See you in a year," said the nice lady at the Bay department store, as I left with my bag of very expensive bras.
 I really loved this colourful outfit and this picture, so this is my entry for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. Get your butt over there!

I also am just going to make the deadline for July's "Hat Attack!" over at Judith's Style Crone. Go check it out - talk about some amazing chapeaux!


  • Jacket - Jacob, thrifted; last worn here (4th outfit) in June as for a day of indolent shenanigans
  • Blouse - Jacob, thrifted; last seen here (5th outfit) on that same weekend for my grocery shopping
  • Skirt - Jack, thrifted; last worn here in April with pink cashmere
  • Shoes - Modern Vintage, thrifted; last seen here in June with Gaga shoulders

 Knowing I'd be trying on about a million bras, I wore a top that would be easy-off and -on. It's also good to slip a top back on over a bra to make sure you look good in clothes too!
 It was a little breezy out today, so my lovely pleated painty skirt swooshed most satisfyingly.

Layered up for the sun! Again, my silk scarf trailed behind me.
 I felt very bright and cheery! Wearing yellow always helps.

The stuff:
 Done with these shoes! They were awesome for years, but now they are in the giveaway pile. I'm not going to enumerate all the wearings, but I clicked through all the "last worn here" links for them, and counted 23 wears. Considering I thrifted them for $8.50, I got a very good cost-per-wear on them of 37 cents. Awesome! Bye, shoes that now hurt my toes!


  • Earrings - Stella & Dot, consignment, Vancouver


After my traumatic but successful (and expensive) bra shopping, I rewarded myself with a cruise around the Bay. Bad idea.
 Yellow leather ballet flats that feel like a dream on?

Yes, they had to come with me!
 They were an extra 40% off, but checking my receipt, I see that they scanned as being $69.00, so I got them for $41.40. Not bad considering they were $115.00 to start!

Nice bottoms.
 I've never owned Karl Lagerfeld anything.

I started picking clothes out from the sale racks at the Bay as well, but then caught myself. I don't want to be buying what everyone else has! I saw one entire rack of nothing but that ubiquitous white off-the-shoulder blouse with bell sleeves that is everywhere. I don't want to look like everyone else! I put the clothes back and headed off to the Patch to soothe myself with some treasure-hunting.

Ah, much better...they had a sale on: Buy one dress and get 40% off the second one. I like these early promo deals they do - you can find some really good stuff and save on the original price, before the racks get too picked over. There were at least 6 racks of dresses (I didn't even venture downstairs to the vintage section!), and it took a while.

I may have found a few things...
 I'm having a major love affair with velvet, and I loved how pretty I felt in this silk/rayon velvet dress.

It's by BCBG Max Azria and was $29.95.
 Never worn! Still has the original $168.00 price tag on it! Nice! I'll keep this out with the spring/summer stuff, but I can see layering a long-sleeved top under it for fall with a pair of cute booties.

My 40% off item was this "dress". Note: it's not a dress. But it counted as one for the deal (thank you, nice young lady at the Patch).
 It's a vest that zips up the front, with a dropped waist and draw string (cat-bait!) in a pewter-grey crushed velvet (I'm sure it will steam out nicely). There are two pockets on the bottom of the "skirt" that are trimmed with ruffles. I guess I could technically wear this as a dress with tights?

The collar is a shawl style, and there are more ruffles in the boobular region.
 Ruffles! Ah!

The back is gathered in. I'll need to wear another top under this, for sure.
 It doesn't have a maker's tag in it, but it's beautifully made.

I found the content tag, noting that it's rayon and silk velvet, and wow! Made in the USA.
 So it's very nice quality. I can see this over my Jean-Paul Gautier sweater with my grey tulle skirt and boots for fall. This has gone into the "cooler weather" pile in my closet.

This "dress" was also in the dress racks. But not a dress. This is a tunic-length top.
 It's a really cool pattern! I love the longer hem in the back. The armholes are very open, so I'll have to wear a cami under it, but I'll be able to wear it right away!

Do you see what the pattern is?
 Accordions! It's' by Clover Canyon, who made my neoprene skirt that bothered me last week.
 And made in the US? For $9.95? Score! This would have been over $100 new.

I had a lot of luck on the skirt rack. The Patch is an early predictor for me of what is actually IN with people wearing clothes, versus what "Fashion" wants us to wear. Today, it appears that full skirts are surging in popularity. I'm ecstatic as this is my current favourite skirt style!

I love this wonderful bright blue and black "tie fabric" skirt.
 It has a kick-pleat at the front.

It's by J. Crew and was $19.95.
 A better look at the fabric and pattern.

Confirming that yes, it's silk, and it's from "HO 13" aka Holiday 2013.
 So it's nearly 4 years old. I'll be wearing this right away, although it will be awesome with tights and a sweater in cooler weather.

You've probably figured out that I shop all year round for all seasons. This is a gorgeously thick and luxurious wool skirt.
I love the classic pencil shape with bold zipper details on one pocket and up and down the front.

I can make a slit for walking.
 And the pocket works! Always a bonus.
 It's also by J. Crew, and was only $19.95 - that's a bargain!
 You can see the nice little metal hook there for the top of the zipper, to keep it secure. That is a sign of quality. However, too warm to wear this right now. Into the fall pile with you!

I had to twirl when I put this skirt on.
 It's cream silk with bright pink polka dots. Of course I bought it!

I like that the dots are a little random and outlined in white.
 What a nice surprise - it's by Kate Spade!
This skirt was originally $368.00 new, and is from 2012. It's also supposed to be perfectly pleated right to the hem, so this is going to require some extensive treatment on the steamer (and if I get annoyed, it's going to be a non-pleated skirt!).

And how was your weekend? I'm now off to enjoy the last few hours with my guys.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Magenta and Denim Mojo

I'm feeling in the doldrums a bit right now - I go through waves, up and down, kind of like the waterbed that I had when I was a teen. Anyway, it's nothing specific and everything in general. Malaise, ennui, lack of mojo, with a wee sprinkle of depression. 
 I've been spending time with my friends, which is good. I also need to colour my hair, as it now matches my shoes exactly.


  • Jacket - Boom Boom Jeans, thrifted; last seen here in November 2016 with painty plaid
  • Sleeveless sweater - Gap, thrifted; last worn here a couple of weeks ago with floral and dots
  • Skirt - Vivienne Tam, consignment; last seen here in April with the same top and shoes
  • Shoes - Coclico; last worn here in May with green and graphics

 If you jump back to when I last wore this skirt, you'll see what my purple hair is supposed to look like - it does fade over time, but just to magenta. I can live with that. Taking care of my haircolour is one of those self-care things that makes me feel better, so I will do it this weekend.

My hair's getting long! It's tucked into the back of my jacket.
 It's been a while since I wore this jacket, and I gave it a long look - is it time for it to go? I do love the peplum back detail and the quasi-military look of it. And it's a good topper for a funky skirt. Thoughts?

The stuff:
 My feet are sore after a full day of regular work plus my WW meeting, so must wear flat shoes tomorrow. That's also self-care.

Silver bling:
A few favourite things always lift my mood.


  • Cage cuff - Bauxo
  • Ring - Soul Flower
  • Earrings - don't remember, late 90s


I'll be back on Sunday to regale you with my adventures. Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Mixed Metals, Leather and Brocade Pants

I have to dash off to catch a bus (and another bus!) to get to Book Club tonight, so this is gonna be fast!
 Totally a weather-inappropriate outfit. Leather (with a cami underneath) and brocade pants!


  • Leather top - H&M, consignment; last worn here in May with leopard pants
  • Pants - Piazza Sempione, thrifted; purchased here for $44.95
  • Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here in April with a peasant skirt
  • Coat (below) - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last seen here a week ago

 I couldn't just do a white shirt with these groovy new-to-me pants - and plain ol' black didn't appeal either. Black leather, on the other hand, oh yes, I can do that!

Strong positive reactions to this outfit today, mostly of the "you might be slightly overdressed for work" variety.
 Screw it, where else am I going to wear this?

Outerwear was totally not needed, but I like keeping my ink covered up.
 I don't mind sweating a bit to keep from burning.

The stuff:
 Now that my feet are out of these, I really don't want to put them back on (even though they are super-comfy). A full day in heels is in the cards for me. I'm also too lazy to take another set of pictures (or even one picture) with different shoes on.

Mixed metal bling:
Copper, steel, silver, gold. Am I missing any? I nearly wore my mixed metal belt (this one), but took it off at the last minute.


  • Open gold bangle - thrifted
  • Silver bangle - local
  • Open bracelet with decoration - POLY, thrifted
  • Ring - POLY, vintage fair
  • Earrings - vintage fair