First up, I spent Thursday doing preparation for my closet sale on Sunday. This is my second round of hosting invited guests to come over during a 6-hour window to shop from my Limbo pile* - the first time was here in June 2024 and was a big success.
*Limbo is where my clothes go when they leave my closet...but are not ready to be sold/given away/donated.
I picked up some more tags and stickers at the local office supply store. I have plenty leftover, so no need to buy more when I do the summer version in 6 months.
These pictures were taken after I spent close to three hours sorting everything into piles. I put a bunch of albums into the 6-CD carousel, and cranked it and danced and sang as I worked. It was fun, and made the work fly by.
There are seven big bags here full of clothes that will be sold for thrift store prices. As I did last time, I encourage folks to bundle - the more you buy, the better the deal I'll give you. I'm rather loosey-goosey with it, as I'd rather people get things they love than worry about money.
This is the FREE stuff area - and yes, there are five pairs of shoes there, including two pairs of Fluevogs that are too thrashed to sell. My T-strap grey vintage snakeskin shoes are there as well - farewell, old friends! I only paid $10.00 for them, and wore them dozens of times. No regrets!
There are belts, jewelry that didn't sell last time, and two ginormous bags of clothes that are in used condition (but still good!) or slightly damaged. I encouraged people to upcycle and get creative with things that are well-loved. I down-graded some things to free that hadn't sold. There are always little gems to be found!
The shoes that are up for sale, plus a pile of menswear on the left. I buy L shirts and ties all the time, plus we have some suit jackets that are in good condition (L always wears out the suit pants first).
Shoes are all $25.00 unless otherwise priced. Nothing's over $100.00, even practically new Fluevogs.
I then spent another two hours sorting the vintage, designer and otherwise special clothes. I marked down a few pieces, and wrote tags and priced all the new Limbo items that had accumulated.
It feels good to let go of some of these clothes, many of which I'd never wear again for whatever reason. Some don't fit, some are no longer my style, some are "too good to leave behind" thrifted items. I want them to go to good homes where they will be worn and loved!
My jewelry - sorry about the blurry pic, I was getting tired!
Everything on the left table is $5.00, and the items on the CD spinner are "as marked" vintage and special pieces. I can't just keep growing my collection, and things get worn out or just aren't good enough quality to keep.
My Accoutrements area. See me in the mirror?
Hats, scarves, gloves, belts. I love helping people find lovely things that they'll wear.
This is the same picture of my "Rules of the House", since I didn't change anything. I will be ensuring I get the passwords on all eTransfers before people leave the house this time. Other than that, I'm perfectly happy with this set-up.
I'm being lazy and copying over what I wrote in June:
I accept eTransfer or cash (shopping money!) as payment, with all sales final, and as I noted "Let's Talk!" for people buying multiple items or wanting to bargain. Heck, yeah! I'd rather cut a deal than have someone miss out on something they love.
In case you're curious, my tag-less clothes are:
- Dresses - $25
- Blazers, jackets, toppers - $20
- Bottoms (pants, skirts) - $15
- Tops - $15
- Shoes - $25
- If you like it, try it on. Be open!
- Look at everything!
- Ignore sizes! Sizes are wacky.
- Ask me about care/washing.
- Everything has a history - I wore most of this!
- Need styling tips? Ask!
- There are treasures in the no-tag zone!
This is a judgment-free zone. Be kind to yourself and others.
As I sorted and reviewed everything I'd dumped into Limbo in the past 7 months, a few things leapt out at me, so I took them back.
Regret-Me-Nots! I will give these all another chance and see how I feel. I thought about all of these while they were absent, which is a good sign.
- Akris Silk 80s Dress, thrifted - first worn here in April 2024
Why I took it back: Frankly, it was you readers! You loved it so much, and really, when I go back and look at the pictures, I love it too!
- Talbots Pink Cropped Pants, thrifted - last seen here in August 2023
Why I took them back: I love the colour and thought about how much I have that I could wear with them for summer.
BUT WAIT! As I wrote this, I decided to reverse my "Keep It" decision based on my review of the last wearing, when I excoriated them for bagging out and not looking good. I must defer to my previous self, she knows what's she's talking about. Gone!
- Chambray Denim Skants, consignment - last worn here in September 2024
Why I took them back: Why did I put them in Limbo in the first place? WTF kind of brain fart was I having?
- Verona Knits by Leon Cutler Dress, vintage 70s, thrifted - worn once here (4th outfit) for Christmas with my family in December 2024
Why I took it back: Again, because of you, my friends! Your positive reaction to my outfit changed my mind, and I have to agree. Y'all have such good taste! I had only planned to wear it the one time, and then make a profit on my $8.00 investment.
Friday!
And here we are, finally at an outfit again. This is what I wore to work on Friday, after spending a leisurely time mucking about in my closet the day before.
Winter has arrived! The rain has begun, and snow and wind warnings are in effect! We'll see how this affects our weekend...
Feeling a bit rebellious in my badass rocker shirt and Weird Adidas. And a blue-green theme again, but different.
- Cotton jacket - Adidas Originals, consignment; purchased here for $70.00
- L7 2024 tour shirt - not tracked
- Mesh shirt - Mexx, vintage 90s, consignment; first worn here earlier this month with black and blue
- Skirt - Zara, consignment; first seen here in December 2024 with the nutcracker jacket
- Shoes - MJUS, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) in October 2024 with a bad blouse
- Cocoon coat (below) - B. Young; last seen here on the weekend
I can tell my style is really moving when most of my items are new-ish. These have all been purchases within the last 12 months.
I held it up to bottoms and dresses in my closet until I found a piece that made it sing, which is this pleated green skirt.
I loved the belt on the skirt like this. It reminds me of wallet chains.
I'm all about the asymmetry! It also swooshes around like a kilt.
Without the jacket, although I only took it off to show off the sleeves of the mesh shirt. "They're everything," colleague Viz declared.
Done up - I zipped it before donning my cocoon.
The pockets were warm and cozy and fit my work phone. A+!
Cocooned. I hit perfect windows of no-rain on my walks.
I was nice and bright - the traffic is brutal, so I want to be seen.
I was prepared for rain!
I wouldn't have minded my sleeves getting wet - it's only water.
Accoutrements:
I tucked my hair up into the beret to keep it dry.
- Wool beret - consignment
- Fighter jet scarf - Givenchy, consignment, gift from L
- Leather gloves - Roeckl, consignment
The stuff:
Blue and green bling:
It's taken a while to style this belt - I don't have a lot of light teal in my winter wardrobe, but it matched the mint green stripes on the jacket perfectly!
- Charm belt - Fluevog; purchased here for $69.00
- Bug brooch - Le Chateau, c. 2007
- Silver/malachite earrings - thrifted
- Silver/green stone ring - thrifted
- Fulvia Ring/Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
- Bug pendant - Heart's Content, c. 2008
Wait a second, something's missing:
- Cuff with crystals, turquoise and pearls - Myka, consignment
- Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
We're just a couple of cool kids at heart!
We were up early on Saturday and watching the skies, as flurries of SNOW were expected. There were a few little bits here and there, but it ended up sunny after all.
- Shiny over-jacket - Dries Van Noten, consignment; last worn here in September 2024 over my parachute dress
- Turtleneck - Betty Barclay, thrifted; first seen here in March 2024 layered under my Kenzo tiger dress
- Skants - no label, last worn here in September 2024 with orange and copper
- Boots - Official Mittwoch, Fluevog; last worn here in January for dinner out with L
- Coat (below) - Marciano for Guess, consignment, Powell River; last seen here for New Year's Eve
I had styled this outfit with my neon orange cropped puffer vest (this one) but it didn't work over the shiny tunic, so I just said, "Aw, screw it, we're not out for long," and wore it like this.
Good enough! I still had oodles of fans of my outfit at brunch at John's Place, and I mostly had my outerwear on anyway.
This Dries van Noten tunic is a sheer leopard print, with a hood.
I layered a dark red turtleneck under it for warmth and because it's very sheer.
Showing my skants.
Not quite a skirt, not quite pants - SKANTS!
Pockets!
We ran some errands after brunch, including our weekly grocery shop, as I wouldn't have time on Sunday with the Limbo Sale.
There was much hooting and hollering at the Unsafe Tiger!
I wore my fur scarf as a head-wrap for a little extra warmth.
Yeah, baby! I waggled and wafted the fur at the staff at John's - they loved it.
Accoutrements:
- Purse - Rebecca Minkoff, consignment
- Fur scarf - thrifted
- Leather gloves - Echo, consignment
The stuff:
Wonderful orange boots.
- Silver earrings - Israeli, consignment
- Silver/enamel ring - antique shop, Sidney
- Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
And...you might notice that the onyx is missing from my Tocara ring! It escaped from me at some point while we were out. I took a look around for it, but it's likely long gone. I'm sorry to lose this ring from my collection, but I paid $10.00 for it back here in June 2019. I wear it weekly (if not more), so in nearly 5 years, I've probably worn it close to 300 times.
Thank you, wee ring, for all the happy times!
While we waited in line for a table, I popped into the Beacon Ave Thrift Shop next door, where I found a bonanza of nylons, of varying vintages.
The Secret Silky were $2.00 (originally marked at $6.95, probably from the early 00s), the Braemar pair was also $2.00 and retailed for $5.00. I worked for their sister store, Fairweather, in the early 00s, and both of those went out of business shortly after.
The FASHION nylons look old, probably 80s or 90s. They were $1.69 originally, and are "Limited Edition Colors."
Not sure how elastic these will still be, but what an awesome colour.
I also spotted this long velvet duster coat-dress.
It has velvet covered buttons almost to the hem.
When I flipped the cuffs up, I found this lovely contrast brocade satin.
That looks very vintage 90s.
A band of elastic at the small of the back, to give it shape and make it less of a giant black velvet smock.
A nice detail!
The front undone - more satin on the inside of the placket.
So pretty! This is more of a long duster style jacket. No pockets, which is a drag!
April Cornell for Cornell Trading. According to the Vintage Fashion Guild, this was sold in the La Cache stores in Canada in the 1990s. We had a La Cache here at the mall downtown until about 20 years ago - this is probably from that store.
Add another zero to that $21.00 for the original retail - for a silk and rayon velvet, this would easily have sold for over $200.00 new. I spotted the same one in red online for $99, so the value is still there.
I dressed early for our event on Saturday night - our pal Chris turned 50! - so that I could do my pics and pre-blog them. Again, no time on Sunday for all this writing (I also work on my Substack post throughout the week, more writing!).
It's a glowing ball in the sky! What is this, a star?
- Blouse - L'Wren Scott, "A Tropical Conversation" FW 2011, thrifted; last seen here in February 2024 for a Belfry Theatre play
- Silk dress - Kenzo X H&M, consignment; last worn here (4th outfit) in September 2024 to hang with my family
- Boots - Original Sabado, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) in January for a haircut
- Coat (below) - C&A Golden Gate Collection, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in January
I knew we wouldn't know very many people at this party, so I dressed for full-on armour.
See? Ruffles? I enjoy the front of this runway collection L'Wren Scott blouse.
It can lay flat or I can sculpt it into waves. I like the wavy look.
I found my pockets!
Good for stashing things!
I had to tuck the skirt into my belt for walking - it had started to snow again by 4pm.
That's okay, I was ready for anything!
This is how I looked as I mingled.
A warm hat, a thick coat and some wool-lined gloves.
My new-to-me vintage purse got a workout!
Are we ready to go?
Snug as a bug!
Now imagine this with the skirt all bundled up under the coat. Stay Klassy, Sheila!
Accoutrements:
The purse was fantastic - it easily held a shopping bag, my blog cards, lipstick, wallet and my phone!
- Purse - Lewis, vintage 50s, consignment; purchased here for $50.00
- Hat - M'Sieu Leon, vintage 80s, thrifted
- Leather gloves - Picabo, Powell River
The stuff:
Bold bling:
A bunch of repeats from the earlier outfit. I leaned into a snaky theme, including my vintage silver snake ring that I bought in 1985.
- Belt - gift from Ruth
- Red stone cuff - thrifted
- Silver/red stone ring - thrifted
- Sterling silver hinged bangle - Mexican, consignment, Sidney
- Silver snake ring - c. 1985, BC Museum Gift Shop
- Red enamel/silver ring - antique shop, Sidney
- Silver/obsidian ring - consignment
- Silver earrings - Israeli, consignment
And because I had my old snake brooch pinned just so, I did a selfie instead so you could see the blouse detail as well.
I opened the front of the tiger dress to let the ruffle burst out.
- Snake brooch - vintage 80s, gift from Mom & Dad
The brooch came with a big fake red gemstone hanging from the head - I immediately removed it and filed down the nose.
We stayed at the party for a few hours - pals Nick, Casey, Tony and Alison were there too - then walked home and ended up chilling out with a board game till the wee hours.
Vizzini used to stare at our reflections in the case, waiting for us to give him his kitty treats. Since he's blind(ish) he still sits there out of habit, and I caught him "reviewing the rules" for the Sunday Limbo Sale.
"Now, I'll just write in KITTY TREETS for payment options."
Thanks, buddy, you're an excellent negotiator!
Sunday's Limbo Sale!
I had 15 people show up over 5 hours (the last hour was dead), and sold about a third of my clothes. Everyone left happy with a big stuffed bag or three, and I declare it another rousing success.
I didn't take a bunch of pictures, just this one:
"I'm exhausted!"
Vizzini hid under the bedclothes the entire time. What a chicken!
And now, I'm going to go crash on the couch for a well-deserved rest! I need another weekend! But I'll leave you with this little scene, as Vizzini helped L put his boots on.
"Kitty spaghetti!"
In his wild youth, he ate a lot of shoelaces.
You get a good look at L's lace-up Fluevogs - he's had these for years.
"They're so far away!"
L lets him capture a lace, but not chew on it (yuck).
Well, my friends, I hope you enjoyed our weekend adventures. As always, I'm ever so grateful that you're here - thanks so much for stopping by!
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Cheers,
Sheila