Re-Jigged Anniversary Weekend: Shopping Day in Sidney; Colourful Shopping for New Fluevogs; Dinner With Tigers

Welcome back, my friends. First, I must thank you all so much for your condolences and kind words and sweet memories of our dear boy Vizzini - I have read them all over and over and cried each time. We miss him terribly, especially now that our house is cat-less for the first time in over 28 years. It feels very empty and quiet. 

L and I cancelled our trip to Vancouver this weekend - that would have been our after-the-fact 28th wedding anniversary jaunt to visit friends and do some shopping there. We just were not up to it after the mental and emotional exhaustion of this past week, so we chose to stay home instead. 

However, that's no reason to mope around. Life goes on, and we need to move forward too. So we hopped in Vlad the Jaguar and zoomed up the highway to beautiful Sidney-By-the-Sea, last visited together back here in June 2024. They have the best thrift stores! 

I dove right back into colour with pink and orange and red, plus black bookends. 

• Jacket - Ed Hardy, vintage 00s, consignment; last worn here in August 2024 to see Molly Tuttle in Vancouver
• Shirt - Planet, thrifted; purchased here for $14.95
• Skirt - A Tribute to Marimekko by H&M, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in May 2024 for brunch
• Boots - Biblio Austen, Fluevog; last worn here in February for Pink Shirt Day

All this colour brought oodles of comments from people in the various stores we visited. I appreciated the good vibes, thank you, kind strangers.

I enjoyed the skirt billowing in the breeze. It really is a magnificent piece. 

My jacket got a few compliments too. 

I do like things that are embellished. I know this comes as a complete shock to many of you, tee hee. 

Oh, wait, must show you the lining. 

It's red to go with my red twisted suede belt, a thrifted purchase from my shop with Sarah last weekend. 

Without the jacket, although I didn't take it off. 

This was the first wearing of this top and it was just perfect. 

This is how most people saw me. 

Sometimes zipped, sometimes not. It was chilly off and on - it's always windy on the ocean.

Accoutrements: 

I'm always so happy to have this purse back in rotation.  

• Purse - Aldo
• Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment

The stuff: 

These boots were perfect for walking around for a few hours. We visited about 5 stores, had lunch at the Surly Mermaid Pub and then visited 3 more shops before driving home. It was a marathon - poor L, he had to nap when we got home.

Minimal bling: 

I'm a big fan of turquoise worn with the ginormous skirt's pinks and oranges. 

• Suede belt - vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here for $6.95
• Turquoise/silver ring - Glee
• Orange plastic ring - Italian, vintage 60s, vintage mall
• Silver/turquoise earrings - thrifted
• Silver/turquoise pendant - Karen's

Our first stop in Sidney was the REUZ Room, a curated thrift store, where I found these amazing green leather boots.

I also found the brooch there. 

The boots are clearly from the mid-80s - remember this almond toe and they FEEL like 80s boots inside (i.e. not a lick of support). 

The leather is still thick, soft and supple - I would not buy vintage boots otherwise. I checked them carefully for condition issues. Aside from some toe scuffs, they look great.

They are by Bandolino, a brand I remember from the 80s, and were made in Italy.

The heels have been redone with Topys, and these were $49.99. 

The brooch is a simple swirl, but was stamped Monet and for $8.00, that was a done deal. 

I've been watching for more gold brooches, and this will be nice on a coat lapel.

From there, we had a good look through the Beacon Avenue Thrift Store...the original one actually on/near Beacon Ave! 

This is probably not real turquoise, but those are not plastic beads on this stretchy cuff. They feel like a dyed stone, but again, $8.00 felt like a good deal. It has a good weight.

I could not leave this sequined bird blouse behind. 

It's a bird in flight, coming right at my face! 

An abstract feather design on the sleeve.

The sequins are in rough shape, with a few rows here and there missing, but the design was so cool and I liked it on. Most of these sequined tops are very boldly coloured and tricky to style, but I think the bird design (it's also on the back) will make this more fun, and the somewhat neutral palette means it will go with more than a fuchsia or cobalt would. I have green linen pants the colour of that feather, for example...

It's by LLON, which got me zero hits online, and "Reine Seide" means "real silk" in German, so that was unhelpful. I did find a fancier version of this design on Etsy for over a thousand dollars, claiming to be from the 1920s. I find that dubious.

For $28.00 I was willing to give it a shot. 

I quickly checked the textiles and found this immensely long double-sided...um...tie? Obi? 

And yes, this may well be a vintage Japanese obi - I checked online and they are typically 4 meters long, which this seems to be. 

I love the textile - maybe I'll tie this around my long coat? or wear it over a long skirt?

Either way, I wasn't leaving it behind for $5.00! 

I loved this pretty blue sweater.

The short sleeves and cropped cut work well on me. 

It's by Blue Sky - we have one of their shops downtown. 

Their sweaters range from $35-69.00.

For me? 

$7.00? Why, yes, please! 

From there, we popped into the BC SPCA Thrift Store for a peek. 

I spotted this triple strand orange plastic necklace on a display and grabbed it. I remember my mom had a similar green one back in the 70s (I foolishly donated it over 30 years ago, sorry, Mom).

The orange is lovely and I couldn't resist $4.00. 

I know I'll wear that this summer. 

I gasped when I spied this Robert Larin necklace in a case. Always check the cases!

Love the organic shape - it reminds me of the leaves on our Garry Oaks. 

That is the original chain, and while this was $69.00, that is still a VERY good price for Robert Larin pewter. 

I found the same one online for $140.00, which is more like I'd expect to see in a shop. 

There's the signature. 

Love it! Can't wait to wear it. 

I bought this patch for a dollar at Connections consignment. 

Very me. "WHAT."

After lunch, we visited House of Lily Koi, where I always manage to find something exciting. 

This is a double-layered sweater coat. I ADORE the colours and pattern - it's all knit (not printed), and yes, you do see lime and lavender in amongst the autumnal colours. 

More of the same on the back, all lined up properly. 

I hope you spotted the pockets on the front! 

Glorious rich red-burgundy knit wool lining. 

I spy a tag, let's see what it says. 

Made in France. Georgia  (the design name), and mostly wool. 

And a spare button. 

It's by Chacok, which appears to have been a popular brand in the 80s. Size 1 is probably a small. 

I saw similar coats on secondhand sites for $135 up to over $900! This was $68.00. 

But this made my heart beat faster. This is a miracle of pleating - it almost looks like a plaid, only in 3D.

It was done up like this, with a mid/upper-chest single button going through a loop on the seam. 

But I noticed there was another button and loop and realized that this is meant to be in a double-breasted button situation. 

But that single button there is in the wrong position, and after I did it up, it hung all weird. Something's wrong here.

When I held the jacket up to the light, I saw a reinforced square...

...right where that button should be! 

I've pinned a safety pin through it to tell me where I need to move that button back to. 

That's better already! I'll be doing that right away. 

And this is how it's supposed to look. 

Just the two buttons at the upper chest, hanging down loosely with a wide collar. 

I hope you've been admiring the incredible pattern of pleats and gathers. It has a huge amount of stretch, but the base fabric itself is woven - it feels like a cotton/silk blend, not the polyester that this designer is known for.

One of the sleeves with my hand inside stretching it out - that's just amazing. 

The fabric tags have been cut off, but fortunately they left this one. Issey Miyake. 

"OH MY GOD," I hissed at L, who has no clue who Issey Miyake is. This was $168.00 - expensive! - but I know these sell for $400 to over $1400.00, so yes, I clutched that to my chest and shouted, "Start the car!" Okay, not really, but I was pretty excited! 

We spent Friday evening doing our usual, playing boardgames and listening to music, but missed our little furry guy badly - but also realized how infrequent his visits had gotten recently. 

Back to our "stay-cation" on Saturday, we walked to town to join up with Nick for breakfast at John's Place, and to do our anniversary reciprocal gift of buying each other a pair of Fluevogs. We've been doing this for nearly 20 years, as my very first pair was bought for me by L in 2006 (Flashback here of the Listen Up Harlows). 

More Colour Therapy - I had so many compliments on "all this" from strangers downtown. L and I also got several comments on our outfits - he's a snappy dresser too! 

• Leather jacket - Elizabeth and James, consignment; last worn here in January
• Cotton top - Marimekko, consignment; last seen here in August 2024 with my goldfish bluefish skirt
• Skirt - Nomad Morgan Carper for Anthropologie, thrifted; purchased here for $26.00
• Boots - F-Trip Etta, Fluevog; last worn here (2nd outfit) in March with Pop Art popcorn

I built the outfit around this new-to-me skirt, which I fully admit I bought with the intent to sell it. 

While I did enjoy the large pockets, it was insanely difficult to style - the colours in it are all slightly dusty versions of bolder hues, so I went bold. This also feels a bit puffy and short on me these days. Not me.

Being around friendly faces (Nick, the lovely staff at John's, the Fluevogologists, etc.) really helped fill my cup back up from the draining days previous. 

I do believe I will rock on again. 

We had a typical spring day, with wind, sun and clouds. But no rain! Ha! 

This is how most folks saw me - after brunch, L, Nick and I went to the Fluevog store on Lower Johnson Street (aka LoJo), then I poked around in all the vintage and secondhand shops in the area while the boys did their own thing. 

Leaving this picture uncropped. I took the jacket off while we had lunch. 

Blurry L. But watch the hall light! I was having issues getting the camera timer to go off and caused the camera to gamely try to keep up to my poking. 

ZOT! Whoa! Spooky! 

It's a ghost! Aliens! Or maybe just a shaky camera trying to pick up All The Light. 

Incognito. 

I was very tired after nearly 4 hours of solo shopping, so I hopped a bus home. 

Accoutrements: 

Getting in a wearing of this dusty blue leather purse that I picked up a few months ago. 

• Leather purse - Kate Spade, consignment; purchased here for $30.00
• Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment

Coffee - for everyone's safety. 

The stuff: 

I'm impressed at how comfortable these booties have become. The sunny yellow makes me so happy. 

Bold bling: 

Although you couldn't really see them, I knew the bracelets were there! 

• Yellow plastic cuff - thrifted
• Blue plastic bangle - thrifted
• Fulvia (silver/blue topaz) Ring and silver/lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Plastic earrings - consignment

And here's what L bought me - sweet metallic hot pink lace-up platform boots! 

These are called the Mellow Bebop (link here, all links 'cause I love). 

They were $529.00 (yeowch, their prices went up!) but Dani gave 10% off due to some light scratching on one ankle. 

I've re-laced them here and will likely wear them with the top hole undone. 

Angels on the soles. 

Due to Shoe Math, they are about a 1.5" heel. 

I've had my eye on these since they came out - I've been needing a new pair of copper shoes since my old Big Presence Desmonds in copper finally became too much for me (they had always been too tight).

I bought these for myself, as I did my income taxes and got my refund this week. These are called the Vogettes Misty and are $259.00 (here).

Cat has these in silver/black, so I'll have to check with her before wearing.

They're not a hugely supportive shoe, but they are a very versatile colour for my wardrobe.

Love that rubber sole.

I know I'm going to wear these a lot. 

And of course, I bought L a pair for our anniversary! 

These are called the Modvog Edda. 

I like the modern look that the mesh gives. 

L liked the hints of blue in the laces and the soles. 

Ooh, so pretty! 

The design on the toe is a stylized "JF" for John Fluevog. These were $549.00 (here). 

I enjoyed a leisurely browse at five stores downtown, and found a few treasures. 

First, from Flavour Upstairs, I found this jersey knit lined tube skirt with a black drawstring tie. 

It's by Club Monaco and made in Canada, so likely from the 1990s. 

$10.99 felt like a bargain! 

I also fell for these linen and silk loose pants. 

They're a lovely shade of blue, and are ever-so-slightly tapered. 

An elastic drawstring waistband, and massive pockets.

You can see the nice quality of the fabric there. 

They are by Robert Louis, and that $44.99 is probably what they would have cost retail. 

So, not a fancy designer, but still...silk and linen are starting to feel like something rare.

I went shoulder-to-shoulder with the younger folks crammed into Vintage After Death, but I did come away with this wonderfully Gothic blouse. 

It's a classic button-front blouse with a pussy-bow tie, and full sleeves with tight cuffs.

Someone's cut all the labels out, but the fabric itself gave me a huge clue! 

That's clearly Pierre Cardin's name and his original swirly P logo, stamped into the printed silk. 

And silk it is! I knew by the feel, not from the tag. "My Sweet Poison Flower" seems like a good name for a blouse, doesn't it? 

Note the lovely square (and real!) mother-of-pearl buttons on it! $38.00 felt like a bargain. 

When I got home, L and I chilled out for a bit, then headed down to the Fernwood Inn Pub for dinner - my mom treated us (thank you, Mom!) to a lovely dinner. Of course, I had to change. 

This was one of my "waiting in the wings" outfits from my closet swap-over, where I'd paired up these new-to-me nylon cargo pants with my purple tiger blouse. 

• Blouse - BCBG Max Azria, consignment, Sidney; last worn here in August 2024
• Sleeveless turtleneck - Contemporaine, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) under a Ted Baker gown in February
• Pants - Cambio, consignment; purchased here for $56.99 on our actual anniversary
• Leather boots - Doc Martens; last worn here in March with tweed and floral
• Leather coat (below) - Elizabeth and James, consignment; last seen in the previous outfit

I needed to switch shoes, as my feet were feeling tired by then. 

I liked the slouchy urban vibe of the pants with what's typically a "work blouse". 

Showing off the pockets.

I tacked up the hems on the inside with bulldog clips so that my hems wouldn't drag on the ground as we walked to and from the pub.

It had gotten quite a bit windier by then, and the pants were not very warm. 

But I still like them. 

I kept the same coat on.

I love this rich cerulean blue with yellow. 

The stuff: 

Not having to worry about my shoelaces made me sad...

Bold bling: 

I definitely needed the silk scarf for warmth later on. 

• Silk scarf - Aga Khan Museum, thrifted
• Pewter Brutalist necklace - Robert Larin, vintage 70s, thrifted, Sidney; purchased above for $69.00
• Silver mesh cuff - consignment
• Yellow plastic cuff - thrifted
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
• Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
• Silver earrings - Israeli, consignment

As there won't be kitty pictures for a while, here's me and L in front of one of the third-wave blooming trees that started to open this weekend. 

Signing off for a few more days as our hearts heal. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends. Again, thank you so much for your kindness, good vibes and for just being here.