Bigass Long Weekend Wrap-Up: Fancy Friday Beading and Boss Pants; Bronze Brunch and a Wee Shop; Plus Vizzini Pics

Welcome back, my friends! It's been a lovely quiet Thanksgiving long weekend, but I still wore a few things. I'm not quite done my Hallowe'en decorating, but that's coming! 

Let's kick it off with Friday's fancy outfit. 

My colleagues gave a very enthusiastic response to this outfit, especially the colour and the beaded vintage top. 

• Beaded wool top - Lady Gaye, vintage 60s, thrifted; purchased here for $19.48
• Trousers - Long Tall Sally, consignment; last seen here in April with a bug blouse
• Shoes - Wonders Ayers, Fluevog; last worn here in December 2023 in a neutral outfit
• Blazer (below) - Helmut Lang, thrifted; last worn here in November 2023 with a shiny gold skirt

It was one of those mixed days, both with work and the weather. It started off sunny and busy.

And ended grey and slow. 

This early 60s top was a pleasure to wear, and the thick wool base kept me warm. 

It has some orange beads in it, so these trousers were an easy pairing. 

The design goes around to the back - swoon!

Orange is my neutral - I strode about in my boss pants.

I was chilled a few times and put on my blazer.  

Isn't it classy? It's old Helmut Lang, made in the USA. The olive green picks up the bronze beads on the top. 

Incognito. 

This is how I look in my mind - I'm so cool. 

Accoutrements: 

This wonderfully wafty silk scarf was perfect for the outfit. 

• Silk scarf - thrifted; purchased here for $6.95
• Wool gloves - Parkhurst
• Gold/amber spider brooch - consignment

I just realized I hid my gloved hands in my pockets in the above pic!

The stuff: 

I've had these awesome shoes nearly 12 years - enjoy the very first outfit with them here in January 2013 (I have short blonde hair!)...except that these are not the same pair of shoes! Read the horrifying tale of the Cat Who Exacted Vengeance here less than a week later, and yes, it was Vizzini, our little monster.

Amber bling: 

My coworkers enjoyed looking at all of my amber pieces - I showed them off a few times. 

• Silver/amber bracelet (large) - consignment
• Silver/amber bracelet (small) - consignment, Powell River
• Silver/smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neuman, Sweden, vintage mall
• Silver/amber thumb ring - consignment
• Amber ring - c. 1996
• Silver/round amber ring - Past Times, 1995, gift from L
• Silver/amber earrings - vintage mall

L and I enjoyed a quiet evening of board games and music, accompanied by Vizzini. 

"It's okay, I'm here to help. After you feed me."

We slept in a bit on Saturday, then headed to town for brunch at John's Place. The city was full of runners in town for the Victoria Marathon - so much spandex! As always, I dressed ever so casually, hee hee. 

I'm still enjoying a run of pre-made outfits, incorporating new-to-me items with my existing wardrobe. 

• Leather jacket - Burberry, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here in June with very fall-ish colours
• Top - Trickz N' Treatz, consignment; purchased here with a matching skirt for $45.00
• Flamenco skirt - handmade, consignment; last worn here in December 2023 with a velvet blazer
• Boots - Rockport, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in May for a play at the Belfry

I had company in the hall when I went to do my Stair Pic. 

"Where are we going?"

He's always so proud of himself when I let him "escape" - why deny him that? He was done after this minor adventure, and slept on the bed for the rest of the day. 

L was feeling a little sniffly and stuffy, so I left him to go home after brunch, and I went down to the Fluevog store to pick up my birthday present from Mom. 

Getting this bronze leather beauty of a jacket back into rotation - it was admired and touched by many people.

It glows in the sun - it's metallic! 

The skirt is handmade and I've had it since 2019 - this is its 9th wearing, so not bad for my $38.00 investment. 

I built the outfit around this new-to-me spooky-themed top. Enjoy the skeletal Mona Lisa on the front - there is a Botticelli "Birth of [Skeletal] Venus" on the visible arm here.

I took the jacket off while we were having brunch and showed it off to the staff - I also gave Dani at the Fluevog store a spin. 

I love it! I don't know the Old Master painting that this is based on...but it's skeletal also.

I layered a beige cami under due to the extreme sheerness. 

How most people saw me. 

I was very visible with my swooping Flamenco skirt and glowing jacket! 

Accoutrements: 

I ended up leaving the gloves at home - I didn't need them or the scarf, which remained on my bag all day. I was grateful for the warm sunny day.

• Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Silk scarf - thrifted
• Gloves (not worn) - Thinsulate, thrifted

The stuff: 

I love the slight platform on these boots - it means the heel is really only an inch high. These were comfortable to walk around town, but I took the bus home. 

• Belt - Suzi Roher, thrifted
• Earrings - LA Express, 1994
• Brass ring - vintage mall
• Silver/green stone ring - consignment, Sidney

Since I've been working at my "Net Zero Shopping" goals - i.e. spending only my profits from my Limbo Sales, plus a small monthly allowance - I've become pretty picky about what I buy for myself, L and resale. It has to be really good...and ideally, really cheap. 

I started at the Beacon Ave Thrift Shop next to John's Place on Pandora Ave, where I spotted this beautiful lilac men's shirt. 

Contrast tie silk lavender cuffs and collar reverse. 

English Laundry shirts start at $159.00 new.

For $8.00? It's a gimme! L didn't like this, so it's up for grabs for my men-friends (size 16, gents). 

I also really loved the quality of this gorgeous cherry red skirt. 

It has zero labels, so it was likely originally part of a suit with a matching jacket. It has slits on both sides.

And they are pleated, split and the lining is sewn right to the skirt fabric! Such quality! 

By feel, I'm guessing this is a wool/nylon blend. 

It was about a size too tight on me, so it's also going into Limbo, where I'll tag it at $15.00. 

I paid $9.00 - the mark-up is for my expert eye! 

I popped into Vintage After death, where I found the solution to my ripped Yohji Yamamoto Y3 bomber jacket rip. Here's a picture of the rip - rather scary, isn't it? The fabric just SHREDDED. 

I picked up the two vintage patches on the right for $3.00 each. The centre one is from the early 80s fitness promotion "ParticipAction" where we had to do horrid things like "flexed arm-hangs" and "speed sit-ups" - I recall I earned a "Participant" level and did not get a patch, after managing 6 seconds at flexed arm-hang, and zero speed sit-ups. This is a Silver level patch - I am revising history! I also liked the black-and-white "Team Captain" patch. 

When I got home, I asked L if I could have his "bonus with purchase" Run The Jewels patch (a gift to him from the Ditch Records staff, along with his RTJ chain/pendant). Yay, he said I could have it! All of these have meltable backings, so I'm going to gently iron them on to help seal the rip. Will it work? I hope so! 

From Market Square, I walked to the Fluevog store where I had a good look at the styles, and picked up my very generous gift card from Mom (thank you!). There is a Sample Sale happening in a few weeks, so I am going to hold off to see what might catch my eye there. 

I had a lovely chat in the store with brother-sister Rock Stars from Big Sis - they were playing a local gig - about them here (all links 'cause I love). 

I crossed Johnson Street for a browse at Flavour Upstairs, but only came away with the green marled nylon fingerless gloves (a good colour!) for $5.99. They have no tags. 

I popped into local institution Roberta's Hats for another pair of blue Parkhurst wool gloves (made in Canada!) for $24.95 - these replace the fingerless pair where I lost one recently. Hello to the lovely staff who cooed over my outfit! 

I had a poke through Bric-A-Brac, and bought this bright red vinyl bag. 

It's pretty square, probably meant to be a make-up holder?

I love the embossed decoration - Christian Lacroix ROUGE.

Definitely one of those "buy X and get a free make-up bag" promotions. This would be a cute clutch. 

Weird-looking initials - I couldn't figure out how they are supposed to go. 

I found several of these bags online, ranging from $5.00 to $55.00. 

A tag inside! Christian Lacroix Parfums...AVON!

As suspected, it was a "gift with purchase" through Avon for buying the perfume - I paid $3.00 for this. 

Upcycle Vintage was hopping busy, I was glad to see! I tried a few things on, but these pink plaid pants rang my bell. 

Wide legs, cuffs...yes, yes, I'm feeling it! 

Oh, the plaid is GREEN with a purple-y stripe. 

Great big pockets! 

They're by FRNCH, same brand as these vinyl trousers that I have yet to wear. They're new-with-tags (NWT), an still have the original price on them - $194.00.

I was all ready to pay the $69.00 Upcycle price tag...but these were over 30 days old, so were half that, only $35.00! Done! 

L and I had "help" playing Arkham Horror that night. 

"I spy some renegade elastic bands!"

He's very good at balancing on L's legs while he's moving around, and having gotten no elastics (very bad for kitties) Vizzini napped on the bed for a while.

Later on, he came back and noticed something new. 

"WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?"

I love the whiskers and his white chin and chest "shield". 

He's spotted one of the Hallowe'en decorations, this cardboard chandelier that I put up the other day - I have started putting things up, but lost momentum.

It's hanging from a clear push-pin in the ceiling. 

It was spinning gently. 

"Hold everything while I stare..."

Such a funny boy! I hope whatever catches your eye, Gentle Reader, is half this exciting! 

Sending a very Happy Thanksgiving out to my Canadian friends! And big thanks as always to all of you out there for reading, visiting and commenting. 

Mom-Day Birthday Lunch at Oak Bay Beach Hotel, and a Wee Shop

Welcome back to Mom-Day, Gentle Readers! Uncle Brian is still in town, and joined us today for the traditional Birthday Lunch at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel.

Yay! So lovely to spend some time with my fam! 

I had fun playing around in my closet in the morning, pairing up this new-to-me leopard-print blazer with my paprika pouf skirt. 

Today is World Mental Health Day, a good reminder to take action to do what makes your brain go, "Ahhh...I need to do that more." Playing in my closet is so soothing for me. 

• Velvet blazer - Nygard, thrifted; purchased here for $24.95
• Sleeveless sweater - Contemporaine, thrifted; purchased here for $7.48
• Skirt - Kaliyana, consignment; first seen here in May with snake bookends
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in September with blue and orange

We're still having warm enough temps that I can get away with wearing a blazer as outerwear.

And because this is a VELVET blazer, I prefer to wear it now to avoid future Velvet Rage. No coat will work over a velvet blazer, telling you that now, my friends. 

This ginormous paprika pouf skirt is thick cotton, so also runs the risk of creeping up tights and clothes. I wore a vintage slip under it to prevent Cotton Rage.

I love the fitted cut of the blazer, but it's hard to see the pattern - it's a very dark black on brown.

Done up, it has a corset-y vibe (a vibe I am always in for).

Two nice splits at the back to work over a giant skirt. 

Without the jacket to show my new-to-me thrifted top. Nothing fancy here, just a good quality sleeveless black turtleneck for layering under pretty much everything. I was glad I had this on as it was a much warmer day than expected.

As I took my pics I was grumbling about lack of pockets in the skirt...completely forgetting that it has massive ones! I stored my sunglasses/glasses and my phone in them. 

Done up. After lunch, I had a wee wander down Oak Bay Avenue. 

Not a major shop, just looking around. I only bought one thing - and it's something I went back for.

Incognito. 

I felt very chic wandering around in this. 

Scarf tied up.

It was cold in the shade, but I soon got warm walking in the sun (I'm a fast walker).

Accoutrements: 

When I spotted this scarf in my collection (after a good swishing around in the boxes for colours), I knew it was perfect. I love the crowns and golden horses. 

• Purse - Rebecca Minkoff, consignment
• Scarf - Daniel La Foret, vintage mall, gift from L
• Wool gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff: 

Tall boots! I walked home from the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in these. 

Brass bling: 

Featuring Mom's horoscope necklace, a gift from my dad to her in the early 70s, likely purchased at the Mexican Gift Shop which used to be on Douglas Street.

Mom matched the table flowers so nicely.

Looking very Chanel in her pale pink sweater. The necklace is made from 100+ year old beads, old family ones. 

Brian laughing. 

We had a lovely lunch - I devoured my Portobello mushroom burger.

With a gorgeous view. 

Windy, but sunny. 

Mount Baker is hiding behind those clouds in the middle. 

We'll have to suffer with this miserable view, hee hee. 

We all shared the cheesecake with berry coulis.

Bonus birthday macarons, aw! I found enough room for these. The green was pistachio; the pink was berry. 

Thanks for taking my picture, Mom! 

And thank you for buying lunch! I love you! 

By the time we left, Mt. Baker was visible. 

I walked along the water to Oak Bay Avenue, popping into House of Savoy to say hi. 

I was on a mission, though - to Pocket Clothing! This black lace dress had been stuck in my mind from last week's Wee Shop and I went back for it. 

When a piece haunts me like that, I know I have to have it. I'd put it back last week due to a small snag on the front, plus...what does one wear under it? It's completely sheer!

It has no tags, but it does have a zipper in the back and the lace is in long wide panels. 

The seams are done well and it has good weight to it - it's a full swooshy skirt with a very deep V front.

I was in luck - not only was it still in the store but it was marked down! I'd made my peace with it being gone, but that was a relief.

This Gothic lace dress was $60.00, marked down from $76 and $68. Done! 

And now, my friends, I'm signing off the long weekend. It's Thanksgiving in Canada, and I'm thankful for every one of you for visiting, reading and commenting. Have an awesome weekend and pop by on Monday for tales of adventure.