Sunday, March 29, 2026

Weekend Wrap-Up: Saturday Tiger-Fish Brunch and a Gals' Shop

Welcome back, my friends - it hardly feels like I've been gone, what with the extra bonus Two-Fer post on Friday! 

Saturday was my only "get dressed" day (I also did a grocery run with L on Sunday, but it was quick and I wore my lounge clothes), but I made it count, with a group of friends at John's Place for brunch, followed by a shop with gal-pals Rosanna and Kim. 

Ready? Let's go! 
I had yet to wear my fabulous silk Kenzo/H&M dress this season, and how perfect it was! 

  • Mesh top - Noisy May, consignment; last seen here a couple of weeks ago, layered under Iggy Pop
  • Silk dress - Kenzo X H&M, 2016, consignment; last worn here (3rd) outfit in February 2025 to a friend's birthday party
  • Creeper shoes - Call It Spring, consignment; last seen here in January with denim and velvet
  • Leather jacket (below) - Maison Rabih Kayrouz, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in November 2025

I layered a half-slip, plus tights under this, which was plenty.
Showing off the pockets - I stashed my phone in one while I shopped. 

L and I walked to town and I thoroughly enjoyed how the skirt of the dress billowed in the wind. 
I've never worn it with purples - and this is the 8th time I've worn it. 

I had to hold the skirt up so I wouldn't step on it. 
This is how most people saw me - I spent about 4 hours shopping - but I did take my sunglasses off for that! 

Zipped up for the walk home, which was blustery. 
It was a long day, and I joined L in a nap in the late afternoon. 

The stuff: 
I felt very chic with the red leather driving gloves on. 

  • Leather purse - Steve by Steve Madden, thrifted
  • Leather gloves - Danier Leather
  • Fabric flower - can't remember

Fishy bling: 
I pinned the new-to-me fish brooch down the front placket of the dress. 

  • Fish belt - consignment
  • Jadeite carved bangle - consignment
  • Faux cinnabar carved bangle - consignment
  • Fish necklace - Roberto for RLM, consignment
  • Lavender pearl earrings - consignment
  • Gold-plated silver shark jaw cuff - Tom Binns, 2012, consignment
  • Carp brooch - vintage fair; purchased here for $20.00
  • Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
  • Silver/gold/amethyst ring - gift from Mom & Dad, c. 1987?

Pictures of my fine people. Logan is looking spiffy in a long velvet jacket, velvet Fluevog boots, a thrifted shirt, and his Amyl and the Sniffers tour shirt. 
Rosanna is stunning in her yellow ensemble, including a Kenzo fish tee she bought from me, and that fabulous Michael Kors back (everything she wears is secondhand). 

Kim, Greg and Spence in front of City Hall, while we waited for our booth. 
Kim's showing the lace-trimmed dress she thrifted! Spence and Kim were over for a weekend visit from Vancouver. 

All of us together! 
Clockwise from me: Greg, L, Rosanna, Kim and Spencer. 

Here's what I found at WIN. Photography assist by Barnabas and Whateley.
Purple scarves are super-rare, so I always look at them - this one matched my outfit perfectly. 

Only $6.95? 
I see those hand-rolled edges! 

While I was laying it out, I spotted a name! 
It's by Perry Ellis, how cool! I spotted a few vintage scarves by him online for over $150! 

This smaller silk-feeling organza scarf rang my bell - those colours! 
I didn't realize until I spread it out, that it's a houndstooth pattern. 

Only $5.95.
Again, hand-rolled edges. 

This skirt was in the try-on area, shoved onto the end of a rack of workout clothes.
It's a thick, stiff fabric, with giant pleats. 

This type of skirt doesn't really ring my bell that much - it's from the mid-20-teens, based on the style.
But with ginormous pockets? I'm tempted. 

I remember this vibe at the Bay department store, which carried Lord & Taylor. RIP the Bay! 
Only $14.95? Add another zero for the retail. I'll probably wear this once then put it into Limbo (where larger sizes are always desired!). 

While I have pink Boss Pants in this same vibrant colour, I was drawn to the cargo pockets. 
These look delightfully swooshy, don't they? 

Nice big front pockets...
Good for a phone. 

And even the cargo pockets are generous. 
I could put things in there too! 

I spied the little black sewn bit from where a label was pulled off. 
I wonder if these were ever worn. For a mostly linen pant, $19.95 is very good. I looked up the CA number and these are by Reitmans (a Canadian mall chain that's been around for 40+ years). 

I'd seen this blazer before, but had not tried it on.
Well, it was love once I discovered how puffy the shoulders are! 

That's a very poorly cast coat of arms on the buttons. 
Still, they are metal. And you can see that the outer fabric is denim. 

The inner lining is grey/white pinstripe. 
The CA number told me that this was a Winners brand. 

It's by 500 Maison Cinqcent (pronounced "sink-sohn", meaning five hundred). 
I thought $24.95 was a good price (I saw one for $110 online!). 

The last thing I bought was this cotton woven Navajo-ish patterned sweater. 
I'm very fussy when it comes to sweaters - I like my patterns to be woven not printed, and they need to be thin, as bulky sweaters make me look even boobier than I am. 

It's by Denim & Supply by Ralph Lauren and it's a cotton/ramie blend, with a bit of synthetic to keep it from fading/stretching. 
It's a very large XS! I remember a Denim & Supply section at the Bay as well. They run from $20-50 online, so I'm very happy with $14.95. 

Kim and Rosanna left me at WIN (they both have kids/families), so after I finished up there, I strolled over to Csino's Vintage Collective for a browse. It was full of younger folks, exclaiming over all the vintage clothes, while I had flashbacks of my youth, hee hee. 
I noted to the owners/staff that I had a body-con dress like this in the mid-90s, which I hot-glued gold plastic stars (cut from Christmas garland!) to. It was very poky to wear, but I looked great in it! 

I was impressed that the metal pyramid studs went right through the (mostly) cotton fabric. 
And the edges are all trimmed in even rows of studs. 

It's by Spanner, a brand I have had in my closet (I have a knit red skirt currently) many times. 
This was made in Hong Kong, so we know it's at least early 90s. The tag says 80s, but I think it's early 90s based on my own recollection of clothes from the era. It was $44.00 which felt about right. 

I've been dabbling in the sheer trend, mostly with mesh tops, but I like the look of a long sheer skirt over shorter skirts or pants. 
Others that I've bought haven't worked out (I had a sheer dress that I only wore once), but I really liked the crinkly texture of this skirt. 

It has slits on either side. 
You can see the texture there. It's full length on me. 

It's by Vitrin Design, which seems like one of those Italian tourist brands. 
It's probably from the early 00s, and $38.00 was reasonable. 

This was my splurge, but the colours are SO good, and remind me of my Adidas bag that I had in the 1970s. 
I adore the baby blue, royal blue and bright red. It has batwing sleeves! Very late 80s. 

I feel like this will go with a lot in my closet. 
The logo is sewn. I like the little trefoil zipper pull.

It's been washed a billion times! 
All polyester, as expected from the era. 

A nice old logo. According to some of the sites I perused, this was used from 1991-1995, which is more where I would date it based on the style, NOT the 80s. 
This was $83.00. 

And now, off to enjoy what's left of this rainy Sunday. 
"You mean this sun doesn't last?"


Whateley enjoying some of the bright warm sunshine.

We were playing board games when Barnabas just flopped under the table. 
"I'm chilling!"


What a silly little monkey! 

Thanks so much for being here, my friends! Another busy week awaits, but we have a long weekend in sight! 

Friday, March 27, 2026

Two-Fer: Mom-Day and the Equinox Party; plus Funky Chunky Friday

Woo, life has been so busy! Sorry for the absence, Gentle Reader - I've visited Mom, gone to a party, and then had a stoopid-slammed day at work on Friday. And I am eager to start my weekend, so forgive my brevity. 

I wanted to feel springy, so I pulled out this gorgeous floral dress that I knew Mom would love to see in person. 
I layered this thin wool-blend sheer sweater underneath it for coverage and warmth. 

  • Wool-blend sweater - Diesel, vintage 90s, consignment; last worn here in December 2025 (horrid outfit, got rid of the jeans)
  • Dress - Eliza J, thrifted; first seen here (2nd outfit) for the VFF Gala
  • Boots - Bond Girl, Fluevog X Anna Sui; last worn here in January with velvet leopards
  • Elmo coat (below) - , consignment, Powell River; last seen here in February

Mom liked that she could sort of see my rose tattoos through it and that they matched the pattern of the dress.
It was the perfect day for my suede boots - and I had to go with the matching belt. 

I needed a walkable shoe that would be easy on my feet for a long day. 
Because after I spent the afternoon with Mom, I bused home, fed the kittens and bused back to town to go to a party hosted by our dear friend Casey. 

Incognito. 
You couldn't miss me! 

The stuff: 
These boots were great, but by the time I pulled them off at 9pm, my dogs were howling. 

Minimal bling: 
I liked how the turquoise worked with the colour mix in the dress' pattern. 

  • Belt - Fluevog
  • Carved cinnabar bangle - consignment
  • Silver/turquoise bangle - consignment
  • Silver/green stone ring - thrifted
  • Silver/turquoise ring - consignment
  • Snake earrings - Betsey Johnson, gift from L 

The boys were settled in for the day of naps.
"Do you mind?"


Yikes, sorry to bother you, Whateley! 

Will you miss me, Barnabas?
"I'm sleepy."


Very well! I'm off! 

Let's start with Mom-Day! 
I rode a total of 5 buses on Thursday, including the one that drops me off at Camosun College/VI Technical Park. 

Cloud drama! 
Looking back at Camosun (cuh-MOH-sun) College. This was all rural when I was a kid. 

I passed by the track and PISE, the Pacific Institute for Sports Education. 
It was a bit chilly out, but my fuzzy Elmo coat kept me warm. 

A hill and the cluster of evergreens. 
I'm getting used to this route. 

There's the Stick Tree. 
Go left! 

What's this place? It's nice - there's a bench for you to sit and enjoy. 
Oops, I missed a turn-off. 

That's okay, I can walk back along the usual path. 
I had to wander all over to avoid the puddles. 

Mom's forsythia is looking lovely. 
This part of the garden does more in the summer when all those blueberry bushes are full of berries. 

The daffodils are still going strong. 
So many varieties! 

Oh, who's that?
"Oh, curses."


Hi, Rodney! He ran off - not a super-friendly cat, but he loves Mom. 

Aw, happy to see the yellow and orange polyanthus blooming. 
This is the original plant that was in the garden when Mom was a kid - it was originally one of her dad's plants (he loved his gardens). I remember this from the house I grew up. It's moved many times.

Mom and me selfie! Mom is almost fully recovered, and is champing at the bit to get back to her "real life." 
I'm so proud of how well you've handled this whole situation, Mom! I love you! 

I cooked up a couple of grilled ham and cheeses. 
These are possibly my best ones ever. They were delicious. 

After a lovely hour working on a puzzle - the time flew! - I realized I had to get home to feed the cats.
No sheeps today. 

Home, kitttens, then back to town. 
Club California (nightclub of my youth) was in this building. It's being turned into a hotel - they are keeping the front and back facades. 

That's Casey in his jaunty red neckerchief, and three friends (none of whom I talked to). 
The soiree was to celebrate the Spring Equinox. What a spread! 

Hey, it's my buddy Steve! 
Good to see you, man! 

And we sent a picture to Nick, who is in Australia. 
Me, Caro, Yvonne, Cat and Jean. Great to see you lovelies at a mid-week party! So decadent! 

I was exhausted when I got home, hence the lack of post. L and I both crashed, and of course, we had to work on Friday. 
I felt like getting a little funky. 

  • Vest - Indochino, consignment; last seen here in January with snakeprint bookends
  • Mesh top - Jean Paul Gaultier, vintage 90s, consignment; last worn here in May 2025 with white and Issey
  • Cotton trousers - Calvin Klein 205W39NYC by Raf Simmons, c. 2019, consignment; last seen here (4th outfit) in December 2025 to see Jake Vaadeland in concert
  • Sneakers - Soul Speed Duesy, Fluevog; last worn here (2nd outfit) in February for a shop down Oak Bay Ave
  • Loomed Lady coat (below) - vintage 60s, thrifted; last seen here in October 2025

I'd been wanting to wear these awesome chi-chi designer cotton pants again.
I love the super-baggy fit - it's not something I'd wear every day, but it's fun.

I'm shocked that it's been 10 months since I last wore this sheer mesh Gaultier top! 
"No one cares."      "I'm streeeeetttchhhy!"


I was fully kitty-bombed this morning. 

Incognito. 
Hooray, it's the Loomed Lady! She is a very pale yellow-cream, with blue woven threads. 

The stuff: 
My feet were very happy in these. 

  • Silk scarf - Halston, vintage 70s, thrifted
  • Stick pin - Mango's, L's (I stole it)
  • Wool gloves - Parkhurst

Punk bling: 
All my red stuff! 

  • Belt - vintage 90s, consignment
  • Bowie balsa wood pin - vintage fair
  • Leather/steel cuff - Rimanchik
  • Silver/gold bracelet - JLA, vintage fair
  • Silver/red enamel ring - antique store, Sidney
  • Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flowre
  • Kilt pin - Mom's, vintage 50s
  • Crystal necklace - thrifted, Vancouver
  • Silver/acrylic earrings - Tania Gleave, Granville Island

You know there were a couple of cuddles in the morning. 
Sweet Barnabas boy. He's such a little cuddle monkey. 

Whateley came in for some loving too. 
He's a bit less cuddly, but he likes the attention. 

And now...signing off for the weekend! Enjoy yourselves, spring is here! Thank you so much for dropping by - please make sure you pop in on Sunday/Monday for tales of adventure!