Wardrobe Challenge Week! Here's the Wardrobe

Okay, I've spent hours going through my closet, readying myself for Jane's Wardrobe Challenge! This is going to be hard, especially since I rarely wear the same outfit twice, much less the same items multiple times in one week.

I decided to go with some of my favourite colour combinations: brown, coral and turquoise with gold accents. There will be NO BLACK all week.

Clothing/shoes (10 items only):
1. Brown dress (unknown brand, consignment)
2. Brown plaid pants (Vero Moda)
3. Floral skirt (Mexx)
4. Turquoise turtleneck (Smart Set)
5. Coral sweater (Esprit)
6. Turquoise cardigan (I.N.C.)
7. Denim vest (Bisou Bisou, consignment)
8. Brown jacket (Kensie)
9. Gold shoes (Aerosoles)
10. Brown boots (Roberto Vianni)

Accessories (5 items only):
1. Brown belt
2. Gold hoop earrings
3. Wood/gold necklace
4. Turquoise/red/brown/gold necklace
5. Red bead bracelet

Coat (1 only):
Purple raincoat (London Fog)

Bag (1 only):
Leopard rocker chick bag (Betsyville, Betsy Johnson)

Underwear and hosiery do not count; neither do the clothes I wear to walk to and from work; neither does my knapsack that I use while walking; and neither do my scarf, gloves or hat that I may require during said walking.

All that stuff is essential and I'm not giving up a piece of clothing or a necklace so that I can stop my fingers from turning blue. It's only 3 degrees in the mornings (that's in the mid/high 30s for you Americans) - too cold! I will also be wearing scarf/gloves with my coat when I go out on Monday night, and on Friday (when I don't walk to work).

I am including an extra outfit to make this extra challenging: we're going out for dinner with my best friend and her man to a chi-chi restaurant on Monday night. However, I am NOT including the formal event we are attending on Friday night, as it calls for a long gown. No way could I work that!

Deep breath: here goes!

Purple Velvet

I've had this purple velvet blazer for nearly a year, but I almost never wear it. It's an angled double-breasted style, so it can't be worn unbuttoned. I do love the rich deep purple (which doesn't show up in this picture very well at all. Grr. This is what I get for having a cheap camera...but it's better than no camera. Take my word for it - this is rich purple!
That's my new skirt that I got last weekend. It's that nice faux suede; washable, light and comfortable. I used to have a long-ish skirt in this colour but gave it to Elaine...and wouldn't you know, she was wearing it today! With a purple patterned top! Too funny.

The scarf is one of my treasures. I liberated it from...my dad, back in about 1985-86. I used to wear it in my hair or tied at my neck (either draped or doubled around again so it made sort of a collar). Dad was in a dance band back in the 60s and they all wore matching outfits (hee), and this was part of his "uniform".

A close-up:
It's so soft and pretty. I love all the colours in it - it goes with anything. My dad died over 11 years ago, and I always feel close to him when I wear something of his. *smile*

Forgive the hair - I forgot my mousse today, ha!

Blazer (Jacob), cami (not visible, InWear), skirt (Marc D'Alcy), boots (Roberto Vianni), scarf (Dad's, vintage), big gold hoop earrings.

Mellow Yellow

There is something about yellow that I love. Right off the bat, I can think of a ton of yellow clothing items that I've owned over the years:
- dress trimmed with daisies (c. 1972)
- halter top and matching shorts (c. 1976)
- belted blouse (c. 1982)
- polo shirt (c. 1984)
- cropped leg cotton overalls (c. 1984)
- pumps (c. 1985)
- oversized shaker knit sweater (c. 1985) - worn with the pumps and stirrup pants, ha!
- dropped waist t-shirt dress (c. 1985)
- swirl print yellow sheath dress (c. 2002)
- raincoat (c. 2006)

And now I own a yellow:
- cardigan (I actually have 2)
- sweater
- satin blouse
- patent clutch
- patent strappy sandals
- silk skirt
This is the sweater - $16.99 plus an extra 30% off - score! This outfit also features Celia's skirt, my first time wearing black fishnets to the office (ooh), and my newish skinny belt.

I love wearing grey and yellow together because it gives me the opportunity to wear Grandma J's Anne Klein necklace.

See, Anne Klein:

Probably early 80s. Doesn't the sweater have a nice heathered texture?

Sweater (Kersh), blouse (Vero Moda), skirt (Mexx, gift from Celia), tights (Hue), shoes (Wild Diva), belt (Expressions), necklace (Anne Klein, Grandma J's), rhinestone earrings.

Blue Monday

I had a wee shopping trip on the weekend, so as usual, this week's outfits will feature the new things. I'm off on Thursday and Friday, so there won't be any Work Outfits those days. Although it isn't Thanksgiving up in Canada, I am a passionate NFL football fan, so I'm sitting home and watching TV all day. Yee haw!

Right. Enough of that. Found this top on the clearance rack at the Bay for $17.99 plus 40% off. The regular price was $99.00. Crazy!
I wore the velvet blazer done up all day, since the top is rather drapey without some waist definition. I'll probably do it with a belt at some point.

I like the "faux necklace" look of the decoration. A close-up:

I love those shoes, too.

Blazer (RW & Co.), top (Nygard Collection), pants (Vero Moda), shoes (Seychelles), gold filigree earrings.

Casual Friday - Red Boots

Okay, you know you have a lot of clothes when you forget you own things. Aside from the red boots (which I "found" when I cleaned out my closet a few weeks back), I totally forgot about this lovely black cashmere sweater!
I thought I'd go simple and classic with the pop of the red boots and the punch of the purple leather belt.

Since I walk 45 minutes each way to work Monday to Thursday, I don't wear most of my outerwear very often. This is my treasured red cashmere coat and my fuzzy hat. It was supposed to be really windy today.

A shot of the boots:

And a shot of the accessories. I paid around $30 for this belt and it was REALLY discounted. I got it in a very expensive store (naturally I made a bee-line for the sale section). It's by Brave Leather, a Canadian company. It's a very stiff leather, and so the purple colour has cracked quite a bit since I've owned it (about 3 years).

My mom's "I bought it from some hippie in the 70s" choker.

Happy weekend!

Sweater (Expression), jeans (Esprit), belt (Brave Belts), boots (Pino Ferri), choker (vintage, Mom's), gold hoop earrings. Coat (Planet), scarf (gift from Mom, London), hat (?, consignment).

A Pop of Purple

This is the outfit I've been looking forward to wearing the most all week. When I found this dress last spring, I knew that even though it seemed really dressy because of the beaded neckline, it would be a good work dress, if worn with a bit of flare. I haven't worn it for a few months...but I know I've worn it twice before, though.
I like it with the turtleneck. My legs are the Pop of Purple, of course - and stripey too!

A shot of the lovely neckline and the great bracelet:

My only complaint: these were not control top tights. I had Saggy Crotch Syndrome all day.

Dress (Kensie), turtleneck (Smart Set), tights (?), shoes (JLo), bracelet (Le Chateau), black stone/silver earrings.

All About the Colour

Every so often when I'm choosing the week's outfits, my eye lights on an item and I think, "I haven't worn this for a while. I need to wear this!" The acid yellow (if you want to get technical, it's called zinc chromate) cardigan was The Thing I Had to Wear.

I also hadn't worn my new teal blue cami yet, and hey, didn't that look like a great colour combo? What bottom do they go with? Why, my go-to skirt, old Mrs. Tweedy. And let's throw in some red shoes (but a muted red, to go with the other muted, not-quite bright colours), and an orange necklace, shall we?
Could have been a dog's breakfast, but I lucked out. I was freezing all day, though. Must remember: long sleeves in Fall/Winter, Sheila!

The shoes are going to get replaced at some point. They are just a smidge too big and I tend to step out of them when I'm wearing them.

Heh, I was being circled by the sharks while doing my picture:
Feed us!

A shot of the accessories:

A good look at the tweed skirt too. See all the nice colours in there?

Cardigan (Jacob), camisole (RW & Co.), skirt (Kenzie), belt (Plum), shoes (Le Chateau), necklace & earrings (Plum), nylons (Hue).

The Boyfriend Cardigan's Back

Okay, I admit it: I am revisiting a fashion that I wore when I was 17 (that would be in 1985 for those of you keeping track of such things). The boyfriend cardigan. I had a black one just like this, that I think I finally gave up about 5 years ago (I wore it for painting and hanging around the house, NOT in public).

I remember wearing it oh, so many ways:
- with one of my dad's white shirts, a slouchy full skirt, a big low belt (which I still have), and red pointy-toe flat lace-ups
- with a black high-waisted satin long skirt (slit really high in the back so you could walk!), Grandma J's copper jewelry, and black satin pumps
- with black stirrup pants (ouch!), an oversized floral shirt, ropes of fake pearls, and white kitten heels.
Hopefully I won't look back on this incarnation of it and cringe like I just did writing those descriptions!

I was pleased overall with this outfit - I was inspired by Angie's post on the boyfriend cardis on You Look Fab. Picked the cardi up at my favourite consignment shop for trade-in for some of my clothes on Sunday. It's a poly/wool/rayon blend - it was lovely and warm.

Cardigan (?, consignment), white ruffle-front top (Pink Martini, consignment), skirt (Nygard Collection, consignment), belt (Plum), hosiery (Hue), shoes (Nine West), triple hoop silver earrings, silver/white glass bead necklace.

Stripey Skirt and Burgundy

As mentioned before, I'm quite fond of this stripey skirt. I get lots of compliments whenever I wear it - I think it will literally have to fall apart before it leaves my wardrobe. It's awesome with any shade of brown, burgundy and gold, and since I have lots of those in my wardrobe, it is in (for me) heavy rotation.
This is a new burgundy turtleneck (got it on my massive shop a few weeks ago) - it's kind of hard to see but it has nice cables down the front. I do like those little details. This is also a new belt (from my favourite consignment shop) - only $13 for leather Abercrombie & Fitch? Get outta town!

A close-up of the accessories:

Trendy shoe: check! Big boho belt: check! Funky reproduction Viking necklace from my lovely husband (Valentine's Day several years ago): and we're three for three! Woot!

Sweater (Plum), skirt (RW & Co.), shoes (Bleka), belt (Abercrombie & Fitch, consignment), necklace (gift), gold hoop earrings.

Casual Friday - Grey Labcoat

Two days later and I can barely remember what I wore on Friday. Must've had some denim in it, since it was casual Friday...oh, there's the picture. Riiiiight.

Eh, this is okay. I do love the skinnies, but they are so low-waisted and I can't be bothered to buy another pair. I just didn't want any plumber's butt going on, so I went with the long jacket. It's been so long since I just wore flats to work that I felt totally short all day!

I also forgot both my keycard and my wallet on Friday so I ended up having lunch at my desk (thank god for envelopes of porridge!).

You know, considering I had a pretty craptastic week, I managed to look okay nearly every day. This is why wardrobe planning rules! Every Sunday, I spend about 45 minutes choosing what I'm going to wear for the week (although Friday is a little hit and miss, since I don't usually bother planning my casual outfits. Then, each morning, I pick which outfit I feel like wearing. It's going to be mostly skirts this week.

Jacket (Ricki's), cashmere purple sleeveless top (Daniel Bishop, consignment), jeans (Jacob), fishnet kneehighs (ancient, no clue), grey snakeskin flats (Feet First), bead/charm bracelet (silent auction), filigree silver hoops.

Matching Ruth

From the bottom half down, that is. We both did our dark pencil skirts and black buckled boots today, and both had black on top (although my bold pattern was definitely different).
I'm tired. I had a bad day. I'm going to go dye my hair.

Shrug (Debut), blouse (?, consignment), skirt (Kensie), boots (Breckelle's), belt (gift shop, Times Square, NYC), white stone/silver earrings.

Grey, Black and Turquoise

I'm having a grey week. My brain is full of minutia (job stuff) when I just want to go for walks and shush my feet through the leaves. I want to make stew and watch movies, but our TV is slowly being overtaken by pixelation/lines on the screen. I want to nap with my cats, then read trashy novels and eat popcorn.

However, while I can do many of these things for brief intervals, the rest of my life calls to me. Ergo, I wear grey.
All the tones don't show up very well. These are multi-tonal grey plaid pants, and the grey of the camisole is a lovely gunmetal shade, not this pukey pinky-grey.

New items from the last shop (I think this is the last of them): turquoise satin blouse (of course, I spilled some of my cereal down the front of it this morning, so walked around with it stained all day), grey cami, faux croc skinny belt.

Must be the full moon...

Jacket (Max Studio, part of a pant suit), blouse (Smart Set), cami (RW & Co.), pants (Vero Moda), belt (Bianca Nygard), shoes (Fluevog), silver/crystal earrings.

Grey Monday

I'm still building outfits out of the new clothes I got on my last shopping trip. The new item here is the skirt - a great find at Le Chateau! I love the baroque pattern and the mix of black, brown and grey on the white background. I know this will get a lot of wear.
I am guilty of being one of those women who loves the look of fur - I don't own any real fur (aside from a very old wool coat of my mom's that has a fox fur collar), but I love the look of it, so I do it in faux fur. There is something about a jacket or cardigan with a fur collar that just screams "Buy me!" whenever I see one.

I got a lot of compliments on today's outfit, particularly the shoes.

They are very comfortable and (I think) tres chic. The ombre fade from one shade of grey to another keeps them interesting.

Cardigan (Campana Knitwear, consignment), skirt (Le Chateau), tights (Hue), shoes (Qutie), black stone/silver earrings.

Casual Friday - Green and Brown

I'm feeling tired today - I think I am starting to get the cold that everyone in my office has. I was going to wear a denim skirt today instead of jeans, but it was still pouring out and I didn't want cold legs. It was bad enough that I forgot my purse after I'd walked to the bus stop (Friday is No Exercise Day), had to go home and get it, then missed the bus! Arg!

And just look at that mop of hair.

Today's outfit feels like a flashback to the 70s a bit again. This is a new blouse (clearance rack at the Bay for $16.99) and jacket (I do love the velvet - this was on sale for $39.99).
I love the pattern of the blouse. There was the same blouse but in a mustard yellow and grey mix instead of the green and brown mix, but only a medium left - it was way too big.

I re-discovered these green boots - I totally forgot about them! They are from my Fat Era - I found them in a clearance bin at the Bay about 4 years ago for $9.99. Doesn't everyone need green faux croc boots?? Ha!

The other flashback thing is the necklace. It's a wooden bead necklace that I got when I worked in a junior clothing store back in the 90s...probably around '92? '93? I wore it with everything for about 3 years straight. It makes me think of grunge...Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden.

Have a good weekend!

Blazer (RW & Co.), blouse (Point Zero - Nicole Benisti), jeans (Esprit), boots (Madeline), belt (Plum), necklace (LA Express), brass earrings.

Turquoise, Black and White

I really liked this outfit -too bad about the hair, but I poured rain all day, and well...this is what a rainhat does to hair!

The turtleneck and jacket are both new items. I tend to buy one or two turtlenecks a season (a black, plus one other colour) since they are such great layering pieces. I scoured the mall to see which store had the cheapest ones, but the best quality cheapest - I got black and turquoise (it's technically teal, since it's more green than blue - yes, that's the difference, I know my colours) at $20 each. Not much point in putting out a big wad of cash on something you're going to wear to death and then replace in year.
I loved the tailoring on the jacket. Good length sleeves, great seaming around the waist, and love that slight peplum and pleats at the back:

Nice detail to have the waistband be angled from the rest of the pattern! And it was only $24.99 on sale!

I had fun mixing up the accessories and picking out the blue and the green in the sweater. A bit of blue in the scarab bug brooch, a bit of irridescent in the bracelet, and a bit of green in the shoes:

Note the pink lining in the jacket! I love those kind of details!

A closer shot of the brooch and bracelet. The brooch was $9.99 at Le Chateau about 4-5 years ago. The bracelet was "liberated" from Mom's jewelry box in the Great Jewelry Raid of 1984.

The bracelet is marked "Coro". I can't find anything similar online, but I'd guess early 60s. Mom, where did you get this from?

Jacket (Smart Set), turtleneck (Smart Set), cropped trousers (Focus 2000), shoes (Fluevog), brooch (Le Chateau), bracelet (Coro, vintage), crystal stud earrings.

Autumn Camo

I was so pleased to find this gorgeous silk skirt on the sale racks at the Bay last weekend. I love the pretty colours and the swingy feel. It has that lovely painting quality to it. And get this: marked down from $159.00 to $29.99. Can't beat that!
Working the autumnal palate here. I could hide in a pile of leaves!

The belt is also new - $9.99 at Aldo Accessories. It's a bit too big, so I need to get another hole punched in it so that it sits at my waist properly. I'm also considering trimming some of the end off so that it doesn't droop (I tucked it under the belt for the photo, but it dangled around all day). Not sure.

Sweater (Vero Moda), cami (InWear), skirt (Nine West), belt (Aldo), nude fishnet tights (Hue), shoes (Luichiny), hammered gold cuff and earrings.

Trendy Dress and Boots

Ruth lends me all kinds of fashion magazines, which I usually flip through pretty quickly (I do read "Glamour" cover to cover, but I've been buying it for years). When I spotted this dress onmy shopping trip last weekend, I knew it would make a very trendy-looking outfit.
A little on the short side for work, but I felt fine in it with tights on. Very comfy and the turtleneck kept me nice and warm all day. I do love the kimono style.

A close-up of the boots and the bangle.

I have probably only worn these boots about 4 times since I got them (around 5 years ago) - I always think they are too high for work. But now, I feel a lot more adventurous, so they are going back into rotation, especially with boots of all heights being in style!

Dress (Le Chateau), turtleneck (Smart Set), tights (Hue), boots (Bronx), faux snakeskin bangle, silver hoop earrings.

Monday Easy Outfit

Why is this outfit so easy? Because I wore it shopping on Saturday!

As always, Mondays are difficult for me - even more so this week with Daylight Savings! Knowing this is half the battle. I liked what I wore shopping on the weekend, and since I had a coat over it all day, almost no one was able to see it, so I thought, why the heck not?
Oddly, all articles of clothing are from my favourite consignment shop. The top underneath is quite long, so it's securely tucked into the control top of my nylons. Why I love control top!

The bracelet is new - good ol' Le Chateau. I can always count on them to have cheap knock-offs. This was only $4.99.

Pretty.

Cardigan (Romeo and Juliet Couture, consignment), patterned top (Costa Blanca, consignment), velvet skirt (Armor Jeans, consignment), shoes (Wild Diva), bracelet (Le Chateau), silver triple hoop earrings.

My Closet and an Overhaul

I started cleaning out my closet on Friday night, wanting to get to my boots that were buried in the back corner. I realized that I still had the bulk of my summer shoes out, and well, I needed to put them away till warmer weather. I also picked up some more storage boxes a few weeks ago, and hadn't put them to use yet.

I pulled everything out, archived some of the things I don't use anymore, but that are too nice or sentimental to toss. Tucked the summer shoes underneath and in back, and hauled out the party shoes that had been languishing under the skirts. Ah, it felt good to see them again.

Just out of curiousity, I counted the shoes and boots...70 pairs, exactly. I have 70 pairs of shoes. That's just too many. I have to stop. In fact, I think I have finally got a full wardrobe again. Done.

Jane over at workthatwardrobe has inspired me: as of January 1st, I decided I'm going to stop. The "one in/one out" rule will be in place, and no new clothes: only used or consignment clothes and shoes (still on the "one in/one out" rule), and only socks, underwear and workout clothes are going to be new.

One year. Just to see if I can do it. Gift certificates will be spent on accessories or jewelry. Gifts to me (especially of Fluevogs) won't count, and of course, I can buy clothing for other people.

Some shots of my nice cleaned-out closet:
Skirts and jackets:

Vintage floppy hats and shoes:

The long hang, for my dresses. Some vintage stuff tucked in at the end on most of the hanging sections:

Above the dresses are the storage boxes, and the summer purse collection. Yes, that's a feather boa. They are very warm in the winter with a long gown.

My evening purses and my sweaters (not folded all that well!).

Funky purses and on-the-go hats.

Dressy hats:

The bottom half of the "tower of power":

The Fluevog row:

Evening shoes at the very top:

Flats on the bottom:

Othello and Inigo helped:

The summer shoes going into storage:

Inigo helps me sort out the boots:

The boots (I forgot I had 4 pairs!):

Whew! That feels better!

I also gave the ol' blog a re-do, going for some colours that are more "me".