Casual Friday - Vintage Vest (And...I've Been Recognized)

Okay, before I get into today's outfit, a shout out to Christine at Le Chateau! *waves*

I was browsing through the jewelry section, when I saw her staring at me. "Do you have a blog?" she asks. Oh my god, someone has actually recognized me! Too, too bizarre! I kinda feel like a celebrity, haha!

Have any of you fellow bloggers ever been recognized on the street? I know if I saw Sal, or Mervat, or Jane, or any of you, I would be shrieking like a little girl and jumping up and down. You would run away from my craziness.

Ahem. I'm actually very normal. Well...

Today I felt like wearing some things I've either never worn or haven't worn in ages:
The vest was found in a vintage shop in 1986, when I was 18 years old. It's a men's wool vest, probably from oh...the 1950s? I think it was around $10. Check out the old label:

Apparently, they still have stores in England. When I bought it, it had plastic buttons (very boring), so I bought new ones, but kept one old button so that I'd remember what the old ones looked like. The newer buttons are brass and have a nice military look about them:

The other stuff:

I haven't worn the shoes in ages - I got them just under two years ago, and they've been packed away since early last fall (I've been digging in my closet for summer stuff - I should really clean it out soon).

I have never worn the necklace on the right - it was a gift from L for Christmas one year. What a cow I am for not wearing it! A close-up:

It's so pretty.

I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off, so may post a casual outfit here or there, but otherwise, I'll be back on Wednesday. Have a lovely weekend!

Blouse (French Connection, consignment), vest (Dunn & Co., vintage), skirt (Smart Set), shoes (Expressions), belt (Brave Beltworks), long necklace (ilovebracelets.com), short necklace (Plum, gift from L), earrings (don't remember).

Not Feelin' the Love - Coral and Pattern

Edit: I just realized a day later that I forgot to title this post. D'oh!

I've been trying to wear stuff I haven't worn for a while, rather than always wanting to wear new (to me) things. This skirt and thin sweater are two things that I used to wear a lot.

I think I am tired of them.

Inigo was standing right beside me a second before the camera went off, which is why my pose is odd. But I'm too lazy to take another picture.

The stuff:
Love the shoes, "meh" on the jewelry.

Is it Friday yet?

Sweater (Esprit), skirt (Vero Moda), belt (Bianca Nygaard), shoes (Qutie), necklace & earrings (Caracol).

Black and Brown - with Yellow!

I am a total sucker for anything with sequins, embroidery, shiny bits, velvet, satin...I could go on. The whole Stevie Nicks look is a guilty pleasure.

Anyway, I bought this skirt a couple of weeks ago and then completely forgot about it!
It's quite a stiff black material and the waistband is cut like jeans, but really, it's all about the embroidery. Ruth just gave me this lovely sweater vest (thanks!) and there's brown in the embellishment so of course, I had to wear them together. And what better pop than a bit of sunny yellow?

The stuff:

Those shoes are from my fat days, one of the few things I still have. I don't wear them nearly as much as I should. I love all the little details on them. And isn't that embroidery cool? I like that it wraps around the side, over the seam. The necklace/earrings are from Mom (from her trip to Disneyland a couple of months ago).

Blouse (Do & Be), vest (Le Chateau, gift from Ruth), skirt (Nicole Benisti for Point Zero, consignment), shoes (label's worn off, don't remember), necklace/earrings (gift from Mom).

Golden Girly-Girl

If I look a trifle ruffled here, it is because I walked to work in the rain and walked home in the wind. And I forgot to comb my hair.
I love this skirt and really wanted to wear it this week - I feel very girly and swirly in it. And these shoes (despite not being flats) are supremely comfortable. When you have contraints, you have to work within them.

The stuff:

My wonderful Art Deco necklace (yes, it is vintage 1920s/30s - L paid a lot for it from an antique shop), and 1950s clip-on earrings.

Jacket (Final Touch, thrift), cami (InWear), skirt (Nine West), shoes (Unlisted), belt (forgotten already, the Bay), necklace (vintage, gift from L), earrings (vintage).

Turquoise-a-riffic!

One of my favourite colour combinations makes an appearance:
I love the vibrant turquoise with the orange-y red, and the touches of black and brown (in the blouse's pattern). I am always cold in air-conditioned places, so the jacket was on all day:

I have also decided that this thick cotton velvet pencil skirt is one of my favourites. It's so soft.

Stuff:

My toe (broken a couple of weeks ago) is still bothering me, so I'm sticking to low heels for another week. Of course, stuffing my feet into cleats for a 2+ hour game of Ultimate was probably not the smartest idea, but hey, life is for living!

Jacket (Gap, consignment), blouse (Mexx), skirt (Armour Jeans), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, gift from Cat), bracelet (Plum), necklace (Plum), gold hoop earrings (gift from L).

Seven Things About Me

I was tagged by nurmisur the other day with one of those thingies where you reveal "seven things you never knew you wanted to know about me". I like talking about myself so I'll do it - if any of you feel the urge to participate, please do!

1. I worked in retail for 17 years before I switched to office work (what I do now), and 11 of those years were spent in a year-round Christmas store. My title was Number 1 Elf. I loved it - I got to decorate all the trees (we had over 20 in the store), do the window displays (3 huge windows), go on buying trips, train the staff and of course, help the customers.

2. Due to my early career, I loathe Christmas carols. We played them from May until December every year. I cannot listen to a Christmas album and I always try to shop for Christmas gifts before the stores start playing the music. Ack! Turn it off!

3. Also due to my early career, I learned to be very outgoing (I was terribly shy as a child) and I am charming as hell in person. My entire family (brother, mom and my dad, before he died) possess this quality. People really like us, and we're pretty funny.

4. However, I have very few close friends. My best friend and I rarely see each other - Janet's been my friend since I was 13 and we have been through it all together, but we have our own lives. When we do see each other, it's like putting on a soft sweater: warm and familiar. I have some tight women friends (a core group of about 3) and some great guy friends (L's friends, who have become my friends), who all know me well, but I'm not super close with people. I don't call, I don't write and unless it's an organized event, I don't see them. The internet/blogging suits me well...I like the distance.

5. I prefer to be alone. I am perfectly happy to be on my own for long stretches. I do not need the company of other people. I love being home alone, reading, playing on the computer, watching movies, and I don't require someone with me. Luckily, I am married to someone who appreciates this - we each keep our own interests, but we still do stuff together.

6. I like going to movies by myself. The first movie I ever saw by myself was "The Princess Bride" on my 19th birthday. It was opening weekend, and the theatre was packed. I sat on the aisle (my favourite spot) and there was a seat empty beside me. A lady asked me if it and the two seats beside it were taken - when I said no, she said (very loudly), "Oh my god, you're here by YOURSELF? Maybe this nice young man here would like to sit with you?", pointing to a guy sitting behind me. Oh, the humiliation.

7. I am a total geek, nerd, dork, what-have-you. I own a standing cardboard cut-out of a stormtrooper. I was a member of the Star Trek Fan Club. I love fantasy and science fiction, even the crappy stuff. I play Dungeons and Dragons. I have a full book shelf dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien. I play Magic: The Gathering card game (we have binders full of cards). Okay, now I have to kill you - this paragraph will self-destruct in

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Made you look.

Casual Friday - Tattoo Belt

Ah, Friday! End of a long, hard week. I am so glad it's over.

My usual Jeans Day look:
The jacket is new to me - yes, that is yet another cream jacket. In my defense, it has a different neckline and is not made of corduroy like the other two. These things matter!

But the star of my outfit is the groovy new belt. The design reminds me of tattoos (of which I have none, but have always wanted one).

The stuff:
Busted out the sandals for the nice weather we've been having. Isn't that belt cool? It has skulls and flames and flowers. And the buckle comes off, so I can buy a funky buckle to put on it.

Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment), top (Planet), jeans (Seven7), shoes (Nine West), belt (no brand marked), necklace (Caracol, gift from L), white gold hoop earrings (gift from L).

An Ode to Mom and Dad

Following dinner with the inlaws last night, a couple of large glasses of wine and sitting around chatting, and then getting caught up on the PVR'ed finales of a few TV shows, I completely forgot to pick out clothes for today.

So what did I do? I wore a dress!
Yeah, baby! Groovy! I'm wearing my newly-acquired orange shoes, my favourite black dress, Mom's 1960s vintage necklace and Dad's 1960s vintage scarf (I believe he wore it as an ascot when he was in a dance band back in the mid-60s).

Stuff:

The shoes are very "toe-y" and I have long skinny toes, so I felt a bit weird - my own issue, I know. The necklace is so cool. I love the glass beads; they are semi-transparent and kind of milky in places. But the scarf is the star (I'm wearing it in my hair with the ends hanging down the back).

When I posted the picture of me in Mom's wedding dress here, I wished I'd had a picture of Mom and Dad in their wedding finery. Mom gave me one of hers:

Hard to believe it's the same dress! The photographer spread the train out so that it looked like a full skirt. I look a lot like my mom...but I also look a lot like my dad ("ooo-wee-ooo, he looks just like Buddy Holly").

Dress (Max Studio), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, consignment), necklace (Mom's, 1960s vintage), scarf (Dad's, 1960s vintage), gold hoop earrings (gift from L).

Leopard at the Dentist

Have to run - dinner with inlaws.

Today's outfit:
New leopard top and dammit, I wore a pencil skirt to the dentist!

Grandma J's necklace.

Jacket (Gap, consignment), top (Mario Serrani, consignment), skirt (Kensie), shoes (Aerosoles), necklace (Grandma J, 1950s).

Blanc et Noir

Thanks for all the advice on yesterday's entry re: slips! I have been hunting for one for ages - and thanks to Tina for the dying "recipe".

Blanc et noir means white and black, in case you didn't know. We say "black and white" in English, but it's the other way around in French. Weird.

Anyway, day 2 of my dentist visits in less than a week (another one tomorrow, oh, boy!), so pants again. Also kept everything down to a dull roar and skipped all the jangly accessories.

I felt very French in this stripey top:
It's a thrifted find (Mexx) from the weekend's shop. A nice cotton sweater - it reminds me of the styles from 1999-2001 when I worked in a women's clothing store.

I wore the long corduroy jacket with it most of the day since I was freezing.

My mouth hurts.

Jacket (Jacob), sweater (Mexx, thrifted), pants (Focus 2000), shoes (Miz Mooz).

Special Occasion: Caro's Birthday

So I was happily posting away yesterday and getting ready to hop in the shower and go for lunch with L, when he said, "Don't you have lunch today with your girlfriends?"

Oh, crap! I'd forgotten. I jumped in the shower, called the gals and raced down to the restaurant (only 45 minutes late). So sorry, gals! What a cow I am.

I've never worn this dress since I got it in NYC a couple of years ago. It's hard to put things with because of the colours, and it's (as I had forgotten) almost totally sheer. Thank goodness for fully granny panties.
Yikes! But it's a gorgeous dress. Do I look tired? This is me after 3 caesars and a special coffee, and sitting out on the restaurant patio in the sun for 4 hours. Woo hoo! Happy late birthday, Caro!

Dress (Hale Bob), cami (Plum), shoes (Nicole, NYC), big silver hoops.

Prom/Graduation Picture

I was tagged by somebody for one of those Prom Queen things, and I can't remember who, but I know a few of you have done it. Do it if the spirit moves you!

We didn't do Prom back in 1985 (I have no idea if they do now) in Canada, but we did do Grad and it was a big deal. Here's my Grad photo - I'm 17 here.
That is actually my brother, Dave, with me. Nice rented 3-piece disco suit, dude. That suit was totally NOT in style in '85! He was going to his girlfriend's junior high grad the same night (he's 15 in this picture), which is why he is also dressed up.

My dress was Barbara Barbara - it's a brand that's not around any more, but I remember seeing it in a Glamour magazine back then and being very excited that I had a designer brand. I bought it in Hawaii while on vacation with the fam right before grad - it was $75. It had a dropped V-shaped waist trimmed with a wide ruffle, and a slightly-below-the-knee pencil skirt with a slit in the back. The fabric was a crinkled cotton. I wore bigass white metal earrings, very sheer white nylons with white tiny "=" designs and white pumps.

I loved the whole outfit, and it was very classy compared to the lace bombs most of my classmates wore. I could hardly walk in the dress - when I had gotten my Grad certificate and was going back to my seat on the stage, the classmate behind me had to boost me up by the bum so that I could make the step.

My mom bought me the carnation elastic wristband (hated it), and wouldn't let me take it off when my actual date gave me a purple orchid corsage. Boo!

And just because I happened to find something else while I was searching for the grad picture:
That would be Grade 9, 1981, I'm 14 years old, and I am dolled up for the Christmas dance (where I received my first kiss).

Note the oversized aviator frames on my glasses, and the groovy feathered hair. The dress/jacket combo was from Woolco (go, polyester!) as we were pretty poor back then. I thought I looked great. Dances used to be a big ritual for me: I'd do my nails and make-up, curl my hair, shave my legs (I didn't tell my mom - I used my dad's razor and he always claimed they got dull fast, haha).

I like the crazy-looking Christmas tree.

Special Occasion: Dinner and Theatre with Mom

To start the holiday weekend right, Mom and I had our last theatre outing of the season. We went to see "To The Ends of The Earth" by Morris Panych - we both really enjoyed it. We did our usual dinner out beforehand too. Of course, I dressed up, but my broken toe prohibited any heels.
I love this dress - the shape is so Audrey. I went with my new red kitten heels, and threw on my long wool sweater for the (slow) walk down to the restaurant.

I kept the accessories simple: brooch (worn at the waist), earrings, and glitzy bag.

I played with the beaded fringe all night.

Dress (Le Chateau), sweater (Express, consignment), shoes (Predictions), brooch (Plum), earrings (don't recall), bag (Fairweather, c. 1999).

Casual Friday - Rock Concert T-Shirt

My work had a contest this week: submit your story for your best or worst rock concert. The winner would get tickets to go see Randy Bachman (of BTO) and Burton Cummings (of The Guess Who), both famous dinosaurs of Canadian rock. Not really to my taste, but I always like to talk about myself, so why not enter!

I submitted my Alice Cooper concert experience, including pictures, as written about here (minus the Fluevogs). I didn't win (it was a random draw).

In keeping with the theme, work declared Friday "Wear your Rock T-Shirt" day. Of course, I went with my Alice shirt:
Hee, doing my "Evil Eye" fingers.

As well as my recuperating thigh soreness, I managed to break one of my toes on the edge of L's briefcase (I may have been drinking, I admit nothing), so I wore my Vans, but they worked fine with the outfit.

I dug out some of my 80s gear for accessories. My ear cuff:

That's a real diamond, by the way. Those are my 10th anniversary gift from L. Another sort of vintage 80s thing: I had my 2nd earring hole pierced when I was 14 years old, in grade 9. How time flies.

I also found my snake and spider rings. The snake I bought when I was 18 and volunteering at the local museum gift shop. I remember it was $25 (a lot of money to me then), but I loved it. The spider ring was a Christmas gift from Mom and Dad from one of their travels (somewhere in the US?). I like how the legs wrap around my finger.

It's a long weekend here - Victoria Day (named after Queen Victoria; my city does a parade and everything) - so I won't be doing an outfit on Monday. Have a lovely weekend!

T-shirt (Alice Cooper '08 tour), jeans (Esprit), belt (gift from Ruth), shoes (Vans), ear cuff (vintage 80s), snake ring (Royal BC Museum gift shop), spider ring (gift from Mom and Dad).

Black and Coral, but It's All About the Quads

I had two things I had to factor in when planning today's outfit: I had to go to the dentist and my quad muscle is still sore.

For the dentist, pants. Nothing like being tipped upside down in a skirt. As it turns out, my clothing was the last thing on my mind as I sat through an hour of scaling (go to the dentist more frequently than me, kids) on only one quadrant of my mouth. See, quadrant, get it?
And my sore quad muscle on my right leg meant I dug out the "sensible" shoes. Of course, sensible for me is different than sensible for most people. For me, it means NOT a four-inch heel. Just a three-inch. Not so bad. And I did wear my Vans for walking anywhere further than desk to copy room.

Stuff:

Haven't worn these shoes for a while. I've been procrastinating (me?? no!) cleaning out the closet and hauling out my summer shoes, and have just been digging them out willy-nilly. I got these in NYC with Mom 2 years ago. *smile*

Anyway, I have two more dentist appointments next week. Excuse me while I go self-medicate with some wine.

Almost Friday!

Wrap t-shirt (InWear), grey cami (RW & Co.), striped pants (Calvin Klein, consignment), bracelet (silent auction), earrings (The Cobbler), shoes (Unisa).

Whew, All Caught Up! Turquoise and Black

Hi, loyal fans, lurking readers and awesomely cool people! My computer is up and running and I have caught up on the past 2 weeks' worth of outfits. Please scroll down and enjoy. I missed you!

Today's outfit was planned around my new Oscar & Libby ring:
Whoa. Not sure why my finger is bright orange, but either there was bad light when I took this picture or I've gotta lay off the self-tanner!

I love the chunkiness of the ring, and of course, it's shiny!

So I went with more shiny:
Inigo is helping me.

Glittery mesh embroidered bubble skirt, satin blouse, a vest to tame it all down and some fun jewelry. A shot of the chestal region for Cat:

Heh, I like the bug brooch.

A better shot of the stuff:

I've pulled my quad, so I'll be in flats/kitten heels for the rest of the week. And tomorrow, it's back to the dentist. Eeee.

Anyway, I'm exhausted after all these posts! I'm so glad to be back, though.

Vest (Vero Moda), blouse (Smart Set), cami (Esprit), skirt (Kensie Girl), shoes (Wild Diva), necklace (Plum), brooch (Le Chateau), ring (Oscar & Libby's).

Tues, May 12/09 - Purple and Red Plus a Pencil Skirt

L bought me a beautiful Myka necklace and earrings for Christmas a couple of years ago (I last wore them here, for my birthday party). I've been looking at it at Oscar & Libby's ever since...I do love a full set...but although L is a very generous gift-giver, I'm more of a bargain hunter. I just couldn't justify buying it at full price: $134.95. I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but that's just too much for me.

Anyway (you can see this coming a mile away), L bought the bracelet for me this past weekend and it was on sale! It was 70% off. You do the math.

I built this outfit to show it off:
My lovely ruffly purple sleeveless blouse, my fabulous 80s vintage wool pencil skirt, and red shoes!

The stuff:

The bracelet has purple stones and red stones, so it made a logical choice to pull those colours for the outfit. I already owned the earrings.

Every Myka piece is handmade and uses real Swarovski crystals and semi-precious stones, and is stamped:

Quality. And I like the outfit too!

Shrug (Debut), blouse (Esprit), skirt (Franco Ferre, vintage), belt (Plum), shoes (Nine West), bracelet and earrings (Myka, Oscar & Libby's).

Mon, May 11/09 - Black and Blue - and Happy Birthday, Mom!

Not really carrying on Son of Dress Week, but I stopped in at one of my favourite stores, Oscar & Libby's, over the weekend and L bought me 3 lovely pieces of jewelry (on sale, I do love a sale) so I'm featuring them all week.

I built this outfit around the brooch, which has blue stones and is set in copper (a nice change from silver & gold):Sorry for the fuzziness.

I also wanted to wear these shoes that I forgot I owned, so I messed about and came up with this:
Heh, Inigo's coming in for a rub.

The shoes are from 1999, from when Eaton's department store closed in my city. I just always liked the shape. And who'da thunk: platforms and chunky heels? Deja vu! Let's party like it's 1999!

The stuff:

All brown and blue and sparkly. I do love the glittery - I'm such a crow.

This past Monday was my Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! You're the absolute best. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.

Dress (Mac & Jac), cardigan (Jacob), cami (Esprit), belt (Plum), brooch (Oscar & Libby's), shoes (Sam & Libby's - when do I get to call them vintage?).

Fri, May 8/09 - Son of Dress Week - Casual Friday - Rocker Chick Again

One of the cool things I've learned by doing this blog is that my casual style is very definitely on the edge of rocker chick chic. For my age (going on 42 for those of you keeping track of these things), I can't go all out 'cause I'd look silly, but I can still add some hardware and keep my ol' rocker soul alive in my style.

I like that.

Anyway, this is my awesome 80s BCBG Max Azria Salvation Army bargain from a few months ago. It's really not such a snooze as my closed eyes would suggest:
It's just Friday and hey, I'm not a morning person. Getting my rocker chick self on involves adding the jean jacket, boots, chain belt and funky jewelry.

Oh, and my new bag, which is decidedly NOT rocker chick, but I love it anyway.

I think I may actually be leaning my head against the wall in that picture, haha!

The stuff:

The awesome brown boots. Everyone needs a pair of these. The cool belt Mom got me in London a couple of years ago, and Mom's vintage 60s choker. I also wore my ginormous real gold hoops.

A better look at the bag:

All the trim is leather (real leather!) and it's a Laura Ashley (stamped on the leather inside). It's a sort of acid greeny-yellow and the inside is fully open (no divider). It was only $28 in a consignment shop.

Dress (BCBG Max Azria, thrifted), jean jacket (Anne Taylor Loft, NYC), boots (Roberto Vianni), belt (gift from Mom), choker (Mom's, vintage), gold hoop earrings (gift from L), bag (Laura Ashley, consignment).

Thurs, May 7/09 - Son of Dress Week - Black and White...and I Finally Get My Medal!

Last Thursday, Mom and I did our annual shopping/dinner date for her birthday. I like to buy her a new outfit or new clothes for her birthday and then we have a nice dinner. It's a good time.

With shopping in mind, I wanted to look nice, but be semi-comfortable, particularly in the footwear area:
My plain LBD that I have only worn a couple of times, my plaid houndstooth jacket, my groovy black and white "Harlow" Listen Up Fluevogs and hey, why not a flower and burgundy tights? Why not, I say!

And I got my medal from the race, finally! It is indeed a silver and it goes very nicely with my bronze from last year, so I think I'm going to have to train my butt off and go for the gold for next year!

Look, there it is!

The stuff:

Ah, John Fluevog, you make lovely shoes.

Dress (Esprit), jacket (Smart Set), shoes ("Harlow" Listen Up, Fluevog), bangle (The Cobbler), earrings (don't remember), flower (The Bay).