Weekend Outfits - Fuschia and Skulls

I did a little once-over of Plum's close-out sale (still a few weeks to go), as they're still getting stock in for clearance before they close. I found this sweet, skull-licious cashmere blend cardigan:
That's the kind of quirky thing I adore: funky but still a classic shape and material. It was regular $88 on sale for $26.

Coincidently, I'd just picked up this skirt the weekend before for a whopping $7.00. The thrift store I found it in had slotted it into their regular (as opposed to "boutique" or name brand) section. The regular stuff is all the same price (i.e. all skirts are $7), whereas boutique items are individually priced, and usually more expensive. The clerk was surprised that this had not been marked as boutique but score! for me!

I love that there is just enough fuschia in the skirt for it to go with the cardigan. I wore this outfit for my weekly WW weigh-in (woot! down 1.2!) and then out for lunch after.

Check out the back of the cardi:
There's a skull with a red bow! How awesome! That led to me doing a red cami underneath, as there was a bit of red in the skirt's pattern too. The skirt is a satin-finished polyester. Very flowy.

The back of the cardi detail:

Oh, that just makes me giggle with delight. A skull with a bow!

The stuff:

The shoes are also new - they're Aldo, leather and were priced at $32 in my favourite consignment store. Fortunately, I had a $30 credit from my last clothing trade-in, so that made these cheapy-cheapy.

Unfortunately, they are a smidge too tight. The woven leather will stretch out over time - that's a given - but the heels rubbed like nobody's business. So....I took an X-acto knife to the edges of the heel and made two incisions on either side of the vertical heel seam. Ahhhhhh...much better. It means these won't be worth consigning when I'm done with them, but you know what? They're gold kitten heels! I'm going to wear them to death!

Edit: Okay, here's how I do this. I DO NOT recommend you do this yourself unless you want to run the risk ruining your shoes (if you cut too deeply, it can wreck them - I've had it happen). I do not take responsibility for what you decide to do to your shoes.

This is my hobby knife/X-acto blade. I've indicated by the red arrows where I made the cuts:

I have cut through the stitching around the edge of the shoe deliberately, because that tends to be where the heels are tightest.

A close-up:

I'm pulling the edges of the cuts apart slightly so you can see how much extra stretch this "repair" gives.

Cardigan (Kersh), cami (Mexx), skirt (Dex, thrifted), shoes (Aldo, consignment), earrings (gift from L).

I did some cleaning out of the den earlier this week in preparation for the Winesday clothing swap this weekend. Inigo took the opportunity to hop into an empty bag.

Aw, what a cutie-patootie!

For Winesday on Saturday night, I swapped the skirt for my comfy jeans:

Inigo doesn't want me to go.

I traded my earrings for these new ones I also picked up at Plum (regular $33, on sale for $3):

Also wore my Club Monaco wrist-wrap.

Cardigan (Kersh), cami (Mexx), jeans (Seven7, swap from Caro), booties (Miz Mooz), belt (Plum), earrings (Plum), wrist-wrap (Club Monaco).

Sedate in Burgundy

I filled in yesterday again as a receptionist at a downtown WW meeting. Considering that it was over 3 hours long last week, and I'd planned to meet up with some former co-workers for drinks at 4pm, I figured I'd stay downtown.

I wore a couple of new things I'd picked up in my thrifting adventures of the last few weeks:
The floral top was thrifted for $9.50 (it's Mexx), and the suede skirt (Danier) was thrifted for $14.50.

I like the slightly longer kimono style of the top - you can do the ties in the back or wrap them around to the front for more of an obi look. The skirt has a hidden zipper slit in the back, so you can customize how big the slit is.

I quickly learned that a bigger slit is better for walking.

I layered my tights:

Brown lacey fishnet over burgundy. Unfortunately, I had a major case of crotch-sag all day, which was annoying.

The stuff:

Slightly blurry after two glasses of wine! Oops. I last wore the shoes here - I've had them since September 2009 and worn them 7 times now.

A better shot of the fabric of the top:

It's got burgundy, rusty-orange, cream, taupe, brown and olive in it, so I can mix a lot of different looks with it.

Top (Mexx, thrifted), cami (InWear), skirt (Danier, thrifted), shoes (Seychelles, consignment), choker (vintage 60s, Mom), earrings (gift from L).

Wednesday WW Group - Colourama! And a General Manager

I felt discombobulated all day - maybe I wore too many colours??

I missed my bus so barely squeaked in the door of my Wednesday WW group meeting. I distracted them with my yellow boots:
Actually, ALL of me was distracting!

The top half of me is a double-shot of Ralph Lauren. The pinstripe Oxford shirt was $12.95, and the cable-knit tube top was also $12.95. Combined with the Tahari top I got last week in the "buy 2 get 1 free" deal, all three pieces worked out to just over $10 each. Not bad!

I love strapless dresses over button-down shirts and other tops (as you may know), and I also love a good bustier over a top (no, really? really?), so the sweater tube-top was a natural pick. It has a hidden boob shelf inside and a little loop inside the front centre, so I think at one point it had a halter-style tie.

This one's for Wendy B! I'm not stealing her pose - it's an homage!

You might recognize my skirt from the last time I wore it...erm, or maybe not, since I haven't worn it since March 2010 (zoiks!). I also snuck in a pair of bright blue tights underneath everything. Crazy!

Tonight, I met the General Manager of Weight Watchers Canada, Paul Schiffner. What a nice guy - and I'm sure he'll remember me (or at least my boots), ha ha!

The stuff:

I really had no choice of any other shoes aside from the yellow boots. I mean, look at that stripe in the shirt!

A close-up:

The belt is also new - thrifted for $7.00. It's suede and I love the denim colour. Made in Canada too!

I'm showing the Ralph Lauren polo symbol - this is a rare (very rare) time that I'm actually wearing a brand logo. I really don't like advertising my brands.

Tube top (Ralph Lauren, thrifted), shirt (Ralph Lauren, thrifted), skirt (Smart Set, consignment), belt (Landes, thrifted), boots (Aldo, consignment), ring (the Louvre), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Tuesday WW Group - Zipper Dress

I have to cut back on my shopping. I've hit all the thrift stores, and scored all my deals, and now I'm stocked up with new-to-me clothes. I have enough in my closet to last a long time without adding anything else to it. When's Lent? I should give up shopping until it's over. Yeah, I can do that, easy.

Where was I? Oh yes, shopping. New stuff for today's meeting:
I am so proud of my Tuesday Group - they have already lost over 20 lbs only 2 weeks in. Yay!

The dress is thrifted: Mexx for $19.50. It looks barely worn. I like that it zippers from the top and the bottom. I can go from classy to sleazy with a couple of zips - now, that's versatile (hee hee).

The blouse is also new:
I fell in love with the pattern. It's by Marcona, which Google tells me is a UK brand. The tags have been cut out, but it feels like a very silky polyester - nice quality. It was $4.50 at the thrift store.

I'm also wearing this new necklace that I picked up at Plum before New Year's:

I think it was about $12.

The stuff:

I've only worn those shoes once (July 2010) - that's just sad. They're super comfy. I disappointed the receptionists, as I had teased them with talk of my thigh-high boots.

Isn't the pattern on the shirt cool? I love the colours in it: black, grey, red, orange, white, tan and camel (and it looks wicked against olive/khaki). Love a good patterned shirt!

A close-up:

I liked the gold accents against the grey.

Dress (Mexx, thrifted), shirt (Marcona, thrifted), belt (Gap), shoes (Nine West, consignment), necklace (Plum), earrings (gift from L).

Weekend Outfits - and Some New Stuff

Whew! Monday already! Where does the time go?

I got dressed twice this weekend (aside from lounging around in my robe). Once, for my Weight Watchers meeting and weigh-in:
Down 0.6! Woo hoo!

I've worn this dress a billion times...okay, I may be prone to exaggeration. Those are my Tsubo Acreas (last worn back in July). I wore them walking around town all afternoon (I hit two more thrift stores and have all kinds of cheap goodies).

Dress (I.N.C.), shoes (Tsubos).

L was out of town this weekend, so Elaine and I went to see "Black Swan" (I loved the campy, over-the-top feel of it), and then went for drinks after. To go with the overwrought drama of the movie, I went with this slinky sequined tank dress:
It's one of my Plum deals from the clearance - it was regular $129.00 and I got it for $20!

(See who I'm looking at? I see a wee little head just peeking in the bottom of the picture).

I'm wearing a new-to-me cornflower blue cotton/Lycra tee that I picked up in a thrift store for $9.50 (which is probably a bit too much for H&M, but at least the tee has never been worn).

Dontcha just love the ruched sleeves?
Sorry that the photos are dark - black is the hardest to photograph at night and the flash looked ass.

Here's a better shot of the top:

I layered the tee under the dress for a bit more coverage - the necklines are the same.

But I know you're all squinting to see what the shoes look like. These are one of the sale pairs I got for $40 back in December:

Oh, *swoon*! Look at that rich purpley-blue! That part is suede, the black patent parts are patent leather. I love the stitching in the "fan" shape and the black ribbons.

The ribbons end in black leather hearts:

I had to double-knot the bows to make them stay done up.

The original price on these babies:

$139.95! Sweet! This brings my Poetic Licence collection to one, two, three, four, and now five.

Dress (Esprit), tank (H&M, thrifted), shoes (Poetic Licence).

Fake Boots, Games and Making an Effort

Being currently out of work, it's really easy to fall into the "wear my robe around the house all day" trap, which is directly related to the dreaded "jammie pants" syndrome. My wonderful husband, L, doesn't deserve to see me always looking like a schlump, so today I am making an effort to look nice for him. We're going to hang out tonight, maybe (maybe? who am I kidding? ha!) drink a bit of wine and play some board games.

Do you like board games? I love playing games. I grew up playing cribbage, Rummy, Rumoli, Monopoly, The Game of Life, Scrabble, Yahtzee and various other games. As an adult, I continued to play crib, backgammon, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit (I kick ass, but History is my weak category. No one can touch me on the Entertainment version).

Since I met L, I've gotten into role-playing games (shhhh, don't tell anyone, D&D is super-geeky). But he's also into playing strategy games like Risk. Risk is not my cup of tea, but I love other types of strategy games. My favourite by far is Carcassonne, a tile game where you build your own board. It's great with a group (and easy to learn), and awesome with just two people - it's different every time you play, so you never get bored (board? ha, see that?).

We have several versions of Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers, The Castle (a two-player only game), and The Discovery (my personal favourite). We have most of the expansions and mini-expansions, and our original game has all kinds of random tiles mixed in from these. We sometimes play "Calvinball" versions where we make up our own rules.

I also really enjoy all the versions of Fluxx. What? You don't know Fluxx? Fluxx you! You need this game! Anyone of any age can play Fluxx! It rules! If you're super-geeky, there's Monty Python Fluxx! Look for it in your local comic shop.

Um...yeah. Anyway, I'm making an effort to look night for our game night tonight.
This is my super-soft faux suede thrifted BCBGMaxAzria dress last seen here. Added my stripey tee underneath for warmth, as well as my patterned grey tights and black knee socks in an effort to help this look like a more dressy outfit. Does it kinda look like I have flat boots on?

Hee, see the curly tail in the above pic?

Someone wants an early dinner!

I tied a black scarf obi-style at the waist - not as uncomfortable as a belt (I'll be doing a lot of sitting on the couch, hunched over the coffee table) but still dressy. And because it compresses my stomach just a titch, it will remind me not to eat too many chips tonight - weigh-in tomorrow!

I hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Dress (BCBGMaxAzria, thrifted), tee (Majestic, swap from Caro), tights (Hue), socks (McGregor).

Floaty Blue (and Swords for Megan)

I was asked to fill in for a receptionist at one of the Weight Watchers drop-in meetings today. I'm not trained on it, but I've been shown some stuff and I worked in retail for decades, so I'm fine in a pinch. I got the start time wrong, though, and actually had to RUN to the meeting. I impressed myself: I made it in 10 minutes! I did swap out these shoes for runners (I changed back once I got there).

But woo! What a crazy meeting! Nearly 70 people showed up - it was just non-stop.

Anyway, this is what I wore:
Part of my walking around yesterday was going to one of my favourite larger thrift stores. They had a "buy two, get one free" deal on (I do love a good deal!), so of course, I had to browse around. And of COURSE I found something. A few somethings. I had to get the deal!

This top is by Elie Tahari for Nordstrom - it was $16.95. I checked online and this brand's tops sell at Nordstrom's starting at $168! I've seen Tahari in some of the more expensive consignment shops and they are always way too rich for my blood. I like the cobalt and white pattern, and the pretty pin-tucks. And it's silk! So it was actually warm. The style/pattern was a little iffy for me - do you think it's too old/ageing? I like the tunic length, since I don't have many tunics in my closet.

Megan mentioned yesterday that I looked like Link from Legend of Zelda, and that I just needed a broadsword. Well, Megan, I don't have a broadsword, but I do have swords ("You idiot, we've all got swords!" - bonus points if you know what movie that's from).
This is a replica sword (longsword, I think, but L will correct me if I'm wrong) that L picked up in his Ren Faire days. It used to have a blue hunk of yarn on it as a lady's favour.

This is a replica of a Scottish claymore:

We bought it when we went to Scotland in oh...1996...from a guy in a shop on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh (he was really cute, I recall). We put it in with our luggage and brought it home, no problem, all duct-taped and wrapped in cardboard (it's not sharpened).

Both of our swords hang on the wall in the library. We have other swords and knives as well.

My outerwear:

My blue jacket and grey/black accoutrements.

I'm keeping this outfit on, because I have book club tonight, so no "stuff" photo. Instead, here's the closet shot:

Silver feather earrings, silver filigree cuff and my Scottish ring (hey, I got that and the sword on the same trip! Picture of the ring and how we ended up going to Scotland story here).

Inigo was being very cute:

Look at his little crossed paws. Awwww....

Coat (Mario Serrano), hat (Jacob), scarf (The Bay), gloves (Parkhurst). Blouse (Elie Tahari for Nordstrom, thrifted), pants (Kensie), shoes (First by Feet First), cuff (St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop, London), ring (trip to Scotland), earrings (no brand, local).

Wednesday WW Group - Beech Butt

Today was my first meeting with my Wednesday group, after meeting some of them last week. I was a little sedate (for me) last week. Today, I went "Full Sheila":

Crazy Aunt whackitude! Woo! I felt like some sort of Robin Hood-esque hippie in this, which was fun. It's all about the skirt.

The drama!

Check. Out. That. Skirt. Seriously, isn't that cool? It's Smoking Lily from a season or two ago. I found that in a consignment store for $38.50 (it was on an extra 20% off). Then I walked up the street and found nearly the same skirt in the store for $96. Sweet!

I am planning to include this skirt in the Fourth Annual Capsule Wardrobe Challenge that Jane over at The Small Fabric of My Life is hosting this year. Although there are tons of wardrobe challenges, "diets" and capsules out there (I did my own year of not buying any new clothes or shoes), this has always been my favourite one because it's so few items (10 clothing/shoes, 5 accessories). I've done them all (2008, 2009, 2010)! Are you going to try it?

Oh, and FYI, I'm not getting any kind of kick-backs from Smoking Lily - I just love the quality of their items and own a lot. I have the Chair Skirt, the Dotty Dress, a maroon/grey silk obi, a pink/olive silk obi, and a silk bug scarf by them. Every piece except for the bug scarf was bought on consignment - I even found a black velvet cotton skirt by them with a silk-screened white flower in a thrift shop for $10.50 that I bought for my friend Cat, who shares my love for the Lily.

If you clicked the link for a similar skirt, you'll see that this skirt is actually a cape! Ooh, I can't wait to try that out! Mine is a thick but drapey tweed, and is fully lined in a beautiful, thick pewter satin. I love the uneven hem, the major (may-jah!) zipper, and the silk-screened pattern on my butt:It's a beech tree trunk! While I may never again have a "beach bottom," at least I can have a beech butt, hee hee.

Because of the uneven waist and the fullness of the skirt, I wanted to wear a slim-fitting top with some colour. I started out with the mustard top and trying on jackets over it, but they didn't look quite right. So I layered this long green sweater (last seen here) and loved how it worked. The mustard cuffs peeked out. This was snuggly and warm all day!

It was a bright, crisp day today, weatherwise, so I just wore my suede jacket (last worn in September) over it all:

As you can see my right boot has a habit of slouching, while the left does not (compare in the top picture, which I took first). I wore my brown stripey socks to help it stay up and ensure that even if it didn't (it didn't), I would still have a consistent boot shape there and I wouldn't look uneven. Boots last seen here (4 months ago? that's atrocious!).

Here's a detail of the skirt's pattern:

The name and the flower are silkscreened on the lining at the bottom of the point. For you sewers out there, dig the lovely finish on the lining edges - it's all sewn down all the way around.

The stuff:

These boots are devilish on the bottoms of my feet, and I walked in them more than I thought would have to today, so my poor dogs are howlin'. I put insoles in them when I got home. Low heels tomorrow, I promise, feets.

A close-up:

I've had that necklace for about 7 years - I bought it at Plum. It used to have matching earrings, but they killed my ears so I got rid of them. I also removed the little crochet-covered balls that were in the necklace - they didn't look right.

Coat (B.U.M. Equipment, thrifted), sweater (Max Studio), mustard tee (Mexx), skirt (Smoking Lily, consignment), socks (can't remember, got them at The Bay over a year ago), boots (Le Chateau, consignment), belt, necklace and earrings (Plum).

Tuesday WW Group - Teal and Purple (and Some Pictures of Inigo)

Apparently my Fluevogs caused quite a stir last week! I had many comments on them today, so I have promised to wear a different pair of shoes every week to my Tuesday Weight Watchers Group. Good thing I have the blog to refer to!

I pulled together today's outfit from some of my new Plum purchases:
Yes, I know the tights are more blue than teal, but whatever, I think they go just fine. The cardigan is new - it was 50% off, so $24. It's a nice cotton and spandex blend, so washable (yay!). It's the same brand and similar cut to this green cardi (warning, picture-heavy post) I picked up second hand last year.

The cardigan is a nice basic in a good colour, but my love is for the skirt - it's got pockets!

Plus, it's purple, it's brocade, it's designed and made in Canada - and it was $25, regular $85. Sweet!

Also, check out the nice waist detail:

It criss-crosses in the front - isn't that awesome? You can also see the 3 black sparkly buttons on the side, just above the zip.

The stuff:

These are the shoes I bought for my birthday back in October - only worn them once (here).

Oops, forgot to put my new belt in the photo:

It's the same purple as the skirt, also from Plum, and was $4 (and it's leather).

Because I was wearing a black cami under the cardi, I was going to go with all black or all-silver jewelry, but when I started poking around in my jewelry box, I found this fabulous silver bracelet that L gave me (again, for my birthday, I think):

I quite liked the pops of red in it and the ring. You can also see the 3 black sparkly buttons on the skirt - they're roses! What a cool detail. I love stuff like that.

Cardigan (Kersh), cami (Esprit), skirt (Plum), tights (can't remember), shoes (Me Too), belt (Plum), bracelet (gift from L), ring (gift from Cindy), earrings (over 15 years old).

Inigo has been hanging out on this box lately (it's the one that was full of recycling, which has now been emptied and is sitting on its side):

I love his dear little white paws.

I changed out of my "good" clothes when I got home, and into my "house" clothes. I got this long-sleeved grey tee yesterday in a thrift store for $7.50. I put the cami I had on with the work outfit over top of it, and tossed on my black jeans. I was laughing at Inigo. See why?

Rar! Attack of the monster kitty!

Grey top (Jacob, thrifted), cami (Esprit), jeans (Dish).

I got another shipment of supplies from WW today. Inigo wasted no time in jumping in the box:

Hee!