Honourable Mentions - Challenge Week

My extra days off are nearly over...but Birthday Fortnight is in effect! My party is on Saturday! Woo hoo! And I have a dress that I've been saving since I thrifted it back in MAY. Can't wait to show it off.

But in the meantime, although I haven't had any exciting outfits in the past couple of days, there was such a preponderance of amazing suggestions from last week's Challenge, that I had to pull some outfits together just to acknowledge the creativity of you wonderful readers whose suggestions were not chosen as outfits to wear all day.

By the way, to those of you whose suggestions were chosen and who contacted me for your prizes, they went in the mail today. I hope you all enjoy the things I picked out for you!

But first, a very casual outfit for me. This is what I wore to go do some stuff downtown (get a new bank card, mail parcels, exchange a birthday gift, go for lunch with L):The last of the new-to-me sweaters that I thrifted in the early summer - this one is a lovely thick cotton knit and was all of $3.75. It's Banana Republic, and it's very nice quality. How can I tell? It's not "cut and sew," where the knit is cut like a pattern and sewn together. It's knitted in the shape it is. It has NO SEAMS (except for the cuff around the neck). No seams up the sides, not seams down the inside of the arms, no seams where the arms are joined to the body. That costs a lot of money to make knit garments that way and it's a good mark of quality.

Aside from the sweater, those are my regular jeans and this is the first wear of my purple studded combat boots since last March.

So! Onto the Honourable Mentions. Please note the following:
- I wore NONE of these out, or for longer than picture-taking purposes.
- Some of them I liked, some not so much, some I liked just parts.
- I don't know if I'll wear any of these as actual outfits, as I'm chaotic that way.
- A few of the requested items have either been consigned/given away or packed away until next spring. I made do with other stuff instead.
- I didn't add any jewelry, tights or accessories, other than things that I store in my closet (i.e. belts). I'm tired and I didn't feel like digging around in my jewelry boxes.
- I'm not listing all the clothes and brands and whether they were thrifted or consigned or whatever. If you have a question about an item, please ask!
- It got dark out and as always, the light in the den is not the greatest.

- There's a poll at the end of this post for you to pick your favourite, if the spirit moves you.

An additional caveat: I'm not feeling 100%, and my energy flagged as I went on (this took over 2 hours to pick the outfits, put them on and photograph them, not to mention the time to write this post), so if I seem less than zippy, blame that.

Megan suggested a couple of things: "Plaid Pants with a turquoise/teal sweater with leopard accents (basically this with teal)."

I can do that! Leopard, Plaid and Teal. I really like these pants. I need to wear them more.

And she requested, "How about this plaid dress with red accents, a layered skirt and your Miz Mooz boots!" Unfortunately, I don't have that dress anymore, Megan - I took it to the consignment store a few months ago. Let's take a moment to say our goodbyes.

Moving on! Megan also suggested, "Your chartreuse jacket with charcoal greys (a la Eek!) and prints?" Definitely doable!

Grey and Chartreuse
Of course I had to add a print...with the tie obi that Megan made out of a couple of Ally's ties! And because I'm all matchy-matchy, I had to do blue shoes to go with the ties.

Pam's request: "I would love to see this classy professional look with a classic trench or camel coat...if you have either one of those...I also think this blouse and skirt would work with boots.I love so many of your looks that it was hard to choose...but this blouse is a favorite!!"

I agree, Pam! I don't own a camel coat (camel doesn't look good near my face), but I can definitely re-work this with boots and a camel skirt.

Camel Skirt with Boots
I love that skirt! Shades of browns, camels, reds and wines are definitely faves for fall.

Pam also wanted to see this with a classic trench, so here's my brown one (I have purple, black and denim trenches too).

Camel with a Trench Coat

Yup, that's a trench.

Freeda said, "I would like to see the entire week based around Fluevogs." Freeda, I wore a bunch of Fluevogs throughout this mad try-on just for you, but if you need to see me do all my Fluevogs (minus the two pairs I've purchased second-hand since then), please check out my Fluevog-A-Day series that I did in the spring of 2011.

Next up is Laniza, who had a double-barrelled request, "I would love to see your take on mixing more than one animal print at a time. Or fall colour blocking (think rich plums, burgundy, etc.)."

First up, Multiple Animal Prints.

Leopard skirt with a fuscia shirt, brown blazer, belted with more animal print (it's sort of a giraffe print), and my snakeskin printed wedges.

Fall colour blocking is something I think that marketing people made up. Seriously, it's just wearing fall colours and not prints. All fall colours go together, so group all the wines, oranges and browns together (toss some yellow in there too, and some dark purple if the mood takes you, and don't forget to add some olive). Whatever floats your boat.

Fall Colour Blocking

Wine dress, with a claret-coloured belt, a brown leather vest, another shade of brown boots, and a tweed blazer.

Jennifer let the cat out of the bag and requested, "I challenge you to put together a "Made In Victoria" outfit. I would even consider some Vancouver Fluevogs close enough to count." Yup, I'm in Victoria. Now you know.

Made in Victoria

Thank goodness she let me wear Fluevogs, or I'd be barefoot! This is my locally-made Smoking Lily cape worn as a skirt, and a Smoking Lily jacket, Fluevogs on my feet (Freeda, take note), and a Shi Studio belt. Ta-dah! All local.

I adore this cape/skirt:

I would normally wear tights with this. Thank goodness I shaved my legs.

The next request came from Charlotte: "Since fall (and tights season)is creeping up, how about wearing some patterned tights?"

Oh, Charlotte, I couldn't bear to do the Pantyhose Dance today, even for you, my dear. Please be assured that I will be wearing a LOT of patterned/bright/layered tights over the next several months.

Next we have Cara, who asked, "I want to see innovative colour pairings with wine. I've said multiple times it's my favourite colour this season, and since I don't have much in that colour for casual wear, I want to live vicariously through you!"

Cara, I don't actually have a lot of wine (well, two pairs of dark red boots, a few pairs of shoes, a dress and some patterned things...that's not a lot, right?), so I'm just going to show a couple of colour combos with the wine sweater dress.

Colour Pairings with Wine (3)

Teal shoes and Mr. Teal Cardi (for the second time), with a purple/grey obi. Not sure that the obi quite worked...I was running out of natural light.

Next....

Olive, plus print, plus more olive. Always a classic combo.

And then...

Light blue with navy blue and grey. Fun! Psst, Freeda, those are Fluevogs.

Hearkening back to an outfit from a year ago, K suggested: "What about a repeat of this outfit but with one of your newly re-heeled boots and a different long sleeved shirt. Something with a brighter pop of color. And fun accessories of course, but you know how to handle that."

Vest and Long Skirt Redux

That's one of my favourite blouses. I don't have the vest from the original outfit anymore (it was getting pilly).

Deb requested, "I'd love to see your stylistic tribute to a favorite actress or fashion icon or designer. And let us guess who it is!"

Deb, that is an excellent suggestion, and I seriously wracked my poor addled brain all of last week - I wanted to do this as one of "the" outfits - but I really struggled. I don't really look at any actresses or fashion icons or designers as my idols or inspiration. I couldn't think of a single way to represent your request. Sorry!

Speaking of struggling, Ismay had a request: "I really struggle with that classic and hence boring old combo: red and black! (In particular, I have a red flowers on a black background dress that stumps me.) If you have a red/black patterned item, can you help by mixing in some other color (not white)?"

Teal Cardi to the Rescue!

I don't have any black and red floral, but I do have this black and red plaid dress! I love how teal pops off it without looking too clash-y. (Freeda, more Fluevogs for you).

ABD's challenge was a good one: "I have a couple ideas: Your outfits are always beautifully coordinated - it's one of the things I admire most about you. But, what if you stretched your boundaries a bit and put together something that was perhaps a bit less "matchy" (and I don't mean for that to come off in a negative way because, you are a genius when it comes to this). Thing about something in your closet that you love but you weren't necessarily sure how you'd wear it. Or is there a trend that you have admired that you haven't ventured to try (I can't imagine that this would happen! But...). Try something that is a bit outside of your comfort zone!"

I can't deny that I like my comfort zone - not to be confused with a rut! The outfit I put together for you, ABD, mixes 3 things that were really "out there" for me - in fact, I haven't even worn one of them on the blog before because it stumped me a bit.

Here goes: Outside the Comfort Zone

The jumpsuit! The architectural heels! The bigass belt! I might wear this for a party or something, but it's not an everyday look for me (the jumpsuit is a nuisance for going to the bathroom, fyi).

Steph can always be relied on for something different! She said, "So, the idea is newtrals (but of course!), outrageous ballgown-y feel, and shoes. i've been hopping up and down on one foot and biting my nails over these shoes since you wore them with the polka dot pants....on top of it all, they remind me of some booties i had way back in the day! too overstimulatingly much!!my submission:

Jeffrey Campbell silver bow booties (9-28-11 post)

JJF ashes on snow skirt (9-14-11)

plaid bustier (9-1-11) over

Chanel blouse (7-30-11)

with tiered petti (8-21-11) (if it fits)

all topped by Noa Noa striped jacket of Mad Hatter fame!"

She also suggested bright blue tights under this, but again, not going to put tights on when I don't have to. Let's pretend they're there.

Unfortunately, the Chanel blouse is in spring storage, and the white tiered skirt is too short to show under this skirt. I improvised.

Layers-a-Gogo

I quite liked the bustier with this skirt - I might wear them together in the future.

And I wore my Noa Noa black floofy skirt underneath:

Em requested, "Not sure if you've done this before but try Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, or boudoir styles."

Em, I have indeed done "Mad Men" for a vintage event recently (scroll down for lots of detail photos). I don't watch "Boardwalk Empire, so I have no idea what the clothing looks like. And I've done boudoir photos, but they aren't suitable for the blog. Hee!

Lastly, Achariya Rezak requested, "I'd love to see you in a hat!"

I have worn hats off and on over the years of my blog, but I did a big long post on all the hats I own(ed) here. I will be going to a wedding in November, however, and I'll be wearing a hat to that (I think, still debating the outfit).

Well, that's it! Thank you all again - what fun! Here's the poll:

What is your favourite challenge-inspired runner-up outfit?
	Leopard, Plaid and Teal
	Grey and Chartreuse
	Camel Skirt with Boots
	Camel with a Trench Coat
	Multiple Animal Prints
	Fall Colour Blocking
	Made in Victoria
	Colour Pairings with Wine (3)
	Vest and Long Skirt Redux
	Teal Cardi to the Rescue!
	Outside the Comfort Zone
	Layers-a-Gogo
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