Nov 1st - Outfit #1 - Tan and Texture

Hey hey! Welcome to November! Thank you all for your very kind comments about my Hallowe'en costume - I love getting dressed up.

I was really excited to start my neutral November, but strangely, I was more excited about the individual pieces than outfits I'd be creating out of them. As long as all the colours and shapes go, the outfits should work, right? Heh, I guess we'll see how it goes.

I'm so glad there is still some light after work! It's pitch-dark in the mornings.

I really liked how the dotty tights (those are holes, not actually printed dots, by the way) played off the chain pattern in the top. The top came with a sash that was hooked on through those crappy little thread loops - it's not a real wrap top. I dislike being told by belt loops (yes, of course, my clothes talk to me) that I must put my belt so high up, so I cut the loops off and have saved the sash for some other outfit.

The top is new-to-me, purchased on my semi-drunken ramble through Oak Bay with my dear Cat back here in August (scroll down past the sunny blue skies). It was $20 on consignment and is by Talbot's.

The colour of the skirt is more tan than the camel shade above - the first picture is the most accurate. I can't wear tan near my face or I turn into a big blob of oatmeal, but I can certainly wear it on the bottom half, especially when it is a sweet washable suede skirt like this one. The shape is a slight A-line, and I love the length - it's almost Victorian looking.

I thrifted it in March 2011 for $22.00.

I last wore it in December 2012 for a little Christmas shopping (2nd outfit), and before that, in Oct 2011 (last outfit, but I can't believe I didn't wear it for over a year!).

The stuff:

A bit blurry - I'm tired

I thought the leather obi balanced the visual heaviness of the shoes and tights on the bottom. My first wear of the open black wooden bangle. It's locally-made and I bought it because it was fairly small - but the open part drove me crazy. I ended up jamming it way up my arm.

The shoes are new-to-me:

I know, fabulous! 

They are a deep black suede with a platform and an ankle strap. Don't you love the asymmetrical white stitching? The soles are hard and a bit slippery, characteristic of 80s shoes, and the shoes weigh a ton. They have none of the space-age cushioning technology of modern shoes, but they were shockingly comfortable. Part of that is likely due to the platform (the heel is only 2" without it), and part is that they are real leather and are made in Italy. I think they are probably from around '88-89 - I remember platforms having a mini-resurgence from the '70s then. 

I bought them at Regalia Boutique off Fan Tan Alley (it's my secret place for getting Smoking Lily on consignment) back here in June (scroll way down past my crazy shopping haul). They were only $18.00! 

They are by Bata Shoes (crazy, I had no idea the company had been around so long!), which haven't had stores in Canada's malls since the late 80s. I used to shop there - ah, I bought some great pointy-toed white buckled kitten heels from there in 1986...they always had nice quality stuff, even though I could rarely afford it.

Top (Talbot's, consignment), skirt (Skotts Suede, thrifted), shoes (Bata Shoes, consignment), belt (consignment), cuff (locally made), earrings (thrifted), floral ring (Sarah Coventry, vintage 70s), spinner ring (Twang & Pearl), leaf pendant (found it).