Third Ships, Plus Grey and Reds

Off to the gym shortly! 

This is the third wear of the Holy Ship! dress:

Heh, this is probably the most crazyass of all my ship dress outfits, by a long shot. I do enjoy pushing the envelope a little.

The jacket is my Camden Market (London, England) purchase which I wore twice in the December 2012 capsule (recap here). I'm pretty sure I've never worn it belted before, and I really liked how it looked.

The red peeking out is a vintage full-length slip that I often wear as a layering piece. My reds are not quite all matching today, but I'm cool with that.

No close-up of the fabulous boots today, but they are the Baroques Velazquez by Fluevog that L got me for our anniversary last year. I wore them 4 times in the December 2012 capsule (recap here). Our annual Fluevog pilgrimage is coming up in March - I wonder what we'll buy each other this year?

Last chance to air your thoughts on the dress - I'll be revealing my verdicts on it and the pink velvet jacket on the weekend. I previously wore the dress here and here.

Holy Ship! Dress (Smoking Lily): Outfit #3

Holy Ship! Dress (Smoking Lily)
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Jacket (illegible label, Camden Market), dress (Smoking Lily), vintage slip (consigment), boots (Baroque Velazquez, Fluevogs), obi (locally made).

Pink Shirt Day - The Jacket Instead

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and suggestions for yesterday's blue blouse! I am going to try a few of them for the next two outfits. And yes, Kara, you can have the blouse if I decide not to keep it. 

Today is the last vote for this pink velvet blazer:

My workplace did a "Pink Shirt Day" in support of anti-bullying, so this was the perfect outfit. Never heard of Pink Shirt Day? You need to read this inspiring story (that's just a bit of dust in my eye...look away!).

Today, in addition to my pink velvet jacket, I also wore this fuscia pink blouse, which I wore twice in the April 2012 capsule (recap here). I'd actually planned this outfit last week with a similar brown satin blouse, but when I remembered Pink Shirt Day, I swapped it for the brighter pink.

The skirt is my Club Monaco leopard that I wore three times in the June 2012 all neutral capsule (recap here). I've had a few leopard skirt over the years and I just love them.

The boots are my cherry red Miz Mooz - I'm a big fan of them. They are getting nice and soft. I last wore them a few weeks ago with the now-gone Halogen black leather skirt (3rd outfit here).

Ready for your final say on the blazer? I also wore it here and here.

Nougat London pink velvet blazer: Outfit #3

Nougat London pink velvet blazer: Outfit #3
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The stuff:

Double mink brooches! I also wore pearl stud earrings, but I forgot to take them off for this picture.

Jacket (Nougat London, consignment), blouse (Esprit, consignment), skirt (Club Monaco), boots (Miz Mooz), brooches (big one: consignment; little one: vintage, thrifted), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Blue Blouse and Blue Suede Shoes

Today, I introduce you to this blouse:

I bought it in January 2011 and have worn it twice previously: the last time was here in May 2011 with a grey skirt and some very cool shoes that I haven't worn in a VERY long time. The first time I wore it was here in January 2011 just after I bought it - I wasn't particularly creative today, as I wore a nearly identical outfit (minus the sword). I paid $16.95 for the blouse - it's silk and is by Elie Tahari for Nordstrom.

These are my black satin tux pants, and along with my leather pants, are the only other pair of dressy pants I own. I'm really not a pants girl. I wore the tux pants five times in the November 2012 capsule wardrobe (recap here) and I love them.

The shoes are my blue suede shoes, last seen here in a December Wild Card outfit.

Well, what do you think of the blouse? It's not my usual shape and the colour is a bit limiting. What would you wear with it? It feels wonderful on, and the quality is amazing, but I've only worn it three times in two years. Thoughts?

Blue/White Sheer Blouse (Elie Tahari for Nordstrom): Outfit #1

Blue/White Sheer Blouse (Elie Tahari for Nordstrom)
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Sorry, no stuff picture - in a hurry to get to my WW meeting!

Blouse (Elie Tahari for Norstrom), trousers (handmade, thrifted), shoes (Feet First), cuff (thrifted), earrings (local).

It's the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Skirt!

It was rather stormy today - this is typical for the west coast winter. It's better than snow! 

I felt practically tropical in my tiki skirt.

It was gusty out - my hair was all blown about

This is another one-of-a-kind sample from Smoking Lily. It's the only one, no other ones were made. They screenprinted the entire pattern on the fabric, so I'm guessing it was rather complicated (it looks complicated!) and not worth the money to print a ton of fabric.

I bought it here on my Smoking Lily shopping bonanza for $25.

I had to wear my puffy-ruffly-puffly shirt for both Val Sparkle and Wendy Brandes. Is puffy-ruffly-puffly the Next New Thing? Do I care? No, I'll wear whatever the hell I want, and I love this blouse, which was worn twice during the November 2012 capsule (recap here).

This skirt sits quite low on the hips, and I had a full-length slip on (the skirt is also unlined), so the blouse was slip-sliding away every which way in the waistal region.

I'm still wearing these groovy nylons even though they've popped a toe and have a run

However, such a cool patterned skirt. Everybody sing! "In the tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki-tiki skirt." Or not.

Tiki Skirt (Smoking Lily): Outfit #1

Tiki Skirt (Smoking Lily)
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The stuff:

The shoes are Ralph Lauren and I wore them in the February 2012 capsule twice (recap here), and once in a Wild Card outfit at the end of September 2012 (here).

The belt is a suede Le Chateau one that I bought at a vintage fair for $10.00.

Blouse (CAbi, consignment), skirt (Smoking Lily), shoes (Ralph Lauren), belt (Le Chateau, thrifted), earrings (Plum).

30 For 30 For 12 Challenge - Favourite Outfit Winner! and Favourite Capsule

Favourite Outfit

The winner of the Favourite Outfit of the 30 For 30 For 12 Capsule Challenge is...

 May 26th! 

Congratulations to the green dress and obi (both Smoking Lily) and the blue blue blue suede shoes! A fun and repeat-worthy outfit! You can go here to review the original post. This was my personal favourite of the year. I knew it as soon as I put it on.

Our two runner-ups were:

April 2nd

A classic of pink, purple and yellow! Go here for the original post. I would totally wear this again. Another one of my personal favourites (how can you not love that skirt?).

And last but not least, how appropriate that the very last outfit of the capsule challenge is one of the favourites!

January 31st!

You can go here to view the original post. This wasn't one of my personal favourites, but it's an easy look that I would also wear again.

Thanks to everyone for voting! Again, sorry I couldn't make it a poll, but I'll make it up to you by letting you vote for as many of your favourite months below as you want. Deal?

Favourite Capsule of the Challenge

Now...it's time to vote for your very favourite of the 12 capsules. You can click on any of the dates below to go to the recaps.

February 2012 - The first month. I wasn't sure how many of what to put in (I had too many shoes and not enough bottoms), but some fun outfits came out of it.

March 2012 - The first cohesively planned colour palette of burgundy, blue, teal and olive. I started to get the hang of this capsule thing.

April 2012 - A very challenging month both personally (we lost Inigo) and sartorially. A yellow, pink and purple capsule is tricky to pull off!

May 2012 - Greens, blues and browns, with dashes of purple and orange. I started to realize about this point how lacking in neutrals I had been. 

June 2012 - The biggest challenge for me so far: an entire month of neutrals! I piled on the coloured accessories to ease my way into neutral territory and surprised myself with how versatile neutrals can be. 

July 2012 - Teal, yellow and orange, with dashes of navy and black. I really started layering dresses this month, which stretched out their wear enormously. The first full-on summer month.

August 2012 - A completely black-less month, full of pastels in pale pink, lemon, lilac and greens, including olive and white as the grounding neutrals.

September 2012 - By incorporating a Dress Week into this capsule, and being at the end of my spring/summer wardrobes, and dealing with half-summer/half-autumn temperatures, this month was extra-challenging.

October 2012 - A strong autumnal palette of browns, oranges, reds and greens, with some bold patterns, made this a fun month. Not to mention: Hallowe'en and my birthday!

November 2012 - My second all-neutral month, where I stopped fighting neutrals and focused on texture and pattern. Who knew neutrals would work so well on this colour-loving gal?

December 2012 - Still neutral-heavy, with dashes of cobalt blue and navy, fuscia pink and purple, emerald green, with greys and blacks...and sequins!

January 2013 - A bit of a mish-mash of leftover wardrobe items and newly-acquired items, this month had a palette of red, olive, purple, teal and grey.

Well, what'll it be? (Vote for as many as you like!)

Vote for your favourite month:
	February 2012
	March 2012
	April 2012
	May 2012
	June 2012
	July 2012
	August 2012
	September 2012
	October 2012
	November 2012
	December 2012
	January 2013
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Tune in next weekend for the results. I will also be starting a rumination series on each clothing category (eg. shoes, skirts, etc.) and looking at what does and doesn't work in a 30-item capsule.

Off to watch the red carpet!

Second Ships and First Black Suede Maxi (and More Chicken Hair)

Ah, what a fun weekend! I hope you're all doing well - anyone watching the Oscars tonight? I'm glued to the TV as soon as the red carpet starts! I'll try to get the Favourite Outfit post up tonight.

Yesterday, I headed downtown to meet up with my Winesday gals for brunch. I took this as an opportunity to wear the Holy Ship! dress again.

It was rather bright and sunny!

I stopped in at Smoking Lily's The Milkman's Daughter (their shop that isn't teeny-weeny) to pick up a gift certificate for our dear friend Cat (happy b-day soon!), and the gal working there told me that yes, indeed, this dress is a sample, one-of-a-kind, and they won't be using this ship screen design again because it smudges and is too complicated. I love being exclusive.

Today, I'm layering my sheer navy blouse under the dress, with a leather belt at the waist, my Babycakes Minis (yes, I'm wearing socks with them!) and a brown/brass necklace from my mom. I wore the blouse twice in the April 2012 capsule (recap here). Of course, I last wore the boots on Friday here.

I last wore the dress here.

Holy Ship! Dress (Smoking Lily): Outfit #2

Holy Ship! Dress (Smoking Lily)
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We hung out for a few hours, then our men and another couple came and a few hours stretched into nearly six! Woo!

Although it was sunny, I still bundled up a bit:

I love this denim raincoat - it was a Jacob purchase way way back, probably in 2007. The scarf is a recent Smoking Lily piece, as is the gold anatomical heart on my lapel.

Remembering all my hassles with slips/.linings/unlined dresses from last time I wore the Holy Ship! I just did a plain slip and bare legs, and wore a purse that sits higher.

Vizzini approved!

Coat (Jacob), dress/scarf/pin (Smoking Lily), boots (Babycakes Minis, Fluevog), belt (Plum), necklace (gift from Mom).

On my way downtown, I stopped by the Women in Need thrift store to see if something that I'd spotted a couple of weeks ago was still there. It was.

Those are vintage red wool culottes, baby!

Check it out:

Wide, swooshy legs of pleat-y goodness!

And they are a rather good brand.

Real Escada! Made in Western Germany. They are amazing quality.

And not a bad price:

Yes. $9.50. But it's even better - WIN had an extra 25% off on vintage, so including tax, these were under $8.00.

They are too small on me, but this week they will be sent to a very worth recipient, Lynne of The Good Will Hunting Paralegal. I hear she's been looking for a pair of culottes (so cutting edge, all the cool kids will be wearing them soon), and she's a dear.

I also stopped in at a Very Expensive consignment store and this somehow leapt into my hands:

It's bright orange, Italian leather and made in Canada by Danier Leather. It was $198.00 which is pretty pricey, however, I know that this would have been over $500.00 new (it's the same leather as my red coat, which was $799.00 full price). Anyway, I love it!

Today, L and I slept in a bit, then I walked to town and did some Oscar food grocery shopping. Elaine's coming over, so we're having all the favourites: chocolate truffles, fruit, meat, cheese, veggies, some health salty-crunchies, and hummous and salsa. Dee-lish!

I'm debuting my black suede Danier Leather maxi skirt today!

My minimalist make-up weekend face (also sleepy)

After all my blathering about "I don't do that casual look anymore" I decided to push myself to wear this in a fun weekend style.

A thin olive layering tee (I live in these around the house), with my Smoking Lily crow top which I wore six times in the March 2012 capsule (recap here). The top hasn't been languishing in my wardrobe all this time, though - I wear it like this with jeans on a regular basis at home.

I'm wearing my funky Airwalk sneaks that I got a clothing swap with coworkers back here in May 2012.

But back to the skirt. It's deliciously swooshy and look, pockets!

In fact, this skirt is so....maxi, that I can do this:

Wee! I thrifted this skirt at the WIN Boutique here in January 2012 for $29.50. Not exactly a thrift price, but it's for a good cause. Plus, I'm pretty sure this skirt sold new for more than $30.

Black Suede Maxi Skirt (Danier Leather): Outfit #1

Black Suede Maxi Skirt (Danier Leather)
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I had to wear the orange jacket:

And yes, I have done my "chicken hair" again. Hee. I like it! It's fun and I like playing with it on the weekend.

I added my red gloves and bag, and my green scarf and I felt very visible!

Hola!

So I'm linking up to Patti's "Visible Monday" on Not Dead Yet Style. Rock on, my friends!

Jacket (Danier Leather, consignment), top/scarf (Smoking Lily), long-sleeved tee (Plum), skirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), bag (Danier Leather), gloves (Parkhurst), shoes (Airwalk, swapped).

Dandelion Head and Three Verdicts

Happy weekend, everyone! I am off to hang out with my Core Four Winesday gals for lunch, having had a marvelous time at the G++ Gallery last night, for the debut of "fish.e"*, an interactive art and light installation. L and I always like to get dressed up and meet some of the fun arty people in Victoria - a bunch of our friends were there too, so it was a blast to hang out, have a few drinks and dance in the gallery. 

*linking to support my local arts community, yo!

We also debuted our new specs:

L is such a stylin' dude

L's are metal and mine are plastic. Mine are the "Rosalind" by Rapp* of Toronto - they are made in Canada! Yay! I had fun bouffing up my hair to go with the over-the-top look of my glasses and outfit. It was super windy and rainy so the hair stayed intact - it felt like I had a big dandelion puff on my head.
*linking 'cause I love

I wanted to wear this olive dress again. It's by Adrianna Papell and I bought it in December 2011 at Winners for $25.00. I have only worn it the one time (here). It didn't get worn as a Wild Card outfit during the Capsule Challenge, and it's not an appropriate day-dress, so it got a quick "Like it or Lose it" from me last night.

I'm wearing a black slip underneath for warmth

My verdict: Lose it. Not a flattering style on me - I do look better in fitted clothing than baggy stuff. Off to the donation bag with you!

My wonderful Mini Babycakes Fluevog boots, brown tights and brown leather gloves kept me snuggly and warm for the walk to and from the gallery. I last wore the boots here, with the now-gone black sack dress.

I bundled up in my Smoking Lily octo-coat:

And a good time was had by all!

Dress (Adrianna Papell), boots (Mini Babycakes, Fluevog), earrings (Aldo), gloves (Club Monaco, consignment), coat (Smoking Lily), bag (fake Jil Sander, consignment).

Let's get on with...the Verdicts!

Brown Lace Skirt (Planet):

I wore it here, here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 139
• Lose it: 41

A fairly large margin for the Like It camp! My verdict: Like it. I'm keeping it.

Opinions were really mixed on this - some didn't like it, didn't think it was "me" enough, and some loved it. Not a lot of in-the-middle! One of the things I noticed is that when I really made an effort in the outfit, that the positive votes went up. The first outfit (which I admit was the weakest of the 3) garnered a huge amount of Lose it votes, while for the other two (better) outfits the Like its easily outpaced the Lose its. It's not just about the pieces alone - it's about how they work in your wardrobe, and how you style them.

The skirt on its own is fantastic. It is sexy as hell when I walk in it (it has no slit, so really accentuates the hips and legs), which doesn't come across in static photos. I have always loved this skirt and continue to love it. It's the best chocolate brown skirt I've ever owned.

Next up: Red Dress (Calvin Klein):

I wore it here, here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 118
• Lose it: 17

It's a blowout for the Like its. My verdict: Like it.

I feel like I've been looking for that perfect red dress for my whole life - this is as close as I've ever come. I like the exaggerated shoulder detail, the pleats at the front and back and the beautiful seaming through the waist. I was concerned that the dress would pill near the boobular region, but it held up very well. I love the vivid colour too!

And last but not least, the Lilac Greyhound Tee (Smoking Lily):

I wore it here, here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 113
• Lose it: 14

Another landslide! And my verdict is: Like it.

Of course I like it! It's an awesome tee. However, it's not going to be in regular rotation as I did find it to be a bit too casual for work/everyday styling. Each of the outfits is a casual or weekend look (two Casual Fridays and a Saturday outfit), which is fine. It will be worn around the house, as a layering piece or in the summer on its own, but you probably won't see it in many outfits going forward. 

Over the last year, I have come to realize that the casual side of my wardrobe isn't where I want to be in terms of my own style. I can have fun doing a rocker look through accessories or a strong statement piece like my leather pants, but t-shirts aren't really part of that any more. 

So! Agree, disagree on any of the verdicts? Feel free to air your thoughts - I really do like to hear your feedback! 

Tomorrow will be the results of the voting for the Capsule Challenge's Favourite Outfit of the Year - have you left a comment with your top 3? It's not too late! Go here and have your say.

Last Chance for Greyhounds, Leather Pants, a Goodbye and a Tease

Friday, my friend, it's so good to see you! 

What? You don't wear leather pants to work?

I have culled my closet to the point where I actually only have 2 pairs of dressy pants in my closet (I still have a couple pairs of jeans and some stuff in summer storage), and these Gap vintage leather jeans are one of them. If you're not familiar with my leather pants, please check out their mysterious past here. If you are familiar with them, then you'll recall that I wore them three times in the April 2012 capsule (recap here).

The jacket was worn four times in the December 2012 capsule (recap here). I love the strong shoulder and the brocade and the wonderful shape of the waist, and I like how it played off the texture of the pants.

This is the third wear for voting of the Smoking Lily greyhound tee (previously worn here and here). I'll be posting the verdict on it tomorrow.

Smoking Lily Lilac Greyhound Tee: Outfit #3

Smoking Lily Lilac Greyhound Tee
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I want to thank everyone for their thoughts on the Smoking Lily dress yesterday. I like hearing what people think (it's a Libra thing) - it helps me look at different perspectives and fully understand the fit and style of my clothes, which is a good thing. I am really having fun with this 3-times challenge!

Back view:

Yeah, love the jacket and love the pants. No vote for you!

The shoes are my purple combat boots, which I wore four times in the January capsule (recap here). I had to do some creative lacing on the left one because "someone" ate a chunk of the laces.

Sadly, however, today we say goodbye to the boots. They are cheapo vinyl Winners boots that cost very little, and today I noticed that piece of the vinyl has come apart, and there's a spot rubbed off on the back of the heel. I will donate these and keep my eyes peeled for something better quality.

The stuff:
My fabulous Pringle of Scotland belt (last worn here, and thrifted in a bundle here) and a bunch of steampunk-y stuff.

Jacket (Le Chateau, consignment), tee (Smoking Lily), pants (Gap, thrifted, vintage), boots (Penny Loves Kenny), belt (Pringle of Scotland, thrifted), necklace (Raven's Rest Studio), brown cuff (SkinzNHydeZ), black cuff (Guess, thrifted), zipper rose (Victoria & Albert Museum Gift Shop).

And the tease, you ask?

I got new glasses! L and I will be debuting them tonight at an art installation opening.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Holy Ship! Round One

I had major minor annoyances all day, but first, the dress.

Holy ship! Yes, that is what I've dubbed this dress, and Holy ship! it shall be. This is of course, my Smoking Lily ship dress that I purchased a few weeks ago (here) for $65.00. Considering it is handmade here in Victoria, and it's a sample, I am happy with my purchase, ethics-wise.

And...round 1! Shout out to Patti over at Not Dead Yet Style for trying out the Like it/Lose it on a dress! It really works!

Holy Ship! Dress (Smoking Lily)

Holy Ship! Dress (Smoking Lily)
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However, as noted, I had malfunctions all freakin' day. I note that Megan the Fashionable Bureaucrat also had tights issues today, so there must be something in the air (although I'm on the west coast and she's on the east). First, blew the toes in both both feet in these nude fishnets. Argle-bargle, that makes me furious! Both toes! Massive holes!

While I felt that happening (while walking to work), my slip (a lovely vintage navy blue one) decided it wanted to be at my waist. The blue netting underskirt also wanted to go up there. I kept waiting to get to a light so that I could do some adjusting, but wouldn't ya know it, I hit every green light all the way to work. Why does that never happen when I really want it to?

Once the two layering pieces had ensconced themselves around my midsection, the dress (which is cotton), adhered to my tights and decided to work its way up to my hoo-ha. Crotch-tacular! Didn't help that the bottom button of my coat was open, allowing all the office workers of downtown a view of me desperately trying to hold my dress in place while not spilling coffee down the front of myself.

Naturally, all the layers behaved once I didn't have my bag and coat on.

On the way home, I stopped to get a bottle of wine. No Interac. Arg. Back downtown to another beer and wine store (no, we can't buy beer and wine in the grocery store or 7Eleven here), only to find they were also only able to take cash. I fumed and breathed deeply and headed home. No danged wine. And of course, the dress, slip and underskirt all headed north. Fortunately, L is a kind and generous husband and is going to go buy some wine for tonight, or I'd be a raging basket case (well, more than I already am, heh).

But let's get back to the clothing.

I see a gold bug on the belt!

The underskirt is by Noa Noa and I've had it for a few years. The belt is also by Smoking Lily and I found it in a consignment store for $25.00 a couple of years ago.

The stuff:

The shoes were featured in April 2012's capsule (recap here), where I wore them 4 times. I liked how the purple toned with the mustard of the dress and played off the blues. I repeated the gold moth from the belt in the gold cicada earrings. Although the belt is black, the shoes are purple and the ships/underskirt are navy, they all perceive as dark and worked as neutrals to balance all that mustard.

Dress (Smoking Lily), underskirt (Noa Noa), shoes (Pearl Hart Bellevues, Fluevogs), belt (Smoking Lily, consignment), leather cuff (made in LA, bought local), earrings (Erica Weiner).

Red Dress Layered

Hey, hey! It's late (worked late, didn't go to gym and am starving), so I'm going to be quick(ish).

The 3rd wear of the red dress:

Lots of texture and pattern going on, starting with the blouse, one of my favourites which was featured in the October capsule (recap here). I wore it three times that month. The shoes are also from the October capsule and were worn 3 times - I often wear them with this blouse. I just like how the colours go.

Last time to voice your opinion!

Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #3

Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #2
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I previously wore the dress here and here. Tune in this weekend for the final verdict!

These shoes are so comfy, even for a 2"+ heel - very stable for walking around.

Dotty tights (the dots are holes) and the black leather obi tie it all together.

 Funky, man!

The stuff:

Bronze leaf earrings and my spinner ring.

And...dinner time!

Dress (Calvin Klein), blouse (Marcona, thrifted), shoes (Mini QTees, Fluevog), obi (consignment), earrings (Plum), ring (Twang & Pearl).