Weekend Round-Up: Vintage Fair, Autumn-Winter Wardrobe Changeover

It's a blustery Sunday night on the West coast - we could lose power at any moment. I'm just hoping it holds out until the finale of "Breaking Bad" finishes recording! 

Anyway, it's been a busy weekend, full of friends, food and fashion. Let's get started! 

This is what I wore to work on Friday: 

Yeah, I just don't do Casual Fridays. Formal Fridays, yes!

This past weekend was the Victoria Vintage Expo, a two-day huge vintage show, full of music, vintage stuff for sale, and local arts and crafts vendors. My besties, Cat and Elaine, are my usual companions to these events. We like to dress up a bit - many people are dressed in period costume - so it was a great excuse to wear a hat! And of course, I'll be linking back to the Style Crone's "Hat Attack" #3 this coming Tuesday!

I wanted to have a vintage-y look without actually wearing any vintage, so I wore my fabulous Spanish ladies dress, last seen here in July for my company's rooftop volleyball afternoon. This will be the last wear of the dress as it's now been packed away with my spring/summer clothing. I'll miss it, but it'll be fun to "rediscover" it in March.

The yellow Holt Renfrew jacket gets its last wearing of the season. It was featured recently in late August here, with my splatter skirt.

I took the rear faux belt piece off (it unbuttons) to accommodate the belt at the waist.

It looked like it was going to be a nasty, rainy day on Friday, so I had my brolly, fingerless gloves and light scarf on. I left the brolly at work so that I didn't have to carry it at the Expo. The gloves and hat were nice and small, and bundled into my bag while I browsed around.

I took the hat off while I was at work and displayed it on my desk - I had a lot of compliments on it.

The stuff:

All blue accents. The shoes were last seen here during Monochromania! week earlier this month. They were excellent for a little bit of walking to/from the venue, but after over 2 hours of walking through all the booths, my dogs were howlin'. We went for dinner afterwards, and refortified ourselves with lots of wine!

Big blue bling:

Go big or go home!

My hat:

I love the furry texture of it, and the long swoopy feather. So dramatic! I last wore it here for our "F*ck Valentine's" party back in Feb 2012.

Jacket (Holt Renfrew, thrifted), dress (Lirub), shoes (Feet First), cami (Smart Set), belt (Danier Leather), hat (Tierre Joline), lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring (Wendy Brandes), earrings (locally made).

These vintage events are usually cash-only, which is good for sticking to a budget! This is what I found.

First purchase, about 5 minutes in.

I love the two-tone green on the silver setting. The chain is adjustable. This was $14.00. No name stamp. The woman selling it said she'd bought it on Ebay and didn't wear it, so she was selling it (and a couple of others in the same style, different colours). This is a modern piece, not vintage. It has nice heft and is well-made, though.

This was actually my second-last purchase.

It's a vintage piece, likely from the early 60s. I liked the clover leaves, the frosted finish, and that it was nice and small for my little wrists.

I also like when I find a mark on a piece.

It's by Trifari, same as this bracelet of my grandmother's. It was $24.00.

I liked the shape on this steel mid-century ring:

This is probably from the late 50s - it has quite a bit of wear but appears to be hand-cast. It was $45.00. Generally, this Expo had a lot higher quality of goods, compared to the Fairs that we usually go to - not a lot of junk.

I was entranced by this bracelet.

It is made of brass (copper + zinc), and is springy. It reminds of a bird's nest.

It's one solid piece of metal, with the overlay of strips cut in different shapes and pulled out to create dimension and movement.

I found a mark on it and discovered it's by a Croatian designer, Ivan Midzic. His site here and info about the jewelry here (linking for info only).

I also found a picture and mention of it in the 2010 Italian Vogue, so I guess I got a good deal when I paid $10.00 for it!

At the same booth, I spotted this wonderful 1970s copper set:

I can see myself

I love copper jewelry and finding a unique piece like this was a score, especially for $35.00.

My very last purchase was another hat by Tierre Joline! (linking because I love!)

This one called to me - it is taupe, black and pale grey, with light beige accenting the front "knot".

It is handmade of wool felt, handblocked and sewn to ensure every bit of it is secure.

The side/back:

Like most hats, they need to be tried on to get the right shape for your face and to work with your hair. I tried on nearly every one at her table (Cat bought one of her fascinators), before I went back to this one.

The inside.

Hee, a mustachioed face! The elastic is adjustable, and hides in the hair. I will happily pay more for something handmade locally - this was $145.00. I am excited to see how this neutral hat will mix in my wardrobe.

We had an Ultimate game scheduled for Saturday morning, but one of our players called in sick at the last minute. The game was called, but we still stood around at the field in the rain for half an hour (in case someone else showed up) before we went for lunch.

Outfit over my Ulty gear:

I tend to forget about my "soft" tops: the ones that I don't store in my closet. I love this black and white stripey one and don't wear it enough. I last wore it here in March with yellow and grey suede. 

The skirt is my wool vintage circle skirt (with pockets!), last seen as part of my bowling outfit here in March.

I love the swirl of it!

The boots are my grey ones, worn just a couple of days ago here with my all-grey ensemble.

After lunch, L and I came home and changed. I added a belt and a hat for the rain. 

I had my yellow leather jacket on with this.

Top (Finnegan's by Truworth, consignment), skirt (vintage 80s, Jones New York, thrifted), boots (Prepare Volunteers, Fluevog), belt (thrifted), hat (Deluxe).

L and I went back to the Vintage Expo for day 2. I remembered to bring my camera.

This is the Crystal Gardens. It's an all-glass and steel building that is basically sitting empty, and is rented out for various events.

It was once a indoor salt-water swimming pool - my Mom swam here!

The main floor with the upper walkway that goes all the way around. I have been to a wedding reception here back in the 90s when it was a lush tropical garden (complete with flamingos and monkeys, and a butterfly garden), and my Grade 10 grad ceremony was held here.

I love the natural light flooding in. It's a nice change from the church basements where the smaller Fairs are held.

This lovely lady stands poised on a diving platform in a 1920s swimsuit.

I love the nod to the Gardens' past history with this statue: "the swimmers wore wool bathing suits with 'C. G.' [for "Crystal Garden"] on the front. They were itchy. You rented them ... and you got a key, which you put on the strap of your bathing suit."

Link about the building, its architects and history.

The water's fine!

Isn't that amazing?

I didn't buy anything else (but L did get me a birthday present there!), and basically led him around to all the cool booths so that he wouldn't get too overwhelmed. He's not much for browsing unless it's a record/vinyl booth (there were a few of those).

He spotted this fantastic shirt:

I love the dragons and the trim down the front and on the hem.

The dragons have a pearl.

That's the back. The shirt has never been worn - the woman who had the booth said her father had been a diplomat for the UN in the 1950s and 60s and was stationed in Malaysia.

The shirt is Java Batik.

It will be a great summer piece for L next year. I think it was around $45.00.

We pawed through a few bins of ties and found a couple for $5.00 each.

This is a nice thick tie, with lily-of-the-vallley and some kind of bird. When in doubt "put a bird on it!"

I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice Christian Dior label on it.

Sweet!

I would guess this tie is from the 60s (it's wide, but not as wide as 70s ties).

And I bet that $6.50 then was a lot more than it is now.

This is the other tie we found.

I love the copper and teal colours on it. I will be borrowing this one for sure.

The cream part has a pattern in the fabric - you can just see it here.

I think this tie is silk, and it's definitely earlier than the above Dior tie.

I love "Futurity Prints" - it's the atomic age! Definitely 50s for this one.

Okay, now let's move on - I spent all afternoon cleaning out my walk-in closet. First, I pulled out all my spring/summer tops, cardigans and vests.

How do I determine what gets pulled? For tops, things that have short(er) sleeves, or that I like to wear on their own without a jacket or cardigan over them. Lighter colours also signify spring to me, so a lot of my yellows and purples are set aside.

Tip: make sure everything's clean! I did a big load of delicates in the washing machine (gentle cycle in the dryer) this morning. 

Then the hung blouses and long skirts:

Tip: do up shirts (if you don't feel like doing every button, at least do every other one), cardigans and jackets before folding them. This will help them keep from slipping and wrinkling funny.

 Then dresses:

Lighter colours, lighter fabrics, lack of lining, not a lot of layering possibilities: these are all things I consider when stowing away clothing for the autumn/winter season.

Jackets and pants:

I like to just do loose folds. Yeah, they come out wrinkly, but the wrinkles shake out quickly after a day or so.

Skirts:

Light colours, light weight, lack of lining.

Purses, scarves, belts/obis.

These just take up room in my closet.

This is all of my spring/summer that got packed away.

18 pairs of shoes.

I do have a large portion of my wardrobe that is all year 'round, so that I always have certain basics available.

Look at all the hangers I had once I pulled all that out of my closet!

 Once I'd unpacked all my autumn/winter clothes, I only had about a dozen total hangers left over.

The finished closet:

The Shoe Tower of Power!

My short skirts and jackets (vintage hats and shoes above them).

All my flats and boots live on the floor. There are bags of stored spring/summer clothes in the farthest reaches of the closet - they don't take up room, and it's easier to see my shoes/boots when they are out front.

The left side:

My dresses, and my aqua fringed suede skirt. That has to live up high because "someone" likes to chew on the fringe.

My blouses, long skirts and pants, and my shelves of sweaters, purses and hats.

As I went through everything in my closet, I pulled out additional piles of things I don't really want to keep anymore.

A couple of hats and a beaded purse I haven't used in years.

Some sweaters that don't fit properly.

An eelskin wallet I have never used, a scarf, I've never worn, a belt buckle that doesn't fit my belts, and a black mini-purse that I don't use.

A few more things:

 A tee that is wearing out, a kimono top that I'm not loving anymore, a dress that I'm tired of, a jean skirt I don't love, some too-tight jeans and some really ugly khaki cropped pants (don't know why I bought them!).

It took about 4 hours, and now I'm ready to go watch "Breaking Bad." So excited!

"Wanna cuddle?"

I hope your weekends were full of interesting sights! Welcome to Autumn!