Teal and Chartreuse and Dragons

Woo! We on the West coast are having a heatwave! It is currently 22 degrees (that's around 76 for those of you on that Other Scale), which is sweltering summer weather for us. I am not complaining.

But I will definitely not be wearing nylons tomorrow! This is another not-planned outfit, so I fell back on some old favourites (I wore this top and skirt combo in the April 2012 capsule wardrobe here).

One of my most favourite of my thin sweaters is this bat-wing (swoosh!) teal sweater, last seen nearly a year ago (what?!) here, in May 2013 with green culottes.

I last wore this fabulous Noa Noa skirt here in July 2013 while being a lemon-lime lady.

You can see the awesome painted gold design there - isn't that cool? This was a sample piece that I bought at Dots a few years ago. I stopped in there on the weekend with my mother-in-law, but I was quite disappointed in the Noa Noa samples. Ah well, not like I shop retail anymore anyway! Second-hand first, baby!

The stuff:

Big honkin' clodhopper shoes, but I love them. I last wore them here (last outfit) with a floofy skirt and stripes earlier this month.

Yar, there be dragon bling here, me hearties!

One of my coworkers is a lapidarist, so I asked him what the stones were - he said they are probably green agate. Cool.

L bought me this vintage (probably 1930s) necklace and bracelet for my birthday last year.

I love the dragons!

Sweater (Kenneth Cole Reaction, consignment), skirt (Noa Noa), shoes (Fly London), necklace/bracelet (vintage '30s, gift from L).

Pleather Lace and Morange Lips

And...Tuesday. A quickie for y'all again - sorry, I'm going to try to get around an visit all the new commenters soon! - due to my WW meeting pick-up in oh, 20 minutes. I can do it!

Yes, the debut of my lovely "lace" skirt that my mother-in-law Louise bought me on the weekend (here).

Review: I wish it was leather! Of course, it has a bit of stretch, but it's very delicate and yeah, some of the hem bits have already ripped. I was trying to be really careful with it all day, but I might have to do a strategic trim of the hemline to make it look nice again. Gah.

"I love you! Stay home and play with me!"

The top is my 80s vintage silk I. Magnin blouse, thrifted for $8.50 last summer, and last seen here in September 2013 for Monochromania! Week.

"Or I could meander off to the deck to meow at crows."

This is the first time I've worn it untucked (the skirt's waistline sits below my natural waist). I had to actually get out the iron (it's this machine that heats up and takes the wrinkles out of clothes! It's amazing! You should try it!), because it had big fold lines from being stored away all winter.

The stuff:

Lovely orange shoes! I love how orange and blue just pop together, don't you? I last wore these sweet heels a couple of weekends ago here (last outfit) for Easter at Mom's. I'm so tempted to get these in another colour - a lot of them are on sale...yellow would be awesome...

Big copper bling:

All vintage copper, with my Wendy Brandes lapis lazuli ring.

Blouse (I. Magnin, thrifted), skirt (Lord & Taylor), shoes (Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog), necklace/cuff (vintage 70s), earrings/cuff (Renoir, vintage 60s, Grandma J), ring (Wendy Brandes).

I was a little nervous about wearing my new orange lippy today, my MAC "Morange" that I got on the weekend.

My "stuff" is all still lying on the table - gotta put it back on now!

It's really orange! I love the colour - but beware beware, if you have not-perfectly-white teeth (I have ivory teeth, thankyouverymuch, they grew that way) as it emphasizes the yellowness. I did closed-mouth smiles most of the day.

Wear a Dress! Stripes Also Welcome

I resolve this week to look after myself. I will eat better, make sure I'm hydrated, and go to the gym regularly. I will give myself downtime, cut my perfectionist self some slack and let go of the things I can't change. 

Also, wear a dress.

[To the tune of "When You're Happy and You Know It (Clap Your Hands)"]

When you're feeling kinda crappy
Wear a dress (wear a dress!),
When you're mood is kinda mopey
Wear a dress (wear a dress!),
When you want to stay in bed
Just put on a dress instead,
When you're feeling kinda crappy
Wear a dress!

I didn't do any outfit planning this week (I might do the rest of the week tonight, we'll see), so my go-to is...a dress! I've had this beautiful red Calvin Klein dress for about 3 years - it was a Winners purchase.

I last wore it here with a ruffly pirate shirt in December 2013.

The cardigan is a nice easy one that I've had forever. I last wore it back here (2nd outfit) in August 2013 with purple sequins.

I was told I looked French today. Must have been the stripes.

The stuff:

I think these will be getting worn a lot this spring. I last wore them about 3 weeks ago, here, with ruffles and concrete.

Simple silver bling:

I felt like Wonder Woman in my cuff, deflecting bullets of negativity! Bam!

Dress (Calvin Klein), cardigan (Express, thrifted), shoes (Jump! for the People, consignment), cuff (thrifted), earrings (Joyce's, vintage 80s).

Weekend Wrap-Up: Plaid Friday, Shop-a-Thon Saturday, and Raceless Sunday

I'm exhausted. I would like another weekend, please. This is going to be pretty quick because I need some serious couch time with my sweetie. 

Friday: Plaid skirt!

I had a rough work week - a lot going on, my plate's overloaded, and short tempers. I tried to soldier through as best I could. I'm an introvert who's learned to be extroverted, and I'm outgoing for a living, so I need a lot of downtime to recover.

No downtime for most of my weekend. *sigh*

But clothes, and enough with the whining. Here's my black leather jacket, last worn here with stripes and polka dots in March.

Under that is a nice slinky blue top (the plaid has a bold stripe of blue in it), last worn here in September 2013 - ha, with this same jacket.

Isn't the skirt amazing? It was truly wonderful to wear, and the pleated hem swooshed around nicely all day for work, and afterwards.

The stuff:

Disco dutch shoes! I last wore them here with shades of yellow in March.

Big black bling:

I love my Mr. T necklace.

I went out after work to say goodbye to one of my co-workers, then bused home to meet up with L and his mom. We walked down to the local pub and then came home and socialized.

Jacket (Danier Couture, consignment), top (Anne Klein, consignment), skirt (Bianca Nygard, thrifted), shoes (Prepare Hi Steady, Fluevog), necklace (Club Monaco), cuff (Guess, thrifted), studded cuff (homegrown vintage), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Saturday, we took my mother-in-law to our favourite diner, then Louise and I bused all over town. She really wanted to get some new clothes and shoes, so I took her to all kinds of boutiques and stores (not much second-hand, as she had specific needs and wants, and that's hard to do in one big go).

I wore my comfy flats, and a nice loose silk dress (last worn here with my yellow shoes above in March).

I wore an additional vintage slip underneath for warmth, but went bare-legged. It was mostly sunny!

We found Louise all kinds of things, from shoes to jeans, to cardigans and a faux leather jacket. She was just thrilled about it all.

Me, I'm exhausted. I was determined to be a good guide and personal shopper to her, but that takes a lot of emotional energy. We shopped and walked for close to 6 hours, then came home and made pizza for dinner. We hung out and played games for a while too.

And I realized, "I have to get my downtime or I'm going to lose my mind."

"I photobomb like a boss."

Actual shopping outfit: my yellow leather jacket, purple gloves and crossbody bag.

The stuff:

I love these black shoes! All day with bare feet and and still feeling good. I last wore them here a couple of weekends ago.

Purple and silver bling:

Mostly homegrown vintage.

Jacket (Danier Leather), dress (Club Monaco, thrifted), shoes (Town Shoes, thrifted), earrings (vintage), "S" and crystal (gifts from Mom and Dad). 

Today was the annual 10K race (the one I've won medals in over the last several years). 6am wake-up for an 8am start, I'm the team captain for my work's 20+ person team, my mom is always there. Right up to 10pm last night, I was ready to do it.

Then I hit that wall. No. I can't face it. After spending my entire weekend focused on other people, I need to be alone. I need mental and physical space. I can't be crushed with 10,000+ people. I just can't do it.

I felt overwhelmingly guilty, but also relieved. And so this morning, I slept in, had the house to myself, and L took his mom out for the day, then to the airport.

Louise is a lovely lady, but she takes a lot of energy. She does appreciate it though - she kept trying to buy me things all day while we were out. I did give in on a few things, like these awesome MAC lipsticks.

The one on the left is called "Morange" and the purple one is "Heroine." I love them! I am really having fun playing with crazy make-up lately. Bring on the blue eyeshadow!

I wouldn't buy myself anything in a department store (not since I shop SecondHand First or locally/ethically produced). However, if someone wants to buy me something, who am I to push my ethics on them? Especially when it's this awesome.

This skirt took my breath away. It's by Lord & Taylor, which The Bay is now carrying, and it was $89.00 with 25% off. It's not leather (I would LOVE this in leather), but PVC (blech), but look at those cut-outs!

Be still my heart. I can't wait to wear this. Thank you, Louise.

Today, after my sleep-in, I got my sh*t together and got dressed. Three of my best friends all have birthdays within a 3 week span so I coordinated a brunch for all of us women (6 of us), with all of our men joining us afterwards. I'd anticipated being stiff and sore from the race, so I'd planned an easy outfit.

New purple lipstick!

Bam! Yeah, that's me, casual Sunday, har har.

I'm linking up to Bella's "Secondhand First" over at The Citizen Rosebud - so check out the other amazing chicks there!

Although my dress isn't second-hand, everything else in my outfit is!

The dress is actually locally-made, by Walk In Clozet, and was purchased new here in March, for $40.00.

See the splits along the top of the sleeves? Cool.

The dress is pretty short, so I have a thrifted vintage skirt on under it.

I wore my cream brocade blazer as outerwear. I last wore it here in February for Dress Week Came From Outer Space!

Cat-approved

 I loved how the pale pink dress looked with the cream jacket and buff colours of the shoes and furs.

Crazy lady alert! We had a lovely time, although I was more subdued in demeanor than my outfit would suggest, and left early.

The stuff:

Best $10.00 I ever spent on a pair of thrifted shoes. I last wore these a couple of days ago here.

Furry bling:

I wore the hat all day - it was lovely and warm. My hat and collar were both second-hand, as were the earrings and my Flying Spaghetti Monster ring.

Jacket (Le Chateau, consignment), dress (Walk In Clozet), shoes (Fugitive, thrifted), hat (Andre, vintage, thrifted), collar (vintage), earrings (Weiss, vintage), ring (vintage).

And now...some quiet.

Ruffled Chicken Plus Chrysanthemums

Just a quickie, as I'll probably not be posting again until late this weekend (mother-in-law in town, other shenanigans to be had, etc.).

Chicken chest ruffles. I may have done my chicken noises at work in front of people (buh-bawk!), hee.

First wear of the silk ruffled Tangerine Jill top, thrifted for a ridiculous $22.00 (high, in my opinion) here last weekend.

Because it shows bra strappage, I'm wearing my yellow little cardi-cover-up-thingy, last seen here in August 2013 with my hypno-dress.

Isn't the skirt lovely? Chrysanthemums! I have loved this skirt ever since I got it a four years ago, in 2010 (I can't read it or I'll get choked up, but I first wore it here in April 2010, with my last pic of my dear Othello kitty). I last wore it here in August 2013 in a fun but crazy pattern-o-rama outfit (complete with fascinator - Yvo, we had such fun that night!).

The stuff:

My beloved lavender Campers get another outing, last seen here (3rd outfit) earlier this month with many other non-like colours.

Rubber-band bling:

Yes, that might be a blue elastic band on my crappy yellow belt. I need to go to Danier and get a proper yellow leather belt that's made in Canada, dagnabbit!

L and I went for dinner tonight with our moms (L is driving his mom home right now - and now he's home!). I'm outta here, chicks!

Cardigan (Peter Nygard, consignment), top (Tangerine Jill, thrifted), skirt (Vivienne Tam, consignment), shoes (Camper), belt (Aldo), cuff (St. Paul's Cathedral Gift Shop), bracelet (thrifted). 

So Pink and Lacy I Might Puke

There was a time when I loathed pink. Lace was apt to make me flee in horror ("run away! run away!").

This is not that time. As Wendy says, "Never is the Next New Thing TM". I am really on a pink groove lately and am enamoured of lace too.

I actually found both this blouse and this skirt in the same store but on separate shopping trips. The blouse is handmade, likely in the 60s; it was last worn here in June 2013 with white eyelet (another pale outfit).

The sleeves are sheer and unlined (and they flutter like wings!), but the entire bodice is lined.

The skirt is rather pink, isn't it? Like Pepto, ha! The formerly-hating-pink-and-lace me would hate these pieces, especially together. I last wore it here earlier this month with Indian lame (la-MAY!).

The stuff:

More 60s-inspired and real pieces. I last wore the shoes here a couple of weeks ago with even more paleness.

Vintage bling:

I've never worn this belt before on the blog. I retrieved it from Caro's safekeeping back in March (here) - she's had it for several years with my blessing.

Blouse (handmade, vintage 60s, thrifted), skirt (Conrad C, thrifted), shoes (Fugitive by Francesco Rossi, thrifted), belt (vintage 60s, Mom's), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Blue, Floral, Fruital and Elf Shoes

The countdown is on - my mother-in-law is coming to town. My week will be a bit jumbled due to that, but for today, normalcy reigns. 

I see this as a fairly conservative outfit, but I realize it's not for many others. Patterned blouse, play with the colours for the dress and shoes, and add some "tough" accessories.

I last wore this gloriously blue dress here in March, after purchasing it in Vancouver. I liked this outfit better than that one because the blouse works better under it (also, not as cold on the arms!).

I love this floral/fruital (should totally be a word!) blouse. How would you describe a pattern with grapes and berries? I say fruital.

I last wore it here in March with my cerulean skirt.

The stuff:

Pointy green elf shoes! Since I used to be a Number 1 Elf, that seems appropriate. I last wore my Half Truth Tanyas here in March with polka dots and paisley.

Badass bling:

It's the grommet belt. Nothing says badass like a grommet belt.

Blouse (no label, thrifted), dress (Savvie), shoes (Half Truth Tanyas, Fluevog), belt (gift from Ruth), earrings (Aldo Accessories), lapis lazuli ring (Wendy Brandes).