Beaded and Yellow Wool in the 80s

We are having a sweltering heat wave over here on Canada's west coast - it's nearly in the 90s! Coming home from the gym today, I saw that it was 28 degrees, which is 88 on that other scale.

So as well as being in the 80s, I am dressed in 80s fashion. Get it? Get it?

Both this top and the skirt are wool. Shocked? I love lightweight wool any time of year. It breathes beautifully and doesn't feel clammy like polyesters can.

This beautiful sweater weighs about 8 pounds. It is covered in hand-beaded glass bugle beads and silver embroidery. I've only worn it once before - a crying shame! - the weekend that I purchased it here (scroll down) in September 2013, where I snagged it from a thrift store for $8.00. If you compare, you'll note that I'm actually wearing it backwards today. I like it both ways.

I did long over long, a slightly different silhouette for me. This yellow skirt is a fine wool with double kick slits at the back. I last wore it here in June with the same yellow bangles and earrings. Hey, I like my little ruts.

The stuff:

L was *this* close to including these wedge sandals in the "Shoes My Husband Hates" series, but I talked him out of it because they are basically the same as the tan fringed ones I got rid of. Although these are super-comfortable, they are getting a little ratty and worn. You can see the edges of the straps are getting little threads poking out. That's not as noticeable when I'm wearing them, but they might go into the donate pile at the end of the summer. Don't get your hopes up, though, L!

I last wore them here in May with chainlink and a parachute skirt.

Yellow bling:

Acrylic and bakelite.

Sweater (Adrienne Vittadini, vintage 80s, thrifted), skirt (Mister Leonard, vintage 80s, thrifted), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, consignment), cuff (thrifted), earrings (vintage 60s).

Mustard and Navy, with a Side of Kermit

I had a bad case of "I woke up and thought it was Thursday" today. 

Unfortunately not. However, I did feel rather dotty, from my head to my toes!

It was far too warm today to be wearing a wool cardigan, but yes, that's what I'm wearing. I was inspired by one of my coworkers last week, who wore a mustard blouse with a navy blue cardigan. I don't have a navy blue cardi, but hmmm...I could still worth that combo. Thence, this outfit was born. I last wore this cardigan here a few weeks ago with my chicken blouse.

I am dotty for this blouse! It's such a pretty blue, and who doesn't love polka dots? I last wore it here earlier in July with cherry.

The skirt is a lovely swooshy crepe - the skirt is very swingy. I attempted to do an "action shot" this morning, but it was all blurry. I last wore it here in May with my Chinese blouse.

The stuff:

The beloved Kermit shoes! They are fuzzy wool with raised dots. I loved the pop of green in the outfit. I last wore these for St. Patrick's Day in March here.

Dinner, then couch-surfing for me...

Cardigan (Club Monaco, thrifted), blouse (vintage, handmade, thrifted), skirt (Tobias, thrifted), shoes (Poetic License), earrings (Aldo Accessories), lapis lazuli ring (Wendy Brandes).

Watercolours with Bark

Whew, another long day - although only 9 hours instead of the 10.5 that I put in yesterday. And I'm wilting in the heat!

I'm shortly off to my WW meeting, and then I can relax.

As I was participating in a presentation today at work, I dressed very "proper" and not too crazy. Heh.

My lovely silk watercolour blouse makes its first appearance; it was just purchased here this past weekend, thrifted for all of $10.00.

"I'm comin' in for a rub on your ankles!"

My bark skirt was last seen here in a presto! change-o! double outfit early this month, with both vintage and girly shoes, and denim and Doc Martens.

My bite is worse than my bark, hee hee.

The stuff:

These shoes were a little on the hot side to wear outside, but fine for an air-conditioned office. I last wore them here in May with cracked ice.

Golden bling:

I love those metal pom-pom earrings!

Blouse (Sandra Angelozzi, thrifted), skirt (Gunex, thrifted), shoes (Pearl Hart Bellevue, Fluevog), bracelet (vintage 60s, Mom's), ring (consignment), earrings (vintage).

Monday Plaid: Purple, Yellow, Red and Turquoise

My blogging is creeping into nighttime - work has been crazy, life has been crazy. I need to go to bed earlier, but then I want to read, and I still need to catch up on the lives of you awesome readers/fellow bloggers.

What's a girl to do? Wear plaid!

I fussed around in my closet yesterday, putting together all kinds of outfits - I think I have about 2 weeks' worth all ready to go. I grabbed this one because we had a new person start today at work and I like to give 'em a little shock. Heh.

The yellow cropped cardi makes another appearance (last seen here over my purple cosmic dress a couple of weeks ago). I have a bit of thing for yellow cardis - I have three of them. But they're all different!

The new-to-me thrifted aqua cowl-necked top makes its first appearance (purchased here on the weekend for $7.50). I liked that it worked with the emerald green stripe in the skirt. No other aqua in the whole outfit. But why not?

The skirt itself is so fabulous: stiff, swooshy, crinolined, rustle-y. All the best adjectives! I last wore it here - what? in January? That's a crying shame. I'll try and get another wear out of it this summer, but it's a year-round item, so no biggie if I don't.

The stuff:

Bigass red shoes! And they really are comfortable. I last wore them here in May with purple and white.

Simple bling.

A belt for my keys, a pretty cuff and plain studs.

Cardigan (Peter Nygard, consignment), top (Cleo, thrifted), skirt (Roland Kerry, vintage 80s, consignment), shoes (Marc), belt (Plum), cuff (St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop), earrings (don't recall).

Reminder! The August long weekend edition 

(for those Canadian provinces that get a holiday) 

of Shoe Shine is coming this Saturday!

Join us on Saturday morning - Shoe Shine goes for a full week! 

Weekend Wrap-Up: Visible Hair, Pink Boxing Gloves, Shopping and Brunch

Oh, lovelies, I need another weekend! Such a fun, but exhausting weekend it was. 

This is how I do Casual Friday:

Which is to say: I don't! Fancy Friday, more like it. I had two social engagements on Friday after work, and ended up at four different venues over the course of the weekend. No time to change, so I rocked my Weekend Hair for the first time at work. Everyone was very positive and enjoyed my "swoosh."

This is my entry for Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style - I felt hugely visible during this very long day! And that's a great thing. Thanks for helping us all celebrate that, Patti!

Another thank you and shout out to Sal over at Already Pretty, who listed my "Shoes My Husband Hates" series in her "Lovely Links". I've been reading Sally for as long as I've been blogging (since 2008).

I've been very slack in doing my Pink Boxing Gloves assignment, so I accented Friday's dress with all pink and purple accessories, including some very special additions.

My classic "laser beam" stare.

Fierce and feminine! Ally over at Shybiker has been sending the gloves around the world - they are next going to Shawna!

After work, some coworkers gathered at a waterfront pub for a couple of pints to send of one the guys (bye, Richard!). From there, I met up with L and our friends Cat and Ross for a pre-dinner cocktail for Ross' birthday.

Little did Ross know that 8 more of our friends were awaiting us at the restaurant to surprise him!

This dress was perfect for a day of work, and looked classy all night. I last wore it here in June with stripes and yellow.

The stuff:

I walked to a pub from work, to a cocktail lounge across town, to a restaurant several blocks away, then to Cat and Ross' place afterwards. And then L and I staggered home from there and crashed into bed at 2am. Good times! And these mauve shoes were so wonderful on my feet! I last wore them here in June with cracked glass.

SPARKLE bling:

Oh, I loved wearing this amazing Sherman pink crystal necklace and earrings set. They had good weight, you know? I am still goggled that it was only $22.00.

Dress (Banana Republic, thrifted), shoes (Camper), belt (Plum), necklace/earrings (vintage 60s, Sherman), bracelet (vintage 60s, Coro).

We didn't have enough people for Ultimate on Saturday morning, so L and our friend Casey and I went for brunch at the diner. Not unexpectedly, I was a titch hungover.

Totally worth it! It's back to being super-hot out, so the loose flowy clothes are my to-go. And of course, Weekend Hair!

The silk kimono top was last seen here with chartreuse earlier this month. I hate wearing sunblock, but have to stay out of the sun, so this was perfect for a little thrift shop after brunch.

Just a little orange t-shirty tank under it - I don't track wears for it. It's got a wide neck, so good for pulling over my hair while trying things on.

The return of the mushroom skirt! Another awesome physical sunblock - I last wore it here (way down at the bottom) on another fun weekend in June.

It was pretty windy on Saturday - my outfit billowed majestically, but my hair stayed put (the magic of hairspray!).

The stuff:

These Born flats are amazing. I shopped for around four hours, and although my feet were tired, they weren't in any pain. I last wore them here a weekend ago.

Non-snagging bling:

The hypno-earrings are looking at you.

Overblouse (CAbi, thrifted), skirt (Club Monaco), shoes (Born, consignment), cuff (About Tine), ring (Twang & Pearl), earrings (Oscar & Libby's).

I had a good shopping trip - I've been thinking about my personal style, and the changes I'm seeing in it lately. I don't wear cardigans much any more, my colour palette of preference is changing to brighter, clearer colours, and I'm incorporating more vintage into my daily outfits. I still have classic shapes that I like - hourglass, full skirt/slim top, but I'm also wearing looser tops, and less t-shirt fabrics. Some of the items that I don't really love are going, and I'm questioning a lot of things I haven't worn in  long time.

So. I still always look for good construction, good lines, and above all, a good fit!

This is a denim bustier! I have a fondness for bustiers over blouses, and how cool to find one in denim.

This one was found at the St. Vincent de Paul. And for only $4.00! Smart Set is a Canadian mall brand.

The Patch was actually my first stop, and I spent close to two hours there, going through everything. It was quite fun. They have a sale on now: buy 1 dress and get the second at 40% off. They had about a dozen racks of dresses, plus 4 more racks of vintage dresses. I tried on about 10 but only one rang my bell: this gorgeous pale lilac 1960s dress.

Isn't it gorgeous? I love the pattern and the silver lame (lah-MAY!) thread woven through it.

D'Allaird's was a Canadian company that was acquired by Marks & Spencer's in the 70s - it was a store for rich older ladies. I remember my grandmother wearing clothing from D'Allaird's.

Bizarrely, in the exact same location that the Patch is now in Victoria...was a D'Allairds store when I was in my early teens.

I chatted with the cashier about clothes and she gave me the 40% off on the $22.95 price so it ended up at $13.97.

I can never resist a cool leather skirt, and they have a huge selection at the Patch.

A grass-green suede one with gold zipper pockets - $24.95. This is not 80s vintage - more like late 90s, with that waist shape.

And woo!

 Hot pink! I am all over this killer high-waisted lambskin skirt. This was also $24.95.

With that waistline, it's got to be 80s - I don't know the brand Evan Davies, but it's really good quality leather.

I totally lucked out in the belt section!

Turquoise leather with those silver accents? Oh gosh, yes, please. This was $7.99!

And who doesn't need an orange belt?

$9.99 for this vibrant leather belt - dig that buckle!

I strolled up to the Hospice Society - their prices have gone up, but they still have a few good things. I liked the colours in this sheer navy blue blouse. The sleeves are nice and full.

It'll look great with a pencil skirt. It was $8.00.

I continue on my mission to weed out my casual tops and replace them with more flattering blouses.

This lovely turquoise top is by Cleo and was $7.50. I love the neckline.

I love the fabric on this one - it's 100% silk.

This has a fitted bottom with a long tie - whoever owned it before me made some modifications to it. It's supposed to be a wrap, but she put in two buttons/holes and a snap fastener at the top. It just fit so nicely, even though the draping is a bit weird because of the alternations. It was $10.00 and is by Sandra Angelozzi.

I had an hour's nap, then propped my drooping hair up with more hairspray! On to our next date: L's friend from high school, Susan, was in town. We had dinner and drinks out, then hung out at our place for several hours. 

I love a bright summery plaid!

I couldn't resist wearing the new belt right away.

I used to have a few of these drop-waisted belts back in 1985-6.

The dress is a favourite - I last wore it here in May with denim.

I did wear my jean jacket over this for walking to and from town - no sun on my ink or my arms!

The stuff: 

The official "Husband-Hated" aqua shoe returns! I last wore them a couple of weeks ago here.

Aqua bling:

How did I live without that awesome belt?

Dress (Coldwater Creek, thrifted), shoes (Prepare Guide, Fluevog), belt (vintage 80s, thrifted), earrings (Oscar & Libby's), Fulvia ring (Wendy Brandes).

Today, Mom came over in the morning (oooh, need coffee). We are planning some holidays, so needed to get things going.

It was a slow start to the morning. She and I went grocery shopping while L got ready. We all went out for lunch, then spent the afternoon planning, booking and spending horrendous amounts of money. I can't give too many details, but you'll hear all about it at some point.

Hot today! I wore my trusty denim jacket for walking to the pub and back, but this is what I wore all day.

The yellow sweater tank was last worn in the same outfit as the above mushroom skirt (down at the bottom here in June).

Vintage slip peeking out.

My blood splatter skirt, last seen here in June with burgundy and lime. A strange man exclaimed over the pattern. "That would make a great tablecloth!" Ha!

The stuff:

Ah, my red boots! It was a little too hot for these, but they are so nice on my feet. I last wore them here in June with emerald.

Red bling:

I love this leather cuff.

Top (Cable & Gauge, thrifted), skirt (handmade, thrifted), boots (1883 Lucchesse, consignment), cuff (Rimanchik), earrings (local).

And now...off to bed!