Uber-Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up (Plus Monday): Lavender, Mushroom Hat, Smalls Plaid and Assorted Other Adventures (and a Book Win!)

Oh, man, I am so happy we have a holiday tomorrow. Of course, having a holiday today would have been even better because then I would have had a long weekend, but whatevs.

Yeah, I said "whatevs." I'm so two years ago.

And yeah, that is me, resplendent in lavender ultra-suede. Let's just let that sink in for a bit.

• Dress - Casuals Unlimited, vintage 70s, thrifted; purchased here for $27.99
• Boots - Clark's Indigo; last seen here while looking like Carol Burnett

Quite the dress, isn't it? In order to keep from looking 100% granny, I rolled up the sleeves and went with contrasting gold and caramel accents.

I wore a full vintage slip under it, as it wasn't lined. I loved wearing it all day - it was soft like butter!

The stuff:

Fab boots. They are only getting softer every time I wear them.

Gold bling:

I wore the big chain necklace under the collar and my boyfriend heart locket over it. A couple of bigass rings, and a vintage belt and I was good.

• Belt - vintage, thrifted
• Necklace - consignment
• Heart locket - local, gift from L
• Amber ring - 90s
• Quartz ring - Uffizi Gallery Gift Shop, Florence
• Earrings - gift from L

After work on Friday, I raced home and napped for an hour. I had places to go, people to see, crazy things to wear!

Elaine and I are Art Partners - we go to all kinds of fun artsy things. On Friday night we went to the newest exhibit opening at the Art Gallery, Hiraki Sawa's "Under the Box, Beyond the Bounds." (link) It was presented as one of their Urbanite series, which is basically a party at the Gallery. I always like to wear something a wee bit kooky for Urbanites.

• Hat - vintage; purchased here back in May for $20.00 
• Jacket - Dries van Noten, vintage, thrifted for $18.00 here in August
• Skirt - Bedo, thrifted; last seen here in June with orange
• Shoes - Poetic Licence; purchased here

I've been saving the hat, the blazer and the shoes for this very occasion! What is the point of having crazy hats/jackets/shoes if you don't wear them all together?

I loved wearing this genuine Dries van Noten jacket - it was so soft and so gorgeous. See how the sleeves puff at the shoulder? That's all sewn that way; no shoulder pads. And can you believe $18.00? I still give myself the vapours when I think of that score.

My "I punch you" pose:

Good for showing a multitude of rings. I am quite liking my little chain earring/cuff thingy, as you can tell.

I topped it with my fabulous vintage superhero swing coat (last seen here just after I bought it in September).

I liked how it went with the black and white without being too much (heh, not too much for me, anyway!).

The stuff:

The hat got a lot of comments - it has a funny lightbulb or mushroom shape to it. The shoes were divine to wear - I walked to the Art Gallery in them, then to the bus stop, where Elaine and I hopped on and headed to our friend Casey's birthday party. We missed the "surprise" part - but it was still a fun party.

Sparkly bling:

That lower left spinner ring fits really well on my left thumb, I've discovered.

• Big spinner ring - consignment
• Small spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Death Star ring - Stone Roses
• Crystal ring - Melanie Lyne
• Crystal earring - Jacob
• Chain, cuff, earring thing - Claire's

Oh, and I carried this chainmetal bag. which was a gift a few years ago from Megan Mae:

Things were getting blurry by the time L and I got home. No idea what time it was.

I did remember that the Art Gallery had an interactive portion of the show opening. You could type on real manual typewriters (I was shocked at how weak my fingers were!), and you could take their blank-faced heads and draw on them.

Which is what I did:

I did all the pink and green. I like it.

I slept in on Saturday, then L and I cruised down to Floyd's for brunch.

It felt like a "hair up" kind of day.

• Leia jacket - Bonspiel, consignment; last seen here in March with my Morena skirt 
• Suede skirt - vintage 70s, gift from Elaine; last seen here in March with florals
• Boots - Clark's Indigo; last seen right up there

Again, I have a full vintage slip on underneath - I like slips for the extra warmth (and I didn't want to wear tights as it's been quite nice out).

This skirt seriously weighs about 20 pounds.

My furry springbok purse makes an appearance!

The stuff:

I tend to leave my stuff out on this table from day to day, so the boots were still sitting out from Friday's lavender outfit. That's why I sometimes repeat things that I've only worn a day or two prior.

Copper bling:

I'm in "wear all the rings" mode!

• Belt - Club Monaco
• Brooch - vintage fair
• Cuff - vintage fair
• Chain cuff - Renoir
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Copper rings - vintage fair
• Bronze ring - 70s, Pentti Sarpaneva
• Silver/crystal ring - consignment
• Earrings - consignment

Oops, forgot to take them off.

Blurriness is a state of mind. It means you're moving.

I wish I'd had time for a nap on Saturday, but we had to rush off to meet a bunch of friends before dinner (mmm...Thai food) and then all go (and meet more friends) at a nightclub to see The Smalls.

If I'd been at all fashionable in the early 90s, this would have been my grunge look. But no. I was not fashionable then. It was a different time.

• Dress - Naughty; last seen here looking distinctly skirt-ish in October 2013
• Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last seen here last weekend

The dress is cotton with a flannel finish - it's like wearing a bed sheet. I should really wear it more.

By the way, here's a review of the show. I had never heard of The Smalls, but L and I are both Corb Lund fans. They reminded me of a cross between The Tragically Hip and Tool; I'm fans of both of those bands, and it was an excellent show. I was a smart old bag and wore my earplugs!

The stuff:

Excellent boots for moshing, although my moshing days are long over. I may have head-banged a bit from my seat up in the balcony!

Blurry bling:

This is what happens when you take pictures at 2am.

• Cuffs - big one is thrifted, the wide cutout one is from St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop, and the thin bangle is local
• Spider and snake rings - from the 80s
• Spinner rings - as above 
• Bird skull earring - local Vancouver
• Chain/cuff/earring thing - Claire's
• Leather obi - local, gift from L

I had behaved myself drinkwise, and was up bright and early for my oldest niece Zoe's arrival. It's Day with Crazy Aunt Sheila!

I have to dress the part, right? Don't 15-year-olds like being embarrassed by their aunts?

• Leather Buffy dress - Danier, thrifted; last seen here on our March trip to Vancouver
• Striped tee - I just wear this around the house now, not tracking its wears any more
• Boots - Pegabo; last seen here, ha! that same weekend as our March trip to Vancouver

I love this leather slip dress - it's so 90s and reminds me of the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" which L and I just finished rewatching (all 7 seasons).

The boots are fabulous, aren't they? They are olive green, and I've had them since Zoe's Day with Crazy Aunt Sheila in 2010 (first worn here).

The stuff:

More blurry? Dammit!

I stuffed the boot with a couple of magazines to make it stand up. They are tall!

Badass bling:

More of the usual suspects. I do like to really wear all my favourites!

• Necklace - gift from blogger Tina several years ago
• Studded cuff - vintage 80s
• Black cuff - Guess, thrifted
• Ring with black stone - 80s, gift from Mom & Dad
• Round ring - Nine West
• The rest - as above (I'm getting tired of typing it all over and over)

Zoe and I had a grand time. I found myself a little something in Flavour Upstairs:

Gawd, I'm being majorly drawn to 70s double-knit polyester! Someone stop me!

Or not. I mean, look at that beautiful stripey goodness!

Also, the dress looked like it was made for me. Very flattering, even that really high neckline. Also, only $17.99, so just too fun. No label, and although it's factory-made (all the fabric edges are serged), it was probably made in Canada in very small numbers.

I crashed last night, but now here we are, back to Monday!

The light is just not good in the mornings, but you can see a bit of the deep emerald green of this wonderful vintage silk velvet blazer.

• Blazer - vintage fair; purchased here 
• Blouse - Tangerine Jill, thrifted; last seen here in September when I spilled coffee grounds all over it
• Leather skirt - Danier, thrifted; last seen here (a few outfits down) in March with rust
• Shoes - Half Truth Tanya, Fluevog; last worn here and also featured here for Shoe Shine

I love the fabric of the jacket and got a lot of compliments on it ("go on, touch it!"), but it's not a great cut, and it doesn't have pockets. However, it's fine for now and will be nice for the holiday season. I can't believe it's November!

The coffee grounds fully came out of the blouse, you'll be happy to know. And I do love the skirt, although it is my 5th or 6th black leather skirt in my collection. But they are all different!

The stuff:

Still drooling over the purple version. Want.

Non-blurry bling!

It's a Festivus miracle!

• Rings - as above
• Earrings - cheapies
• Brooch - thrifted

It was pretty quiet at work today, which was great because I'm still getting caught up! Another newsletter is due and it's late. Gah. Stupid things.

But look, I got a lovely present in the mail!

Shelley included that awesome postcard of David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" costume.

It's "Women in Clothes" (linking 'cause I love; go buy one!). I won it from Shelley at Forest City Fashionista (go here to read about her experience; she's a contributor!). I am so excited to read it.

Phew! That's it...what did I miss? No cat pictures! I barely saw Vizzini over this whirlwind of a weekend, but I will be sure to make it up to him. Hope you all had a fun time!

Oh, that's what I missed: "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style! Are you dead? No? Then go!