Friday, January 30, 2015

Shoe Shine #20

Shoe Shine is on!
Get your kicks by showing your kicks!
Boo-yah! Gimme some shoes!

Following the Mini Qtees of last Shoe Shine, these are my other Minis, the Babycakes.
I know, pretty sweet, aren't they? I bought them online from Fluevog, having never seen them in person, but swooning over them. We had a Steampunk convention to go to (check it out here), so already knowing my size from the Qtees, I ordered them.

I don't buy much online, but I'm sure happy I bought these!
Do you buy shoes online or in person? Show us what you've bought!

Want to play? It's super-easy. Anyone can join.
  1. Link to a post featuring a fabulous pair of footwear!
  2. Include a link to Ephemera somewhere in your post (it's only polite). Leave a comment here if you like (note that comments continue to be moderated).
  3. Go to the bottom of this post and click on the InLinks "Add Your Link" button to open a new page.
  4. In the "Next Step," you crop the picture you want to display, and voila!
  5. Show your Shoe Shine spirit by grabbing and displaying the button in the sidebar.


Thursday, January 29, 2015

Pleated Leather, Mustard and Renoir

Ah, the mornings are so much lighter now! We've had a couple of days of cold, crisp, sunny days, and it's been lovely. I had a crappy day at work, so I was grateful for the clear skies on my walk home to help clear my brain. Also, tomorrow is Friday!
I'm still wearing this entire outfit (sans shoes) while I multi-task before Book Club. The soup is heating up, the foccaccia is wrapped and ready to be warmed in the oven, and I've prepped the guacamole -  homemade, of course -, salsa and sour cream. Plates and bowls are out, hot chocolate and marshmallows are grouped with funny mugs. I also just Swiffered my floors, so my house reeks of lavender. That better fade, or I'm going to have to open a window...

  • Sweater - Steilmann, consignment; last seen here in December 2014 with Major Plaid
  • Skirt - no label, consignment; purchased here last weekend for $30.23, with a karma discount
  • Shoes - Pink Studio; last seen here way back in January 2014 with coppery sparkle

Looking back at the last time I wore this sweater vs. this outfit, tucking it in is the way to go with a full skirt. It looks much better to my eye; less sloppy.
Of course, every skirt needs pockets, but other than that, this was the most comfy and awesome skirt to wear.

The stuff:
Yet another item that I haven't worn in over a year - these shoes! They aren't super-comfy like some of my other shoes...but I still love them, and they don't hurt my feet. If I ever find better caramel shoes with turquoise piping, then maybe I'd consider getting rid of them.

Vintage bling:
My roots are atrocious, so I wore the scarf in my hair to help disguise them. This blended in well - no one really noticed it.


  • Scarf - Vera, vintage 70s, thrifted
  • Necklace - Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
  • Cuff - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
  • Earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, Grandma J's
  • Copper rings - vintage 70s, vintage fair
  • Copper/turquoise ring - vintage 60s, Grandma J's


Any excuse to wear my vintage copper! I will be back later this weekend, post-Super Bowl (go, 'Hawks!) - but Shoe Shine will be on, starting tomorrow night! Bring a fab pair to show us, would you?

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Blue Shoes, Blue Belt and Shockingly, Pants

For most of today, I thought it was Thursday. I'm pretty sure I deserve it to be Thursday.
I figured it out eventually. "Why am I feeling so rushed?" I wondered, as I scrambled to do most of my Thursday chores at work. Oh. Duh.

  • Shirt - Dept., consignment; last worn here in December 2014 with bigass pouffiness
  • Pants - handmade, thrifted; last seen here in August 2014 with a mandarin jacket
  • Shoes - Land's End, thrifted; purchased here for $16.50 

I'm rather fond of these tux pants - they have a nice sheen to them. Today I cuffed them to show off the blue loafers. At least two people stopped mid-sentence to say, "You're wearing pants!" when they spotted my trousers.
I did over 30 flights of stairs today, and my legs are sore.

The stuff:
These loafers were a dream to wear! No rubbing, no chafing, nothing but sweet soft comfort. I even wore them barefoot!

Blue bling:
Is it wrong that I love how matchy this all is?

  • Belt - Lady Footlocker, thrifted
  • Pendant - gift from L
  • Earrings - local, Murano glass
  • Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

Two days left in the stair challenge and I am ready for it to be over!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Neutral-O-Rama! So Unlike Me

Whew! I am feeling the burn today. I'm stiff from the gym last night (shoulder workout), and I did close to 40 flights of stairs today. Tomorrow is our "Best Day" mini-challenge, to see which team can do the most in one day - I better wear something breathable! 
This is so unlike me. It's like a flashback to November 2012 when I did all neutrals for a month! However, I did get a lot of compliments on it, and I really wanted to wear this skirt again.

  • Jacket - Le Chateau, consignment; last seen here last week with pink and speckles
  • Blouse - Ann Taylor, consignment; purchased here on the weekend for $19.98
  • Skirt - Gianfranco Ferre, sold at Giorgio Beverly Hills, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here a year ago in January 2014
  • Shoes - Ralph Lauren; last seen here with pants and mustard in July 2014

I had to de-jacket myself several times today to let the 'pits air out. Whew! This outfit looks very different without the jacket, letting the sleeveless blouse show my massive pipes (haw!), and accentuating the high waist of the skirt.

My get-these-pounds-off efforts feel like they've been working, but I'll see when I step on the scale tonight. I have been tracking/writing down my food sort of vigilantly (I skipped Saturday), and that is always a huge help to me with controlling how much I eat. It's easy to let that slip.
"Enough of your blathering, woman!"
The skirt also has a matching slit in the back (back and front slits: totally 80s). I'm shocked that I haven't worn it in a year, but so many black skirts...so little time!

The stuff:
Such classic heels! I'm shocked (again) that I haven't worn these since July. I left my brooch on my blazer, as I have to re-jacket for WW in a few minutes.

Copper bling:
As I'm missing one of the earrings, I went with mismatched everything.

  • Belt - Club Monaco
  • Cuff - Renoir, vintage 60s, Grandma J's
  • Flat cuff and matching earring - Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
  • Pin - thrifted
  • Single earring - Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair

I realized this week that, after hosting the "Olive Kitteridge"-a-thon on the weekend, that I am also hosting Book Club on Thursday night, and L and I are hosting the Super Bowl party. I need to get food for Book Club and cook two kinds of chili for the Super Bowl. Yikes!

But I can do it!

Monday, January 26, 2015

All Cream, All the Time

Another week, and it's final week of the stair challenge! I noticed that everyone is a little "staired out" today, heh heh. I did 30 flights over the day - not bad.
I did have to take my shoes off to do them, though! Shoes in one hand, hanging on to the stair-rail with the other.


  • Blouse - CAbi, consignment; last seen here on Christmas Eve, December 2014
  • Skirt - Chloe, consignment; purchased here yesterday for $11.50
  • Shoes - Vivienne Westwood + Anglomania Melissa, consignment; last seen here with chrysanthemums in September 2014

I just felt like doing the monochrome thing today. I had a lot of compliments on the blouse, which is kind of odd, since I do wear it a fair bit.

I was totally impressed with this skirt today - it's sort of like my black dress (this one) in that, from the front, it looks like a pencil skirt, but in the back it's full and swingy.
At 7:45am
I was also majorly impressed that this didn't wrinkly like crazy! I sit for much of my day, and I was dreading the wrinkle-butt that I was sure to have after working all day.
At 5:15pm
"I approve of this woman!"
The woven raw silk is actually completely fused with interfacing, so that the big pleat at the back keeps its shape. That is truly a mark of quality!

The stuff:
These were good shoes for a fairly quiet day. I love the shape of them.

Vintage bling:
The bottom bracelet was my Grandma J's.
  • Bracelet with pearls - Trifari, vintage 50s, Grandma J's
  • Gold bracelet - Trifari, vintage 60s, vintage fair
  • Earrings - Aldo Accessories
  • Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
  • Floral ring - Sarah Coventry, antique shop, vintage 70s
  • Gold crystal ring - some junky store in the 90s


Start digging in your closet - 'cause I want to see your shoes! 
Shoe Shine is on this Friday! See you there!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Weekend Wrap-Up: Team Spirit; Fringe, Friends and a Feast; and Shopping Karma

Happy weekend! I hope everyone's been having a good time. I'm off to make dinner and chill for the evening with L, so here' goes the wrap-up.

Beginning with Friday's outfit. It was Team Spirit day for the stair challenge - the teams will be judged on Monday for prizes. 
Guess what team I'm on! I'm linking up to "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style! Thanks for hosting, Patti!

  • Dress - The Limited, thrifted; last worn here in December 2014 in elf mode
  • Boots - Adrian Agnes, Fluevog; last worn here (way down) in October 2014 with my bullfighter skirt

The grey top is one of my old layering t-shirts - that's not a style I really do anymore (graphic tee over long-sleeved tee) but I do have a few of them still for wearing around the house. They're just handy! I also knew I'd be doing a lot of stairs again and I don't like getting my good clothes all sweaty.
One of the directors asked me if I had my legs tattooed! Dude, these are tights! Seriously?

Outerwear? Outerthere!
We've been enjoying a very warm spell this week. I didn't even wear the scarf on the way home.

The stuff:
These are magnificent red boots - they are quite stiff and are still loosening up on me, even though I've had them for a couple of years now.

Red bling:
Some old favourites.

  • Cuff - Rimanchik
  • Spinner ring - consignment
  • Coral ring - Oscar & Libby's
  • Earrings - Plum

L and I cleaned the house on Friday night and then played Arkham Horror; then on Saturday, we got up early for breakfast.
I wore this all day, well in to the evening.

  • Sweater - Coldwater Creek, thrifted; last seen here in October 2014
  • Skirt - Animale, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in November 2014 for some shopping
  • Shoes - Two Lips, thrifted; last worn here on Christmas Even 2014

A bunch of my Book Club girlfriends came over in the early afternoon on Saturday. I had PVR'd "Olive Kitteridge" when it aired and since we'd read it a few years ago as a Book Club selection, we had a watching marathon! Comfy clothes welcome (including animal slippers, jammies and blankies).
No one quite went that far! Everyone was in their comfy clothes but still very fashionable.

Of course, we did our watching in style, starting with some lovely spicy Caesars:
Yum! Spice those up!

We also had 3 kinds of hot chocolate with complimentary liquors.
Fireball whisky with chili hot chocolate is divine! The other liqueurs are chocolate with salted caramel and Sour Puss raspberry. I did forget to put the marshmallows out - darn!

I air-popped about 6 batches of popcorn, doing some with olive oil only, and some with butter and olive oil mixed - I put them into individual bags so that my gals could top them how they wanted.
I had Canadian Cheddar, dill pickle, Monsoon balti (an Indian curry type of mixed spices), engevita yeast and cracked white pepper.

I also made a delicious chicken jalapeno corn chowder!
Spicy and good for you!

Caro brought over a bag of clothes, so we did a poke through. I got this lovely blouse by Daniel Rainn.
I like the peachy polka dots on the marsala background. I'm not huge on drawstring waists, but I'll play with that a bit, I think.

Today, I went to get groceries - I had to get all the supplies for our Super Bowl party this weekend - and then went for a walk down to My Sister's Closet, my favourite consignment shop in town.
More marsala, and reds!

  • Sweater - Bandolino, thrifted; last seen here earlier this month with a cape worn as a skirt
  • Skirt - Cory Lyne Calter, consignment; last worn here in June 2014 with bright orange
  • Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) a couple of weeks ago

 I've worn this sweater and skirt together before (here, when I had blonde hair!).
 I wish I hadn't been lazy and worn these black tights. Brown would have been better.

Outerwear:
I love this leather jacket. I wore it open all day, and barely needed the gloves.

The stuff:
These boots are wonderful. I love them so much!

  • Necklace - $10 grab bag, consignment


I was happy to see my favourite friendly saleslady back (she's been working on her Masters degree while teaching school), and we chatted here and there as I shopped. I take my time; I'm usually there for a couple of hours and have 2 or 3 try-on sessions.

Near the end, another customer was having problems finding an outfit, so the saleslady asked me to assist. First, I found a top and cardigan for her to try with a skirt she'd found, then when that didn't work, I found her a lovely deep blue dress that fit her just right. I also offered suggestions for accessorizing it in different ways. It felt so good to help someone who really needed it!

Anyway, my good deed paid off with good shopping karma!
This is a deep green wool blazer. It's by Talbots, and was on the sale rack for $15.00. It's a great fit and very cozy and warm.

This blouse was also on the sale rack, for $11.50.
It's by Peter Nygard, and it's sheer. It's quite likely never been worn, as there was a bag of shoulder pads for it still attached to the label inside. I like this for a breezy spring top - and I have shoes that will go perfectly with it.

This was a really pretty top that fit well. 
It was $19.98 and is by Ann Taylor. 

I really liked the fit of this skirt, by Melanie Lyne. 
It has the black "racing stripe" down both sides and is sewn with a "jeans" top and back pockets. It was $28.98 - it is new with tags still on it.

There were a whole bunch of high-end designer items in the skirts. I tried on a Zac Posen skirt (made on Manhattan Island!) and a vintage Yves St. Laurent leather skirt, but neither of them fit.

I am sure that this is a high-end designer skirt, as the quality is lovely. However, it's been taken in about 3 inches, right up the back, and the tailor has taken the label off. It still has an orange fabric content tag inside, but I can't tell what the brand is.
Dark brown leather - the front zips from the top and the bottom, with little leather pulls on the zipper.

And check it out, the front is pleated!
It's a really sweet skirt. I was given 25% off the regular price on this for my good karma shopping assistance - I didn't ask or expect that, but the saleslady insisted. Aw! Thank you! This was $42.98 less $10.75, so $30.23.

I also had good luck with this high-end designer skirt - it was on the clearance rack for $11.50!
It's 100% silk (even the lining) - the exterior is raw silk, with a lovely nubby woven texture, and the lining is shiny thin silk in a satin finish.

The front has slit pockets and two little flaps on the front, but the back has a big box pleat and dips down slightly.
It reminds me of my recently thrifted Dolce & Gabanna skirt in its construction; it's very different in feel and cut than your standard "off the rack".

Not surprising, since it's Chloe, and made in France.
Look at that gorgeous finishing inside!