Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Pink Plaid, Punk Princess and Cat Pictures

What a weekend! It just flew by! 

Ulty field gear - such a sweet dress.

• Dress - Coldwater Creek, thrifted; last worn here in September 2014 with Friday's jacket
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last seen here (4th outfit) with a glittery purple maxi dress in May

I'm always relieved every year when I take this dress out of fall/winter storage and it still fits.

After an exhausting Ultimate Frisbee game, in which my team came back from being down 10-15 to win it in extra points at 19-17 (woo!), we had brunch, followed by 2 hours of cleaning the kitchen, followed by a nap.

The stuff:

All my feet can handle after 2 hours of running in the hot sun.

• Belt - vintage 60s, Mom's

And all that cleaning and napping in preparation for...

Yowza! I was a little bit Cyndi Lauper, a little bit Madonna.

• Top and skirt, both vintage, both thrifted, no labels.
• Shoes - Half Truth Veda, Fluevog; last worn here a week ago with grey and yellow

I swapped out my glasses for these round blue sunglasses for L's birthday Rock Star party. My punk princess outfit was a hit. Everyone dressed up, and it was a whirlwind of fun until 2am. I didn't take pictures of our friends' outfits, as by the time I remembered, it was rather dark and everyone (including me) was tipsy. That just makes for bad pictures. Trust me, they were all awesome.

Yes, my belly button is showing. L tells me that one shouldn't do that over 30. My reaction to that?

 "F**k that sh*t. I'll wear what I want."

I also twirled! My skirt was a party all on its own.

I crimped my hair and put it into a faux-hawk. It didn't stay very well, but it was fun.

Fun 80s make-up.

And all the 'tude.

I took the gloves off early; too hot!

I love this little pink watermelon-ish top.

I might have to wear a "normal" outfit with it.

The stuff:

One of the first time I've worn almost-flats for a party in ages!

Multitudes of bling:

Seriously, the 80s were a decade of excess.

• Black grommet belt - gift from Ruth
• Turquoise belt - vintage 80s, thrifted
• Studded cuff - vintage 80s
• Leather cuff - Guess
• Leather/chain wrist-wrap - local
• Chainmail bracelet - vintage fair
• Bangle - local
• Pearl necklaces - c. 1986, Eaton's
• Crystal/gold necklace - Plum
• Cross necklace - Plum, gift from L
• Earrings - local
• Earring-cuff - Icing 

Vizzini watched me prep all the food. 

"I hope you drop some of those turkey pepperonis."

 Where are his front legs?

"They're right here, woman. Now feed me."

He always hides during parties. He came out later and hoovered up all the crumbs.

This morning, he was patiently waiting for us to get up.

"I've been entertaining myself all morning, thank you."

We did have a leisurely sleep-in, then went to see "Mad Max: Fury Road" which I thoroughly enjoyed. I love Imperator Furiousa!

Simple and easy clothes for sitting in a theatre.

• Shirt - Dept, consignment; last seen here in March with lavender and blue 
• Crocheted tank - Fairweather, thrifted; last worn here in April under this same shirt
• Skirt - Noa Noa; last worn here (2nd outfit) way back in June with lemon to see Steve Earle
• Boots - 1883 Lucchesse; consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) early this month to see "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

The return of Cowgirl Sheila.

 All favourite pieces. Of course, I love a swooshy skirt.

The stuff:

Such easy boots. It's a little cloudier today, and I like being warm in the theatre. Boots it is.

Red bling:

Simple pieces for a simple day.

Vizzini has been very agitated lately.

"Don't you hear that? Something's on the roof!"

There are some birds that are nesting under the eaves, less than a couple of feet from him.

His sea-lion whiskers are on full alert.

"I could bite them if I could get up there!"

He's so cute when he's guarding the house.

I caught him in mid-meow.

"Where have you been all weekend? I need some snuggle time!"

Aw, poor buddy. I've missed you too.

"Forget it. You missed your window."

I hope you all had a super-fun weekend!

Furry Friday - Blues and Chainlink

Happy Friday! I had a lovely day, and am all set to have a lovely weekend. 

I felt very fem in this, but still with a bit of a rocker edge.

• Jacket - Smoking Lily, consignment; last worn here over pink plaid in September 2014
• Skirt - Bedo, thrifted; last seen here (4th outfit) with chartreuse in September 2014
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in the Battle of Yellow Dresses in April (the first dress won)

I took a lunch (I usually eat at my desk) and met up with L for Thai food today. It was gorgeous and sunny (still is!) and I enjoyed getting out. And then as soon as I got back to the office, I found out I had to run out and pick something up. I did a lot of walking!

"My leg is invisible! I am a fast kitty."

I love this skirt and jacket - they keep making the cut, year after year. I wish the skirt had pockets, though.

The stuff:

Second wearing of these shoes and they were shockingly comfortable for the amount of time I spent on my feet today. Love!

Furry bling:

My fourth fur brooch. This one is dyed rabbit fur and is made in Winnipeg (that's in Manitoba, Canada, in case you don't know - I've been there).

• Fur brooch - Tammy's store
• Earrings - Plum
• Lapis lazuli ring and Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Someone I know likes my fur brooches a lot. He wants to eat them.

"There's some suspicious activity on your lapel, ma'am."

I'm now off to play Arkham Horror with L, and to begin my fun weekend. We're having a party tomorrow night, so expect some fun pictures on Sunday. Have an awesome weekend!

Stars and Sky and Spots

Woo, what a day. I'm taking three days off next week to help L celebrate his birthday, so I'm working hard to get things sorted out for my replacements. So much work, just to take three days off! 

I also had my WW meeting tonight - this one starts earlier than my Tuesday night meeting, but it's much bigger, and not at one of our built-out centres, so we have to put everything away every night into a locker. Tonight was a really busy one, so I'm home late and haven't had dinner. Forgive me if I rush a bit!

• Blouse - Club Monaco, vintage 90s, thrifted; first worn here in February with red
• Skirt - handmade, vintage 80s; last seen here in August 2014 with red and florals
• Shoes - Chie Mihara; first worn here in April with orange

That's what happens when you don't set the timer. Hello, meet my hip and boob.

The last time I wore this blouse, I grouched about the neckline slipping and sliding, and vowed that it was going into the giveaway pile, but as you can see, it didn't make it.

It actually worked fine today - must have been the belt anchoring it in place - so it's earned a reprieve. I'm down to less than $2.00 a wear, which is nice! I do like the starry pattern of it.

My beloved cerulean skirt! Such a luscious shade of sky blue. Fortunately, it was missed when a bird shat on me today (don't tell me that's good luck! How can that possibly be good luck?), and the bird crap landed on my arm. Joy.

The stuff.

Wonderful spotted shoes of...wonder! I was leery about these, for some reason. Gee, they look high! But my feet are fine after a full day of work, followed by another couple of hours on my feet. Happiness abounds!

Shiny bling:

All that nice smooth silver soothes me.

• Belt - Danier Leather
• Cuff - thrifted
• Earrings - Joyce's, vintage 80s
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

And now, I'm off to crash on the couch. Tell me tomorrow is Friday and bring me a glass of wine!

Great Swacks of Colour

Firstly, thank you all for your very kind comments and emails from my last post! It was most unexpected, but very welcome. 

Suzanne Carillo mused, "I'm wondering with your hair change if you are finding that half of your wardrobe no longer works". Since I don't factor my hair colour into my outfits, nope, Suzanne, not at all. I've been wearing purple glasses for a few years and just go with them...and I'm doing the same with my hair. 

• Blouse - Planet, thrifted; last seen here in September 2014 with splatter
• Skirt - Savvie; last worn here in August 2014 when I was mowed down in magenta
• Shoes - Miz Mooz, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in April red and white

So who cares if my hair isn't matching the rest of my outfit? Red and purple go together; aqua and purple go together; and obviously red and aqua go together. Why can't they all be friends?

Also, why is swack getting spell-checked? Everyone knows that's a word!

I actually loved all the bright colours together - I did keep forgetting that my hair was purple (it's not like I can see it, except when it falls in my eyes).

The stuff:

Comfy platforms! With roses!

Squared-off bling:

I'm a little "meh" on this necklace, but I like the shape of it.

• Necklace - consignment store grab-bag
• Cuff - vintage 60s, Mom's
• Earrings - thrifted

I worked late tonight, so time for dinner!

Wordy Post: Purple Hair (Oh, and a Dress)

I had the following question from good friend Ally of Shybiker - we've been friends since around 2010, at least. She asked:

“I’m really curious about people’s reaction to your hair. You mention they talk about it but you didn’t say what was expressed. If you’re ever inclined to discuss the subject further, I’d be very interested. I think all of us – especially people like me – wonder about taking an extreme step like this in our appearance. What you do takes real courage.”

So this is my post discussing this further. Feel free to weigh in!

• Dress - Desigual; last seen here in September 2014 with orange shoes (otherwise, same outfit)
• Floofy underskirt - Noa Noa; I don't track it
• Shoes - Half Truth Veda, Fluevog; got 'em in the mail here yesterday! 

I love this dress so much

How people have reacted to my hair…

Most people smile, grin and are expressive in a happy way about it. They like the colour, and the variation of colour (as it starts to fade out, the ends are getting a bit pink-ish).

Some people don’t say anything at all. I wonder what they think; whether that means that they disapprove or dislike it, and are just being polite. Maybe they really don’t see it. I know that people aren’t always looking at me (it’s really not all about me, ha!), or are more introspective than I realize they are. Maybe they see it, dismiss it and pretend it doesn’t exist. Hard to tell. I work with a lot of non-socially-adept people (I work in IT), who are often not good at expressing their thoughts out loud.

Some women say about my hair the same things they say about my clothes: “I could never do/wear that!” I know that speaks more to their own insecurities, projecting their own reactions to dressing/looking like me. That can be interpreted as a negative or positive – I usually interpret it to mean that they lack the self-confidence but wish they could. 

The floofy underskirt rode up all day, though

I feel more judgment about my hair when I’m outside walking around. I am a superficially confident person (as in, I’m not confident, but I pretend to be – “fake it till you feel it” is my motto!), but I don’t like interacting with people in the real world very much. I prefer to have my headphones in and not make eye contact – I don’t have a desire to initiate conversation with people. My job (being reception/front desk for a big office) means I’m constantly interacting with people in a service-oriented and helping way – which I love, don’t get me wrong – but I’m paid to do that (and I do it really well). In my real life, I am an introvert.

I notice people’s gazes sliding over me when I’m out and about. Yesterday, a woman on the street shouted, “I have to tell you how much I love your outfit!” but not a word about the hair. A deliberate omission? I don’t know. I catch people giving me the “side-eye”, checking me out when they think I’m not looking. I wonder if they are thinking things like, “She’s too old to do that” or “Who does she think she is?” or “Mutton dressed as lamb” or “Trying too hard!” I’m sure some of them are – I always assume the negative, probably as a remnant of my own low self-confidence (carried over from years of that when I was younger). I find myself waiting for the person who gives me “the truth”, where I expect the truth to be harsh condemnation.

The first time I went out with my hair done purple, with my matching glasses and lipstick, I asked my husband, “Do I look like a caricature of myself?” I fear looking silly, or looking like a cartoon. I don’t want to be a parody of myself. But that fear is there. I don’t see it as courageous – I see it as saying “F**k you” to all those fears, those things that hold me back from doing what I want and being who I want.

Oh yeah, this is the stuff - the shoes were awesome all day

So why dye my hair a bright attention-getting colour in the first place? Despite my deep-down insecurities, I am actually okay with who I am. I’m in a good place in my life, and I want to show that. I’m also an artistic spirit and like to express that through my clothes and appearance.

Until the past year, I’ve never been able to find a haircut that has really felt like me. Discovering the “pompadour” up-do recently was enlightening – after trying blonde hair, every shade of red hair, and playing with all kinds of hairstyles for decades, it’s like my style found me! I love my bright purple-pink hair and I’m glad that I did it. I don’t know how long it will stay like this – I’ve never kept one hair style for very long, much less one colour.

For now, this is me. For now, this is my hair.

If you love it, that’s awesome – so do I! If you like it, that’s cool – it’s a fun thing to do, and I encourage you to try it. If you don’t like it/hate it – that’s also cool. To each her own! And remember…life is short, so why not have fun?

And that's the bling:

• Cuff - St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop
• Bangle - local
• Lapis lazuli ring and Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Would you ever dye your hair a bright colour? How would you react if you saw me as a stranger on the street?

Grey Lace and Purple Reaction, and the Veda

Day One in the Real World with purple hair, meaning daytime, in real clothes, at work. I was a little nervous, to tell you the truth. People treat you differently when you have purple hair.

I pulled out all the stops to make a good outfit that would show I am a classy ol' chick. With funk.

• Dress - Banana Republic, thrifted; last worn here in March with cowboy boots
• Shoes - Prepare Hi Steady, Fluevog; last seen here in April with denim and plaid

With my coworkers, way more of the men admired my hair than the women. The women usually commented the second time they saw me, perhaps processing it mentally and coming up with something nice to say, heh heh. My boss liked it, and the HR lady squee-d really loudly over it, so I'm cool there, at least.

The street people are very vocal in appreciating purple hair (it's really bright in the sun). No filters on them, so I always expect a bit of the truth.

The stuff:

I love everything here. Except maybe the belt - it's crappy vinyl. I should have bought a yellow leather one I saw at Danier years ago...gah.

Black bling:

A bit of vintage, a bit of zipper.

• Scarf - Oscar de la Renta, vintage 80s, thrifted
• Belt - Nygard
• Zipper rose - Victoria & Albert Museum gift shop
• Cuff/earrings - vintage 60s, Mexican, Grandma J's

I've had the cuff and earrings since my grandma gave them to me around 1986-7. They aren't high-end, but I like them. The stone is carved Mexican obsidian and both the bracelet and earrings are marked (not real silver, though). This is 1960s tourist jewelry - I see tons of these at vintage fairs - but mine is still the nicest set I've ever seen. And I've never seen earrings other than mine.

Please welcome a new member to my family...my shoe family, that is.

Half Truth Veda by John Fluevog, meet blogosphere. Blogosphere, meet the Veda.

I bought these online, which I rarely do - I prefer to buy in person, and Fluevogs are never sized how you think they'll be so it's really risky. However, since I already own a pair of shoes in the Half Truth family (my Tanyas here), I knew exactly what size I would be in these: a size 10 (they are really narrow, and I have narrow feet). In other Fluevogs, I wear an 8.5, a 9, a 9.5 and a 10. These fit perfectly!

I am excited to wear these, even though, yes, a plain black kitten heel. But this is easily my 4th or 5th black kitten heel I've ever owned - they are a staple for me.