Two-Fer: Tweed to Cowgirl for Corb, and the Happy Jacket

Woo, miss me? L and I and some friends went to a concert last night and I didn't have time (or the inclination) to post, so today's a two-fer. For those of you who are not Canadian, that means you get two fer the price of one. 

Outfit number one! I wanted to wear some sage green to link up to Anne's "52 Pick-Me-Up" at SpyGirl! Are you sage? Or do you just put it in your stuffing?

• Blouse - Ralph Lauren, thrifted; first worn here in November 2015 with cognac leather pants
• Skirt - Precis Petite; last seen here in October 2015 with orange and this same necklace
• Shoes - Hilary Radley, thrifted; last worn here at the same time as this shirt, in November 2015

A fairly sedate outfit, made interesting by adding the lacy fishnet tights.

The lovely Anna of Anna's Island Style (go wish her a Happy Birthday!) asked me in the comments yesterday about my distinction between thrifting and consignment. She's from the UK so perhaps the terminology is different; I have read about "op shops" and "charity shops" which sound like thrift stores to me.

Thrift shops: They resell donated items, are usually run by a charity. Examples: St. Vincent de Paul, Value Village (proceeds to Big Brothers/Big Sisters here), Salvation Army, WIN (Women in Need), and the Hospice Store (sadly now closed). Prices are generally pretty low, although some thrift stores mark their stuff up for "boutique"/higher end name brands. They often have "spot" sales, like all green tags are 50% off, or "red star" items are 25% off. The stores generally don't have much in the way of displays, and no real service. Quality varies and you're lucky if there is one fitting room.

Semi-thrift shops: These are in the hazy middle ground, between true thrift and consignment. They aren't run by charities, but they aren't as nice as consignment stores. They tend to carry a lot of bulk items. Examples that I shop at in town are The Patch (lots of vintage, bulk clearance items), Flavour Upstairs and Duchess and Duke. The Patch doesn't take donations or items for resell - all of their goods are sourced elsewhere. Flavour Upstairs takes items and either pays the seller a very small amount (eg. $5.00 for a pair of boots that they might sell for $20.00) or a slightly larger credit towards more purchases (like $7.50 credit instead of $5.00 cash for those boots). Both stores have very high turnover and mark down items quickly for sale. The stores are nicer than thrift stores and you can find more recent items mixed with vintage. Better displays, but you're generally left alone by the staff. There are usually monitored fitting rooms.

I refer to both of the above as "thrifted" for the goods I purchase there.

Consignment: These stores review all items brought in, and may reject items that don't fit their clientele or are not in good enough condition (some insist that all goods are dry cleaned before taking them), or not a high-end name brand. The seller leaves the items for a fixed period (usually 90 days or so), and if the item sells, they get a percentage of the selling price (usually 30-40%). If the item doesn't sell, you can pick it up and try it somewhere else or mark it to donate. You would generally sign a contract as well. Consignment stores that I shop at are My Sister's Closet, The Velvet Crease, Rich Rags and Verve, with Rich Rags and My Sister's Closet being the lower end and The Velvet Crease and Verve being higher end. Prices tend to be much higher than thrift, but the quality is better and you can get service if you need help. The stores have nice displays, nice fitting rooms and the stock changes more slowly. They tend to have good sale racks - many bargains to be had there!

I hope that helps explain, Anna!

I did a skirt and boot swapperoo for a concert last night. L and I went to see Corb Lund (link here 'cause I love).

• Skirt - Danier Leather, thrifted; first worn here in November 2015 while vibing with leopard
• Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in December 2015 with stripes

We walked to town and had dinner (Jamaican, yum!), and walked home after, so comfy shoes were the order of the evening.

The stuff:

Outfit number one's shoes.

And outfit number two's shoes:

Such sweet cowboy boots!

Chunky bling:

 

I wore the same things with both outfits.

• Necklace - Plum
• Earrings - thrifted

I took a few pictures, but mostly I just enjoyed myself.

The venue was the McPherson Theatre - I like the view looking out onto Centennial Square. Pretty lights!

The Mac is not as fancy as the Royal Theatre, but it's a nice venue.

Gold ceiling and gold leaf everywhere.

Here's a review from the local rag about the concert.

The opening act was Daniel Romano.

I liked his songs - they were beautiful - but his voice is like a nasally Bob Dylan.

Not my bag, baby.

We've seen Corb Lund below, but not in his country guise.

He used to be the bassist for the band The Smalls, which we went to see here in November 2014 when they did a reunion tour.

I am not a huge fan of the cowboy stuff, but boy, the rest of the audience was!

They were loud and rowdy (there was alcohol at the venue and it was allowed into the theatre).

I have a crush on Corb - good-looking dude!

I especially liked it when he put his glasses on (swoon!) and a silver-grey leather coat (swoon!) for the encore.

I was getting antsy with the crowds and didn't want to wait around to meet him.

Close enough! You can also check out L's review of the concert and Corb's latest album here. 

Today, I was pretty tired, as we got home past 11pm. This old bag needs her sleep! 

Let's just fool 'em all with colour!

• Jacket - Paparazzi, thrifted; last worn here in April 2015 during the battle of the yellow dresses
• Shirt - Tommy Hilfiger, thrifted; purchased here for $14.95 (see my note above about thrift stores marking up "boutique" items)
• Skirt - BB Dakota, consignment; last seen here earlier this month in another two-fer, with flowers
• Shoes - Marc; last worn here in December 2015 with plaid and leather

I had a lot of positive reactions to this jacket/coat, including people stopping me on the street to tell me it was a "happy coat" and shouting, "Colours!" at me. Yes, these are colours.

I liked the yellow of the skirt popping off the coat.

 Add a little red and we are good to go!

The stuff:

I got home quite late (worked 2.5 hours overtime), and my table was not available.

• Silk bow tie - John Comfort for Harry Rosen, vintage, thrifted for $3.95
• Earrings - thrifted for $10.00

Both of the accessories were purchased at the same time as the white shirt.

And now, my friends, I am tired and hungry! Off I go!