Deconstructed Poppies and How I Transport My Shoes

Happy Family Day to all my Canadian friends! For some reason, my province (BC) celebrates it a week before the other provinces. I would have liked a day off today! 

A simple outfit for a busy day. My plague is abating, but I'm still really tired. And of course, I passed it on to L. Sorry, love!

• Blazer - Jacob, thrifted; last worn here in December 2016 with purple plaid
• Dress - Desigual, thrifted; purchased here for $5.00
• Shoes - Calvin Klein; last seen here in November 2016 with my Wonder Woman ensemble
• Coat (below) - Samuel Dong, thrifted 

 As this dress has a halter-style neckline, I need to wear something over the shoulders or all my bra straps and sides are exposed. I thought this nice teal blazer worked well.

I adore the square floral pattern on the front of the dress - it reminded me of deconstructed poppies, you know, like Duchamp or Picasso would paint.

Shame about the back. Why would you leave that all so boringly beige? *shudder* I just pretended that wasn't there.

Outerwear:

I could have worn a hat and scarf (and regretted not doing so), but my hair was going nicely sideways swooshy and I didn't want to mess it up. Parkhurst gloves.

The stuff:

Shiny red shoes...

Silver bling:

Simple pieces that don't fight with those square poppies.

• Cuff - Glee
• Earrings - Tania Gleave

A few readers, including Mel-Bee (hello! thanks for the comment!) have asked me how my shoes stay so pristine. Answer: I don't wear them outside! If I do, it's never more than a couple of blocks at the very most.

I carry my shoes to work in a plastic bag. This one:

It rains a lot here, so I don't want them to get wet. Plastic it is. I reuse the same bag until it starts to fall apart, and then I find another one.

Then my shoes go into this reusable cloth bag that my mother-in-law gave me about 15 years ago. I use this bag when I go shopping (it rolls up into a little fist-sized package), and I also carry my lunch bag in it on the way to and from work.

Loaded with shoes and lunch there. A pair of boots also fits in this bag, in case that's what I'm wearing. It holds a lot.

And this is what I REALLY look like when I'm just about to leave for work. I have my walkin' shoes on - right now, these lovely thrifted white leather floral Doc Martens are my shoe of choice - my shoe/lunch bag on one shoulder, and my cross-body gold leather snakeskin print purse holding the shoe bag in place.

Getting my ear-buds ready for my tunes while I walk. Just gotta grab my coffee and off I go!