Long Weekend Wrap-Up: Friday Chicken and Shine, Saturday Brunch and Shopping, Partying with Flowers

Hello, my friends! Sorry for the extend absence - this is a long weekend here in BC (Family Day), and I woke up sick with the flu on Sunday, so I have not been doing much of anything for two days. 

But, I did wear a few things before that all happened. This is Friday's outfit. 

I love this fluffy chicken top. It has become a wonderful neutral go-to top in my closet.

• Top - Hommage, consignment; last seen here in December 2016 with matching magenta
• Skirt - Noa Noa, thrifted; purchased here a few weeks ago for $6.95
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last worn here in January with a bunch of neutrals
• Coat (below) - Hilary Radley, thrifted 

 As this is quite a short skirt (I have nylons on), I wore tall boots. Look at me, Legs McGee!

Although the skirt has no content tags, I'm sure it's silk. I steamed it the night before, but after a day of work, I had major butt and lap wrinkles.

Outerwear.

In a surprise to absolutely no one, I wore the same outwear and accessories again (Danier fur toque/scarf and long wool vintage thrifted gloves).

The stuff:

I love these boots. So comfy.

Brass bling:

I had a couple of compliments on these earrings - they reminded one person of folded over loonies (dollar coins in Canada are nicknamed "loonies" because they have loons on them). They remind me of "The Pit and the Pendulum." Ha!

• Cuff - Midzo, vintage fair
• Earrings - thrifted
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

I did my nails on Thursday night - this is called "Lively Lilac."

I have lipstick this colour, but it looks horrible on me.

I had my hair cut after work on Friday, then coloured it at home. L and I went out for dinner, then hung out and played board games, and crashed early. Saturday was bright and sunny - the snow is mostly gone!

We walked to town for brunch, and I went for a thrift shop afterwards. Thank you, mother-in-law, for the Christmas cheque!

• Sweater - J. Crew, thrifted; last worn here in December 2016 for another Saturday brunch
• Skirt - Jones New York, thrifted; first worn here in November 2016 with military flare
• Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last seen here in January 2017 with cowgirl stuff
• Coat (below) - Danier Leather

Easy on/off stuff for shopping. I also felt like a pick-me-up, so bright blue and red and this swooshy plaid skirt aided that. I have a vintage camisole on under this for warmth.

As you can see, the back of my hair has been trimmed up - most of the layers in back have grown out to the length of the front and sides, so now it's just a matter of getting some length going. I'm not impatient to get there - part of the fun of trying new things with one's hair is in the in-between styles. It's not the destination so much as the journey.

Outerwear:

I'm always happy when I get a chance to wear this lovely leather coat. My thrifted fur boa and my burgundy Parkhurst wool gloves were enough, although by the end of the day, I wanted a hat. It rained a bit.

The stuff:

I love these cowboy boots so much. It's a bit hard to see, but the earrings are little bird skulls.

• Earrings - Vancouver

I went to the St. Vincent de Paul and bought a couple of books, but no good clothing finds. From there, I wandered down to the Patch for a good browse. They had a few racks of $5.00 items, and also a "buy one, get one at half price" deal. I may have bought a few things...

First, I raided the $5.00 sweater rack and really liked this magenta and white striped cotton sweater.

It's a good fit, and I'm looking forward to pairing it with spring florals.

It's by Gap, and was $5.00.

Checked the tag - it's from Spring 2010, so nearly 7 years old.

This was also on the $5.00 rack. It's way more than 7 years old. More like 40 years old!

I love the zig-zag knit - it's a navy blue with aqua, baby blue, cobalt blue and coral-pink stripes. Love that the sleeves have the same pattern. There are two little ties to make a small keyhole at the neckline.

The label helps support the 40-year-old theory. This is from the 1970s.

The label is Prova, and it's "made in Britain". It's acrylic, and is a 34" bust, noted as a size 12.

I took my time and went through every rack in the store. For blouses, I always look for pattern and structure. This wonderful abstract pattern caught my eye.

Giant sleeves! It's quite narrow through the body, and the neckline is good on me.

It's by Rumors, and was $14.95, but this was one of the 50% off items, so it was really $7.50.

There were two pricier vintage items that I bought at full price to get the 50% off (it didn't apply to the $5.00 items

Oddly, this blouse is a very similar shape to the above one. However, I LOVE the pattern and colour of this one even more, I think!

This one is a bit longer, like a tunic length. Again, big sleeves!

It's labeled by Hazel (it doesn't fit like a large), and it's still got the "Thred Up" label on it, so likely never worn.

Thred Up is an online second hand retailer/reseller - looks cool, but not available in Canada, so I'm not linking! Ha! Take that. I think this was about $16.95, so $8.50 with the 50% discount.

This beautiful dress was on the $5.00 rack.

Wah, wah, a boring beige dress! Sheila, what were you thinking, I hear you all asking. Well, I often rail about designers forgetting that we are seen from all angles (not just the front!) and this is definitely a case of that. For this is the front.

Ka-pow! That is more like it! I wish both sides of this dress were patterned, but for $5.00, I'm good. I'll wear a jacket over it to hide the back.

Look at the lovely pleated skirt!

I adore that pattern. The drawstring can be worn to hoik it up to the waist, or left looser to give it a flapper kind of look.

I found the brand on the back.

It's Desigual! I know them, and they are frequent culprits of the "let's skip the back" in their clothes.

Label. Apparently I am a 40. 40 what? Inches?

I don't know. But I found this dress online (Katie Holmes wore it and it was quite popular in the fashion magazines in 2014) - it's called the Delia dress. I'm sure it cost more than $5.00 new, so score for me!

I had to photograph this skirt in the bathroom light - it's such a dark purple that it looks black.

It is velvet, with slash pockets, and nice seaming detail down the front. It is incredibly soft. I knew it had to be special.

And I was right!

Woo hoo! Real Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche! This was $34.95 - totally worth it. It's been worn a lot - that label has some age on it. I'm a perfect size 42!

The other vintage item I paid full price on is these ORANGE LEATHER SHORTS. Sorry, all caps are required for these magnificent beauties.

I have actually tried these on before and they fit me perfectly. I justified purchasing them this time by noting that they were only $27.95 and they reduced the price of one of the blouses.

They are square in the early to mid-80s, before the Great Size Shift of the late 80s. Old size 10 is modern size 6.

It helped that I tried them on over my grey tights - I loved how they looked with the cowboy boots too, so expect to see these with tights (I feel too...vintage...to expose my naked thighs!).

I was feeling tired and achy all over by the time I got home, so I had a nap with L and Vizzini before getting ready for Caro and Ron's party. They throw a "Sweetheart Party" nearly every year - you're supposed to wear red or pink. Previous year's party outfits here (2015, scroll down to the pink glitter mini-dress), and here (2014).

I went floral this year:

This is my entry for Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style. Unless you are dead, you should go check out all the awesome participants!

• Dress - Divided by H&M, thrifted; purchased here for $9.95
• Shoes - Queen of Prussia Louise, Fluevog; last seen here in December 2016 with tonal sparkle (love that outfit)
• Coat (not seen) - same Danier Leather as above

I knew I wanted to wear this dress/sheer thing and my floral necklace in my hair, but other than that, I hadn't really styled it. First, I did more black accessories (black leather obi belt, black lace choker, black lace-up platform boots) but I didn't like how dark it made everything.

I switched out to burgundy tights and shoes, with a burgundy leather obi instead.

Much better.

A selfie in the bathroom mirror.

You can't really see it, but I have iridescent glitter on my cheekbones and collarbones. I also have red glitter outlining my lips.

In case you wonder how I take these selfies, I put this shot in.  

I'm facing the main bathroom mirror, and that gilded mirror is on the back of the bathroom door. A steady hand is needed. The key is to look at the camera, not myself - that way it looks like I'm looking at you (I'm looking at you!). I'm linking up again to "Hat Attack!" over at Judith's Style Crone, because although this isn't a hat, it's headgear. It totally counts!

The stuff:

It was much brighter on Sunday when I took these photos. Unfortunately, I woke up with full-blown case of the flu, full of chills, sweats, headache and sore throat. I hope I didn't infect anyone at the party.

Floral bling:

I pinned the floral necklace into my hair so that it wouldn't slip around. This is the first wearing of the floral ear-balls.

• Obi belt - local, gift from L
• Floral necklace - local
• Ring - consignment
• Earrings - Mango's 

L looked magnificent in his purple and burgundy outfit. I think he knows it. 

Patterned shirt, burgundy velvet blazer (Guess), purple jeans, and purple Fluevogs with gold toes. So festive!

Vizzini wasn't in the mood to be photographed this weekend. He's been looking after me so well, though, cuddling and sleeping with me, as I try to fend off this bout of sickness.

"What are you doing up? Go to bed so we can snuggle, Woman!"

That sounds like a fine idea, buddy.

Hoping everyone's doing well - Valentine's Day tomorrow! Will you wearing pink or red?