Weekend Wrap-Up: Inappropriate Sweaters, Wacky Sizing and Shopping Scores

Hello! It's been a love weekend (not nearly long enough, mind you), and I am not going to waste another second in getting this post up so I can dash off to sit in the sun and read. Ah. That is the life. 

This is what I wore to the Ulti field on Saturday. We had a tough game, barely won by my team, and it was a long one (nearly 2 hours) in the sweltering heat. 

 Frankly, I am not sure what possessed me to wear this new-to-me green sweater on a day that was supposed to be sunny and up to 22 degrees. I do like wearing new things right away!

This is my outfit for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. Get over there!

• Sweater - Tatyana, thrifted; purchased here for $6.95
• Skirt - no label, handmade, vintage 1950s, thrifted; last worn here in August 2016 with primary colours
• Shoes - Half Truth Vera, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) in April with Versace mom-jeans

 I was fine until I changed back into this full outfit (including the full vintage nylon slip I'm wearing underneath it all). Then, I was...TOO HOT.

I always have to show off the full pattern of this glorious handpainted skirt. It's a true circle skirt.

 It's heavy cotton, and yes, that is a picador, poking a bull until it's bleeding. Such things were worn in the 50s, dontcha know. I think Ernest Hemingway would have approved, with his fondness for bullfighting.

 The silk scarf kept my hair out of my face, but was next to useless once I got sweaty. Ugh, not pleasant.

I look cool here.

 Vintage-inspired sunglasses. I went for a wee thrift shop after our post-Ulti brunch, so I also had my reading glasses for looking at price tags and labels.

The stuff:

 Now these are comfy shoes! One of my favourite pairs.

Simple bling.

 Non-fussy things for maximum impact.

• Silk scarf - thrifted
• Steel cuff - thrifted
• Earrings - gift from Megan Mae

It's been a while since I gave my usual thrift stores a spin. I like to "rest" from them for a while, both for a break on my finances (not that thrifting is a big spendy thing), and for the shops to get some new stock.

I went to the St. Vincent de Paul, but didn't find anything appealing. I had a quick go-through of the WIN (Women in Need) Warehouse after that and found two dresses.

This one is glorious!

 It's sort of a mod, flapper-ish style, with the band sitting on the hips, and the pleated skirt swooshing most majestically.

I love the purple, orange, yellow and white pattern too.

 You can't go wrong with paisley.

I found this vintage label inside, along the zipper:

 Sacony Ciella. Never heard of it, so off to do a little Nancy-Drew-ing! Check out this full-page ad from "Life" magazine in May 1952 for Sacony (rhymes with Maloney) dresses. Ciella (pronounced "see-ella") is the fabric, a "special acetate jersey that never sags, doesn't retain wrinkles and stays unwilted even in sweltering temperatures." Ha, love that old advertising schtick.

This dress is likely from the 1960s, however - the style is miles away from those classic 50s looks. I found the size tucked up under one shoulder seam.

 Size 14! Of course! This is long before the Great Size Shift - this is a modern size 10.

I also found this more recent dress:

 So pretty! I love the tropical pattern and the four rows of ties across the bodice.

The back:

 The straps and zipper edging are grosgrain trim.

And I found the dress online. It's from Ted Baker's spring/summer 2010 collection.

I always turn my new clothes inside out, and I found the name "Lwanga" on the tags along the seam. A quick search online and I know how old my dress is. It obviously came in black and white backgrounds.

A better look at the bodice.

 Nice for adjusting to a perfect fit. You can see from the tag that this was $32.95. Not bad compared to the 2010 retail price of 179 pounds (UK) - that's just under $300 Canadian $.

The skirt has rounded godets inserted for maximum Swoosh Factor.

 I can't wait to wear this! So pretty!

I was excited to find a "name brand" in the thrift store (I always am).

 I also know that some brands use a different sizing system. This isn't a size 3 as we'd think of regular sizing (I'm usually a 6 or 8 US sizing). Ted Baker uses 1=XS, 2=S, 3=M. Ergo, I bought a Medium. Mystery solved.

We had friends over last night for board games. I woke up feeling a bit fuzzy, and it was cloudy as well, so why not a fuzzy yellow sunny sweater?

 So appropriate! Turns out, not so much. It got very sunny and hot later on in the afternoon, and I was dripping sweat by the time I got home.

• Sweater - Vero Moda, thrifted; last worn here (4th outfit) in April for a weekend stroll for groceries
• Skirt - Noa Noa, thrifted; last seen here in February with a chicken top
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last worn here (4th outift) in May for L's birthday shopping

I heard a commotion outside while I was taking my stair picture, and saw this gaggle of young men.

 They're all well-dressed, and something momentous is going on - I like the two of them hugging on the left. I wonder what it was? A wedding? A funeral? Someone leaving town?

I walked to town to get groceries and then went for another wee shop at Flavour Upstairs.

"You need more pictures of me. What about my fans?"

 Aside from temperature issues, this was a great shopping outfit.

 Everything was easy-on, easy-off for trying stuff on.

The stuff:

 Comfiest shoes ever!

• Earrings - Oscar & Libby's

I had some good finds, starting with three bracelets.

 I like the uneven ends of the gold-tone cuff ($4.00), the real hematite (aka Alaska black diamond) beads ($6.00) and the blackened steel chain cuff ($8.00).

I scored on this cotton blend wrap dress.

 I am a sucker for a good quality wrap dress - this one is a cotton blend. You might remember this silk one (2014), this dotty Smoking Lily one (2012) or this Art Nouveau print one (2009). Looks like I was due for another one - I seem to get one every 3 years!

This one has great colours in it.

 White, pink, purple and red.

Burgundy, yellow and more purple and white.

 I can think of 4 pairs of shoes to wear with this.

And it's a Diane von Furstenberg.

 I can't usually squeeze into a size 4 but this fits really well. A nice surprise! It was only $24.99. Her dresses run about $300-500, so a great score!

I have actually seen this jacket and tried it on in the past and didn't get it. It's a smidge tight in the boobular region, but today it was there and I didn't mind that bit. I'll wear it open most of the time anyway.

 So pretty! The entire thing is trimmed with black rickrack edging, and it has real shell buttons.

Gorgeous pattern of poppies and blue flowers.

 Blurriness by me...

It's another Kenzo! This one is Kenzo Jungle, and this appears to be a "vintage" piece, probably from the mid- to late-90s.

 It's a linen blend, and as you can tell by the size 40 tag, it's Euro sizing, made in Paris, oh yeah! And all mine for only $29.99. Score!

And pick up your jaws, I bought a pair of jeans!

These are Levi Strauss 510s and they were $22.99. They are raggedly cut at the ankle instead of hemmed - I'm assuming that's deliberate. These are nice and thick but also very stretchy, with lots of room in the bum. I don't think these have been worn much if at all, as the ragged hem hasn't done any extra fraying from being washed. It will "bloom" into a fluffy fray after a few washes, I'm sure. Anyway, I'm excited to have a pair of jeans! How revolutionary for me!