Chi-Chi Brands, a Waffle Vote, and Award Returned

Phew! One more day till the long weekend! I can hardly wait!

 I couldn't wait any longer, though, to wear these new-to-me shoes!

• Dress - Etro, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) in June for dinner out
• Shoes - Marc Jacobs, thrifted; purchased here for $29.95 last Friday
• Jacket (below) - Suzy Shier, thrifted; last seen here earlier this month with giant pants

I'm wearing a full-length vintage slip under this, plus a cotton Gap cami over that for the cleavage area.

 My head is both literally and metaphorically a blur. I deployed my "clothing as armour" strategy and wore a dress that I love, that makes me feel great - and also has a super-distracting pattern! "Woo, look at me, don't look at the frazzled lady!" said my dress in a loud voice.

It worked! I did get a love of love for the dress/shoe combo.

Welcome back, wispy hair - my fine, baby hair gets like this when it's longer. I clipped it up again, and needed another clippy thing (technical term) to keep the wisps from escaping. It sort of worked.

 I still love that I found a freakin' ETRO Milano dress in a thrift store. A chi-chi designer brand for $6.00 - Etro's dresses sell for between $2,000-4,000!

I'm feeling waffly about this blue jacket. It's certainly NOT a chi-chi brand - Suzy Shier was a Canadian mall chain (I worked in their sister store, LA Express, for about 6 months in 1994). It was a fixture when I was a teen/young adult - I remember having many pieces from there when I was in school and entering the work world.

It's very business-y, it's very well-made (lined, piped and real pockets) and a good colour...and it fits well. You know what? I'm going to let you readers decide!

Here's how I've worn it before:

• As noted above, here, with giant pants, and aqua and purple accents
• With pink pants and Star Wars shoes here (look how short my hair is!)
• Here with a vintage strapless dress and orange shoes

I paid $6.00 for it, and that's 4 wears, so $1.50 per wear. But still, I waffle!

Leave me your vote (keep it, let it go) in the comments, and I will go with the will of the crowd! The cut-off is by the time I finish writing my Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up(TM) on Monday (a totally arbitrary non-time-specific deadline).

The stuff:

 Holy sweet shoes of chi-chi! I had a very busy day at work, followed by a hoppin' WW meeting, and these were amazingly comfy! They ooze quality (made in Italy, all leather), and that is the perfect heel height.

I discovered the previous price tags under the $29.95 tag when I picked it off last night: it was originally $74.95, then $44.95, before $29.95. Even my thrift finds are good deals. Of course, these were $375.00 originally, back in the early 00s, I think (due to non-Internet presence of them).

Silver and blue bling:

 When in doubt, go matchy!

• Necklace - thrifted
• Cuff/earrings - local
• Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Some of you long-time readers might remember that I won an award from my provincial Weight Watchers back in November 2013, which I wrote about it here (scroll down a ways - remember my barn skirt?). I had taken it to our centre, where I used to work, so that I could see it, but I work at a different location now and I wanted it back. My awesome receptionist Betty picked it back up for me.

A little scratched up, but it's mine.

Have a wonderful weekend! I have so many adventures planned, and I'll be back on Monday to share 'em with you!

Khaki, Pink, Green and Yellow

Not a terribly creative post title, but I do have over 2,500 posts, so getting stuck on one or two isn't so bad, is it? Do you readers even look at the post titles?

 Unlike my post's title, you certainly couldn't miss me today. I was bright and in your face!

• Top - Dries Van Noten, thrifted; first worn here in June with chartreuse
• Trousers - Ralph Lauren, consignment; last seen here in April with a crazy jacket (Anna, enjoy it!)
• Shoes - Fly London; last worn here in May with yellow and roses
• Jacket (below) - Lazy Susan's; last seen here last week for a trip to the dentist

 I discovered last night that this fabulous "parachute" Dries Van Noten top has a draw-string piece in the neck so that you can thread it through the buckle on the other side! How awesome! I had to try it.

 Very pouffy back. And those are very PINK pants.

The bomber actually tied it all together quite well, I thought. It was still warm today, but now it's clouded up and there is an undercurrent of chill in the air.

 Starting to think about fall...one more month and we should be into "leather weather."

The stuff:

 I love these shoes - I've had them for nearly 6 years (check out their first outfit here, in December 2011).

Scarf-oriented bling:

I wore the silk scarf doubled-up around my throat, a look that I like. I used it as the "jumping off" piece for the outfit, but eh, now I'm done with it. Challenge accepted, and challenge accomplished! I got my 50 cents' worth.

• Scarf - thrifted
• Cuff - thrifted
• Bakelite earrings - vintage fair
• Ring - c. 1997

Fake Flapper Dress

One of the things I do to take care of my mental health is to play in my closet before bed. I just spend 10 minutes, putting things together, seeing how they look, trying something different than I've done before. 

 Voila! This look is a result of a "play session" last night. It's not a dress, but it fooled a few people at work.

• Tunic - Allison Wonderland, thrifted; first worn here in April with polka dot pants
• Skirt - Sandra Angelozzi, thrifted; first worn here with a bunch of crazyass stuff
• Shoes - Amalfi, thrifted; last seen here with pink and grey in April
• Coat (below) - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last worn here last week

 This tunic is too short to go solo, but I wanted to wear it again so I started looking at skirts, having done it with pants before. I've been wanting to wear this skirt again...and POW, look at that! They go together! I had to quickly try this on (with my "around the house" bra) to make sure the proportions would work.

And because it then had that nice 1920s flapper look to it, of course, I had to do my 20s/30s done by the 80s t-strap shoes. Perfect!

 The ruffles of the skirt were hopelessly rumpled by the end of the day, and my full-length vintage slip was peeking out the back (you can see a bit of it in the stair picture), but I'll just give it a steam next time I wear it.

Outerwear - it was way too hot for this, but it's light and I didn't want to expose my ink to the sun.

 I wore a vintage slip because it was so hot - I sweated the slip, not my skirt or top. Into the wash the slip goes! Pretty clever, eh?

The stuff:

 I gleefully showed off the "$10.00" handwritten price still visible on the bottom of these awesome shoes. Such a steal! And the tunic was only $5.00, the skirt was $14.95 and the jacket was around $19.95. A full outfit for $50 - not bad!

The stuff:

Necklaces worn as a cuff of pearls.

• Lace cuff - local, Nashville
• Pearl necklaces - c. 1986, Eaton's
• Earrings - thrifted

Business Hair, Wrap Dress

I am mentally prepping for a very busy time over the next several weeks. This means business.

 Business hair! Yes, I put my hair up. It was too hot to have it all wisping in my face.

• Dress - Diane Von Furstenberg, thrifted; first worn here in July with yellow shoes
• Shoes - Effortless Bebe, Fluevog; last seen here in July with cream and dots

 When I need to knuckle down and get things done, I need a business outfit! Wrap dress to the rescue! I look super-profesh, right? I have a white thrifted cami on the top half, and the same bright red half-slip on the bottom half as last time I wore this.

 Gawd, I love this dress. It was so hot out today (still HOT), and I tried really hard not to sweat in it.

The stuff:

 I was out after work for a coworker send-off - wee, I like cider! Oh, and these shoes. I liked how the pinky tones worked with the red-y/coral tones in the dress.

Bold bling:

No frou-frou jewelry for this business chick!

• Cuff - Bauxo
• Earrings - Tania Gleave, Vancouver

Chill Weekend Wrap-Up: Chartreuse and a Cuddly Cat

Just a quick post before we watch Game of Thrones! It's been a very chill weekend, and my batteries are charged for a very busy few weeks ahead.

 No Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday, so L and I met up with Alison and Chris for breakfast, followed by a few chores.

Linking up to Patti's "Visible Monday" at Not Dead Yet Style - get over to the party!

• Dress - Mary Jo Bruno, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in August 2016 for a theatre date with Mom
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last worn here in August with Hawaiian print and polka dots

 I haven't worn this dress in a whole year! It's a little too short for work, plus it's all silk and I don't want to ruin it with coffee splashes, etc. And I don't wear it to the Ulti field because I don't want to sweat in it! It requires optimal wearing conditions. Walking to and from town, and running errands on foot on a not-too-hot summer day? Yup, time to wear it.

 I do love it, though, so it's a keeper. The silk is a great sunblock, plus glorious colour!

The stuff:

 We did lots of walking, so needed comfy shoes.

• Earrings - vintage fair
• Ring - c. 1997

My view from the stair pose in the morning.

I love the castle!

We have been homebodies for the rest of the weekend, which someone has been very happy about.

"Oh, do you mean me?"

 Vizzini has become a pretty affectionate cat, aside from random biteyness.

"All lies...now come rub my tummy."

 I can't resist giving him a pat.

"Yes, that's the spot."

 He lounged near us while we played board games last night.

"Is it kitty treat time?"

 I gave him a good brushing earlier and his fur is really soft.

"My fans like my soft side."

 I got full-on lovey eyes while sitting at the desk.

"You are the one who feeds me. I love the Woman."

Aw, kitty therapy is the best!

Funky Friday: Perforated Pleather and Shopping Date

Today flew by! Work was bustling and people were chatty. Overall good, I'd say. And now...ah...Friday.

 Time for a "not yet worn" item - this jacket!

• Jacket - Allison Wonderland, consignment; last seen here in September 2016 for my company's red walk
• Tank - Gap, thrifted, not tracked
• Skirt - Astr, thrifted; last seen here in July for Canada Day 150
• Shoes - Joe Fresh, thrifted; last worn here in May with orange cashmere and pastel jeans

 I basically wear this jacket once a season - I did the same thing last year. But you know, seeing it on, wearing it all day...I still adore this jacket. I'm okay with it not getting worn a ton.

I love this perforated pleather skirt - people always want to touch it.

 If it had pockets, it would be perfectly perforated pleather. Say that three times fast!

The stuff:

 Easy shoes on my feet all day, although I probably shouldn't have walked home in them.

Minimal bling:

 I had planned a necklace but didn't like how it looked.

• Earrings - thrifted
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

My ex-coworker Rekha and I went shopping at the WIN Warehouse store (recently renamed WIN Resale, I notice) after work today, then out for Thai food for dinner. What a lovely shopping date! We chatted about clothes, joked about silly dated pieces, gossiped a bit and both dashed to the fitting rooms when they did "last call." She found a lovely black and white polka-dotted dress for $9.95, and I might have found a couple of things...

Shoes!

 I always have to check out the shoes. I fell hard for these Marc Jacobs tri-colour leather Mary Jane beauties. Love that strap at the ankle.

They are black suede, cobalt blue corduroy-ridged suede, and silver matte leather.

 So. PRETTY. And that is a good heel height.

They've had a bit of wear, but are in generally good shape. The size is marked as a 41 (US approx. 10.5 or 11), but they fit more like a 9.5 or 10. They're made in Italy, and they were $29.95.

 A little interwebz digging and I found a green pair in the same style, noting that they sold for $375.00 originally at Saks. That's a score!

I spotted this rich bright orange when we were browsing through the skirts.

 It's a gorgeous thick fabric - I could tell the quality right away. A weird shape for a skirt, though, but okay, I'll give a go.

Not bad, $29.95 for Diane von Furstenberg.

 I dig that trim - it's a different fabric than the rest of the garment and is woven instead of knit.

Yup, good label. I could probably wash this, even though it says "dry clean only". It's not lined.

 Size 8, this could work...and it did, but it fit really weirdly in the waist, very baggy.

Of course, I checked the construction. Look at those nice seams!

And it has pockets! But they were way down on the thighs, so bizarre. And then I realized: THIS IS A DRESS. It's called the Kacia dress, and was originally about $200. It's a sweet empire cut and looks fantastic over a shirt, so expect a fun outfit next week. I'm so excited to layer it up!

I have a very quiet weekend planned, but will be back on Sunday. Stay awesome, my friends!

The Jelly-Deer Meets the Trout Shoes

Oh, I need a weekend, BAD. Moaning alert! My face and jaw and mouth hurt, I had a crazy busy day and spazzed at a few people (it's all good now), and I had to get that rock 'em energy up for my WW meeting. But now it's over.

I have 10 seconds to pose and I only take one picture (look at my earrings - I just hit the stair)

My reward is low-fat mushroom soup for dinner, as soon as I'm done bloggin. I lurve mushroom anything, but especially creamy soup.

• Sweater - Kersh, screen print by Pina, thrifted; last seen here in May with lavender
• Suede skirt - Leifsdottir; last worn here in February with floral and red boots
• Shoes - Miista; last seen here in July with professional pink
• Coat (below) - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last worn here on Tuesday

This outfit was built around the skirt - it's one of the few skirts that I have not worn this spring/summer season. I've always worn it in cooler weather, but it was surprisingly comfortable today (in the low 20s). 

The jelly-deer sparkly navy sweater is a thin knit, but is also just right as the summer starts to wane. It's always a hit - such a great print!

In my anxiety to get to the dentist yesterday, I forgot to bring my runners home for walking to/from work. I had to wear shoes that I could walk to work in, and I was very pleased at how my trout shoes went with all this aqua and blue.

Outerwear - it's s wee bit chilly in the mornings.

I just love this coat.

The stuff:

I love these shoes - they're so fun and shiny! Shiny!

Silver and stony bling:

Now that I've rediscovered this stone and silver bracelet, I just want to wear it all the time!

• Bracelet - gift from L
• Silver bracelet - Fossil
• Earrings - Fossil, thrifted
• Ring - local

My soup calls!