Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Scouting in Orange, a Patch of Shopping, Thrift Training, and a Birthday Party

Oh, long weekend, how I needed you! I am sore, tired, and thoroughly unwound, ready for another busy week...but I am not going to think about that now! Back to Friday, instead. 

 I had to wear the orange skirt dress right away! This is my entry for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. Go join the party!

• Dress - Diane Von Furstenberg, thrifted; purchased here for $29.95
• Shirt - no label, thrifted; last seen here in a formal outfit in July
• Shoes - Down to Earth Hadfield, Fluevog; last worn here (2nd outfit) in August to the Ulti field

 I quickly discovered that it slips down off my boobs - a LOT. I assembled 3 x 50 lb standing desks at work on Friday, which was plenty of physical movement, bending, lifting and breaking down cardboard and styrofoam. Thank goodness I'd had the foresight to safety pin the dress to the front of my shirt, but I was still tugging at it all day.

 Aside from that, I loved this outfit, and it got a lot of love at work. Pockets!

I think I will keep this dress out for fall/winter, as it's quite warm. It will be good with boots, and worn over a thicker sweater (which will help it stay up better).

 I had a fall on Thursday night (I promise, alcohol was not involved!) while I was dancing around the house singing "Xanadu" to Vizzini (he loved it, really, hee hee). My slippers slipped - maybe they should rethink that name! - and I hit the stove and crashed onto the kitchen tiles. Thank goodness for my years-ago Aikido training to slap the ground with your hand and absorb the shock/weight along your forearm/elbow, or I probably would have broken my wrist. I have several large bruises that will be making an appearance, but don't worry, I am not as delicate a f**king flower as I appear. Ibuprofen and Tylenols have been helping, but I had a rather achy weekend.

The stuff:

Easy shoes for an after-work pre-shopping scouting trip with a coworker, who approached me about helping her update her dated style. As she hasn't updated her style in a long time, I wanted to take her through the mall (she doesn't do second-hand) to adjust her expectations of what's in style, how much things cost, and the types of clothing that I think will suit her. We've had several emails back and forth about her style, preferences and me gently encouraging her to step outside of her comfort zone and try new things.

• Necklace - Banana Republic, consignment
• Ear-balls - Dior
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Amber ring - c. 1997

It went really well, although I think she was overwhelmed just by our 90 minutes of looking. We have an actual shopping expedition planned for 3 weeks from now, where I'll be making her try things on and helping her to put together cohesive looks that will suit her personality and budget. It's exciting to be helping someone who is basically starting from scratch!

Immediately after my scouting trip, I met up with L and we went to our friends' place for a French dinner (I ate duck for the first time!). A late-ish evening, then up bright and early for a game of Ultimate Frisbee.

 It's been 30+ degrees all weekend, and wow, am I all ready for this hot weather to be OVER. The air is stagnant, and we could be in for more smoke haze this week, ugh.

• Top/belt - Jacob, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) to go bra shopping in July
• Skirt - See by Chloe, consignment; last worn here (4th outfit) for the June Day of Indolence
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in July with a silk handkerchief dress

 I'm fully sunblocked with SPF 50+ for playing Ulti, and for a wee shopping trip after brunch.

 Flowy by Chloe! I love this beautiful skirt, and am looking forward to wearing it in cool weather. My boots will look awesome with it.

The stuff:

 I made very little effort with accessories this weekend. They are the first to go when it's really hot - I don't want anything on my skin, and I feel puffy.

• Earrings - 5th anniversary gift from L

Since I went shopping with a coworker last week, did the scouting trip with another coworker this weekend, and had yet another coworker shopping trip lined up for Sunday, I needed a solo shop to remind myself that this is an introverted Zen time for myself, to focus on me. I popped into the St. Vincent de Paul - no luck with clothes, but I did find some awesome coasters featuring English battle scenes (really).

The Patch is an excellent vintage and used modern clothing thrift store. They don't source locally, so I can always count on finding some unusual things and brands that I don't see in Victoria. They also do rotating sales, and I was fortunate to hit their "Buy One, Get One Free" on summer goods. The clerks all know me there, and kindly gave me two free out of the four things I found, even though two of them didn't count (they had long sleeves). It pays to be nice to the staff!

I'm always drawn to rich colours, and I loved the fit on this beautiful top.

 Mwah, mwah, it's a big square...boring!

No, it's not, it's got big sleeves, look!

 It's a stretch silk (washable, I checked) and is by White House|Black Market. It would have been $14.95, but was FREE!

 I like the boat neck, with the added grosgrain trim to hide the bra straps.

I've been looking for a new lace top, since my last cream one ripped. This one fit the bill.

 Sorry, my sad old camera doesn't like the heat and blurred some of the pictures, but I hope you can see that the lace design is centred on the front, back and arms of the top. I love that kind of detail.

Also, all the seams are neatly finished - no raggedy edges.

 It's by Express and would have been $12.95, but it was FREE! My cost-per-wear will be awesome on these items, heh heh.

The two things I paid for were not overly cheap, but were so lovely. I would have bought all these pieces at full price, anyway.

 I adore the pretty colours in this floral skirt. the orange and navy work so well with the soft pinks and greens.

Midway down the skirt is a band of peach lace.

 The sides of the skirt are higher than the front and back, which you can see in the first picture.

I generally ignore sizes because you never know! I whipped out my measuring tape before trying it on to make sure, and yup, even though this is a size 12, it was only the slightest bit loose on my waist.

 It's by Ranna Gill and you can see that it's new with tags, originally priced at $138.00, marked down to $69.95.

 It's an Anthropologie brand - how cool! I paid $22.95 for it.

I'm always on the lookout for a nice dress, and I do like a sexy black one!

 This is a very thick stretchy wool knit, with bra strap detailing - the elastic is a little stretched out, but this dress is likely from the 90s, so that's to be expected, and I can tighten it up still. The length on this is nearly mid-calf - it's a very flattering dress!

You can't see the name on the label, as it's black-on-black, but it says "D&G" and "Made in Italy."

 It's 100% virgin wool, and yup, made in Italy.

Not washable, but I think I can risk it - it will probably tighten it up slightly. I'll be very careful.

 There we go: Dolce & Gabbana, and the authentic hologram. I like to educate myself on spotting fakes, and I'm sure that his is a real D&G piece (good article here, linking 'cause I love).

 This lovely, iconic wiggle dress was only $27.95!! It's way too hot to wear it right now, so I will have to wait for cold weather. I can see this worn similarly to the DVF dress in the top picture - wouldn't that be cute?

Flush my my excellent finds, I popped into Rich Rags, a consignment store that I occasionally browse in. I find things here once in a while, and my luck was with me. Check out this amazing pink rubberized raincoat!

 The sleeves cuffs are adjustable, and there's a nice small hood. I have a major issue with hoods that are so big that they block my sight.

And it came with a matching hat!

 The whole coat and the hat are lined with a nice dark grey floral material.

It's by Thermal-Slicks and was half-price at $35.00.

As I gave up my last raincoat (this one, final wearing in May) due to it not being waterproof, I'm hopeful that this one will do the job. I love that it's bright pink too - no one will miss me in the grey fall days!

In keeping with my mental health maintenance on Saturday (and because I was feeling very sore and achy from both my fall and from Ulti), L and I took it easy and played boardgames. It was lovely.

After a bit of a sleep-in in Sunday, I headed back to town to meet up with another coworker, one of our co-ops, Charlotte, for brunch and a 3-hour session on "how to stop in thrift stores." She's a student and really wanted to know how to find the good stuff.

 You can see my bruise coming up on my knee there. Ouch. There should be 1-2 more on the front of my ankles from whacking my leg at work on Friday.

• Blouse - Lucky Brand, thrifted; first worn here in June with cowboy boots
• Clam-diggers - Contrast, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) for a Sunday grocery shop (but I wear them around the house a lot in the summer)
• Shoes - Franco Sarto, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in August with a silk dress

 We went to Flavour Upstairs (coincidentally, that's where I bought this blouse), as it's small, has a good rotation and mark-downs and has a great mix of vintage and new/modern items.

Speaking of this blouse, say buh-bye, 'cause this is its last wear. Not inspired by it, and although I like it, I don't love it. I paid $9.99 for it, so a $5 cost-per-wear.

 We approached the store methodically (first jewelry, then shoes, then the perimeter, then the central racks). As we went through the racks, I pulled out real fabrics (silk, cashmere, cotton, linen) and had Charlotte feel them in comparison to fake fabrics (nylon, polyester, rayon) so that she could learn how to spot by feel. We looked at construction, sewing, shapes and sizes, and at content and care tags. She was a little boggled by how much I know about clothes - she just had not realized how much there was to shopping second-hand!

The stuff:

 I walked to and from town, and we spent ages shopping - about 3 hours total. I needed comfy shoes.

• Earrings - don't remember

Charlotte found a great pair of shoes, a top and a dress, for just over $50. I even found myself a couple of things - weirdly, both by the same company.

This is amazing on.

 It is a sleeveless wrap coat, with a wide shawl collar. It's 100% wool, fully lined, and has pockets (which haven't been opened!).

 It's by Only and was $29.99. It looks like this coat (link here from their site, 'cause I love) without the hood and with a shawl collar, which is 70 pounds (about $113 Canadian).

 The production year is 2015, so cool - I know how old this is.

I have tried this denim trench dress on before, but this time I decided to buy it.

 It was in with the coats, but it is indeed a dress, but I think I'll wear it as a coat/vest over stuff as well.

 It's also by Only and was $22.99 - it also has a production year tag, noting that it's from 2016. I found it online for original retail of 50 pounds, so I still got a good deal.

Although I should have headed straight home, I stopped in at Footloose, one of my favourite downtown shoe stores, and checked out their "last pairs" section.

 I KNOW. I had to have them. The brand is London, and they were half price, at $182.00.

The studs are gold, and they buckle at the ankle.

 Super cute! I can't wait for cooler weather to actually wear them!

However, summer is still here for at least another 3 weeks, and since I'll be whining about cold weather soon enough, let's just settle down and enjoy it while it lasts. Time to wear one of my sundresses again!

 And a very Happy Birthday to my dear Winesday woman, Vero! L and I joined 4 friends for dinner, then we all cabbed over to her house to join her for a wonderful birthday party, hanging in her and her husband's backyard under the stars.

• Dress - Ted Baker, thrifted; first seen here in July with oranges
• Shoes - Karl Lagerfeld; first worn here (3rd outfit) to a flower farm with Mom in August
• Lemon cardigan (below) - no label, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit, way down at the bottom) after a trip to PR last August 2016

 After such a physically exhausting weekend, I just couldn't dress up more than this simple look.

 Loose dress, hair up, easy shoes.

 I had the cardi for sun protection earlier, but barely wore it. It's still a handy piece to have in my wardrobe, even though I haven't worn it much in the past year, so I'll keep it.

The stuff:

 Lovely lemon shoes! These are fast becoming a favourite pair for summer.

• Earrings - gift from L, purchased in Venice, Italy

I often have trouble sleeping, so sometimes a change of scene helps and I doze for an hour during the night on the benches in our dining room. We haven't had a dining room table in nearly 15 years - it's been the cat(s)' play area or party chill area instead.

"Don't you dare bother me, Woman."

Vizzini was camo-d on the blanket in the morning, happily snoozing.

* * *

And now, the results of the "Keep it or don't" informal poll here from Thursday, over my blue blazer...

• Keep it: 18
• Toss it: 4
• People who know I will do what I want anyway: 5-6

...and my decision? It's in the giveaway pile. Yes, it's an awesome piece, which is why I bought it in the first place, but it doesn't ring my bell, it doesn't feel like me 100% any more (I feel my internal style shifting), and I'm not drawn to wearing it. When I'm not excited by my clothes, I know it's time to let them go. However, having said that it's in the giveaway pile...stay tuned, as it's going to get at least another wear (or three) very soon. Top secret stuff! 

Thank you all for voting! I love hearing your opinions on things (even if I don't follow advice, hee hee). I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!