Circus Skirt and Early Presents

I can definitely smell fall in the air - there's that little nip on the nose when I'm outside. 

 Today's outfit features a new piece and two things I wanted to wear again.

• Jacket - Helmut Lang, thrifted; last seen here in April with DIY harem pants for brunch
• Sweater - August Silk, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit and more below it) for our March trip to Vancouver for our anniversary
• Skirt - Dries Van Noten, consignment; purchased here for $75.00 US
• Shoes - Prepare Hi Steady, Fluevog; last seen here in July with cranes

 I built the outfit around the skirt, which is new-to-me. I loved wearing it all day, I'm happy to report - the pockets are awesome, and although it doesn't have any stretch, it is a perfect fit. The stripes remind me of circus tents.

The sweater is a very old piece (for me!) and is starting to wear a bit but it's such a good basic layering item. It's a mix of silk and cotton, very soft.

 See? Doesn't my bum look great? Ha!

In between having hot flashes, I wore this outfit with the jacket on, undone like this.

 One of my coworkers - only seeing me from the waist up at my desk - had to ask, "Why all the black?", so I had to show him the stripes and waggle my yellow shoes to reassure him it was still me.

Jacket done up. I love that it has custom-hand-cast hooks for doing it up and the goat-leather trim on the arms and the drapey lapesl. Does Helmut Lang still manufacture in the US? That's where this piece was made.

 This Dries Van Noten skirt is not made in Belgium (unlike my other two Dries pieces), so I suspect it is newer (made within the last 10 years). A quick peruse of the interwebz reveals it was sold at Selfridge's for about 300 pounds/~$500 Canadian. Score! It's called the "Selma" skirt.

The stuff:

 I had to get one more wear of these funkadellic shoes in before I pack them away (the elastic over the vamp snags on tights and nylons).

Silver bling:

 Ha! I only took one earring off! *checks* Yup, I still have one in.

• Necklace - thrifted
• Shield ring - Nine West
• Earrings - local
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Before I went on holiday, my "dotted-line" manager in Regina, Saskatchewan sent me flowers.

 Aw, thank you, Rej! She knows me so well - yellow flowers! But it's not quite my birthday yet.

Today, one of my work-friends gave me another "you get me" present for my impending birthday. Now my office is protected by Evil! It's Cthulhu!

"Mmmm...Cthulhu likes tomatoes..."

Note that I have my mug by Anne M. Bray of Spygirl in the background, holding my pens and pencils. That's me in the centre, with the pink legs, blue pencil skirt and pink-ish top (referencing this outfit here from April 2013).