Two-Fer: Totally Tubular; and Space Pants!

Woo, I'm back! Let the whirlwind begin! It is my 50th birthday on Monday, and the party starts NOW. 

 Another outfit I felt was "da bomb(shell)" in. I worked in this all day, then went to my company's annual dinner, long speeches (on video), followed by drinks. Many drinks.

• Blouse - Violet + Claire, thrifted; last seen here in May for Fluevog Day
• Dress - Dolce & Gabbana, vintage 90s, thrifted; purchased here for $27.95
• Shoes - Mia, consignment; purchased here for $38.00
• Grape Ape coat (below) - H&M, thrifted; last worn here in March with shades of wine

I cringe at some of the 90s fashion coming around again, but I do love a good tube dress. This one is contoured (you can see it when it's on the hanger in the purchase link above) to the body, so it doesn't pull tight anywhere.

 I felt great in this dress - it's sexy, but because it's a thick stretchy wool knit, it's not inappropriate for work with a blouse worn under it. I did find that I was constantly having to pull the little bra straps back onto my shoulders, as they are set very wide. Otherwise, it was a dream to wear.

You can't really see it, but I wore a black floral clip in my hair.

 I dyed my hair using a new colour (I usually use Splat!), by Garnier Nutrisse and it is a little less vibrant, but I'm okay with that. My grey/white roots don't get covered very well with Splat! so it was nice to use a regular dye to get full coverage without a lot of staining on my scalp (which takes a week to flake off; you're welcome for the visual).

However, I prefer the brighter colour of Splat! so I put Vaseline on the layers and tips of my hair to preserve the magenta - and it worked! Perfectly streaked hair with no roots showing. All ready for my party this weekend.

Yay! I love wearing the Grape Ape coat. Just right for the chilly morning and the cooler evenings.

 My tights and booties were the exact same colour, but the tights went in the trash as soon as I got home - they got all bally under the dress from rubbing on it (seriously? from a knit dress??), and they had a bad case of Drop-Crotch. No way I am putting up with that from my tights. Gonzo!

 Coat done up. Now that I'm nearly 50 I have to look like a lady (*guffaws*). Yeah, no, screw that.

The stuff:

 These velvet booties are high, and my feet are still tired a day later, but they were lovely otherwise. As my feet got warm/sweaty during the day, my foot "farted" on the bottom of them, so I think I'll put an insole in to prevent that. I don't need foot-farts, thank you.

Black bling:

 There's that flower clip - I bought it at the drugstore a while back (I think it's by Goody).

• Chain bracelet - thrifted
• Hematite bracelet and ring - thrifted
• Earrings - Jacob
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

Today was my last full day - I'm taking tomorrow afternoon off to have lunch with L (he has a flex day), nap and then get ready for my party! I'm hosting a 2-hour cocktail party for friends, family and colleagues - wine, beer, finger food and good times. Nearly 60 people are coming! And yes, I will be wearing THE DRESS, in its Full Monty glory (sleeves AND peplum). I'm so ready.

I've been saving these spectacular leather pants for a Thursday to wow my WW group.

 They wow'ed my coworkers too, who dubbed them "Space Pants".

• Blouse - White House, Black Market, thrifted; purchased here for free (marked at $14.95 but "one" in a buy one/get one deal)
• Pants - Free People; purchased here in Portland for $129.00 US
• Shoes - Hispanitas; last seen here in August with green and trousers
• Sleeveless coat - Only, thrifted; last worn here (6th outfit) on the weekend for Winesday

 The top is a gloriously rich teal and is stretch silk - it was fabulous to wear all day. I'm wearing a black tank top under it (not tracked) to minimize butt-crack-a-lackin' from the elasticized back of the pull-on pants, and to give a layer for me not to sweat on (since I don't like washing silk very frequently).

"Ground control to Major Sheila" was a comment I got today about my Space Pants. I also noted that if they are Space Pants, then they come from Space Cows. Of course they do!

Aren't they marvelous? They were very comfy, and SHINY, although every time I sat down or bent over, it was butt-cracks ahoy! This is why I chose a long top worn untucked! However, I loved them, and I'm excited to wear them again.

Outerwear. I can't believe it's October and I'm still not wearing a "real" coat most days.

 My WW group loved this outfit. One of the women in the group gave me a lovely plant (which I gave to my receptionist, as I kill plants) - she and I share a birthday, so we all sang "Happy Birthday" and it was just wonderful.

The stuff:

 I love these shoes. I ran around all day in them. My feet were happy not to have heels on.

Gold and black bling:

Bold pieces for a bold outfit. 

• Necklace - Fossil, consignment
• Bracelet - Lia Sophia, thrifted
• Earrings - thrifted

A bunch of my coworkers came to my desk today with balloons and a present. 

"You are our sunshine" - AWWWW

The card says "fancytastic" and over a dozen of my coworkers signed it and pooled and bought me a gift card from Fluevog.  

The bottom of the box says "Nice bottom" and the card insert says "You look great". There's over $200 on the card! Wow! Thank you so much, my dear colleagues! I can't wait to spend some time in the local Fluevog store with this!

My friends, I will be back on Saturday with another two-fer for you - this is also a long weekend, being Thanksgiving in Canada. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for.