Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Monster Vest, Tentacles and Sequinned Shopping, Cat Interlude, and a Glittery Party

We are well and truly into the holiday season now - let's break out our most fun, sparkly and seasonal items, shall we? Oh, yes, we shall. 

Starting with Monster Vest, which I have discovered has a mind of its own. Swear alert! 

"Monster Vest gives no fucks!" 

In other words, a perfect vest for a foggy Friday. I'm linking this very much "I wear what I want" outfit to Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style. In your face! 

• Vest - Zara Woman, consignment; first worn here in November with leather pants
• Top - Jean Paul Gaultier, vintage 90s, consignment; purchased here (with the vest) that same weekend, for $68.00
• Trousers - Linda Lundstrom, swap from Caro; first worn here in August with blue and teals
• Shoes - Poetic Licence; last seen here in March with now-turfed grey wool and burgundy velvet
• Coat (below) - Borgeoiis, vintage 80s menswear, thrifted; last seen here in November

Here was my view when sitting on the stairs. 

Craigdarroch Castle (link, 'cause I love)

I had originally not planned to wear the vest - this was my outfit, which was built around the trousers and this new-to-me top.

 A thank you to Emily at work for encouraging me to wear these ultra-wide leg trousers again and give them another shot. They're very high-waisted (hidden zip at the front), with a rounded knee and tapered leg. I kind of liked my outfit the first time I wore them, but since then, I'd pulled them out of my closet and put them in the "giveaway holding area" (where I put stuff I'm thinking about). I had it in my head that they were too far out of my comfort zone. What was I thinking? I love them!

I made the choice easier on myself by wearing this top (that I love) over the waistband, with the pleather navy blue obi over that - this kept the high waistband from getting annoying.

I adore the fun hypno-vibe of this top (clearly from the late 90s, it has that look). I wore a bright blue cami under it to enhance the blue in the sheer pattern.

 Once I had this outfit on, I realized I was going to be too cold all day. Hmm, whatever could I wear over it? Monster Vest, you say?

 I agree!

"Monster Vest doesn't care about your ridiculous requests!" I rarred this to my colleagues several times throughout the day.

 Yes, of course, I made "monster hands" at them when I said that. I had the vest off and on all day. I'm hot. Now I'm cold. Now I'm hot.

Outerwear. It was sunny and clear all weekend, getting very chilly when it was dark in the mornings and evenings. Bundle up!

Full menswear with my wide trousers and my actual menswear wool/cashmere overcoat. I'm in a fog of grey.

• Fur boa - thrifted
• Wool gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff:

I usually make outfits to show off these shoes, but I deliberately let them hide under the pants all day, with just the toes peeking out - I like how the rounded white parts echoed the pattern of the JPG top.

Round bling: 

 I'm all about being thematically cohesive in my outfits.

• Obi - Benetton, thrifted
• Earrings - Lazy Susan's
• Hematite ring - thrifted
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

I had my coworker Dana over for dinner after work on Friday, and we steamed out the wonderful wool/cashmere coat we found on our thrift shop last weekend for her, so that she could wear it to the company Christmas party Saturday night. Party time!

L and I played boardgames that night, then were up early for breakfast at Floyd's Diner. I had to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping, so we needed to beat the crowds.

An easy shopping outfit, with shoes for lots of walking. We walked to town, then I shopped for about 3 hours, then walked home.

• Dress - no label, consignment; last seen here on Christmas Day 2016
• Shoes - Truths Makena, Fluevog; last worn here (3rd outfit) in November for a vintage and movie afternoon
• Coat (below) - Prosper and Devine, antique store; last worn here in December 2015(!!) for Christmas shopping 

It was even foggier Saturday morning. 

 The Castle goes from cool to spooky!

This dress is a fine wool-blend knit, and fairly sheer, so I wore a full vintage slip under it.

 I love that the bottom half of it is solid sequins. Bling me!

I walked all over town, loading myself up with presents, and humming Christmas carols under my breath. It was crisp and sunny by noon.

 I felt very cheery, and in the holiday spirit.

Outerwear, because everyone needs more pink tentacles in their life!

 I'm shocked that I didn't wear this pink suede uber-fringed coat all of last year! I will have to make up for it by wearing it more this year. It doesn't have pockets (arg), and it's a couple of sizes big on me, so I have to bundle up to stay warm when I wear it.

It's also a bit of an attention-grabber, so I also have to be prepared for the comments (positive) and stares (fine, whatever) I get when I wear it.

Action shot!

 This coat has no middle ground. You love it or you go "Oh my god what is that thing don't look at the crazy lady."

• Silk scarf - thrifted
• Wool gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff:

These shoes have rubber soles, and were wonderful for a day of shopping. 

Simple bling: 

I don't like too many distractions when I'm shopping with purpose!

• Earrings - thrifted

 Vizzini has generally been a nuisance all weekend. He is a very demanding cat, needs lots of attention.

"Yes, look how needy I am."

 Well, he does vacillate between being needy and completely ignoring us, I admit.

"Did you need something, Woman? Leave me to my bird-watching, please."

He never leaves us alone for long, though.

I may have found a couple of things for myself while I was out shopping...

"Nom, I approve, these pants are delicious."

 These are satin grey short harem pants. Sorry the shots are blurry. I was hollering at the cat while taking them.

"And this side is just as tasty! How thoughtful of you to buy me these."

 They just really appealed to me. They're by Rongsheng, a Chinese wholesale clothing factory (I found their website, but not linking 'cause it's fast fashion).

 And although these are fast fashion and not the usual high quality item I buy, I was happy to give Flavour upstairs my $19.99. I'll support my local downtown stores! Oh, I also bought another hematite bracelet there for $4.00, but forgot to photograph it (it was hidden from Vizzini).

On the way home, I quickly stopped in at the Patch and finally bought this maxi skirt that I've had my eye on for a few months. I've been telling myself, "next time, next time, if it's still there" and this time I tried it on and bought it.

"This is inadequate. Where are the chewing parts?"

 It has lovely tiered flounces, and is a very nice quality polyester. The lining is blue with an orange scalloped trim. Very swooshy!

 It's by VanessaVirginia, and the tags inside note that it was manufactured for Anthropologie. A bit of digging reveals it originally sold for $138.00, so my $22.95 isn't so bad. I was going to stash this away for spring summer, but I think I'll give it a shot for a winter styling, just as a wee challenge to myself.

Having shooed Vizzini away from my new purchases, he vigorously attacked my shopping bag.

"No one tells me what I can chew on!"

 He rakes it with his back claws.

"This bag will suffer my wrath!"

 We had to rescue the bag from him before he got the handles wrapped around himself. He did that once before, and tore through the house trying to get it off, destroying one of our lamps in the process. It is funny now, but not amusing at the time.

"I am a seething ball of fury!"

 At this point, we usually throw a blanket over him to calm him down.

I quickly dyed my hair that afternoon, then got dressed up. We had a party to go to on Saturday night, my work's "Casino Royale" shindig at a local hotel, complete with gambling tables, a photobooth, dancing and an Elvis MC. I pulled out all the glitter and glam for it.

"Mwah!"

 I felt very glamourous, like a movie star, all night!

• Dress - Ralph Lauren Blue Label Caralinda dress, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) for a 30s-themed Urbanite in October 2016
• Fur jacket - Bebe, consignment; last seen here that same night
• Shoes - Shellys London; last worn here (5th outfit) in March with copper leather and culottes
• Coat (below) - Hilary Radley, thrifted; last seen here last week

Because wearing a fur jacket can be very warm, I varied between having it on and draping it off one wrist all night.

"There aren't really people out there, are there? I don't see anyone."

 Due to the dim/holiday lighting most of the guests at the party thought I had a red dress on, but it's actually a deep burnt orange colour. It is viscose, lined with silk, and is a swooshy pleasure to wear.

 Isn't it lovely? I am down to less than $3.00 per wear on it (I only paid $8.00 for it!). I would never have paid the original $598!

The look with the jacket on.

 It was perfectly festive, and so fun to see all my coworkers and their guests all glammed up!

Outerwear. L and I actually walked to the event (I wore a pair of my Doc Martens and socks, and held the hem of my gown).

 By the time we left (11:15ish), there were no cabs to be found, so we walked home too. I was happy I'd worn the Unsafe Ocelot. Brr! It was cold out!

• Gloves - vintage, thrifted
• Fur scarf - Danier, thrifted

The stuff:

 Although these shoes are delightfully glittery, I stood in them all night, for over 5 hours (it wasn't a sit-down dinner), and my feet are feeling very sore today. I promise, flats tomorrow, feet!

Vintage bling:

 This set of iridescent rhinestone jewelry belonged to my Grandma J. It's the Aurora Borealis finish on the stones, with a gold-plated setting.

They are by Sherman, a very famous rhinestone jewelry-maker from the 50s and 60s. My bracelet is the only marked piece in the set. 

 Many of these sets (which are called parures, by the way) originally had little paper/string hang-tags, so many Sherman pieces are not marked.

Mine still has the original purple velvet case from the Hudson's Bay Company.

 I also store this iridescent stretch vintage cuff in that box, but it's not the same maker. It has an "Empire Made" stamp inside it, and it snags on delicate fabric, so not wearing it with my dress.

Oh, and here's my lovely purse.

It's by Spencer & Rutherford, and was a gift from L many years ago.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and are getting into the holiday spirit!