Invisible Vest and a Cat Topper

This is my last week of my fall/winter wardrobe - the big swap-over is this coming Sunday. I'm still trying to sneak in outfits with new-to-me items, and also get in final wearings of some old faves. 

 New here: the shirt, the shoes and the earrings. Old: the trousers.

• Shirt - Pink Tartan, thrifted; purchased here for $12.50
• Trousers - vintage 90s, Pariscope, thrifted; last seen here in January, looking fab with chartreuse
• Shoes - Coach, consignment; purchased here for $18.50
• Coat (below) - Vassali, consignment; last seen here a couple of weeks ago

I was stymied by this outfit when it came to getting dressed this morning. I did not like how everything looked together AT ALL. I'd intended to wear this grommeted vest (here) over the whole thing, but I just loathed how it looked on. Pretend this outfit has a fabulous invisible black vest over it - that's how my brain saw it!

I kept taking the actual vest (instead of the above invisible one) off and putting it back on, hoping it would look better. It didn't. I tried a cardigan over it. Then the vest again. It looked horrendous on me; made my waist look thick, hit my legs at a bad spot, did nothing for me (and it didn't have pockets! Outrageous!). What was I thinking? Into the donate pile it went.

I think I salvaged this as best I could. I buttoned the blouse up to the neck and grabbed this piece of satin ribbon to pull in the black elements of the bottom half. I adore these fun trousers - I never thought they would be so versatile! I have had them for 3 years (and I've liked every outfit - click back in the "seen here" link above to see them all) and have worn them 10 times. Not bad for $8.95!

"Needs more cat hair."

The shirt doesn't quite work untucked with the pants, but the pants are super-high-waisted - trust me, I tried tucking it in and it was...not something I plan to share! This shirt is 100% cotton and fairly stiff; it didn't like the tuck.

I did like how the shirt looked overall, though - it's a really good fit. I also really loved this pattern-mixing...just not these two pieces without some sort of topper.

"I told you, cat hair is the new black."

Maybe Vizzini's got a point! I could carry him around all day?

"Let me fix your delicious tie for you."

So much better, right? It needs a black topper to make this work properly.

Outerwear - see what I mean? It's like a bajillion times better.

 I didn't need the gloves on the way home, and the coat billowed out majestically behind me.

• Leather gloves - Danier Leather

The stuff:

 The shoes are difficult for me visually. I am just not used to this look being "in" again. Mules have such a strong association with me of the mid/late 90s. I think they might look better with a short skirt or a wider-legged pant. What do you think?

Silver bling:

I had also planned on wearing the matching pendant to my new earrings but the neckline of the shirt was either too high or too low - I even tried buttoning it up all the way and putting the necklace over it, but it was not meant to be.

• Silver cuff - JPL, vintage fair
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Silver square crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy
• Silver earrings - M&M, consignment, Vancouver - first wearing, purchased here for $8.00

Well, tomorrow's another outfit! Try, try again!