Misbehaving Greens

We are nearly there, my friends - a long weekend looms ahead. Today called for green and lots of it.

 Nothing new here, just remixing some of the cool stuff already in my wardrobe.

• Cardigan - Joseph A, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) in May for a shopping day
• Silk blouse - Milly, thrifted; first seen here in June with acid yellow and polka dots
• Pants - Banana Republic, thrifted; last worn here in April with the origami blouse
• Shoes - Chie Mihara; last seen here in April 2018 with a teddy sweater

My accessories all matched, but otherwise nothing else in the outfit was an exact match. I wasn't quite sure how people would react.

 But a surprising number of people happily exclaimed, "Green!" when they saw me.

Although I love the colour, this long cardigan is in the giveaway pile. It wrinkles like mad, and bags out when I wear it. I bought it for $34.98 and have worn it seven times, so that's $5 per wear - I'm totally good with that.

I kept shoving up the arms, and they just kept falling down. Arg, there is nothing I hate more than a misbehaving article of clothing.

Second wearing of this blouse - I love the abstract doodle-y floral pattern.

 The emerald green brocade weaver trousers are a firm favourite - you can see a bit of the texture in the stair picture above.

I swooshed around, as I am wont to do.

 There's some mischievous swooshing afoot!

The stuff:

These shoes didn't match at all, but I liked how they still worked with the outfit. The dots are raised and fuzzy! I am all about textures. I haven't worn these shoes in well over a year, but I'm keeping them - they are so gorgeous - even though I can't wear them standing for long. I stuck close to my desk all day.

Green bling:

 I threaded the silk scarf through my ponytail elastic and wrapped it around a few times before tying it in a bow.

• Silk scarf - thrifted
• Silicon squishy cuff - Materia Design, thrifted
• Glass bangle - thrifted
• Glass bead/metal necklace - vintage 60s, Mom's
• Jade/brass ring - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Aventurine/silver ring - consignment
• Earrings - Stella & Dot, consignment, Vancouver

After work, I did a quick whirlwind shop with my colleague Simona (success: two pairs of trousers, two tops and a raincoat), who dropped me off at home where I changed into my walking gear and went out on my Mental Health Walk. 

It was glorious and wonderful and felt SO GOOD. I'll share the walk with you sometime - I live in a beautiful place. This is one of the last times I walked "my route", here, back in January 2011! 

I spent ten minutes finishing up Mai's Zentangle tile, to give to her tomorrow at her work farewell shindig. 

I hope she likes it!

I am off now, and it's a long weekend, so I will be back on Monday with tales of adventure. Thank you all so much for stopping by - have a wonderful weekend!

Marimekko Tribute and Turquoise

As we turn the corner on August into September, I'm aiming on rewearing some of my favourite summer clothes before I do my fall/winter swap-over at the end of the month. 

 This skirt is in the "must wear again" category - isn't it marvelous?

• Ballet cardigan - Wolford, thrifted; last seen here in April with the brolly skirt
• Tank - not tracked, thrifted
• Skirt - A Tribute to Marimekko by H&M, thrifted; last worn here (3rd outfit) for our last Winesday in July
• Shoes - Sam Edelman, thrifted; last seen here in July with ruffles and pearls

Both the cardigan and the skirt are silk/cotton blends, and both breathable in the (finally!) hot weather we're having and warm in our air-conditioned office.

 I usually wear this vibrant skirt with black, turquoise or both - no surprises here! It's not real Marimekko (not like Lorena's!), but from H&M's Tribute collection, released in 2008. I'd love to find more pieces - these bold colours are very me.

My bigass belt is hiding the knot from the cardigan, which is a wrap-around, tying in the back.

 But the skirt is the star of the outfit - it was much admired in the office today.

It's very swooshy, a fine billowy woven fabric - with pockets!

 Mid-swoosh!

It's nice and full, with a generous flounce at the hem.

 The colours are orange, red and marigold yellow. It's one of my favourite skirts.

The stuff:

Comfy low shoes today. I briefly considered a heeled black sandal, but I need to redo my pedicure first!

Turquoise bling:

 I am a fan of turquoise, even though I think only the ring is a real stone. The belt is a very expensive brand (one like this would start at $199), but I picked it up ages ago for a song at the thrift store due to a couple of missing "stones".

• Belt - Brave Belts, thrifted
• Cuff - thrifted
• Earrings - second-hand furniture store
• Turquoise ring - local
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Vizzini and I had a cuddle in this chair this morning. He drooled all over my skirt.

"Do we really need to share that?"

He's becoming quite the drooly cat.

Neon and Copper Rejigged

I had one of those wardrobe gaffes this morning when I went to put on the outfit I'd planned. Oops, this "top" is actually as long as a dress - it did not work with this skirt!

I had already intended on wear these shoes, plus a matching long cardigan, but time was too short to fuss about with finding a top that would work with the skirt so I abandoned the cardigan for today. I had to rejig things in a hurry!

• Shirt - Rock & Republic, thrifted; first seen here in July with chrysanthemums
• Skirt - LAMB, 2005 collection, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in October 2018 with chartreuse Miu Miu
• Shoes - Eject; last seen here in July with that same Miu Miu top!

The skirt is tricky because it's not stretchy, but it's cut very slim in the hips...but very big in the waist. I have done one of my infamous hacks and safety-pinned the waistband to actually fit me.

My klassy hack means I have to cover the waistband. So, once again, I tied this blouse and wore it loose.

Will I ever break down and tuck it in?

 I like how the neon yellow goes with the copper, and the ties at the front echo the ginormous zhoozh (technical fashion term, hee hee) of fabric down the front of the skirt.

I traded out the copper jewelry I'd planned to wear with the original outfit with some of my other copper pieces, including this lovely brooch.

Right on the swag!

The stuff:

The white of the shoes worked with the flecks of white in the brooch. Only one more month of wearing these summer-only shoes, aw!

Copper bling:

Bits of white? Then I definitely have to wear my white enameled copper set!

• Copper/enamel necklace and earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Copper/enamel brooch - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Wooden ring - thrifted

As part of my ongoing "art therapy", I've been making Zentangle tiles for some of my coworkers. This is for my colleague Teresa (a co-op student) who is leaving us on Friday.

Her glasses are that shape and she has a pineapple on her keychain. I noticed when cropping this picture that I'd missed shading the top left of the glasses shape, so I've fixed that. Phew!

Monday Mail and Marigold

Ah, Mondays. Today's outfit just felt right. I'm doing a little "clothing as armour", a bit of wearing my power colour, and a smidge of fake it till you feel it.

 Whenever I wear yellow, I'm often in the mood to avoid people. And this top looks like mail (of the chainmail variety) - it's totally armour!

• Top - Linda Lundstrom, thrifted; first worn here a year ago in August 2018 with purple leather (and purple hair - I was just growing out my hair then)
• Skirt - Mister Leonard, vintage 60s, thrifted; last seen here in May 2018 (!) with black and white patterns
• Shoes - Gentle Souls; last worn here in April with a salamander
• Coat (below) - Joseph Ribkoff, thrifted; last seen here in May

This is only my second wearing of this silver knit top (I bought it over a year ago for $9.50) and it didn't ring my bell that much this time, so off it goes to the giveaway pile.

Don't be alarmed - I have to let go of things so that I can buy more new-to-me things! This will go to a good home.

Although I only wear this skirt once a year, I just love it - it's a gorgeous summer-weight wool, fully-lined, just so luxe. A keeper!

Yellow is my power colour, especially in this sunny marigold shade.

I wear it when I need to feel up and social, as well as when I want to hide. It's contradictory, but then, so am I.

 It was a gorgeous sunny day today, but you can feel that September chill starting to creep in.

 This coat is awesome, but didn't work with this outfit - too much bulk plus the longer hem of the skirt. I'm all stumpified! 

The stuff:

Wonderful shoes - very comfy. I'm a sucker for an ankle strap.

Silver bling: 

 That's some heavy metal right there!

• Cuff - thrifted
• Necklace/earrings - Sarah Coventry, vintage fair
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Shield ring - Nine West

Today, the teenage seagulls on the roof across from my stair pic location were squawking away at their parent.

"I don't wanna leave home! I don't wanna learn to fly!"

They - and the teenage crows in our neighbourhood - are a raucous bunch!

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Darth Stripes and Checks; Velvet in the Rain; Sunday Shop

Hello, and welcome back, my friends. Time to take a look at what I wore all weekend, starting with Friday in "Darth Sheila" mode. 

This outfit was built around the silk burnout velvet duster - I can only wear it in warm weather (you can't wear a coat over dusters), so it doesn't get worn that often, but I still love it. And hey! I hear dusters are trendy, so fashion has finally caught up to me!

Linking up to "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style.

• Duster - Emporio Armani, thrifted; last seen here in July 2018
• Sweater - Jones New York, thrifted; last worn here (3rd outfit) in June with my Gaultier sailor pants
• Skirt - Banana Republic, consignment; last seen here in June with a pink key print
• Shoes - Zoomies Ishshoes, Fluevog; last worn here in June with dots and birds

I've had my duster since here in 2017, when I found it for $7.00 at the St. Vincent de Paul (boo, now closed).

 I just pulled together all of the navy and whites I have in my closet to go with it.

I like how the stripes and checks show through.

 Without the duster - still a cool look.

 I never took the duster off, though.

I was having too much fun wearing it!

 Swoosh!

I swoosh again at you!

 I may have hummed the "Imperial Death March" (the Darth Vader theme) from Star Wars...

I may also have rasped, "I find your lack of faith disturbing..." to my colleagues.

 We all had a good laugh!

What's the point if you can't be silly sometimes?

 The duster buttons up from the neck to the knee. I should try wearing it as a dress - now, there's a thought!

The stuff:

 I was going to wear my blue and white Campers, but I liked how these looked with the length of the skirt better - the sneakers were too clunky for my taste.

Bold bling:

 A few simple pieces.

• Silver earrings - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

Friday was the last day for our co-op Alex - I gave her this 3x3" tile that I'd finished on Thursday night.

 She really liked it, and I enjoyed making it for her.

I hung out with my dearest Caro on Friday night, just chilling out and gabbing and giggling. It was great - I really needed it. On Saturday, L and I met up with Gerry (over from Vancouver) and Chris for breakfast at the Ruby.

 It was raining out - gah! August! - but looked like it might clear up, so I covered all my bases.

• Dress - BCBG Max Azria, thrifted; last worn here (3rd outfit) in May, also on a rainy day
• Boots - Effortless Sophia, Fluevog; last seen here in April with soft florals
• Coat (below) - Avoca; last worn here on a foggy July day

The bare bones - just the dress.

 I'm done with this dress - I love that it's a kitten-soft silk velvet, and I love the colour, but that's about it. I bought this two years ago in July 2017 here for $29.99 (new with the $168.00 price tag on) and I've worn it 5 times, so I am good with $6.00 per wear.

Time to let it go.

 I've worn it with these boots four times!

I brought this silk and cashmere pashmina in case I was cold at breakfast.

 I did not need it - I carried it in my bag for most of the time we were out.

Since it was raining, I wore my raincoat.

 However, the silk dress clung to the t-shirt-y lining like it was velcro!

I do love my raincoat - it's such a fun pattern.

 And it has a hood.

 All ready to go. We walked to town and back.

• Pashmina - Portolano, thrifted

The stuff

 I'm quite fond of these boots. Who doesn't love pink and purple boots?

Silver bling:

 Actually, the cuff is steel - the rest of the jewelry is silver, though.

• Cuff - thrifted
• Bracelet - JPL, vintage fair
• Earrings - M&M, consignment, Vancouver

Since we were in the neighbourhood, I had a really quick peek around Flavour Upstairs.

 I found this amazing black PVC skirt - see the round pockets on the sides?

The embroidery is white, black and baby blue.

 So cool!

It's by 3.1 Phillip Lim.

 Only $19.99?? I found it online for $657!

A small tip that the skirt was quality (if I hadn't recognized the brand name).

 It's lined in silk!

You don't see that too often in fast fashion.

 The lining is actually two different silk fabrics: a thicker chiffon and then a more sheer chiffon behind the embroidery hem. I'm excited to wear this!

Vizzini was super-impressed, can you tell?

"Uh-huh. Go away now." 

On Saturday night, L and I played boardgames - I caught Vizzini's furious face!

 He's about to lunge after L and try to bite him. Naughty kitty!

Today/Sunday, I walked over to Fairfield to visit My Sister's Closet - I haven't been there in ages, and felt like having a browse.

 This was a comfy walking outfit - of course, it is sunny and hot out today!

• Linen cardigan - J. Crew, thrifted; last seen here in July for my trip to Hamilton
• Dress - Donna Morgan, thrifted; last worn here...on that same trip!
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) last weekend for dinner at the pub

I'm done with this dress as well - I only paid $8.62 for it, and this is the 4th time I've worn it. 

 Just over $2 per wear - totally happy with that!

It's cute, and it has pockets, but I'm done with it.

 I love the orange linen cardigan - it has lots of life left with me, although it will strictly be a spring/summer piece.

 Ready to go!

 It was a lovely day to stroll and browse.

The stuff:

 Comfy shoes, good for walking.

• Belt - Karen Millen, thrifted
• Earrings - vintage fair
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

I spent a couple of hours going through everything, but not too much caught my eye.

 This is a gorgeous Roots scarf that I think I'll wear a lot (or L will steal it from me).

It's 27% wool, so not scratchy.

 I like that it was made in Germany - it was half price at $13.50 and these are $38.00 new, so not bad.

I liked the fit and the unusual details on this sleeveless blouse.

 The colour is a camel/caramel, with cream, orange, blue and navy splotchy dots.

The collar has grosgrain ribbon stripes.

  Note how the back of the collar has a notched detail.

It's by Cabi and was $16.98.

 It's called the Cheers Blouse and originally retailed for $106.00 CAD. Nice!

I really liked the colour, the softness and the short cut of this fuzzy red sweater.

 The red yarn is marled with threads of black, and it's by RW & Co., a Canadian mall chain.

 I normally would not buy this brand, but it was only $15.98 and I think a red chunky sweater will work well for fall.

And there you have it - my weekend is winding down, and it's time to spend some time with our little monster.

"Curses! The Woman found me!"

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend - thanks for stopping by!