It's been a lovely chill weekend, both weather-wise and lifestyle-wise. Let me tell you all about it!
Here's Friday's outfit - as you can see, I went more funky than casual, but I had a date with my sweetie for a nice dinner out after work, and I like to look nice for L.
Plus, any opportunity to wear the Big Boss Lady Pants, right?
This is my entry for "
Visible Monday" over at Patti's
Not Dead Yet Style. Go!
- Sweater - J. Crew Collection, thrifted; last worn here in December 2018 with jeans
- Trousers - H&M, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here in September with a painty blazer
- Shoes - History Sandy, Fluevog, consignment; first worn here in October with toasty tweeds
- Coat (below) - Auckie Sanft, vintage 60s, thrifted; last seen here a couple of weeks ago
I was thrilled at how well my thousand-dollar sweater (seriously, it retailed for over $1,400!!) worked with these pink trousers - the sweater's background colour is pale pink.
All that decoration and embellishment is hand-done embroidery and beading; the sweater weighs a ton. This is the first time I have worn it alone, unlayered, with just a snug cami under it.
I am so glad I kept some of my brights out in my fall/winter wardrobe, like these pink pants.
They cheered me immensely all day, and the whole outfit was much admired by my colleagues and folks out on the street all day.
And when you feel good, you look good!
Me, I'm looking at a weekend!
I like that my hair has faded out to a pinky lavender now. I have plans to go pink...
Although, could I be any pinker?
Add in the Fuzzy Flamingo and I am the pinkest!
- Silk scarf - vintage, thrifted
- Wool gloves - Parkhurst
The stuff:
I quite liked how the black and neutral cream/gray pattern of the shoes worked with the embroidery in the sweater.
Silver bling:
The lace cuff went well too.
- Cuff - handmade, Nashville, TN
- Silver earrings - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall
- Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
- Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
- Brooch - Pastelli, vintage 60s, Grandma S's
I wore Gram's brooch on the coat, just like she probably wore it.
I made another Zentangle, for my coworker Angie.
She wasn't in on Friday, but she doesn't read my blog, so I'm safe.
L and I hung out and played our favourite massive multi-character cooperative boardgame, Arkham Horror, on Friday night. I was up early to go for my Mental Health Walk (brrr, it was cold down on the ocean!), and then we headed to town to meet up with Patrick and Nicola for lunch at the Garrick's Head Pub.
Winter is nipping at our noses now - the temps have dropped to 3-7 degrees during the day. Haul out the sweaters!
- Sweater - RW & Co., thrifted; first worn here in October with plaid
- Skirt - Hucke, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) in November 2018 with red for brunch
- Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last worn here in October as a crocheted cowgirl
- Coat (below) - Rodarte for Opening Ceremony, consignment; last seen here in February on a snow day
I have a full vintage slip on under this outfit for additional warmth, as well as thick black tights.
I'm done with this skirt - the moths got at it (bad Vizzini!) over the warm months, and it's full of tiny holes. The lining is also in rough shape, and frankly, I just don't love it, so it's time for it to go.
I do love the pattern (stripes, sewn into chevrons), but I only wear it about once a year. That's not enough for me to keep it.
Also, no pockets! I bought in 2017 it for $17.99 and wore it four times. It is what it is.
I was excited to wear the Ringmaster Coat again, though.
The top part is faux Persian lamb, and the bottom is wool.
Check out the back.
Tails! So cool! I do have to complain about the complete lack of pockets, though. Seriously! I require pockets in a coat!
The stuff:
Good walking boots. I walked to town for brunch, went for a wee shop and then walked home.
Simple bling:
The necklace just slips off over my head, so it wasn't too much of a pain for trying stuff on.
- Necklace - Robert Larin, vintage 70s, gift from L
- Earrings - Glee
- Onyx/silver ring - Tocara, vintage fair
- Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
I checked out a new consignment store I'd heard of by mouth, Upcycle (link
here, 'cause I love), touted as "A Clothing Collective" - I've had a good poke around their site and had a nice chat with Brenda, one of the owners. Hello!
My Favourite Victoria Second-Hand Clothing Stores tab (
here) has been updated to add Upcycle, as I'm sure I'll be back. Their sales model is consignment, and I like that they are upfront with disclosing how markdowns work (50% off after 30 days), and their ethic of minimizing fast fashion. I'm on board: bring on the second-hand clothing!
Here's what I found (because, OF COURSE I found a few things!).
Because I wear so much vintage, I'm always on the lookout for modern shoes to keep my outfits fresh. I liked the caramel suede on these.
The elastic slingback is quite comfortable.
And that's an excellent heel height for me. No bunion pain when I walked around in them for a while in the store.
The brand is Sol Sana, which I've had good luck with (you'll recall these black and silver platform sandals
here, and these spotty white ankle strap shoes
here, both big favourites).
I bought both of my other pairs at Footloose, a store less than two blocks away from Upcycle. These would retail for well over $200 new. These were $29.00.
I really liked this long light grey vest-style duster. A vuster?
It's by Pink Martini, a brand I've seen in local boutiques. This was two days short of being 50% off, and Brenda agreed to letting me have it for half price when I asked, so thank you!! I appreciate that small concession.
This was marked at $25.00 and so it was $12.50.
I was thrilled to find this awesome puffer coat for $39.00.
I love that it's NOT black.
And that it's stuffed with real down/feathers!
I see so many puffer coats stuffed with polyester. I'm not a fan. It doesn't breathe and can be overly hot. In Victoria's climate, down is perfect for winter.
It's by Donna Karan. And it's machine washable.
This retailed at Nordstom's for $249.00, from Fall 2017 (there's a tag inside that says "F17" so I think that's a fair assumption).
Look how sweet it is on! It does up with a wide grossgrain tie inside, then it wraps across and ties again on the side. No buttons or zippers, except on the side pockets.
I'm playing with my new clothes in just my slip and tights, and wearing the shoes around. This jacket was snuggly warm, loved it.
Hood up! The down filling is so light - this coat weights nothing, so it won't crush/flatten my hair.
Also, because it is down and very thin nylon, it can be smushed up into a very small space - it's a perfect travel coat.
I also really liked these simple bronzy hoops.
They were $15.00, but were more than 30 days old (probably because they were missing their backs), so they were $7.50.
They're shiny on the inside, matt/brushed on the outside.
They are hollow, so they don't drag my earlobes down.
After my shop, I was all tuckered out from walking so much. I had a nap with L and Vizzini, and then got ready for Winesday at Cat's place. I didn't do much, as Winesday's a more casual affair - we sit around, eat, drink and chat, so want to be super-comfy.
I wore my new two-tone jeans!
- Sweater - RW & Co., thrifted; as above
- Jeans - Ray Beams, thrifted; purchased here for $29.99
- Boots - Arnold Churgin, thrifted; last worn here (4th outfit) in October for a weekend shop
- Coat (below) - Donna Karan, consignment; purchased above for $39.00
The jeans were cooed over and much admired by the gals. I've been watching this cropped cut and wide-legged, high-waisted style for a bit and am enjoying trying it out. It took me a while to get used to the look, much like it took a while to get used to skinny jeans, back in the mid-2000s, when we'd been wearing boot-cut jeans for a decade.
It's important to keep trying new things - even if they don't work out! - it keeps my style ever-evolving and modern, rather than stuck in a rut. But hey, nothing wrong with a good rut either!
I walked to Cat's with L (on his way to Musical Appreciation Night aka MANday with the guys), then realized I'd forgotten a main component of my dish! I had to walk home and fetch the soy ice cream from the freezer, and walk back.
I did ginger cookie and caramel soy ice cream, with a drizzle of Saskatoon berry topping, and a thin Swedish ginger cookie (plus a big plate of Lindt chocolate: 75% dark, salted dark, caramel crunch milk chocolate and salted caramel Lindt balls). Just in case you're interested.
I have a black cami on under this, and my fleece-lined knee high tights. I had a few hot flashes and both the sweater and the tights came off!
I test-drove my new-to-me down-filled puffer coat.
It was fabulous! It completely blocked the wind, was water resistant in the spitty rain (dried quickly, with no damage at all to the feathers - remember, it's washable!) and was snuggly warm. The hood mostly stood up/stayed in place/covered my hair except when the wind was in my face. I'm in love!
- Scarf - V. Frass, thrifted
- Wool gloves - Parkhurst
The stuff:
Very comfy boots, good in the rain, too.
- Earrings - consignment; first wearing
I had to wear the earrings right away!
On Sunday, we just hung out and spent time with Vizzini and watched football.
 |
| "Must you bother me, Woman?" |
Well,
he hung out in the bedroom, where it's warmer. Yes, that's a sock on the curtain in the background. Guess who likes to chew on our curtains?
Laundry day! Off the bed you go, bud!
 |
| "First you wake me, and now I have to get up?" |
He'll be back up there as soon as a there's a load of warm clothes fresh from the dryer.
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Thank you so much for coming by!
