Romeo, Day to Night

I had an exhausting day today, and was so happy to have it over. 

I had a feeling it would be rough, so I wore this lovely cocoon of a dress.

• Dress - Romeo Gigli, vintage 90s, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) for the theatre with Mom in November 2019
• Shoes - Channi B; last seen here in December 2019 while being Vanna
• Coat (below) - L'Atiste, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here on the weekend

It's 100% wool, very thick and luxurious, yet not too heavy.

It's designer - Romeo Gigli! Alexander McQueen used to work for him. Wouldn't it be cool if McQueen cut my dress?

A girl can dream!

The top of the dress is oversized, and the bottom is slimmer.

It's a very 90s look for Gigli.

I built this outfit around the belt when I first bought it on the weekend. I've been saving it for today.

I knew I might need to feel silly to alleviate chaos.

Super long arms! That was Romeo's thing - if you look on any of those resale designer sites, you'll see a lot of extra-long arms.

Outerwear - pre-Spring continues. Just watch, the weekend will be rainy.

I didn't need my gloves all day.

• Gloves - consignment

The stuff:

I'm so glad I wore these heavenly comfy shoes today - they look great and they feel great.

Sparkly bling:

Yes, I know, I forgot the belt. We'll get to that.

• Necklace - Myka, thrifted
• Earrings - thrifted
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

I dashed home after my hectic day to feed Vizzini, and then hopped a bus back to town to meet L and our friends Andrew and Theresa for dinner. I didn't want to just wear the exact same thing for dinner, so I tweaked my outfit for a little bit of a dressier look. Day to night, if you will.

I swapped out the grey tights for nylons.

I switched to a smaller purse.

And - I totally jazzed up my coat game!

"Like, totally!"

This suede fringed jacket amuses me. I love wearing it.

• Jacket - Prosper & Devine, vintage mall; last worn here in December 2019 to get my book signed by John Fluevog

The stuff:

Here's the part where I remembered the belt.

• Purse - Le Chateau
• Belt - Henry Birks, vintage 80s, thrifted - first wearing, purchased here for $5.95

More sparkly bling:

All of the above, plus my bug brooch and another bracelet.

• Cuff - Swarovski, consignment, gift from L
• Brooch - Le Chateau, c. 2001

And now, it's late, I'm tired and am ready to fall into bed. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure.

Florals and Pre-Spring Pastels

We're definitely starting to see signs of spring everywhere. Let's call it Pre-Spring, since we're technically still nearly a month away from the spring equinox

Multiple people in my office today were wearing bright colours or spring pastels - my influence is obviously starting to rub off on them!

• Blazer - Emporio Armani, vintage 90s, thrifted; last worn here in November 2019 with autumn sunset colours
• Blouse - Le Chateau, consignment; purchased here for $16.98
• Skirt - Talbots, thrifted; last seen here in November 2019 with matchy mauves
• Shoes - History Sandy, Fluevog, consignment; first worn here in November 2019 with Boss pants
• Coat (below) - Auckie Sanft, vintage 60s, vintage fair; last seen here earlier this month

Another vintage 90s blazer from my closet, this is Emporio Armani, actually made in Italy.

It's that same pearly grey as yesterday's Etch-a-Sketch skirt, so they may have to be worn as a "suit" at some point.

I used to loathe pastels. And pink! And now I have pink hair. Who'd have thunk it?

This lovely lavender skirt is a woven mohair - it's very fuzzy.

I wore the blazer done up all day - this new-to-me blouse's ruffles filled the wide neckline well.

I took the blazer off a couple of times (hot flashes) - if you're new to my blog, yes, I have tattoos and lots of 'em.

I do factor in my ink when I buy something sleeveless, to make sure that the patterns work with my tattoos.

Jacket open, although I never wore it this way.

I preferred the lock-and-load look.

Outerwear - I'm blurry because I was talking to Vizzini, who dashed through the corner of the picture while the timer was beeping.

It's still chilly in the mornings, but my winter coats' days are numbered.

• Silk scarf - vintage, thrifted
• Gloves - Danier Leather

The stuff:

As promised, my feet got flats today. These were lovely for zooming around the office. More florals!

Delicate bling: 

I'm not really a delicate jewelry kind of person, but every so often I like it.

• Necklace/earrings - Plum, c. 2010
• Amethyst/gold ring - Frances Jewelers, Dad's, c. 1965
• Crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy

Vizzini and I had some cuddles while I was getting ready. First, we sat on the benches.

"Why is the deck door not open? It's sunny!"

He's been quite cranky that it's light and/or sunny out, and yet the temperatures remain in the single digits.

"I acquiesce to your excellent petting, Woman."

Aw, my little bear.

Etro and Etch-A-Sketch Sequins

Today was such a busy day - but it was never too busy to amuse my coworkers with my new sequinned skirt. 

I am also finally wearing my Etro blazer - I may only wear it once a year, but I'm okay with that.

• Blazer - Etro, vintage 90s, consignment; last worn here a year ago, in February 2019 with plaid, mustard and red
• Top - Jana, thrifted; last seen um, never? I bought it here for $5.95, but I think I have worn it and just not bothered to track it
• Skirt - Banana Republic, consignment; purchased here for $35.99
• Shoes - Queen of Prussia Louise, Fluevog; last worn here in October 2019 with a bookish skirt (I need to wear that again)
• Cerulean coat (below) - no label, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in November 2019

When I was browsing my closet for What To Wear with this skirt on Sunday, I checked my backwards hangers to see what's still waiting to be worn (I turn all my hanger backwards every 6 months). And there was my wonderful Etro Milano blazer, with the same pearly silver colour in the lining as my skirt.

 I wore the skirt smooth for most of the day, like this.

Some of the sequins on the back flip up when I'm sitting down.

I wasted no time in writing "HI!" on the front for my coworkers, and then "erasing" it by swiping downwards with my hands. I also wrote "Go away" and drew a happy face.

"It's like an Etch-a-Sketch," said Christina (if you don't know what that is, here, link 'cause I love)

I was very happy that the sequins didn't destroy my nylons (that's happened before - beware of sequins!). Not even a single snag! And the skirt itself was lovely - I like this length in a pencil skirt.

Outerwear - this wonderful coat is very oversized in the shoulders, which makes it perfect for going over a blazer, especially one with defined shoulders like my Etro one.

Bright blue - safety first, kids! Be seen!

• Gloves - Cejon, thrifted

The stuff:

These shoes are comfortable but high. I took the elevator when I had to go to another floor, but my feet are still tired. Sorry, feet, more comfy shoes tomorrow!

Forgotten bling:

Guilty: I totally forgot about this enameled copper bracelet and earrings set that I bought in Portland, Oregon, back in September 2019! I liked how they picked out the red in the lapels of the blazer.

• Earrings/bracelet - vintage 60s, vintage store, Portland, purchased here for $58.00 US

The Mayor of Matchy-Town

I was so tired last night, I could barely put an outfit together. I thought I'd better go with something simple. 

Monochrome purple! Easy-peasy, ready for a Monday.

• Dress - Michael Kors, consignment; purchased here yesterday for $22.98
• Shoes - Entrance Room 502, Fluevog; last worn here in November 2019 with a cape and leopard
• Coat (below) - Sfizio, consignment; last seen here in January

This dress was a dream to wear.

It's baggy where I want it (around my middle).

 Snug in the hips, but not too snug.

 Scrunchable arms, without bagging out.

It was soft and snuggly, without being too warm. Perfect...although pockets would be even better, but you rarely see them on sweater dresses.

Outerwear - it was cloudy most of the day, but is showing signs of clearing. I still need gloves, but a scarf less so.

I had to wear the purple beret! It matches so well. Sometimes you just want to visit Matchy-Town, and sometimes you're the Mayor. Please, no need to bow. (heh)

The stuff:

Such awesome shoes. I almost always wear them with the purple tights!

Silvery bling:

I like a big statement necklace.

• Necklace - Dots
• Silver/gold cuff - JPL, vintage fair
• Hematite ring - thrifted
• Crystal/silver ring - Soul Flower
• Earrings - thrifted

Vizzini rolled around at my feet when I got home.

"Feeeed meeeee..."

He has become a very social cat and misses us, especially on Mondays when he's had us home for much of the weekend.

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Black and Lace; Black Ruffles and Shopping; Black Fringe Party; Black Fuzzy Shop

Hello, my friends! I'm back and I'm in...black! I didn't even realize until I uploaded all my photos that I wore a heck of a lot of black this weekend. 

Here's Friday's outfit - as you can see, I did Funky Friday instead of Casual Friday. 

Yeah, I really don't do casual. And I don't always do loads of colour.

• Sweater - Club Monaco, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in December 2019 with pattern-mixing
• Skirt - 3.1 Philip Lim, thrifted; first worn here in September 2019 with blue ruffles 
• Boots - BCBG Max Azria; last seen here (2nd outfit) in December 2019 for a post-brunch shop
• Coat (below) - L'Atiste, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here a few days ago

This skirt is complicated to wear because it's really short (it is lined, with silk!).

My tights are all laddered and full of holes - I really need to get some more basic black ones, but I am lazy about it - so I wore these fun lacy ones to pick up the lace detail in the skirt.

I love the irregular shapes and placement of the lace bits on the skirt.

I also like my shoulder "wings".

 And the pockets in the skirt!

Outerwear - it was pretty warm and even sunny in spots on Friday, so the hat was a bit hot.

 I'd rather be too warm than too hot, though.

• Hat - M&S Collection, consignment, Powell River
• Gloves - Cejon, thrifted

The stuff:

Every wardrobe needs a pair of over-the-knee flat black leather boots. I'm just sayin'.

Round bling:

Just a few favourites.

• Silver cuff - thrifted, Powell River
• Silver/acrylic cuff - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
• Earrings - vintage fair
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

L and I had a quiet night in on Friday, playing board games and listening to music. We went for brunch on Saturday at Pluto's, and then I went for a wee shop after.

I wanted to wear this flamenco skirt again - it's so swooshy!

• Sweater - Dalkeith, vintage 60s, thrifted; last worn here in December 2019 with another black and tan skirt
• Skirt - no label, consignment; first worn here in October 2019 with old velvet
• Shoes - Half Truth Veda, Fluevog; last seen here in December 2019 with shiny paisley
• Coat (below) - Rodarte for Opening Ceremony, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in December 2019

Sadly, this will be the last wearing of this lovely vintage sweater - it has a couple of small holes, including one right in the centre of my chest. Not one I can hide or repair, aw...

I bought it for $10.50 five years ago (first worn here, pic link), and I wore it 19 times, so that's just over 55 cents per wear. I'm good with that, although I will miss this piece.

 It's hard to find sweaters that fit this well. They don't make them like 1962 anymore!

I loved swishing my skirt around as I walked around town.

It was cold out but we had some sun again.

Outerwear - I thought of this outfit as the Flamenco Ringmaster.

 My "ringmaster" coat is an amazing work of art. The top section is faux Persian Lamb, and does up with double-breasted snaps.

Look, I have tails! No pockets, though - so annoying on a coat!

I went through Rich Rags (2 shirts for L), the Velvet Crease (nothing), and then strolled up to the WIN Boutique. It's a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, and I like the mental break - I can engage with people in the stores if I feel like it, or I can just put my head down and focus on finding pretty things.

The stuff:

These shoes need to be replaced as I have worn them to death! I'll hang onto them until I find something comparable (not easy).

Copper bling:

I wore the brooch on my coat lapel.

• Necklace, bracelet - Matisse/Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair, thrifted
• Brooch - thrifted
• Earrings - vintage fair

The second hand stores are mostly still clearing out their winter stock, so I am being really picky. I found a few things at WIN. 

These anklets look unworn (I'll wash them). They were only $1.95.

I found this beaded belt in a drawer and gasped.

It's very heavy - those are glass bugle beads. It was only $5.95.

I know this name - Henry Birks! He's the founder of the famous Canadian jewelry store that's been around for over 140 years.

 The belt does up with Velcro. So 80s!

The reason I know the name is that this is now the second Henry Birks belt I own.

I bought the bottom one at My Sister's Closet ages ago (first worn here in 2009!) for $20.00.

 Yup, same labels. I'll have to wear both of these soon!

I know I just bought a blue mock-neck sweater (this one), but when you find a good one, you get it!

The shape is totally different! This one is a more snug fit.

It is 100% cotton and is by Beechers Brook (aw, I remember that brand from when I worked at Fairweather!).

Only $7.95 and made in Hong Kong, which dates it to the mid-90s.

After my little shop, I came home and put my outfit together for Greg's birthday party. L and I went for dinner with Cat/Ross, Yvonne/Randall and Nick (Karen was stuck home sick) at Milestones before we grabbed a couple of cabs to the party.

It's always a casual house party, but I never go casual!

This is my outfit for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style.

I planned my outfit around this black suede fringed skirt - it's been much trickier than expected to style since I bought it.

This is the full outfit, but I wore variations of it during the evening according to my internal temperatures.

• Jacket - Frank Lyman; last worn here in November 2019 with plaid and red
• Blouse - Spense, consignment; last seen here in November 2019...with this jacket!
• Skirt - Lamarque, consignment; purchased here for $32.50
• Boots - Prepare Hi Adventure, Fluevog; last worn here for Hallowe'en in October 2018

Just the blouse and skirt. As I mentioned earlier, all my black tights are toast, so I had to go with bright blue. Why not?

"We need to talk about the lack of cat pictures in this post, Woman." 

Jacket on, worn open.

The back of the jacket. It's faux leather, and all those flowers are embroidered. The entire thing is covered in disco-ball studs too (they snag my hair - not so badly now that it's shorter).

It's hard to convey how swingy and fringe-y this skirt is.

See? Much fringe.

While I loved wearing and swooshing in this skirt, it was a production in the bathroom. Due to all that very long fringe, I had to actually unzip it to avoid dunking it in the toilet.

Jacket partially-zipped.

 And fully done up to my neck.

My gloves were the only concession to outerwear, and I was COLD until I got to Greg/Rosanna's place. Their house was nice and warm, thank you!

• Gloves - Cejon, thrifted
• Bag - Danier Leather, thrifted

The stuff:

Pretty amazing boots, right? They were fine for walking to the bus stop, to the restaurant from town, and to the taxi stand, but add in another couple of hours of standing in the kitchen, and I had to take them off for a while. I was much shorter after that, to the amusement of the taller people at the party.

Simple bling:

I left this stuff out overnight, and just wore it all again with Sunday's outfit.

• Silver/onyx ring - Tocarra, vintage fair
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Earrings - thrifted

On Sunday, I was up early (after going to bed at 2am!) to walk to town to get groceries, and then walk to Fairfield to meet up with Sandra for a shop at My Sister's Closet.

As you can see from my hair blowing, the weather has turned (again). It's windy and rainy. We even lost power briefly!

• Top - Jean Paul Gaultier, vintage 90s, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in November 2019 for Book Club
• Angora dress - Ralph by Ralph Lauren, vintage 90s, thrifted; first worn here for a vintage fair outing in November 2019
• Booties - Gabor; last seen here (2nd outfit) a couple of weeks ago to see the Beaches
• Coat (below) - Danier Leather, consignment; last worn here a week or so ago

No one saw me like this - I only took my coat off when I was trying things on.

Remembering how warm this thick, fuzzy angora dress is, I was very happy with its snuggliness in the wind and rain.

 My tights were covered in black fuzzy "mice" after a couple of hours.

It was an early morning. I'll have to squish in a nap.

Outerwear - I hate carrying an umbrella, especially when it's windy, so I plonked my snug-fitting hat on.

 My hair was rather bedraggled by the time I got home!

• Hat - Deluxe, Saanich Fair
• Gloves - Cejon, thrifted
• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted

The stuff:

Good shoes for rain, walking and trying on clothes.

• Bling - as above

Deja bling! 

Again, I didn't find a ton of stuff, which is fine. Sandra got a complete outfit, and was happy - I always feel bad when I take someone shopping and they don't find anything! 

There was a bin of brown tights for $5.00 a pair. Done! I'll take two of those, please.

I also found this very pretty floral sleeveless top. It has a big loose ruffle around the neckline.

I like the mix of colour and the taupe background - this will layer well under blazers and work with a lot of my bottoms.

It's by Le Chateau and was made in Canada. It's fully-lined and is washable polyester.

 It was $16.98.

I tried to get Sandra to try this sweater dress on, but it was way too purple for her.

Um, trust me, it's a very deep royal purple! Really!

See?

That's closer. It's by Michael Kors, and is a cotton/viscose/cashmere blend. It was only $22.98 which felt like a very good price - yup, it retailed for over $175!

To make up for my egregious lack of cat pictures this weekend, please enjoy some silliness with my fringed skirt.

Swoosh Factor 10!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Thank you so much for stopping by!