Second Chance Black, Plus Garden of Enjoyment Retrospective

Of course, our gorgeous hot weather from this past weekend was too good to last. Now it's muggy, windy and overcast. At least it's not snow - I know some of you have had flurries over the past couple of days! 

A Monday is as good a day as any to give this black skirt a second chance, and I'm also busting out a pair of seldom-worn shoes, including a retrospective of all the times I've worn them.

• Blouse - See By Chloe, thrifted; first worn here in August 2019 with creamsicle dots
• Skirt - Ports 1961, thrifted; last seen here in April 2019 with black and white and gold
• Shoes - Garden of Enjoyment Rita, Fluevog; last seen here in September 2018 for a trip to the dentist
• Jacket (below) - Dolce & Gabbana, vintage 90s, thrifted; last worn here in April in my last outfit of the fall/winter season 

I love an unusual pattern, and I have a wardrobe full of them! Since the skirt is plain black, I happily ransacked my closet looking for a pattern worthy of it.

I love the mixed patterns in this silk blouse - it's almost a leopard print, with insets of black and white.The striped sleeves are polyester and are pleated.

The skirt is 100% silk with an interesting "leather" finish (it's very rustle-y); it's lined with sheer silk that peeks out at the hem (check the stair picture) and at the paper-bag waist.

That little bit of peach you see at the bottom is a vintage full slip that I'm wearing underneath, in case of the office AC being too cold. It was, and I felt very clever.

Pockets! Wearing this skirt again, I fell in love with it all over. It's a keeper.

It's a gorgeous, quality piece - it would have retailed for well over $500 new (new skirts on their site are over $1,000!). I paid $16.95 for it, heh heh.

I added a jacket today due to the goofy weather.

Would I need it for sunblock or to keep me warm? As it turns out, neither.

The stuff:

I've realized that with the reduction in my work hours, my feet are healing up from wearing "real shoes" all day, every day - and I'm definitely moving around less at work than I used to. Some of my higher heels don't hurt my feet anymore! This is cause for celebration! These have never been uncomfortable shoes, but I've been looking askance at that heel, and wondering if their time with me is up. We'll have a little jaunt down Memory Lane shortly...

Round bling:

Even the studs on the shoes match.

• Belt - Emmanuel, vintage 80s, thrifted
• Leather/steel cuff - Rimanchik
• Silver/acrylic cuff - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
• Onyx/silver ring - Toccara, vintage fair
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Earrings - thrifted

I also liked how the snakeskin belt looked over the skirt's waistband.


Garden of Enjoyment Retrospective!

I had lots of fun revisiting my red shoes last week (here), and I haven't worn these shoes much in the last few years, so here's a retrospective of my outfits featuring them.

First outfit, from July 2013. I bought the shoes in June 2013 online from Fluevog for $199.00. This is before we had a Fluevog store in Victoria, so I never saw these in person or tried them on (very risky!). I was nervous, but I wanted them SO BADLY. I was hugely relieved when I got them and they fit perfectly.

Of course, I had to wear them with the Spanish Ladies dress. I should do a retrospective of that - I've had it for 10 years this month!

I noticed as I grabbed all these pictures that I've often struggled with styling these shoes. They are a challenging, fashion-forward style, with the open, pointy toes, the big piece on the vamp, and the wrap that goes around behind the curved heel - these were not "in style" in 2013, although they look very trendy to my eyes now.

This is one of the better outfits, just bookending a simple black skirt. This is the end of my red hair phase, which lasted many years.

That's my vintage Gianfranco Ferre 80s wool skirt; I still have that belt too. This is from July 2013.

And I wore them again in August 2013, to go to L's 20th high school reunion in Powell River.

Sex-ay! I still have the belt, the cuff and the evening bag. I danced all night, till 2am in these - they are a lot comfier than they look, even for a 3" heel.

I (nearly) always wear these shoes with bare legs, so they've mostly been worn in warmer months.

This is in September 2013. That skirt was leather and really nice, but it didn't have a slit and I found it hard to walk in. I still have that leather jacket!

Zoiks, this is a Look! This is what I wore for L's birthday party in June 2014.

I still have the belt and earrings. I gave the dress to Cat, and she wore it at the last Victoria Film Festival Gala.

July 2014 - I'd just bought this handmade blouse at a vintage fair. I wish it had been better quality - I love the look.

My arms look so bare without my tattoos.

I...yeah, I have no words for this horrific outfit that I wore in September 2014.

All those colours went together, but not much else. I still have the obi and the necklace.

A rare wearing of these in cold weather - I wore nylons with the shoes in January 2015.

 You might recognize that burgundy satin embroidered jacket - it's a fixture in my wardrobe. A blonde streak has appeared in my hair and I changed the part to the opposite side.

I miss this striped dress - it looked so good. But it got very pill-y after wearing a few times.

That's 5 years ago, in May 2015.

This was the one and only wearing of this beautiful silk vintage 80s dress, in June 2016.

I sweated profusely in it, and it shrunk badly when I washed it. Sad.

In my pussy-bow blouse phase, in June 2017. Growing my hair out!

 I tried mint green. Nope, but I hung onto that brooch.

You might remember what I wore to Sarah's baby shower in April 2018.

Everything there's a keeper! Getting some length on my hair, and starting to get lighter.

And then the last outfit, in September 2018. I wanted to like that blouse, but I really didn't.

Much lighter hair there, too - it took another year for my gray to grow out completely.

I didn't wear these shoes at all in 2019, but having worn them again, and loved them, I think I owe it to these shoes to create some worthy outfits this year!