Friday Striped Pirate, Orange Desmonds Bigass Flashback, and Cat Therapy

Hello, my friends! Friday's here and I'm ready for the weekend.

Today's forecast: rain, rain, rain. Welcome to spring on the We(s)t Coast.

• Merino wool sweater - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last seen here in a house outfit in April
• Pants - Eleonora Amadei; purchased here for $27.99
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; re-waxed here, and last seen here in August 2019 for my last day of work with WW (Weight Watchers)
• Leather coat (below) - Jeno de Paris, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here in May

It's been a rough week for us, emotionally. Our dear friend Karen has been dealing with the resurgence of her breast cancer (from 15 years back), and it's metastasized to her lungs, liver and brain, Stage 4. She's been undergoing some treatments, but is now too weak to continue. We are not hopeful and are taking things day by day.

Which is why I needed Clothing As Armour today. A hug from my soft, oversized wool sweater.

I wore a cami under this as well.

My new-to-me striped trousers guarantee that no one will be looking at my "I'm trying to smile but am really devastated inside" face.

I have to admit, these are a blast to wear.

They have slashed legs to just above the knee, so when I walk they are all SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH.

52-year-old knees. Scandalous!

L said I looked like Anne Bonny, a famous female pirate (Wiki here). Yup, I think Anne would definitely have worn these pants. Yarr! I'm a city pirate.

Leather coat due to the horrid rain today.

It was actually cold this morning and I had to button up!

• Wool fedora - vintage, thrifted
• Scarf - Smoking Lily, thrifted

The stuff:

First wearing of my orange Desmonds since I did my re-waxing on them and...I had substantial cracking of the wax around my toe area on the right shoe (the left one is totally fine). I expected that, since they are fabric shoes, but they'll need some more work before they are wearable again. I"m going to try blasting them with the hairdryer to see if that helps. These might have to go into the "well, they're wrecked anyway, may as well do something fun with them" category for an Art Project. What would you do to them, craft-wise? Rhinestones? Decoupage?

We're going to take a look at all the times I've worn these shortly.

Square bling:

Just a few bold pieces. The gel bracelet is made from silicon and is squishy. You can see where some of the wax flaked off on the top shoe, that dark mark.

• Cage cuff - Bauxo
• Silicon cuff - Materia Design, thrifted
• Earrings - vintage, vintage fair
• Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

I caught Vizzini snoozing on the deck last night:

"Who goes there?"

You can tell I surprised him, because his tail is straight.

And now he's just chill.

"Oh, it's just the Woman, bothering me again."

Flashback Time!

I bought these awesome shoes online from Fluevog before we had a store in Victoria - Fluevog is the only company I ever buy from online. I tend to watch for my "wish list" shoes to go on sale and then grab them, so these were probably marked down to $199.99 (my magic Fluevog number) before I bit. I purchased them in April 2014, which is before I started recording the prices for everything, but I don't typically pay more than $200 on sale.

By the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to Mica, of Away from the Blue (here), who is my Flashback inspiration. She's my OG blogger friend in Australia, and the guru of  "30 Ways to Wear" items (series link here). I'll be doing less shopping than I used to this year, and looking back at the workhorses and favourite pieces in my wardrobe is encouraging me to shop my wardrobe more. I'm glad you folks are enjoying Flashbacks - and you can thank Mica!

Ready? I've worn these orange shoes a LOT, so there are tons of pictures. See if you can guess how many times without counting the pictures.

I first wore them in April 2014, over 6 years ago! This blue vintage 80s silk top was worn with these shoes twice, and I do miss that skirt, even though it ripped and snagged like a beast.

Buying a bright pair of shoes can be scary if you're used to just black. Before I had a lot of orange jewelry/accessories, I matched these to my MAC "Morange" lipstick. I ended up giving the lippy to a friend, because it made my teeth look yellow. But I kept an eye out for orange accessories and patterns.

I loved these shoes so much, I wore them 3 times that April - impressive!

With a vintage 80s strapless dress and a belted cardi.

And with a soft orange and cream mix.

Ally, do you recognize your ties? Megan Mae made this obi belt from two neckties.

In May 2014, with my Spanish Ladies dress (which I've had since 2010), and layers both under and over it.

"I ought to be in more pictures."

And a cat - the best accessory (says he).

I loved this awesomely ruffled vintage top, but it really didn't go with very much. It's very Sybil Fawlty.

This is in June 2014, and you'll see that purple leather skirt again.

I'd completely forgotten about this vintage dress! I only wore it a couple of times, this likely the last time, in August 2014.

As you can see, I've acquired an orange vintage 80s leather belt. Matchy!

My lovely Desigual dress (back when they made amazing quality garments) is also from 2010.

This is from September 2014. The tulle bit sticking out is a sheer underskirt that I've added for a bit of visual length.

Another wearing in September, with the orange as an accent.

That's my previous version of my recently-worn Armani blazer - this was a cream one by Club Monaco. I also wore this sequined skirt until all the bits started falling off it. I'm hard on my clothes.

Longtime readers will recognize this piece, my Urban Camo dress, which I still have.

Hair-wise, I see I've switched my part to the opposite side for extra volume, and to show off the blonde streak in my bangs. This is from October 2014, before I separated my wardrobe into cold/hot seasons.

From December 2014 - I had this shirt for years, as part of my Cowgirl collection (I still like to dress in cowgirl outfits!).

That skirt is very short, but I had a matching floofy underskirt that I always wore for modesty. When I gave the skirt away, the underskirt went with it.

This was in February 2015, with another gorgeous Desigual piece, this glorious coat.

The coat has bits of orange in the pattern - you can see a bit of it in the hem.

I matched the shoes to the orange feather (unseen here) on my custom-made hat for this Art Gallery outfit.

"What the...?"

That's a killer sexy dress - I want to wear it again, but it requires a party (it's nearly backless).

Here's that blue silk blouse again in April 2015, along with that same obi-made-of-neckties.

I'd found a pair of orange earrings at a vintage fair by this time. It's a set!

With a sweaty-making vintage dress in June 2015. I have purple hair now!

I'm feeling warm just looking at that! It must have been one of our classic "June-uary" days, like today.

My "stained glass" dress is also a longtime favourite - this is from July 2015, and you'll see this dress again later.

With the match orange belt, of course.

From September 2015, when I was in my pussy-bow blouse phase.

I loved those trousers - they were wool, fully-lined, with keys and locks printed all over them. Not super-flattering though.

Oh, I see I've found my current orange earrings, these feather-light wooden ones picked up for a dollar at a vintage expo around this time.

I no longer have anything other than the shoes and earrings (that awesome belt broke when I unpacked it this year, aw).

Moving into 2016, this is a January outfit.

I loved that bomber jacket and wore it until it got fuzzy.

February 2016 - I finally parted with this awesome top recently, which I picked up in Vancouver at the ginormous Blogger Meet-Up in 2015 (bigass write-up here). It was yellowed and very frayed.

The skirt was neoprene and I didn't have it for long.

I love this mix of soft orange and purple worn in April 2016, and enjoyed it so much, I did a bolder orange/purple again later that month.

 That's my cashmere t-shirt - I still have it.

Here's the Spanish Ladies dress again. My un-inked arms look weird to me now - so bare! - I got my upper arm tattoos done in 2017 for my 50th birthday.

 Simpler styling. I need to wear that dress again soon!

And here is our second orange and purple outfit - recognize the purple skirt? This is the second (of 3!) outfits that feature it, and this is the second appearance in a month of my cashmere tee.

I matched everything to the scarf, so I'm wearing a fuchsia belt. I love this look - I should wear it again, since I still the three main pieces.

June 2016, and here's that dress again.

"And me, don't forget me."

As much as I loved that strapless dress, I was always having to hoik it up (I'm pretty sure it's pinned to my bra here).

Here's my full "set" of orange accessories: earrings, belt and shoes.

This is also from June 2016. That dress had zero stretch. Peace out!

While I had purple hair, I bought a lot of purple items to go with it. You'll see this lavender ruffled jacket again, but this is from September 2016.

The necklace has purple and orange in it. I miss these culottes! They were so awesome. I do regret not keeping them.

This is from November 2016 - I'd bought this necklace with bits of orange in it, and was attempting to match the yellow, magenta and cobalt blue with my outfit separates.

That's probably my least favourite outfit of this entire grouping - it doesn't help that the colours are off in this photo. It's just a little blah.

You'll recognize this Desigual dress from a previous Flashback (here); I've worn it twice with these shoes. I started growing my hair out in late 2016 - this is from January 2017.

The shoes are an unexpected extra pop of colour.

This is one of the photo-booth pictures from the Victoria Film Festival Opening Night Gala. I wore a truly "out there" outfit (the theme was Floral), including wearing my shoes with "I'm a Delicate F**king Flower" socks.

My dear Karen...This is one of my favourite pictures of us together. We tend to snort and giggle together when we're partying.

This was in April 2017 - that lavender jacket again with the purple/orange necklace. I like this classy outfit.

My very old houndstooth skirt will be up for a Flashback at some point - it's been in my wardrobe for close to a decade, I'm sure.

My zigzag dress that I wore last week was also worn back in May 2017. I have my current pair of glasses on here - I'm due for a new pair this summer! Maybe I need orange glasses? Maybe pink?

This is my "outerwear" look, but the overall outfit was just earrings/dress/shoes. Easy-peasy.

I passed this Ted Baker sundress along to Caro a couple of years ago - I love seeing her wear it.

This was in July 2017 - such a pretty summer look.

I love a clash of colours, like this hot pink cashmere top with bright orange, in August 2018.

That jungle skirt was a favourite for a couple of years, and this is the first appearance of my "jello shots" necklace (picked up for $5.00 at My Sister's Closet - that's been a great cost-per-wear).

And there's that dress again, this time with the orange belt.

This is in March 2018. My hair suddenly got a lot longer! I'm also starting to fade the colour out by dyeing it a lighter purple over the next year, and as it faded, letting my grey come in. It took me about a year to get to all grey.

An unexpected autumnal palette from April 2018

I think the sleeveless sweater is the only thing I have left from this outfit.

There's my stained glass dress again.

 One yellow and one orange shoe, for Pride Week, in July 2018.

The 3rd and final look with the purple leather skirt, from August 2018. My hair's getting lighter, and I've got bangs/fringe.

"What the heck?"

Best accessory: a startled kitty. I also have the orange jello shot necklace on there, but it's hidden in this picture.

When I shop and look at patterns, I think about my coloured shoes - so this jumpsuit was a natural match for my orange belt and shoes. I can only see the cuff bracelet there, but that's a set too, of cuff and ring, worn in all of the next outfits.

I need to wear this jumpsuit again soon - this was in April 2019. Most of the darker colour is gone from my hair there.

Again, the jello shot neckace is hidden by this curious kitty.

But it's there, matching the shoes, in May 2019.

And here's the last time I wore these shoes, in August 2019.

I call this my Firecracker dress, and yes, it's spectacular. Must wear it again!

Well, there you go! I was shocked to count these up - today's outfit marks my 40th wearing of these shoes, which brings them down to...$5.00 per wear. I'm thrilled with that! Mica, I hope you're impressed!

And now...some more cat pictures. Enjoy, and have a lovely weekend, my friends. Again, if you can spare some good vibes (or prayers, if that rings your bell), please send them Karen's way.

"I follow the sun."

"Not feeling social."

"Nope, go away."