Two-Fer: Rock & Roll Leopard; Double Purple Leather Flashbacks

I had a dinner date with my friend Jen on Thursday night - and you KNOW I could not resist going full Rock & Roll for it. 

Red denim, leopard print suit. YES. All kinds of yes. 

• Jacket - Smashed Lemon; purchased here for $49.99
• Blouse - Clover Canyon, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in June as Darth Sheila
• Pants - Smashed Lemon; purchased here for $39.99
• Shoes - Sam Edelman, thrifted; last worn here in June for our last visit with Karen

I actually struggled with styling it - I think it'll be easier to style with my fall/winter clothes (turtlenecks, darker colours, ankle boots). 

And yes, I purpled my hair - a squirt of colour in my conditioner, and the browny tones that appear turn to lavender. Erm, yes, it's a bit streaky but most of it will fade out.

I rolled the sleeves twice to give the jacket a bit of edge. 

Isn't the suit marvelous? The pants are a looser fit - they also look cute cuffed (the backside of the fabric is red).

Vizzini did not approve. 

"Feed me before you leave, Woman."

I did not - he had to wait till I got home at 7pm. 

"There will be yowling!"

There was.

Instead of a solid top (of which I have very few), I opted for a black and white based print. 

This is a picture of an accordion that's been digitally manipulated. 

Isn't it cool? 

Masked up:

My Star Wars mask! I felt like a badass walking to town in this. 

The stuff: 

Comfy shoes. 

Pile-it-on bling: 

The accordion top has bits of turquoise in it, and I liked how that popped off the red suit. 

• Leather belt - Club Monaco, thrifted
• Zipper rose - Victoria & Albert Museum gift shop, London, England
• Studded cuff - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
• Sterling silver and semi-precious stone/pearl bracelet - Salt Spring Island, gift from L
• Steel earrings - gift from Lise
• Silver/turquoise Mexican ring - Karen's
• Silver/turquoise ring - local
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall

The pants are a little loose, so I needed a belt - this one worked well, and you couldn't tell it was navy blue (I bet you didn't notice!). 

I got to town early for our reservation at Cactus Club, so I popped into Winners. Uh-oh. 

I was good! I don't like buying retail, but I do need a new pair of walking-to-and-from-work hot weather shoes, and who doesn't love a nice pair of Converse All-Stars? 

Especially when they have iridescent sparkles??

They were $39.99. 

And I cut them! 

I dislike when sneaker tongues slide around on my narrow foot, so I poked an exacto blade through the tongue level with the 3rd grommet from the top. Voila! Now they stay put. 

I also really liked these large earrings. 

They are made in India and they are really light! They were $16.99 and are by Lamani. 

For today/Friday's work day, I opted for this outfit that has been waiting for a cooler day. 

It started raining last night and rained off and on all night. 

• Blouse - InWear; first worn here in June with a black pirate skirt
• Skirt - Chia, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in September 2019 with black and leopard
• Shoes - Pearl Hart Bellevue, Fluevog, purchased from Elaine, gave to Cat, got back from Cat; last worn here with purple tigers in April

This morning when I did my stair picture, I was treated to fog. 

"Hey! Hey! We got a lady over here! Hey!"

Young seagulls shouting at me. 

"Move along, Lady! Hey! You!"

Would you believe I have never worn this skirt and these shoes together before? They're a perfect match!

I love the rich amethyst purple of this leather skirt. 

I hear coloured leather is a "thing", in with the cool kids, etc. 

Baby, I've been doing coloured leather for years. 

Masked up: 

We'll take a little Flashback on this skirt shortly so you can enjoy all the wacky ways I've worn it. 

The stuff: 

We'll also Flashback on the history of these Fluevogs, which I've sort of had for years. I'm not their first owner, but I am the second...and the fourth! 

Simple bling: 

I'd planned to wear the matching snake clip in my hair, but I was rushed for time in the morning. 

• Earrings - local
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
• Silver/gold/amethyst ring - homegrown vintage, c. 1984, gift from Mom & Dad
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's

I wore my new Cons to walk to and from work. 

Snazzy! 

Flashback #1 - Purple Leather Skirt

I bought this skirt here in December 2013 for $13.50 at the big WIN (Women In Need) store downtown. It's very high-waisted, is extra-long like many of pencil skirts of the 80s, and has deep pockets.

Look at that magnificent 1980s label! I love that the brand is Chia, reminding me of Chia pets (link here 'cause I love) and the ubiquitous commercials ("Ch-ch-ch-chia!") from back in the day. 

I first wore this skirt shortly after in December 2013 with oodles of colour.

I have a red belt on over the brown sweater too. Yeah, not so sure that the scarf ties it all together. 

I can tell I was enamoured by it - this might be the first time I've had a skirt this purple - because I wore it again in December 3013! 

Showing you my outerwear shot, as I'd matched all my accessories to those funky floral tights - I shopped in this, showing off my lovely Desigual coat. 

Here it is again in January 2014 with greys. 

Those are my Fluevog wool boots, which will be a fun Flashback. 

A simple outfit in March 2014. 

That is too plain for my taste these days - I would not wear a plain t-shirt fabric top without a jacket or something over it now. 

I went full Sybil Fawlty in these enormous ruffles in June 2014. 

That is the only time I wore that top - it was just too much, even for me! 

A little tamer here with this multi-coloured wrap top in August 2014.

I like the lime green and browns - an unusual mix. 

With one of my favourite blazers ever (which I still have!) in November 2014. 

Cunningly accessorized with Tail of Vizzini. 

I love this black and white mix in January 2015. 

I still have that grommet belt, my Grandma J's jet necklace and that fabulous striped frock coat. Unfortunately, those checkered peep-toe heels (worn with tights! how fashion-forward of me!) were way too high and did not last long. 

After only 1-2 wearings (this is from June 2015), I gave this piece of 80s crochet and leather nostalgia to Cat.

She wore it for the 80s Urbanite at the Art Gallery in 2018 (pics of it here). 

I bookended my pale green and lavender satin pajama top with my pale green shoes in April 2016.

My frequency in wearing drops off around this time, as I separated my hot and cold weather wardrobes. 

Here we are in October 2016, with many shades of purple. The proportions here are not quite right. 

I don't regret giving up those lavender booties - they didn't have a zipper (hard to get off and on), and they were really high. 

I like how black and white (and grey) allows this lovely leather skirt to shine. This is from April 2016.

I still have those shoes and I just wore those steel earrings with the leopard suit! 

I love the colour combination here, also in April 2016. 

Coral, pink, purple and orange, all the colours in the scarf I'm wearing. 

Back to grey in February 2017. 

Those grey t-strap shoes are going to be a good Flashback. 

Another "once worn" item was this multicoloured cashmere cardigan. 

I bought it on clearance at My Sister's Closet for cheap, then discovered a hole right in the front when I wore it. 

You can't really see my outfit here in August 2018, but that's okay. 

"No one wanted to see it anyway, Woman. They're here for me."

I love purple and orange together. 

And here's the last time I wore it, in September 2019. 

That top is in the giveaway pile right now. Not tempted - the arms were too tight. 

Mathy stuff: I have now worn this skirt 18 times, including today, which brings us to 75 cents per wear. What a deal! 

Flashback #2 - Purple Leather Shoes

These shoes are officially called the Pearl Hart Bellevue and they are by Fluevog. They have a convoluted history, as I didn't buy these originally: Elaine did! Before Victoria had a Fluevog store, a few shoe stores in town were approved retailers of very small lines of 'Vogs. I'd spotted these at Heart & Sole and even tried them on, but never bit. Elaine and I were out shopping one day, and she ended up buying them, but nearly immediately suffered impulse purchase regret. Since I'd already been stalking these, I offered to buy them from her, as they were final clearance at $99.00 and could not be returned. 

I paid her $100 for them, and happily wore them for several years, then passed them along to Cat, who also wore them for a few years...until they showed up at a swap and I took them back. So...Elaine's, then mine, then Cat's, and now mine again. Got it?

I first wore them here in April 2012 during my 30 For 30 For 12 Wardrobe Challenge and built four outfits with them that month. 

My full "going out" outfit (I'd not quite mastered the Stair Pose at this point), including my denim jacket, scarf and purse. The only things I have left are the shoes and the scarf!

April 2012 again - my colour themes for that month were yellow, purple, teal and pink, with some denim and grey. 

I loved that bat-wing sweater. I still have that Smoking Lily obi! 

My third outfit of April 2012. 

That big denim skirt was a noisy thing, always flapping. 

And my final April 2012 outfit: a long-sleeved tee (which I now sleep in!) layered under a denim dress. 

I also layered my floofy underskirt (still have) with the dress - that's some wacky layering. 

An unusual mostly-black outfit in July 2013. 

I spy that same obi! Yvonne has this dress now. 

I love this pretty outfit from November 2013.

Deja jacket - you might have noticed a bit of overlap with what I wore with the purple leather skirt. I no longer have this Noa Noa blue skirt, but I am pretty sure I still have those purple tights! 

I like the shoes as just a pop of colour in an otherwise neutral outfit. I should do that again. 

I remember this era of our neighbour storing his bikes out on "my" landing! 

This is another really pretty outfit, from July 2013. 

That skirt unfortunately got many little holes in it and the blouse is long-gone. I still have that leather obi, though. 

With the embroidered velvet blazer again, in March 2014 for my first wearing of this Hugo Boss silk skirt. 

I didn't have it very long - it was too poufy. 

This blue t-shirt top again - this was in May 2014.

Eh, nothing too exciting there. I passed the skirt along to Yvonne a few years ago. 

Recognize this top? I wore it with the purple leather skirt. I think this is one of the first wearings of my "bark" skirt in July 2014.

"Drive by photobomb, courtesy of me."

We'll Flashback on that skirt, come Fall. 

This is one of the dresses I bought in Italy in the fall of 2014 and wore shortly after, in November 2014.

It has a solid purple upper back - a perfect match with the shoes. 

I'm always on the hunt for yellow/mustard tops and sweaters. This was not the Perfect Yellow Sweater. 

My lovely plaid skirt again, in December 2014.

I'd forgotten about this pink jean jacket, from June 2015.

I gave it to my coworker Lindsay - every so often she used to wear it to work, back in the days when we had people in the office. 

This vintage jacket didn't photograph well - it had bits of purple in the pattern. I don't keep things that look bad in pictures. I did love that purple lace dress.

And that's the last time I wore these shoes, in August 2015...at least for a few years! 

Here they are again back in my closet, having spent four years living in Cat's. 

Wow, four years - I look like a totally different person! This was in May 2019. 

And here's the last time I REALLY wore them, in April of 2020, with my Valentino skirt and purple tiger blouse. 

These are super-comfy shoes but they're snug due to that criss-cross vamp detail (I slip them on with some difficulty because I'm too lazy to unbuckle them). They are a good office shoe. 

Mathy stuff: Well, it looks like 18 is the magic number today - I've also worn these shoes 18 times! That works out to $5.56 per wear, which is solid. 

And now, my friends, it's time to get the weekend started. Cat picture!

"Oh, this is just undignified."

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure (and my new glasses!). Thanks so much for stopping by!