Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Lavender and a Pouffy Flashback; Vero's Birthday and Bebe and Fascinator Flashback

Hello, my friends! What a lovely weekend it's been! It was busy for us at the front end; pretty quiet near the end. 

Here's Saturday's brunch outfit. 

Inspired by seeing this skirt in a bustier outfit in the Friday Flashback (and with it awaiting a wearing for the season), I cobbled together a comfy look.

• Wrap cardigan - Kersh; last seen here in August with my chrysanthemum skirt
• Camisole - not tracked
• Skirt - All Saints, gift from Dominique; last worn here in May 2019
• Shoes - Truths Makena, Fluevog; last seen here in July with a metal dress

After an evening of board games and music on Friday, we slept in a bit, then strolled down to Pluto's to meet up with Nick for brunch. 

From there, we meandered through town to run some errands. 

I was perfectly covered up in my lavender sweater (matching my hair!).

It was lovely and hot - September is always a good weather month for us.

I love the uneven hem of this crazy skirt (it even has pockets, as you can see above), but it's very short. I wore nylons and a short black half-slip to keep things under control. It was a little on the windy side, so I was glad to have the coverage. 

Masked up. 

I even changed up my purse! Shocking. 

The stuff: 

Easy walking shoes, to which I added padded insoles ages ago. 

Sparkly bling: 

Who doesn't love sparkles? 

• Purse - Le Chateau
• Cuff - Swarovski, consignment, gift from L
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
• Ear-balls - Swarovski, consignment
• Bracelet - Coro, vintage 60s, Mom's

Flashback: All Saints Pouffy Skirt

I have been a fan of All Saints since I discovered their store in Camden Town in London (when it was covered with rusted metal - it appears to have been redone in panes of glass since I was there in 2010) - I walked through the store and gasped at all the cool, steampunky, lovely and interesting clothes that I could not afford. I didn't buy anything in London, and although they've since opened a store in Vancouver, but it's still way too pricey for my blood. 

I occasionally see a piece of All Saints clothing in second-hand stores here, but this particular skirt was given to me by Dominique, a former coworker who I bonded with over fashion.  So, this skirt was free! All Saints skirts retail for $150-200 new, so I can't complain about the generosity of Dom! My particular skirt is probably from the early 00s, and is made of 100% cotton in India.

I first wore it here in October 2017 for work, followed by dinner out with my good friend Tammy. 

I usually wear a half-slip under it, as the hemline is very uneven due to all the flounces - this slip is fairly long. I can't wait to have those boots back in my closet! 

I like the look of the skirt with tall boots, as seen in September 2018.

A boring look, but I wore a jacket over it (this was a shopping outfit).

Another work ensemble, with my red suede suit jacket, in March 2019.

I'm sure I waved the poufs at my colleagues in the office that day!

And here's the last time I wore it, with the plaid bustier, in May 2019. 

I like this louche pose. When I first steamed it, I discovered that some of the odd looking poufs would turn inside out...and make pockets! Awesome! 

Mathy stuff: Free, divided by 5 wears, equals... still free! $0 cost per wear! How I love wearing things that have been gifted from others' closets! 

After a short nap, L and I got ready to go to Vero's birthday party on Saturday night. 

I was rushed doing my pictures (the cab arrived!), so my stair picture turned out dark due to the extra-bright sunlight. No time to take more! 

• Dress - Ted Baker "Cocoe", consignment; purchased here for $69.00
• Shoes - Effortless Bebe, Fluevog; last seen here with my vintage Audrey dress in July
• Fur stole - Foster's Furriers, vintage 60s, vintage fair; last worn here in December 2012 for my company's Christmas party

I've been dying to get dressed up, so I went all out! 

Boom! In your face with this gorgeous floral dress! 

Isn't it lovely? 

It's a mix of red and pink and coral shades in the pattern. 

The entire dress is lined in neon orange - these little bits at the neckline are held together with a sliding metal clasp which refuses to stay done up, so I let them flop/fold themselves under and didn't bother trying to wrangle them into place. 

Here they are tucked under, creating a wide V-neck. 

"I'm sensing some purpose to your actions - are you leaving me??"

Our gathering started at 3:30pm which is a little early to feed our creature of habit, but we didn't want to have to rush home to a seething black and white ball of yowling fury and destroyed items. 

Showing off my little fascinator, while trying to ignore the piteous inquiries from our feline roommate. 

"If you're going out, I demand food, Woman!"

I was worried that Vizzini would go after my fur stole, but he was more interested in seeing if there was something he could chew on our backpack. We loaded up with our drinks and blankets for outside socializing. 

"Feed me, or this buckle gets it!"

I also wore layers, knowing that the temps would be dropping from a balmy 25 down to around 12 as soon as it got dark. 

In addition to my vintage fur, the black velvet gloves are like putting on a pair of sleeves. 

And I wore nylons for keeping my legs warm. 

No point in suffering needlessly for fashion. 

"There will be suffering if you don't feed me!"

The cab arrived as I snapped this picture, so I missed a shot of me with my red mask on. Trust me, we wore masks in the cab.

The stuff:

We'll have a Flashback on these shoes shortly. Pink metallic, block heel...they're pretty much the perfect shoe! They were excellent for standing for about 5-6 hours at the birthday gathering, and that heel was not treacherous on the uneven grass. 

Black and red bling: 

My long velvet opera gloves are stretchy - I bought them from Fairweather clothing store in 1999, when I worked there while at university, finishing my degree. I paid $19.99 for them on sale. 

• Purse - Liz Claiborne, vintage store, c. 1996
• Fascinator - Feng Shui, Vancouver
• Belt - Leather World
• Buckle - Shi Studio, thrifted
• Earrings - thrifted

The fascinator was made in Vancouver, purchased while at the 2015 Blogger Meet-Up. There's a wee Flashback on it at the very end of this post. 

I haven't worn my fur stole in SO long - in fact, it has only appeared the one previous time on the blog! There's a lovely vintage label. Ooh, it's an Exclusive! 

I think the fur is mink (a good resource here, link 'cause I love). These stoles were a huge look in the 1950s - they were a staple in many women's closets. Mine is from Foster's Furriers of Victoria - my mom remembers this store - and when I was a kid, I recall at least 2-3 fur stores downtown, and that all department stores here had a fur department.  

It has this lovely taupe lining (feels like silk), with pockets, and straps to loop over one's elbows. 

It was also clearly meant to be worn in Knock Out outfits only! I bought it here for $25.00 at a vintage fair in November 2012. I regularly see these in second-hand stores starting at $60 and up to $100+.

Vero and I both wore our mink stoles once the sun went down (thanks to Ron for the pics!). Hers was her grandmother's, I think. 

Birthday girl! She gets more gorgeous every year. 

Ron said, "Pretend you're cold."

"Ooh, I'm so cold! Brr!"

Ha! These stoles were so snuggly and warm! My fingers and toes were freezing by the end of the night, but my fur kept me toasty. 

In case you were worried, Vero and Justin had a limited invite list and have a big back yard. 

Groups of no more than 6 at a time, all keeping our distance. There's Nick, Chris and Randall in the far section, and we Winesday Women are giving Vero her $100 birthday gift card (me, Yvonne, Vero, Ali's hands, Caro). As you can see, I very much overdressed! My friends expect it. 

Nick, L, and Ron. 

We partied while the sun went down, ordered pizza, then headed home when the neighbours started blasting metal music at us (so rude!). It was only 9:30pm, on a long weekend Saturday!

Flashback: Effortless Bebe Fluevogs

These are the very first Fluevogs I bought at their new Victoria store, here in July 2017. I took my coworkers on a Friday "field trip" - if you ever meet me in person, there is a good chance I'm going to drag you to the nearest Fluevog store! (Ally, Mel, Greetje and Laurie are all nodding).

I paid $179.00 for them on sale. You're not imagining things - that's the same heel/family as my Effortless Vivians (Flashback here) and my Effortless Sophia boots (Flashback here). I love this block heel - it's hugely comfortable. 

I first wore them a week later, still in July 2017.

Too much cream, not enough pink. Only the shoes remain. 

I prefer this outfit, also from July 2017.

Everything looks good with black and white! 

I wore them twice with my Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress (which is now in Emily's closet), here in August 2017.

I discovered how versatile this pinky-red metallic colour is! It goes with anything that's even closet to those colours. 

With a more pink-dominant theme in October 2017. 

I still have the earrings, but nothing else. 

My pink cashmere was the matchy item in this jeans-based outfit from January 2018. 

I love the pointy toes. They just look so spiffy. I still have the jeans and the jacket, but the moths got the sweater. 

This outfit is a bit of a mess, also from January 2018. 

I still have those tights and both the coat (I think) and the leather slip dress. 

This was my outfit for my first day at our new office building, in February 2018. 

I gave that Kenzo jacket to Cat, but I still have my Dries Van Noten pirate skirt.

I have worn these shoes twice with my "firecracker" dress, here in April 2018.

I haven't had the occasion to wear that yet this season! Not enough parties and event in these times, sigh. 

For a stroll down to the pub for L's birthday in June 2018. 

Yeah, this is how I dress for the pub. I still have that full outfit. 

I wore them again a few days later for L's birthday party. 

I was a slinky pink super-villain for L's birthday bash. Did not keep that boob-tacular dress! 

This outfit was for a theatre outing with Mom (dang, I miss those!) in July 2018.

The eyeball dress is in the giveaway pile (it's always been snug). 

Layering a white shirt under the firecracker dress for a work outfit. 

Also in July 2018. 

And another wearing of these shoes with that wrap dress again, in August 2018.

A gorgeous dress, but there is so much wrangling with wraps. 

The one and only wearing of this polka dot blouse with my black leather pants in April 2019. 

The gap in wearings here is probably due to me packing the shoes away for the fall/winter season. 

Here they are with my vintage bubble dress in May 2019. 

These shoes are great for walking, so I often wear them when I have to stand or walk for shorter distances. 

A funky work outfit also in May 2019.

There are flecks of pink in the tweed of the skirt. 

In June 2019, with my Gucci (Gookey!) lace and a floral silk skirt. 

Reds and pinks, so pretty. 

The pinky tones worked well with this brown/pale pink outfit in August 2019. 

I love that linen wrap skirt. 

A very funky outfit in September 2019. 

That was the sole outfit with that blazer. It was too crazy, even for me! 

Another outfit with that same tweed skirt as the previous year. 

This was in April 2020. I do love a good neon. 

With my fireworks linen dress in May 2020. 

I'm surprised I haven't paired the shoes with this dress before! 

For a stroll to town for brunch in June 2020. 

As I continue to way overdress for pubs and diners, heh heh.

And lastly, I wore them with my black vintage Audrey dress, for a mental health lift in July 2020. 

A bold pink to pop off that black. 

Mathy stuff: Wow, in only 3 years I have worn these shoes 24 times! That brings us down to a very reasonable average of $7.46. Fluevogs are not cheap, but when you find a pair that really clicks for you, you can easily get your cost-per-wear down. These shoes still have many, many years of outfits ahead of them too. 

Flashback: Feng Shui Fascinator  

I bought this fascinator directly from Feng Shui's studios on Granville Island, Vancouver, BC during the International Blogger Meet-Up in July 2015 (ginormous post here). My hat is by Jessica de Haas (link here) and it was $78.00.

Of course, I wore it right away! 

I used this picture for my profile for a while.

I'm on the balcony of my hotel in Vancouver (the Blue Horizon). 

I wore it for an Art Gallery event in September 2015. 

Showing my sexy printed tights. My LA Malibu boots are Fluevog - they are quite fabulous. 

A nearly identical outfit here in November 2015.

Same dress, same boots. Hey, when you find a winning combo...

A make-up picture (which is why I appear snoozy - I'm showing my eyeliner).

I haven't worn that dress in ages, but I still have it. 

I have to keep all my feathered items up high, away from little bitey kitties, so I tend to forget about things like fascinators. 

This awesome outfit is from April 2016, for a theatre outing with Mom. I still have the dress, but the other items have been disbursed (the jacket went to Wendy Brandes, my friend Jenn got the purse, and the shoes are ready for re-sell when/if Fluevog does their swap event in some future time). 

And here's the last time I wore my Feng Shui fascinator, for the Victoria Film Festival opening night Gala in February 2018. 

I lost one of the five feathers on the fascinator during that event, so now there are only four. 

Mathy stuff: Not great, but it's a unique piece of art, so whatevs. I've worn it 6 times, which is only $13.00 per wear, and actually, I'm totally good with that. A new fascinator would cost twice that (easy). 

And there we have it, my friends! Time for me to enjoy the last of my long weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by.