Pink Paisley Flashback, Dadiversary, Castle Pre-Scout

Surprise! It's a bonus "day off" post because I needed a mental health boost.  

I spent some time last night putting together outfits with my not-yet-worn items, and I wanted to wear one. 

• Outer blouse - INC, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in July 2019 with funky shoes
• Inner blouse - Tatum & Olivia, consignment; purchased here for $22.50
• Trousers - H&M, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in May with a pajama jacket
• Shoes - Leith, consignment; last seen here in August with lavender and chrysanthemums
• "Fuzzy Flamingo" coat (below) - Auckie Sanft, vintage 60s, thrifted; last worn here in April

Today is also the anniversary of my dad's death in 1997, the year L and I got married. My wedding pictures are the last ones I have of him and I together. 

Dad stepped on the train of my wedding dress, cracking everyone up, including us. I wore my mom's 1965 dress and he did the same thing at their wedding. We'd been teasing him about it during the weeks leading up to our March date, and he'd vehemently protested that this time he wouldn't. Of course, he did! It yanked me backwards! 

Getting dressed today - and flat-ironing my hair - lifted my spirits. I'd forgotten that I bought a flat-iron back in February for Ronnie's birthday party to spiff up my 'do (here) - I've never actually done my hair with it! 

It turned out well! 

Here's a look at the outfit without the over-blouse, showing off my new-to-me ruffly blouse. In the past, I have referred to this as a chicken blouse (I make very good chicken noises, it's a skill), and I see no reason to stop now. 

Another wearing of these fabulous shiny pink satin trousers. How did I live before these? 

I loved this patterned silk blouse with the pink pants - they were made for each other. 

Knotted to show off my "chicken" chest. 

Every time I wear this blouse, I gush over how symmetrical the pattern is. 

Again: look at that, so perfect, such a hallmark of a quality garment. We'll have a little Flashback on it shortly.

It's a sunny day, but there's a wind, and it carries the chill of fall. Coat time! 

The Return of the Fuzzy Flamingo! I adore this vintage mohair coat for spring and fall. 

Done up and wearing one of my many vintage scarves.

Note my articulated pink lizard brooch on the shoulder. 

• Silk scarf - vintage, thrifted

The stuff: 

I wasn't sure how useful lavender metallic shoes would be in my wardrobe but I've worn them five times since I bought them in February of this year, so there you go! Try something new!

Pink bling: 

Simple bling for my adventure in the 'hood. 

• Belt - vintage, thrifted
• Brooch - vintage fair
• Earrings - thrifted
• Ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's

Of course, I wore my dad's ring today. It's like a hug from him. 

Did someone say "adventure"? I decided to get outside and go for a walk. My book club group is going on a tour of Craigdarroch Castle this coming weekend - I was going to surprise y'all, but I enjoy the anticipation, and now you can too! Read about my local castle here (link 'cause I love). I liked the brief summary in the trailer here, too. My grandad (Mom's dad) went here when it was Victoria College - he always claimed to have carved his name on the woodwork somewhere. 

It's only a few blocks from my house, so I thought I would stroll over and scope it out, make sure I knew what I was going to be doing when we met up. I'm an anxious person, so knowing things in advance makes me more comfortable. 

The trees are starting to turn, and the sunlight has a coolness to it. 

I'm so glad that the scaffolding (here) is off - it will be better for viewing in the Tower Room. Yes, we get to go up there! 

It's not a huge castle (it was a home originally), but it's really awesome inside - you might have seen its interior and not even been aware of it! There have been four movies filmed there, according to IMDB (here). 

I remember when they filmed the Winona Ryder/Susan Sarandon version of "Little Women" in Victoria in 1993 - I walked past some of the sets around town. 

This is the front door, under the porte-cochere (horse carriage entrance). 

It's round! Eee! 

Hmm, what's this? 

Oh, good to know! I'll have to make sure my outfit has rubber-soled shoes. I've warned the book club babes. 

I brought a book with me that I'm close to finishing, and was hoping to chill on the chair on the veranda that was there in March (here). 

Unfortunately, they've taken it inside. 

Instead, I wandered out to the middle back of the field, spread out my coat and read for an hour under a giant tree. 

Shoes off! I'm enjoying "The Outsider" by Stephen King (I liked the TV show too). 

The view above - this is a 200+ year-old Gary Oak. 

Leaves drifted down around me as I read. It was very quiet and peaceful, and I took several breaks to just look up and gaze around. I saw many dragonflies! 

Flashback: I.N.C International Concepts Silk Paisley Blouse

I bought this blouse in June 2016 (here) on a Saturday thrift store shop, at the big WIN (Women In Need) store. Funnily, this is the only item I still have from that shopping trip. 

I was boggled then, as I am now, over the high quality of the pattern and the thickness of the silk. The inside sewing is also very clean, without any raw edges.

It's a huge waste of fabric for a designer to line it up like this for every garment. If you find things with even patterns like this, buy them! 

I was also drawn to the great colour palette of the paisleys: pink, fuchsia, caramel, camel, lilac, lavender, on a creamy-white background. Very useful colours for me. 

I noted at the time that this was likely early 80s, due to the sizing. This is not a modern size 12, it's more like a size 8, so this dates it to before the Great Size Shift when the practice of vanity sizing caused all "numbers" to drop by two. Old size 10 is a modern size 6. 

It was $16.95, which felt like a bargain. To find a blouse of this quality nowadays, you'd need to search high-end designers, like Versace or Gucci, and it would cost in the high hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. INC is still around - I see their stuff in the Bay department store, and it's still nicer quality than some brands, but they just don't make 'em like this anymore.

I first wore it with the same belt I wore with it today, in June 2016. 

That was my last denim skirt - high-waisted dark denim pencil skirt. It eventually ripped at the back seam, and I've not found its equal since. 

Gussied up for a day in the park Zentangling with Elaine in August 2016.

My old "mushroom" skirt that I wore to death. I still have everything else, including the hat. 

With my Valentino skirt and a funky pair of Fluevogs. 

That was in October 2016.

I like this outfit from March 2017. 

The gobs of pearls and the gold shoes make it. 

With my pink vintage belt again and there are those gold shoes again - I miss those! 

This was in October 2017. Seeing these culottes again, I don't regret passing them along.  

I took the blouse on a trip to Powell River in July 2018. 

It functioned as sunblock and to hide my ginormous arm tattoos from my mother-in-law. 

This casual outfit was perfect for seeing "Crazy Rich Asians" in the theatre in August 2018. 

I miss movies in theatres...

And here's the last time I wore it, with the same skirt as above, in July 2017.

I could not make those shoes quite fit - they were just too big, sadly. 

Mathy stuff: I've now worn this blouse nine times, for a cost-per-wear of $1.88, which is excellent. It has many more years of use with me, so I expect that to plunge to mere pennies! 

And now, I'm going to indulge in some Purr Therapy and watch a movie that a coworker loaned me just before COVID hit and I'd totally forgotten about. 

"I might sit on you."

Come on, Vizzini, you know you want to.