Two-Fer: Brocade Brunch; Burgundy and QTee Flashback

On Tuesday, Cat and I met up for lunch and had a brief shop afterwards. This sounds like an excuse to dress up! 

The weather was extremely erratic - although it's sunny here, the wind was so strong that my first two tries at my stair picture, the camera fell over and then fell to the deck (it rests on a ledge while I dash to pose). 

• Burnt orange dress - no label, thrifted; last worn here in January with these same boots
• Boots - Spring Step by L'Artiste; last seen here in March with a turquoise jammy dress
• Cerulean coat (below) - no label, vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in April

The only time I looked like this was in the restaurant. We went to Pagliacci's (aka Pags), a local favourite. 

I love this burnt orange dress - I like the puffed sleeves and the 60s mod look of it. 

But the boots are the stars! 

They have gold, orange/red and blue/turquoise fabric brocade and the black toe-caps are leather. 

Outerwear - I have many accoutrements for various weather situations. 

Hat, purse, scarf, gloves. I am ready for any weather. Bring it on, Fall!

• Hat - Delux
• Scarf - Metrowear, San Francisco
• Gloves - Danier Leather
• Purse - Acadia, consignment

Mostly it was rain, so I looked like this, all masked up too. 

Oops, I forgot to include my brooch on my coat. 

It's a big one! 

• Brooch - vintage, vintage fair

The stuff: 

I walked to town and back in these boots and they were wonderful. Yes, in the rain - it's just water, it dries. 

Secret bling: 

Secret because you couldn't see most of it. I like wearing my skull scarf this time of year. 

• Necklace - D'Orlan, vintage 60s, thrifted
• Leather/chain wrap - local
• Studded leather wrap - Kipling, thrifted
• Klimt wood ring - consignment
• Silver poison ring - Karen's
• Amber ring - c. 1996
• Gold earrings - gift from Mom

We spent a couple of hours in Dots, mostly browsing for Cat, as I'd recently done a shop there. 

I did pick up some more cheap tights for myself : black geometric, navy lace and a silver-grey ribbed style, all $1.99 a pair. 

Back to work on Wednesday! It's so exciting, delving into the new-to-me items and making new outfits. The first few weeks of my bi-annual capsules are always my favourites, for the surge of creativity that they bring. 

I started with this lovely burgundy knit skirt. At least, I was positive it was burgundy, but when I saw it at work under the fluorescent lighting, it looked very purple-y and did not go with this sweater. 

• Cashmere sweater - Talbots, thrifted; last seen here in March - my final outfit of the fall/winter season last year
• Skirt - 525 America; purchased here for $23.99
• Shoes - Mini QTee, Fluevog, consignment; last worn here in March with burgundy and leopard
• Coat (below) - Denny Rose, consignment; last seen here in March

However, it looks burgundy in these pictures, so let's just pretend these are all accurate for every lighting condition, shall we? 

The skirt is much swooshier than it looks - the bottom section is a wider ribbed knit and it flicks and swings in a most delicious way. 

I was happy to have a nice cashmere sweater on today too. 

Most of my cashmere eventually gets eaten by moths, but this one seems to have survived the summer. Woo! Small victories! 

Masked up - I seem to not have any burgundy masks (*cough*hiMom*cough*), so I went with a burgundy and red one. 

Outerwear - this is a lovely coat, but too thin for really cold weather. 

I love that the pockets are hidden at the top of the black middle band of fabric. 

The stuff: 

I'm happy to have these lovely black/tan/burgundy shoes back in my closet - they are heavenly to wear. I've had them for a while, so we are going to have a Flashback on them in a bit. 

Coppery bling: 

First wearing of the wooly hair clips - they were $4.00 each at House of Savoy last week. 

• Copper necklace - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Copper/red enamel cuff - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage expo
• Copper feather cuff - vintage fair
• Copper earrings - vintage expo
• Klimt wood ring - consignment
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, c. 1970, vintage expo
• Hair clips - consignment

Flashback: Mini QTee, Fluevog

I buy most of my Fluevogs new, but every so often, I spot a pair in a consignment store and I go for it. I bought these from Rich Rags back here in September 2011 - NINE years ago! - for $99.00 which felt like a lot. However, these shoes sold for $285.00 new, so I felt better.

These were one of my first ventures outside my comfort zone in 2011, of trying styles that were a little different. I'm in love with the "spool" heel, the chunky rubber sole, and the double ankle strap. 

I wore them first in September 2011, with a cashmere rugby sweater. 

My style has changed quite a lot over the years. 

This is what I wore to an Urbanite at the Art Gallery in November 2011 - pretty mild for me! 

I still have that top, although it's a bit snug right now. #clothesgoals!

Get used to this abstract blouse - I wore it a LOT with these shoes. These are the days when I had a much smaller wardrobe. 

This is from January 2012 and is an early wearing of my Noa Noa frock coat. I also had quite a collection of suede skirts (this one's olive; the previous one was brown). 

That blouse again - this is October 2012, during my 30 For 30 For 12 Wardrobe Challenge, during which I wore these shoes three times. 

Not sure that the sweater layering here is working. 

Outfit #2 from October 2012. Long-time readers may remember my cranes cardigan from way back. 

Or perhaps my Gap "barn" skirt? 

Third outfit from October 2012, and that's the same blouse and skirt as two looks ago (duh, that's how capsules work0. 

I did discover how good the shoes look with textured, lacy tights. 

This was in February 2013 when I briefly had blonde hair. 

That was a solid red dress, but it didn't have pockets. I still have that leather obi belt. 

Oh, I still have blonde hair in March 2013. 

Playing with the black/tan/red of the shoes with my outfit. I still have that leather obi and that houndstooth skirt. 

I enjoyed this gorgeous burgundy wool suit (that I paid $18.00 for!) for a couple of years before passing it along to Yvonne. 

I do love a suit, always have. 

I wore them for New Year's Eve, January 2014. 

Aw, Vizzini and L too! 

This was a fun vintage dress, seen in November 2014.

I had those tights forever. - they died last year, after at least a decade of wear. 

A slightly wackadoo outfit for Saturday brunch in February 2015.

There's my "Buffy" leather slip dress - that will be making an appearance soon! 

This is a very classy look from September 2015. 

I still have that fabulous Gianfranco Ferre skirt, and those are my summer orange wooden hoop earrings. 

I'm wearing the same scarf and hoops here in January 2016. 

Those are indeed red velvet pants and they bagged out tremendously and so this is the only outfit I did with them. 

This painty-plaid silk skirt was so pretty, seen here in November 2016.

I still have the necklace and the taupe sweater tank. 

I look sick here (and I was!) - this was Valentine's Day, February 2017.

That was an interesting blouse, but challenging to wear. Yvonne has that suede mini now. 

Here's a fan favourite from October 2017: my Urban Camo dress! 

I've had it for ages, so it'll be fun to do a Flashback on it at some point. 

I probably got my Fendi belt around this time, as I've paired it twice in a row with these shoes. 

This was in October 2018. 

This is a nice chill outfit, from December 2018.

I let go of the dress just after this, but I still have that long cardi and the tights too!

I adore this outfit. That red blouse and that mermaid skirt are two favourites still in my wardrobe.

The cool metal belt broke last year, sadly. This look is from January 2019. 

Ooh, I can't wait to wear this dress again soon - this was in March 2019.

It's an excellent jammy dress. 

This is a fun Hallowe'en-ish look, from October 2019.

I have all of these pieces - we'll see if the leather pants still fit! 

And here is the last time I wore them, in March 2020. 

Looking forward to deploying those ruffles and that leopard skirt again. 

Mathy stuff: I tend to wear these shoes twice a year, but they really do deserve to be seen more! Including the current outfit, I have now worn them 24 times, bringing me to $4.13 per wear. Awesome!