Weekend Wrap-Up: Leopard Vote; Babycakes Boots Flashback

I hope you've all had a smashing weekend, my friends! I'm in for a day of lounging around and watching football, with a sleepy kitty on me, so let's get to our outfit.

I wore this for brunch on Saturday - L and I met up with Nick at Pluto's, and then L and I went to vote (our provincial election). 

• Sweater - J. Crew, thrifted; purchased here for $9.99
• Skirt - Rena Rowan, vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in March with big burgundy ruffles
• Boots - Mini Babycakes, Fluevog; last worn here in December with a vintage 70s mermaid skirt
• Coat (below) - Mallia, consignment; purchased here for $78.00

I only had my coat off while we had brunch; although it was a bright, sunny day, it was very windy and cold. 

This my first wearing of this lovely bright orange cable-knit cotton sweater - I have a long-sleeved viscose tee on under it for extra warmth. 

I'm happy to be wearing my Perfect Leopard Skirt again - the texture is almost a faux-fur. It even has texture within the nap, like fur (very strokable). I've had many leopard skirts over the years, and this is the best one I've ever found. Always be upgrading! 

I wasn't sure how long we'd have to stand around in line waiting to vote, and whether we'd have to be outside due to physical distancing, so I planned for being in the cold and broke out my new fleece-lined tights. OMG, they are amazing. Highly recommended, check your local stores for them! Mine were purchased locally at Dots (they are American Apparel clearance) for $2.99. I might have to pop into Dots again and see if there are any left, and snap them up.

With the same consideration for the rest of me as for my legs, I broke out this amazing new-to-me alpaca/wool long coat for the first time. 

Masked up in one of the leopard ones Mom made for me, and more warmth at my neck with a real rabbit-fur scarf. My gloves are thin leather, but the coat has nice deep pockets. 

Rear view. 

That back slit was fantastic for walking, and it also allowed the two side "wings" of the coat to swoop and swirl around my legs dramatically as we strolled to Pluto's and then to the voting station. 

All done up. L is also layering up. 

Coordinating with my vintage Ted Lapidus bag, holding my voter card, and a pen for making my X.

• Scarf - Danier, thrifted
• Gloves - Danier Leather
• Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair

The stuff: 

I can almost hear some of you gasping at the boots - aren't they magnificent? We're going to have a Flashback on them shortly. 

Seasonal bling: 

I broke out a bunch of my brass jewelry as it's very much in the Hallowe'en season. The cuffs have quotes from Edgar Allen Poe. 

• Cuffs - Jezebel Charms, gifts from L
• Anatomical heart necklace - Defy, gift from L
• Earrings - vintage c. 1994, LA Express
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Amber/silver ring - Past Times, c. 1996, gift from L
• Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, c. 1970, vintage expo

I get a kick out of the anatomical heart necklace. It's a locket! 

Hugh Jackman on the left; Vin Diesel on the right

L refers to them as my "boyfriends". "I wanted to give you something you didn't have!" he says, since I have many pictures of him and Vizzini (which is what one would think would be in a locket). 

Flashback: Mini Babycakes Fluevog Boots

I bought these boots for two reasons: they were on sale for $199.99 (regular $475.00), and the Victoria Steam Expo was on the horizon. They are one of the first pairs of Fluevogs I bought online - I knew my size from owning the shoe version (the Mini QTees, Flashback'd here) that I'd bought in September 2011. I bought these either in March or April 2012 (I didn't post my purchases back then). 

They have the classic "spool" heel, a sturdy rubber sole, and an inner zipper. 

Fluevog has made these boots in many different colours, patterns and textures of leather over the years, but these are my favourites. 

Look at that incredible embossed leather! It's so pretty! 

As I said, these have a very steampunk vibe about them, so it's no shocker that I bought them/first wore them here in April 2012 for a full-on steampunk look. I did three wildly different steampunk outfits over the weekend of the Expo, so if you're curious, that link (it's a pop-out so you won't loose your place) is worth a leisurely browse. Good times! 

I wore this outfit for a full 12 hours, including dancing into the wee hours. I still have that leather vest and my vintage red slip (and the little hat fascinator). 

I was in the middle of my 30 For 30 For 12 Wardrobe Challenge at this time, so both the steampunk outfit and the following outfit were "Wild Card" looks (I gave myself one "free" outfit each month to wear whatever I wanted). 

I bought that leather and brass arm bracer at the Steam Expo - this outfit was worn for L's birthday party in June 2012. That tiki-print dress was vintage and very snug - I let it go many years ago. I'm glad I have a picture of it, though.

The boots were part of my October 30 For 30 capsule during the Challenge, and I wore them six times that month! That's a useful pair of boots. 

As I've said previously, this challenge was a really useful way for me to really see what worked and what didn't on my body and with my style. I still have the mink rose brooch in this outfit, and that's it, aside from the boots! 

My green tweed suit skirt makes an appearance, along with this lovely mustard sweater. 

Just seeing that metal belt makes me sad - it was a gift from Mom and snapped across one of the medallions last year. Not fixable. 

More November 2012, and can you tell I had a green/brown/mustard thing going on for a colour scheme that month? 

My current mustard blouse is better than that one - I look like I have a dinner napkin tucked in.

Another November 2012 outfit. I really liked that sweater (great colour), which I picked up at Winners.

I kind of regret moving this denim "snowflake" skirt along - it was very cool. I still have that belt. 

This is my Hallowe'en outfit from October 2012 - I'm a steampunk vampire slayer! L was a vampire, and we attended a Horror Burlesque event with our gang of cronies, where L and I won the costume contest. I also had one of the worst hangovers of my life after that...

I spy my bracer, my steampunk harness, my red vintage slip, and a few of my accessories that I still have, but everything else has been moved along. Caro has that leather shirt now. 

This is also from October 2012. I still have that belt (and of course, the mink brooch).

Orange was also a predominant colour in that month's capsule. Yvonne looks awesome in that orange velvet jacket. 

My massive wardrobe challenge wrapped up in early 2013, and I got back to business as usual - this is from February 2013.

Ah, blonde season. I wore that bird necklace a lot (it was a gift from Mom too).

I wore this outfit to an art opening at my friend's gallery (G++!), also in February 2013. I see I have my purple glasses there. I liked this hairstyle - I called it "chicken hair."

I still have those long leather gloves (and the earrings!), but that dress was only worn twice before I let it go. I'd forgotten I even owned it - it was from when I used to troll Winners regularly.

I did a big shop at Smoking Lily's sample sale in February 2013, where I bought my "Holy Ship!" dress. 

It never quite worked on me. Why am I wearing socks visible above my boots? Why was that ever a thing??

Here we are in October 2013 - back to red hair. I've had many jackets like this over the years, often velvet, with multitudes of buttons, but I ultimately weed them out of my wardrobe as they only look good done up. 

I don't bother buying denim anymore either - I just don't wear it, and I'd rather wear one of my funky skirts. 

There's that bird necklace again, and - ack! - I'm doing the socks + boots thing again. Make it stop!

That vintage skirt was lovely (such good quality), but I passed it along many years ago. 

I wore this mustard sweater a lot (it's another Winners one); this is from December 2013. 

That skirt was suede - I used to buy every leather or suede skirt I found in second-hand stores. I am more discerning now (she said). 

Oh, I'd totally forgotten about this vintage dress that I bought in Vancouver during one of our anniversary trips. 

I only wore it this one time, in March 2014, as it smelled HORRIBLE. It wasn't stinky when I bought it, but once I put it on, my body heat warmed up the fabric and it released a hideous stench. Gone!

This fringe-y sweater was only worn a couple of times at the most - this is from October 2014. 

My early love of obi-style belts is evident. 

There's my cream satin pencil skirt, worn with a sheer oversize blouse (I went through a phase of these), in February 2015. 

My style was starting to change (as was my hair!) around this time. 

I love this picture of Mom and I, all dolled up for a fancy tea and vintage fashion show, also in February 2015. 

I'm doing my steampunk look, and Mom is resplendent in this Victorian-era outfit. That was such a fun day! 

I love this bright marigold yellow sweater in this outfit from March 2015.

I still have the belt, but both the sweater (not a good cut on me) and the skirt (shoddy quality, but fun style) are long gone. 

I adore Victorian/steampunk looks, can you tell? This one features a patchwork skirt that we'll be seeing again a few times. 

This was in September 2015. Only the vest remains. 

Oh, there's my cream brocade jacket, looking snazzy in this outfit from November 2015. 

I recently spotted this same skirt in Flavour Upstairs - I'm sure it was mine (same size). I moved it along shortly after this outfit. It was fun, but not really me. 

There's that brown/black patchwork skirt again, in December 2015. 

I still have the copper lame (lah-MAY, darlings!) top. It's a good layering piece.

This was a hastily-assembled outfit for seeing a play at the Belfry with Mom, in February 2016.

I bought the tassel earrings and the fluffy top at the Vancouver Blogger Meet-Up in 2015 - I still have the earrings. That skirt was weird, and I didn't keep it long. 

There's that patchwork skirt again, also in February 2016. 

You might spot my Venetian glass snake pendant there. I still have that burgundy cardigan. 

I love this outfit from March 2016, but I remember that skirt was VERY tight - I could hardly move in it. 

I went through a vintage pussy-bow blouse phase around this time - that one's a glorious colour, but it's long-gone. I still have the footless tights and the brooch. 

This is a...not good outfit, from October 2016. I did a major clear-out of a lot of my clothes around this time, mostly things that didn't go with my purple hair. 

I wore that boucle (boo-CLAY, darlings!) skirt until it fell apart, but this might have been the jacket's last wearing. 

Deja vu! It's the same skirt/top combo in October 2016 as I wore a year ago in Dec 2015. 

Obviously, I wore some spectacularly awesome outerwear over this whole thing. Look at L, all spiffy for going out (and choosing his footwear). 

I love this outfit from March 2017 - I could wear this entire thing again, as I still have all these pieces. 

I adore that sequined dress - I've had it for over a decade. 

This looks like a weekend outfit, from November 2017. I see I have my turquoise glasses! 

That top didn't wear well (the front was PVC/faux leather, and it stretched and ripped), but I still have my vintage Pierre Balmain scarf, and that lovely ruffled leather skirt. 

I also really like this outfit from February 2018. There's my mink rose brooch again. Funny how the same pieces show up over and over.

I still have that velvet dress and that ruffled shirt - maybe this outfit deserves a repeat? 

This is a cute outfit from October 2018. The blazer is from my velvet phase and was passed along to one of my coworkers after I had too many episodes of Velvet Rage in it. 

I love those tights! I still have them, of course. 

I am a bit embarrassed that my final two outfits featuring these boots are so similar. 

This is from February 2019 - I adore that vintage mermaid skirt. I see I'm wearing the same cuffs as the current outfit here. 

And here is that same skirt again, the last time I wore the boots, in December 2019. 

The blouse is L'Wren Scott, and we'll be seeing both of these pieces again in the coming months. 

Mathy stuff: Wow, I'm really surprised - I've worn these boots 34 times now! That brings me to $5.85 cents per wear, and they still have plenty of life in them. This goes to show that spending a little more $ on good quality boots is totally worth it! 

What was your favourite outfit? Do you think I should repeat any of these looks? 

Thank you so much for swinging by, my friends!