Hello, my friends! As you can tell by the Bigass in the post title, this really IS a bigass post! I've had a busy weekend, going for brunch and a wee shop (I found a new consignment store!), plus a Flashback, followed by a couple of Zooms (Happy Hour and Book Club), plus Mom dug up some old-ish pics of me from the 80s.
So, grab yourself a cup of tea and settle in! Here we go!
We had another cold, crisp and clear day on Saturday, so L and I opted to walk to Pluto's to meet Nick (in our bubble and vice versa) for brunch.
- Sweater - Rodier, vintage 50s, vintage fair; last worn here in September 2020 for brunch again
- Skirt - Talbots, consignment; last seen here in February 2020 with florals and pastels
- Boots - Truths Teah, Fluevog; last worn here in November 2020 with spooky purples
- Suede coat - Prosper & Devine, vintage mall; last seen here in February 2020 over my Gigli dress
My bright pinky sweater elicited oohs and ahhs from many people.
It's such a pretty colour.
I have a camisole on under it for extra warmth.
I love this lavender mohair skirt, but this is only its first wearing this season.
We'll be having a Flashback on it shortly.
I had my jacket off while we ate brunch.
Mostly I looked like this.
This suede jacket is a "love it" or "hate it" item - there are no "meh" opinions about it!
Masked up.
I am ready to be in public!
I shimmied for a few people. Fringe-tastic!
Outerwear stuff:
I stuffed the gloves and scarf into my leather backpack (not show) when I was indoors.
- Fur boa - thrifted
- Gloves - Roeckl, consignment
- Mask - by Mom
The mask is pink and purple speckled fabric.
The stuff:
Crystal bling:
I'd planned a stop at the Velvet Crease to try the Thierry Mugler jacket on that had caught my eye last week - sadly, it didn't fit - so I wore simple jewelry that wouldn't impede that.
- Necklace - Myka, vintage fair
- Earrings - Swarovski, consignment
- Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
- Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
We also stopped in at Rich Rags after brunch, as I'd spotted a couple of men's belts there last week that I thought L might like, but wasn't 100% sure which one he would prefer (they were also $55.00 each, so I didn't want to risk it).
He liked this one with the crosses on it. The other design was horseshoes, which was not to his taste.
As you can see, it's VERY embellished.
The belt itself is leather. Now, we just need an occasion for him to wear it!
We also stopped in at Charmaine's (a used furniture store) and found this awesome stool for our living room area.
It's solid wood with a nice firm cushion.
Love that woven brocade pattern.
It's nice and strong, very sturdy.
It was $199.00 and L carried it home, while I explored a new consignment store, MONA Consignment. I've updated my Favourite Victoria Second-Hand Clothing Stores tab, so when/if we can travel again, you can check it out next time you're in Victoria. Although, if you come here, drop me a line and I'll take you on a shopping trip!
It took me less than 30 minutes to browse the full selection. Although they had some really fun things that were higher-end, most of the styles were fairly plain and middle-of-the-road. I asked how it was being right next door to their competition at the Velvet Crease, but Deanna (one of the owners) said it was a very friendly relationship. MONA's (which stands for Make Old New Again) stock is a little more high-end and boutique-y than the Velvet Crease's, and VC tends to carry more colourful clothes.
Of course, I managed to find a few things, and they're all colourful! I picked up this viscose/polyester/wool knit dress.
You know I love a nice sweater dress, and this was very flattering without being too tight.
There's a slit at the front leg. I've adjusted the contrast here so that you can how the knit forms the slit.
Yes, I've cut that unsightly white cluster of tags out.
It's by H&M.
It was $35.00 and probably retailed for about double that.
My eyes went right to this amazing jungle-print blazer. I'm pretty sure I need this in my closet!
It has pre-cropped/cuffed sleeves, two front flap pockets, and no button - it's meant to be worn open.
There's a pearl button on the cuff.
Showing the flap pocket here - they are real pockets and had not been unstitched.
It's by Zara. I like that it's fully-lined.
It was $30.00 and again, retailed for about double that. I'll likely put this in my spring/summer wardrobe, due to the thin fabric.
This skirt caught my eye from across the store.
Ooh, an orange plaid pencil skirt! Gimme gimme! It has a nice high slit at the back for walking.
It's a woven plaid, but the backing of this fabric (again, synthetic with a touch of wool) is solid black.
As you can see, there are stripes of cobalt blue and dark red in addition to the black and orange. I'll likely pair this with blue and red to keep it from looking too Hallowe'en-y.
This skirt was an Instagram sensation in fall 2018, sold out instantly, and retailed for $70 US.
It's by Zara again, and Deanna kindly knocked $10 off the original price of $30 due to the seam coming undone at the bottom of the side zipper (which I can easily sew). Not bad for $20. I like the belt loop detail.
As did Vizzini.
"This skirt is delicious. I approve!"
He's been very needy this weekend.
I stopped in at Vanity Fair Antique Mall on the way home. I love having two consignment stores, plus Vanity Fair and Charmaine's all on the same block. It's a wonderful little second-hand neighbourhood!
I found this amazing bronze ring. It is hard to find gold-coloured rings that aren't real gold (which are generally too expensive for me) but aren't super cheaply made.
It's hand-cast, and fairly roughly made.
"It's a teeny one," warned the proprietor as she got it out of the case for me to try on. Good thing I have skinny fingers!
I love the nubby details, and the very irregular shape of it. It's very heavy.
There are no marks on it anywhere, but I do believe it's from the mid-70s Brutalism period (like my Robert Larin pieces).
It was $10.00! That felt like a steal.
I love a solid miniskirt for showing off funky tops. It's also excellent for shopping trips (one zip and you're out of it - easy for trying clothes on). I paid $24.95 for this.
If it had a mark or signature on it, you can add another 0 to that price!
Flashback: Talbots Mohair Skirt
Dang, I really miss My Sister's Closet - it was such a good consignment store. I used to always find 5-6 items every time I went there (it was very dangerous!). I found this on a shopping trip back in November 2015 (here).
When I had purple hair, I bought a lot of purple clothes that went with it.
This was in November 2015 and I'm showing off both this skirt and this embroidered shirt (bought in Sidney that same weekend). I loved those booties, but they were really high and didn't have zips (the velvet laces were a nightmare). This is also the sole wearing of the blouse, which really didn't fit.
One of the few times I wore this jacket as part of my outfit and not just outerwear (it's a regular coat in my spring/summer wardrobe).
I still have the coat, but everything else has been moved along. This was in January 2016.
I like this outfit from February 2016.
I didn't keep this shirt very long, as it didn't go with much.
We'll see these floral tights worn with this skirt again. This was in March 2016.
I miss that blue cashmere sweater (the moths got it). Boots Flashback here.
This has to be either a brunch outfit or a shopping outfit.
The blue sweater and floral boots return in this colourful outfit from November 2016.
L really hated those yellow wedge-heeled sneakers. I didn't keep them long - it was fun to play with them, but they really aren't my style.
I also didn't keep this faux leather vest, seen here in January 2017.
But you might recognize the bird blouse or the purple shoes (Flashback here).
I still have everything in this outfit from March 2017.
Sadly, the shoes just got too scuffed. I'm keeping my eyes out for something similar, as you know I love metallic shoes.
I haven't worn these boots yet this season - this is from November 2017.
I don't have a lot of clothes with lavender in them, so I bought this blouse specifically to go with the skirt.
And I wore it exactly twice, with this skirt both times! This was in March 2018, when I met up with a blog reader.
Boots Flashbacked here.
This was the one and only wearing of this thrifted BCBG jacket, in October 2018.
It was really difficult to style and I ended up giving it to my former coworker Jen.
There are those floral tights again, this time in December 2018.
I have everything in this outfit still, including the tights (I almost wore them this weekend!). Shoes Flashback here.
This shirt was a favourite for a very long time - I gave it away shortly after wearing it here in January 2019.
I wear that sweater around the house now. Jacket Flashback here; shoes Flashback here.
I sometimes just get tired of things, even pieces that were once favourites.
You know I'll repeat myself if I like a combination. I wore this outfit three times while on our last Vancouver Anniversary Adventure in March 2019. This was my travel outfit both ways, in the float plane.
I was wearing the whole outfit when we met up with Melanie on the day we arrived.
And I wore it again for our shopping adventures on Saturday, when we met up with Spence, Kim and their kids El and Rosalie for brunch.
Boot Flashback here. I'm not sure where that silk blouse is - I wear it around the house in summer, so it might be packed away.
Aw, I miss them! You guys need to move to Victoria!
I did purple bookends with the lavender skirt in the middle in November 2019.
The last time I wore the skirt was in February 2020, with florals.
I'll be getting rid of these shoes (which are too big) once Fluevog is able to do their planned Swap & Shop again. Jacket Flashback here.
Mathy stuff: The current outfit brings me to a nice round 20 wearings! Who'd have thought that a lavender mohair wool mini would be so versatile? I'm down to $1.25 per wear! Awesome!
What's your favourite outfit here? Do you have anything lavender in your closet?
Following a leisurely afternoon nap, I got dressed for our Saturday Zoom Happy Hour with our "family we choose."
Since it doesn't look like any gala events or parties will be in our near future, I'm attempting to squeeze in Zoom outfits from some of my party clothes instead! Life is short; wear the clothes!
I got up and modeled and posed for everyone.
It's so sparkly!
This is the length I like in a maxi.
Long and swanky, baby!
The stuff:
I clomped around and made us dinner in these (soup and grilled cheese) before we had Happy Hour. Oh yeah, heels!
Snake bling:
I wore my funky snake jewelry and my new bronze ring.
- Snake necklace/belt - vintage expo
- Snake bracelet - Whiting & Davis, vintage 90s, vintage fair
- Earrings - thrifted
- Ring - vintage 70s, vintage mall; purchased above for $10.00
- Belt - vintage, thrifted
I accidentally had the camera on zoom for my stair picture. Blooper!
Monsters! I love it!
Most of my body weight is on my hand and my hip for the stair pose - it's harder to replicate than it looks.
Today/Sunday, we had Zoom Book Club (I didn't dress up for it - Book Club is pretty chill). Janaki had arranged to drive around and drop off our copies of the book that she'd selected for us, and she got very creative with her wrapping.
She reused paper bags and decorated each person's differently. I took a screen-cap of us all showing them...then lost it. Whoops.
Inside, each book was wrapped in an awesome tea towel.
It has the Cat Seal of Approval.
I'm 18 years old here, wearing my "I Believe in Santa Claus" sweatshirt (Mom still has one!). We'd just moved the store to this Wharf Street location (I can tell by where the till is located). I am enjoying the Louis Nicole dolls in the case, and on the tree to the left. Those are the pearl swags I made for The Little Match Girl movie set! (referenced and a screenshot here, way down).
"Really? It's barely edible."
I also had a major Blast from the Past this weekend courtesy of Mom - she's been cleaning out photos and found these pictures of me from when I worked at Christmas House, a year-round Christmas store (I worked there from 1986 to 1998). And this, my friends, is my natural hair colour!
Looking out one of the three giant front display windows (I decorated all of them). I can tell this is very early on at this location (we moved here from a much smaller store) as we hardly have any stock! It was usually very crammed.
I had forgotten about the pump organ on the left, and the vintage sewing machine in the foreground - my boss' girlfriend worked at a furniture restoration business and they loaned us antique pieces to sell and to use as display.
Looking back towards the rear of the store (there's a customer standing at the till on the right).
We had that fake green "grass" carpet over concrete floors - it was murder to stand on.
Probably about a month later (the till's been moved to the side of the store, up against the brick wall), my family surprised me with a balloon delivery for my 19th birthday (so this is in October 1986). The guy was supposed to be in a Santa suit, but his van was broken into and someone stole the Santa outfit.
So, yeah, I got a gorilla! I don't like being grabbed at - can you tell I'm being a good sport here? Get your damned hands off me, Gorilla Man.
He clowned around with Mom here.
Nice 80s hair, Mom! She is only 41 here - oh my gosh, 12+ years younger than I am now! You look gorgeous, Mom - thanks for the pictures!
I hope you all enjoyed this post! Off to enjoy the rest of my evening, and I'll be back tomorrow.
