Leopard and the Green Tweed Suit Flashback

Inspired by the Thrifty Six's "Whatever 'Suits' Us" challenge (link here), my love of suiting was reignited - time to wear one of the oldest things in my wardrobe! This green tweed suit has been with me for a very long time, and yes, we are going to do a Major Flashback on it. 

Today felt like a leopard kind of day - it's my Monday after a long weekend, and I need to ensure I have "rar!" if I need it. 

• Suit jacket - Precis Petite; last worn here in December 2019 with leather
• Suit skirt - Precis Petite; last seen here in October 2019 with more tweed
• Blouse - Karl Lagerfeld, thrifted; last worn here in September 2019 with gold leather pants
• Boots - Vog Together, Fluevog, consignment; last seen here in March 2020, with my "pre-Disco" outfit
• Coat (below) - Apparence, vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in January

View of the Castle this morning. Hooray for clear skies, although rain is forecast to start tomorrow. Back to the rainy season! 

It's still pretty cold - barely above freezing - but most of the snow is gone. Excellent, let's move onto spring, shall we? 

Wearing this suit is like connecting with an old friend. You don't have to explain anything. 

Everything is just as it always was, soft, cozy and comforting. 

I love the three kick-pleats in the back - this skirt has always been kind to my rear view! 

Done up for walking to and from work. 

Ready to kick butt and take names!  

It's a curvy suit, which I love.

Mostly, I looked like this all day. I think I spoke with 4 people, including my delivery guy. 

You can't go wrong with leopard. Double leopard is even better (I nearly wore leopard tights!). 

Outerwear - the Unsafe Polar Bear came out for a spin. 

She is so soft and plush. 

Outerwear stuff: 

I bought these leather/cashmere-lined gloves over 10 years ago at the Velvet Crease's old location. They are Club Monaco and were brand new, but marked at $35.00 because one of the fingers was closed/obstructed. After I turned them inside out, I saw that the lining in that finger was sewn oddly (it was caught on a seam). I gently teased it out without tearing anything, and they were perfect. Brand new, $200+ gloves for $35.00, and I've probably worn them a hundred times. They are perfect for short-ish sleeves. 

• Fur scarf - thrifted
• Mask - by Mom
• Gloves - Club Monaco, consignment

The stuff: 

Yeah, I could have done a girly, pointy shoe with my suit, but I felt much more me in these funky, chunky booties. They are a very dark brown. 

Copper bling: 

I love the warmth of copper. 

• Pin - thrifted
• Top bracelet - Renoir, vintage 60s, thrifted
• Bottom bracelet - Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Earrings - vintage fair
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl

Flashback: Green Precis Petite Suit (Jacket + Skirt)

I've been looking forward to this Flashback for ages - this is one of the items in my closet that I've had the longest. I purchased these pieces/this suit in 2007 new after I lost 50 lbs and had to replace my entire wardrobe. I spent $1,000 and hit all the sale racks at the mall to quickly get some basic pieces into my closet. Over time, I've upgraded on nearly everything since then with second-hand clothes of better quality that I really love, but 14 years later, I have this suit. 

As you can see by the single bright middle button, I lost the middle matching one really early on, and replaced it with a lighter green one from my button box.

This suit was originally three pieces: the jacket, the skirt, and a pair of matching wide-legged pants. I paid $125.00 for the jacket (on deep discount from the original $400.00), and $80.00 for the skirt (original retail around $260.00). The Bay (aka the Hudson's Bay Company) has a small section in their downtown Victoria location that I referred to as the "Secret Area", as it's tucked away in a back corner. There you can find Jacques Vert, Windsmoor, Precis and Precis Petites and Planet - it's a lot of "ladies of a certain age who still wear suiting separates" and Mother of the Bride stuff. But it's gorgeous quality fabrics, and that day, I found this suit.

I took this above texture picture today. The quality of this suiting speaks for itself, as it is still in pristine condition after over a decade of continuous wear, including having fake crows wired to it for Hallowe'en! It is a herringbone tweed, primarily wool (64%) and silk (27%), with a touch of polyester. The faux fur collar is detachable, with little elastic loops and buttons under the notched collar. 

I have only worn the pieces together as a suit a few times, so I'm doing every wear of each piece, arranged by date.

This is REALLY early in my blogging - June 2008! I'm experimenting like crazy, getting used to being in a smaller body. My wardrobe then was really small compared to how big it is now! 

I still have that yellow flower, that yellow camisole and those earrings - I keep accessories! I thought these shoes were the craziest things ever - they were tiger striped pony-hair kitten heels with gems on the toes. 

This is the first time I ever wore the separates as a suit, for my 41st birthday in October 2008.

I love the jacket with the faux fur collar on - it's very soft and plush, and it's never gotten sticky like cheap faux furs can. 

Here I am in December 2008, around when I lost the middle button - I sneakily covered it up with belts for the next few outfits. 

As noted, the label is Precis PETITES, so both pieces are proportioned for someone short. The waist is high on the jacket, the sleeves are more bracelet-length than standard, and the skirt is shorter than the styles were at the time. I'm 5'4" (average), but I'll often do petites for the better proportions on me. The pants were also petite, but my legs aren't, so I only wore them a couple of times because I didn't like how short they were. I wish I'd gotten one picture with them, though! 

Oh, my gosh, these pictures feel so long ago! This is January 2009. 

I still have that mink brooch. 

Just trying this obi over this peplum jacket...

This was in October 2009. I still have the obi! 

I used to wear much higher heels, as you can see here in December 2009. 

That is not the tweed skirt, but a brown lace skirt I bought at the same time. 

A shot of me and Inigo kitty, in May 2010. 

I'm showing off my Manolo Blahniks that I bought in London, UK. As you can see, they were really freakin' high! I always felt like my bones in my feet were going to break from wearing them, so I sold them for the same price I paid (~$200). 

The skirt has always been a more versatile piece for me - seen here in June 2010. 

I loved that yellow cardigan and the purple sequined tank under it. 

This is the same vintage top as in the Manolo picture above - it was a lovely piece, but very snug and unforgiving. This is the first time I wore the jacket without the fur collar. 

I was big into "granny chic" for a couple of years - this is November 2010. I still have that rose brooch and those green knee-highs. 

Oh, my crane cardigan! I loved that so much - it was very much a favourite in the early blogging days. 

This was in January 2011 (10 years ago!). Shoe Flashback here.

I often wear the jacket as outerwear, as here in February 2011. 

I was early on the wide-legged trouser trend!

This is from November 2011 - I started doing the Stair Pose then. Well, I tried - it took me a few years to get it right. 

I love the patterned tights. I was really into this heeled loafer style of shoe. 

In October 2012, I included both pieces of the suit in my 30-piece capsule wardrobe for my 30 For 30 For 12 Challenge. 

One of my many mustard tops along the way! Boots Flashbacked here. 

October 2012 again, with a cashmere sweater. 

Green, mustard and brown were some of that month's colours. 

Here's the jacket, also in October 2012. 

Another mustard top (I thought that big floof was awesome). I was big on belting my jackets then, and it's been so long, I'm coming around to it again! 

A simple look, showing off my Grandmother's rhinestone jewelry, also in October 2012.

I still have that belt. 

Yet another October 2012 look. 

The jacket this time. My barnyard skirt! I'd forgotten all about it. I am looking askance at the red tights - I wouldn't wear red tights with this now. 

A classy red/green look, also October 2012. 

I loved that sweater - it's from one of my trips to Winners (I used to shop there a lot). 

And here's my Hallowe'en 2012 outfit - I'm Hitchcock's "The Birds"! 

Hallowe'en Flashback here. That was an awesome costume - the crows were feather/styrofoam, with wired feet, which I carefully poked through the tweed and wired inside the jacket - I removed them afterwards and you would never be able to tell now that I once accessorized my suit with fake birds! 

Back to normal after my year-long challenge, in March 2013. 

I still have that red cardigan! I gave up on heeled loafer shoe styles - I'm not a fan of them on me. 

I didn't keep this orange satin blouse for long. It was way too big, but I loved the colour. 

This was in October 2013 - I still have that belt and buckle!

Purple and green in January 2014. 

Only the skirt remains. Actually, I might still have those purple tights. 

A shopping outfit from November 2014. 

I still have those floral Doc Martens boots, and I just gave that purse away (I upgraded).

Caro is recognizing "her" leather shirt here, from November 2014. 

Vizzini ate the strap off one of those shoes. What a monster! 

Purple hair time! This was in October 2015, and I've mastered the Stair Pose. 

That's a classy outfit; I wish I'd kept that blouse. I still have the necklace (it's from 2010).

Ha, same necklace here in January 2016. 

More heeled loafers. Yuck. 

All green in November 2016. 

Another pair of wide-legged pants. I still have those earrings. Shoes Flashbacked here. 

This is a pretty outfit, from December 2016. 

I still have that top, but it has no stretch, so I didn't unpack it this year. Less chocolate + less pandemic = fitting into non-stretchy vintage clothes. Next year!

This is one of my favourite outfits, from March 2017. 

I still have this entire outfit aside from the shoes, which I gave to Cat about a year ago - they were too tight on me. That is a solid copper belt (vintage). Isn't it amazing? 

Sneaking in a wearing of one of my oldest pairs of shoes, bought in 2006 (I still have them). 

This was in November 2017. 

Jacket worn as outerwear, also in November 2017. 

I need to wear that leather skirt again soon! 

This is a birthday week outfit from October 2018. 

I wore the matchy jacket as my outerwear. Classy! I have only worn the jacket with the collar off a few times - I prefer the fur - but it's a nice way to change up the look. 

This is a great look, from March 2019. 

I've settled on that mustard blouse (for now). 

And this is the last time I wore the skirt, in October 2019. 

I need to wear that jacket still this season. 

This is the last time I wore the jacket, in December 2019. 

I didn't wear either piece in calendar 2020, but the fall/winter 2019 outfits count as my 2019/2020 season, so I'm good with that. I do tend to wear these less frequently, but now that suits are coming around again, I'll  have to make an effort to suit myself more! 

Mathy stuff: I've worn one, the other or both pieces now a total of 36 times: 

• 4 times as a suit
• 10 outfits with just the jacket
• 22 looks with just the skirt

If we count the pieces separately, 26 wearings of the skirt (including being worn as a suit) is $3.08, and 14 outfits with the jacket is $8.92. But I'm going to count both pieces together and go with 36. My total investment was $205.00 and divided by 36 outfits is...$5.69 per wear. Awesome! If we want to get really silly, we can amortize the original price over the 14 years I've had it, to $14.64 per year. Fun with numbers! 

That's a lot of outfits, and I'm just shaking my head at some of the early pictures (so long ago, and yet, just yesterday!). Do you have a favourite? Any suggestions for what to wear with either/both pieces? I'd love to hear! 

"You do blather on, Woman."

I have a chilly kitty who's demanding some lap time - off we go.