Sunday, March 14, 2021

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Velvet and Leather Skirt Flashback; a Wee Shop; Bubbled Zoom; Steamed Scribbles

Hello, my friends! I hope you've all had a joyful weekend - I have a lot to goodies to share with you, so grab a cup of whatever your libation, and let's dive in, shall we? 

First up, we have my brunch and shopping outfit - a few goodies may have come home with me! We'll be having a Flashback on my skirt too. I wore the same outfit over to Chris and Ali's place where L and I hung out with them (and Nick) on their spacious patio, enjoying their new "fire table" (a table with a little built-in gas-powered heating section with rocks and flames - very cozy!). 

Following that, we joined our Happy Hour Zoom call - even though we can all gather, we're being cautious and careful with how quickly we expand our contacts. And today, I also gave one of my new-to-me garments a transformative steam. 

Here we go - the brunch and shopping ensemble. 
I built the outfit around this sweet little ruffled-hem leather skirt, and we'll be taking a look at all the ways I've worn it shortly. 

  • Velvet bomber jacket - Zara, consignment; last worn here for my birthday in October 2020
  • Sweater - Zara, hand-me-over from Rae; last seen here in January with bronze and a Flamenco skirt
  • Leather skirt - Kay Unger, thrifted; last worn here in November 2019 with floral cashmere
  • Shoes - Mini QTee, Fluevog, consignment; last seen here in January with Etro


It verged into warmth and bright skies on Saturday, with temps up to 12 degrees. I probably should have worn a "real" coat, but screw it! I'm ready for spring. 
Getting in another wearing of all of the pieces that are NOT the leather skirt. I'll be packing away all of it for spring/summer. 
I love the jungle print of the bomber. 

Without the jacket, although I didn't take it off the entire time I wore this outfit. 
I have a camisole under it for extra warmth. 
I love mustard - it's such a versatile shade of yellow. 

Geared up - silly me, I left my mask at Chris and Ali's! 
It felt decadent to change up my purse! 
I forgot to do an outerwear stuff picture - I had everything lined up, just didn't take the picture! 


  • Mask - by Mom
  • Scarf - Pierre Cardin, vintage 70s, thrifted
  • Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair
  • Gloves - Parkhurst

I'm ready to shop! 
I popped into MONA and the Velvet Crease, then walked home. 

The stuff: 
Good walking shoes! Of course, if I wear buckled shoes, I'll have to undo it to try on a pair of shoes. It's like a Shopping Law. I didn't buy the shoes I tried on either! 


  • Necklace - Plum
  • Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
  • Brutalist ring - vintage 70s, vintage mall
  • Ear-balls - Dior, consignment

Here's what I bought - I found this cute slip dress at MONA for $40.00
It's a polyester weave, very thick, with two side slits

Back view - I like the dark teal colour. 
"I approve of this, especially those tasty-looking beads on the back."

The spaghetti straps have dangly pieces down the back that are finished with a pearl bead with a gold seed-bead. 
A nice detail. 

It's by Sam Edelman - I did not know they made clothes! I thought only shoes - huh. 
This originally retailed for $119.00, so I guess $40 is not so bad! I'll likely go full 90s and wear thin tops under this. It's going into the spring/summer pile as I have a fall/winter teal dress already (which I'll be wearing soon!).

From there, I popped in next door to the Velvet Crease - they have an entire rack of $15.00 dresses right now, plus 50% off some winter stock and 20% off everything else. 
This black top caught my eye. I can't resist a zig-zag fringe! 
The fringe is that hairy kind that is very swishy. There is a lot of movement in this. 

It's on a mesh background, so it's not too warm.
It's by H&M and was $30.00. 

I spotted this crushed and wrinkled mess of a dress and knew immediately who it was by. 
It's a classic early 00s/late 90 tank dress. It was $50.00, but this would have been over $200 new, easy. 
Made of 100% silk - that's the lining as well as the outer shell of the dress, and the cording that forms the design of the dress. 
Of course, it is by Tangerine Jill! I love the colours in this: teal, light grey/blue, cream, pale pink, hot pink, and burgundy. It really was a mess - I think someone washed it, saw how wrinkled it came out and then couldn't be bothered to spend the time pressing it. 

This skirt called to me. 
Lime green sheer pleats? The outer layer is actually a fine mesh. 
Um, yes, gimme gimme! 

It's by DKNY, and it's a size 2. I can barely do it up (but I can!) so it's a generous size 2. 
Even so, I will be covering up the faux leather waist when I wear it to disguise the not-quite-done-up waist and side zip. I think this is probably from the early 00s - it was $40.00, which seemed high, considering it's just polyester. But that colour! 


Flashback: Kay Unger Ruffled Leather Skirt

Back in the day (and hopefully onward into the future), I used to take people thrift/second-hand shopping: friends, coworkers, coworkers' children, bloggers, blog-readers too! This beautiful brown leather skirt was spotted on a rare trip to Value Village in downtown Victoria, while shopping for my coworker Simona's daughter Sam here in July 2015. 
I find Value Village too overwhelming generally - there is so much crap and most of it is overpriced. I also don't like the crowds - it's a claustrophobic kind of place for me. However, I do take people there when they want to do a big haul or fill up a lot of wardrobe gaps. Quantity, the "VV Boutique" has! 

As I was running my hands along the skirt racks, feeling for gold, my Shopping Spidey-Sense detected real leather. 
I was shocked at the $7.99 price tag - I think the pricers thought this was fake leather. It is butter soft.

It's by Kay Unger New York, a brand that inclines towards Special Occasion dresses and separates (eg. parties, proms, bridal, etc.), but she's been around a while as a member of the CFDA (link here, 'cause I love) and as a designer for over 40 years (about her here) - she started out as an assistant to Geoffrey Beene! This specific line was started in 1992, but this skirt's style inclines me to think it's early 00s or late 90s. It definitely retailed for more than $7.99 - maybe $79!
The leather is actually metallic brown - the ruffle at the bottom is a sweet, feminine detail. 

This was an upgrade of an earlier brown pencil skirt, and I wore it right away, in July 2015, one of only two summer wearings of it. 
Vizzini is being very helpful. I no longer have that mustard blazer, but I do still have those pony-hair leopard shoes (they're in my Archives). This outfit needed more pizzazz! 

Like this outfit, from October 2015 - I felt utterly badass in this. I wore it to the theatre with Elaine and then out after with our friends. 
I still have that corset-y thing (it's vintage Betsy Johnson), and we saw the boots in Flashback here

I wore the skirt with the leopard pumps again the following July 2016. 
Legs McGee! I still have that necklace. Belt Flashback here

This will not be the only appearance of these funky gold and wine tights. This outfit is from November 2016. 
I loved that dark purple velvet jacket so much, but I could only wear it done up (it looked weird undone), and the colour never showed right. I passed it along to Yvonne a few years ago. Those Fluevogs were also moved along a few years back - I just can't wear heels that high anymore. 

A leather-centric outfit from November 2017. The top is faux leather and started to come apart. 
The scarf is Balmain (classy!). Boots Flashback here

There are those tights again, as well as the same boots as above, this time in October 2018.
I let go of that velvet blazer - this was in my Velvet Phase, which was closely followed by my Velvet Rage Phase.

Showing off a fun vintage top here in November 2018.
Those shoes have yet to be worn this season - uh oh! 

This funk look is from January 2019.
The boots were too twee-80s for me, and the brocade top was too boxy. Both have gone to new homes. 

And here's the last time I wore this skirt, with my floral cashmere sweater in November 2019.
Boots Flashback here


Mathy stuff: It's a good one, since I paid so little for this skirt. This is the 10th time I've worn it, so we're at 80 cents per wear. Awesome! 


We hung out at Chris and Ali's for a few hours in the afternoon, then came home and ate leftover Thai food for dinner, before joining our full group of friends for our Saturday Zoom Call. I love seeing my friends weekly!
Although I didn't model my outfit this time, I still got fully dressed. I wanted to sneak in a wearing of this new-to-me ruffled bubble-hem dress. 


  • Turtleneck - M&S, thrifted; last worn here in February under a vintage dress
  • Dress - Samuel Dong, thrifted; purchased here for $16.95
  • Boots - Prepare Volunteer, Fluevog; last seen here in December 2020 with a pop of red cashmere

The dress is a little big on me, plus I wanted to stay warm (I was chilled after sitting outside, even though I had a blanket). 
Layer a sweater under it! Easy! 
I love a bubble hem - they are so funny. 

The dress is maybe a little precious for me (ruffles, bows!) but it does have one major thing in its favour. 
POCKETS! Gotta love nice big pockets. 

The stuff: 
I clomped around in these for about an hour and a half, to L's joy (he hates them - "oh yay," he said). 

Sparkly bling: 
I love this vintage necklace - here I am wearing it for the first time in October 2011 (10 years ago!). It was a gift from Allison (a different person than Ali) for my birthday that year. 


  • Necklace - Allain, vintage 50s, gift from Allison
  • Cuff - Swarovski, consignment, gift from L
  • Earrings - Swarovski, consignment
  • Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
  • Square crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy

Today, I attacked the massive amounts of wrinkles on my silk Tangerine Jill dress. I cannot recommend a full stand-up steamer enough to my fellow bloggers/readers - no kickback or anything! I just use mine every single day - it's been one of my best wardrobe-related investments ever. I no longer have to deal with an iron or ironing board, ever! 

My steamer is the Rowenta Master Valet, and the features that I love the most are:
  • It heats to full steam in about 30 seconds, and you turn it on with your foot. 
  • It has a pull-down screen for giving garments a good press - I need that resist that the screen gives to make things really smooth. I would not buy this without the screen.
  • It has pant-clips - the shoulders are made to fit men's clothing, so they are too big for many of my blazers and blouses/shirts. I use the pant-clips for nearly everything. 
  • It turns itself off when it runs out of water (this is good for my speck-like attention span)
  • It takes up as much room as a standing person. 
  • It disinfects and kills any germs that might be on second-hand clothing - nice if your brain likes to think about those things or you get ooked by wearing someone else's clothes. 

I paid $169.99 for this (on sale) and it has been worth every penny. 

So! With a really wrinkled garment, I'll turn it inside out first and smooth out the lining. 
This makes a huge difference, both against your skin, and how the garment lies. 

With this dress, because the outer layer also has a flat backing under all those loops of silk, I pulled up the lining and steamed the back-side of it flat. 
This involved much pulling and gentle tugging (and one nasty hot blister on my finger - the steam can burn, even through multiple layers of fabric!).

From there, I turned the dress back right-side-out and gently steamed all the loops back into place. 
It allowed me to really appreciate the amount of work that went into this. Like my Post-It dress (here) and my Stained Glass dress (here), all of the silk details are put onto the fully-made garment at the end. 

This isn't a fabric with loops on it - those loops were added by hand after this dress was made. 
It looks so much better now! I'll have to sneak in a winterized version of this soon! 

Vizzini, how has your weekend been? 
"Fine until now, Woman."


I guess he didn't appreciate the flash while he was napping in L's tie-box under the bed! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I so appreciate you reading, commenting and taking the time just to visit my corner of the Blogoverse! 

32 comments:

  1. That silk dress with the loops is beautiful and it's good you could steam it back to perfection! I smiled at your leather skirt outfit. It feels like the first day of autumn here (only 15 days late..) and it's 23 degrees. I'm feeling the chill and have jeans on, haha! It was 12 degrees when we were in Europe and it was winter weather for us and needing all the layers. Sometimes I can't wrap my head around how much colder you have it!

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    1. Isn't it neat? I knew it would steam out beautifully, Mica. I'm glad I was appropriately autumnal for you! OMG, 23 would be HOT here! It's been hovering around 12 most days - typical spring temps.

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  2. Mustard is such a lovely colour and I love the richness of the velvet bomber jacket. As always, you scored bigly on your shopping adventure. Vizzini looks so comfortable and sleepy - what a cutie.

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    1. Thanks, Nana! I love this fall palette of colours. Vizzini is cute when he's sleeping, I agree. :)

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  3. The bomber jacket looks fantastic on you! Love the colors on the silk dress!
    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

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  4. Morning She, where do I start? You scored big time with the "Looy lou" dress! So glad you had your trusty steamer to get it back to how it should be. The skirt you found is awsome too. I loved the flashback as always I thought Oct 2015 was clever then July 2016 so elegant. loved your sparkly bling and have a necklace similar which I think is not me then I see it with a polo neck and think hmm see maybe another rescue because of you! Awesome post as always Shazxx

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    1. I love that loopy dress too, Shaz! My steamer is a prized possession for sure!

      I like looking at the old outfits - I know right away which ones I think are the best. How cool - wear your sparkle! Thanks, Shaz!

      Delete
  5. Hi Sheila,

    This post is just a test because I’ve commented on t prior posts only to have blogger give me an error message related to my browser. Ah well, I am trying again! And if successful please know that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the main outfits of this and your last several posts!

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    1. Hi, Laurie, sorry you've been having issues! That sucks. Thank you!

      Delete
  6. Yea, it posted, and that t was supposed to be the number 5! Yea for your weekend with friends both in person and online! I am a big fan of your somewhat tailored outfits that usually are filled with a bit of pizzazz, taking them beyond the ordinary and into the artistic

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    1. Hooray for your post(s) and hooray for weekends with friends, in person and online! Thank you so much - I like tailored looks too. I am always beyond the ordinary - thank you!

      Delete
  7. I want to wear lighter, Springlike clothes every time the temperatures venture into double figures. Alas, it's been quite dreary here, we had lots of wind and a hail storm in the weekend!
    Your brunch and shopping outfit is a sight for sore eyes, Sheila. I love the leather skirt with its little ruffle at the hem, and the mustard jumper, necklace, jungle print bomber jacket and shoes are such a perfect harmony. Those shoes are absolutely gorgeous. I'm quite a fan of buckled shoes.
    You did well on your wee shop: love that zig zag fringe top - seriously, this is H&M? - the loopy Tangerine Jill dress and, of course, that lime green pleated skirt.
    Your bubble dress made me think of the bubble skirts I had back in the 80s, and I'm actually loving those boots, even if L. hates them.
    Thank you for demonstrating that upright steamer. I have a hand held one, but yours seems so much more practical! xxx

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    1. I'm getting pretty excited about digging my spring things out, Ann! I'll probably do my big closet swap-over over the Easter long weekend here. Hail!? oh no!

      Thanks, my dear! I also love buckled shoes! I had so much fun digging around. H&M made skirts and dresses in this fringe too - no idea what year, but there are red and green ones out there too. I love the loopy dress and the lime skirt - excited about those!

      I loved bubble hems then, although I didn't own one until they came back in style in the early 00s. Heh, it's okay, L hates a lot of my shoes - too bad, I say! Hee hee.

      I would not do a hand-steamer - I much prefer the overall set-up of the one I have.

      Delete
  8. Gah! Blogger ate my comment!
    Let's try again..... Happy taht you've spent time with your pals, two weeks (and counting) for us! The mustard accents in your outfit are fab and looking forward to seeing the Tangerine Jill dress on you. I've been meaning to buy a steamer for years, one of these days I shall. Hello, Vizzini! xxxx

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    1. Well, crap, sorry to hear that! Stoopid Blogger.

      Thanks, Vix! Two weeks will fly by - I'm so glad for (and envious of all the jabs that the UK is getting done!). Thanks - I am excited to wear that dress soon. Go for it - the steamer is so worth it!

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  9. You would be such an asset (in more ways than one) in a charity shop with your steaming skills! That's the first time I've seen a steamer with a screen and I can see what a difference it would make when steaming a garment. Usually you have the hold the garment as rigid as possible but it doesn't always work and if suspended from a hanger the garment just swings about. Will be suggesting the screen addition to my charity shop manager as soon as I get back.

    Fab outfits and I loved the flashback on the leather skirt. I think it looked best with just a top on top; those maroon and gold tights are gorgeous. Good buys too; and the green skirt was my favourite of those. The detail in the dress is impressive. You will have to keep Vizzini away from the zig zag ruffles on that top!

    Take care
    xxx

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    1. It makes a HUGE difference having that screen on the steamer. I used to steam all our dresses when I worked in a clothing store back in the mid-90s and early 00s.
      Thank you so much, Vronni! I love those fun tights. Yes, Vizzini is mad for fringe - what a little monster!

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  10. "Screw it, I'm ready for spring!" Never have truer Canadian words been spoken! ��

    I'm with you big time and will likely bust out my sandals before the last of the snow has even melted from around these parts.

    Autumn Zenith �� Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Even with our short winters (in Victoria!), we want our spring now, dammit! :)

      Oh, gosh, sandals! I miss them!

      Delete
  11. I would give anything to hang out with friends! Just one visitor per day here. That pleated skirt is fabulous! Looking forward to see you style it! That loop dress is great too, I love the colors together! Have a great day!

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    1. I can't wait, Nancy! It's been SO long! I'll be wearing the pleated skirt soon, for St. Patrick's Day. Not sure when that loopy dress will be worn, though. I need a party, or some good layering.

      Delete
  12. I am afraid I will be absent for a little while Sheila. I have developed RSI in my elbow from social media. And it is really hurtful.
    I will be back though.
    Greetje

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    1. Oh no, Greetje, that sucks, I'm so sorry to hear that! Take care of yourself! We can always have another Zoom chat, any time you feel like it! Big hugs and good vibes!

      Delete
  13. You did an amzing job steaming that dress. May I suggest barbecue (heat resistant) gloves for steaming? I bought myself a pair after the third time I scalded myself -- no more burns! they were pricey but not on a cost-per-use basis :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Cynthia! I'm excited to wear it. I love the idea of the BBQ gloves, but I've only burnt myself a couple of times on the steamer, so they're not a pressing (ha, see what I did there?) need. :)

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  14. Looking fab in your leather skirt (the ruffle at the bottom is such a lovely detail) and love the mustard colour and matchy shoes with the jacket!. Great flashback too!
    Lovely bubble dress (pockets!) and fab boots, looking really elegant and cool!
    And thanks for sharing which steamer you use, I've been thinking on buying one as I hate ironing and my recent shoulder contracture makes it even more annoying.
    Obviously, I'm in love with your loops dress, it's such a delightful piece and it's silk!, and so fab colours!
    besos

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    1. Thank you so much, Monica! I love that ruffle (wait till you see the new suede suit - it has the same ruffle!).

      I love my steamer - I can't recommend it enough! It was a game-changer for me with wrinkly garments.

      I hope you like the outfit I made with it last weekend!

      Delete
  15. "Screw it, I'm in the mood for spring" is a big mood.

    That steamer did an amazing job! We had one for using on the non-knitted garments on shoots when I worked on a knitting magazine, but I don't think it had all the attachments yours did. That dress is transformed.

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    1. It totally is, Mim!

      I'm amazed at how good the steamer it - it was well worth buying an expensive one!

      Delete
  16. I had a cheap stand up steamer that I got from a co-worker that died soon after I got it, and I bought a hand-held, hose free one on sale last year, but the tank doesn't hold much water, and the thing is heavy! A good quality one is definitely worth having.

    I have a fringe-y black skirt that I thrifted a while back that I think goes with your skirt - I'll have to check to see if it was H&M.

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    1. Yeah, the cheap steamers are not good - it's one of those things that I'm glad I bought a top-of-the-line piece.

      Oh, how cool! We could be twins!

      Delete

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