Cropped Shop and Removing Bad Karma

Hello, my friends! 

I had a little shop after my grocery run on Thursday. I met up with my former WW coworker Betty later in the afternoon, so had a bit of time in the morning to indulge in a little retail therapy instead of doing my regular Mental Health Walk. It's been a bit of a rough week, just little things that all build up, you know? I had a lovely walk with Betty, catching up as we took in the waterfront. 

It was a gorgeous sunny day, with highs of 20, so I dressed for a leisurely wander in the morning. Today was the right day for the Completely Impractical Raincoat. 

I had some pleasant interactions while I was out - hello to the cool young lady at the Patch, and to the proprietor of Lazy Susan's! We all bonded over clothes (shocking, I know!). 

• Jacket - Animale, thrifted; purchased here for $9.50
• Sweater - Sonia Rykiel, consignment; last seen here in February layered under roadkill
• Skirt - Hooper, vintage 60s, thrifted; first worn here in March with green bookends
• Shoes - Vagabond, consignment; last seen here in January in an all-orange outfit

I enjoyed the fun cropped-ness of the jacket over my thin sweater. 

I had to adjust all of these ties, and having worn the jacket once now, I need to ensure that they can't come undone when I'm taking my backpack off.

I had a ton of compliments all morning while I was walking around. It felt good.

What I have on underneath. 

My sweater is a Classy designer, Sonia Rykiel, but it's just a handy thin sweater, very soft.

I didn't wear the jacket unsnapped at all, but I tried to see if that would work. 

I look dubious. 

Showing my underlovelies. 

That's a full peach-coloured vintage slip (I have the same one in coral and red as well). 

Masked up. 

This is how the world saw me. 

The stuff: 

These shoes were pretty good for four hours of walking/standing. I did have nylons on to protect my toes.  

Vintage bling: 

My mom's beloved green necklace, brought back as a gift from the mainland when she was a little girl, which places this in the 1950s. It's made of glass, with small seed beads in between, and it's strung on thread. 

• Belt - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Glass bangle - thrifted
• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
• Earrings - vintage fair
• Necklace - vintage 50s, Mom's

I stopped in at the Patch and discovered they'd gotten a ton of new stock (no more Buy One, Get One). I gasped over this green maxi skirt. 

It has a wide waistband, laced at the front. 

You can see the colour mix there in the textile. Teal, burgundy, olive, lime and mint green. Quite a groovy print!

It's had some alterations over the years, including moving three of the four hooks along the waistband by about three inches. The snap has been just left unused. I'm happy of these alterations, as I can just get it done up (thank goodness for the front laces).

There are also a few tacks at some seams, and it's been re-hemmed at least once. 

I'm pretty sure that this is 100% cotton - it's a big weave, and very thick, and it looks like it's been printed by hand. I have never seen a skirt from Israel before! 

Maskit Israel is the one and only luxury fashion house to ever have existed in Israel, in Tel Aviv, and was founded in 1954 by Ruth Dayan. It's pronounced moss-KEET (I always like to know!), and was huge in the 60s and 70s, with Audrey Hepburn as a client, and collaborations with couture houses in Europe. Ruth died this past February at age 103 - her obituary is awesome (here, links 'cause I love), you need to read it!

How exciting! This is a piece of vintage Israeli haute couture! Check out the history of the brand (here).

There are very few Maskit pieces online, but they seem to be quite pricey, ranging from $400 (for a short dress) to $1400 (for an embroidered coat that I saw on 1stDibs, a luxury resale site). Also lots of "granny square" crocheted dresses, a style that was iconic for them. I guess my $29.95 is a bargain as well as being rare! 

I also bought another skirt, a linen-blend J. Crew one in a gorgeous pattern, but I noticed red spots all over it just as I was about to buy it. It looks like a red wine or grape juice accident - but when the sweet person at the Patch offered 1/3 off, I went for it. I'm going to turn this skirt's karma around! 

The back: Before. 

The big areas on the left are the worst. That's a really messy, dark spot. I picture our original owner at a backyard late spring wedding reception; suddenly, a toddler with sticky grape jam hands grabs at the back of her skirt, thinking she's mom. Later, she sits on a folding chair...which has splashes of red wine on it. 

The back: After.

Pretty good! I might do some more Folex on the spot near the yellow flower on the left, but otherwise, it's looking almost clear.

The front: Before.

Lots of little spots. These were super-noticeable when I had the skirt on. Our woman decided that red wine and a big plate of cream puffs is a wonderful idea now that her skirt is ruined on the back, however, an enthusiastic bridesmaid backs into her while dancing, and our luckless friend's wine flies up in the air as she tries to protect her skirt (and the pastries). Now the front of her skirt is ruined (as are the cream puffs). Dammit, she only got to wear it once! Off to the donation bag...

The front: After.

I'm impressed! That looks totally clear now. I have removed the stains...and the bad karma! Only good things will happen in this skirt from now on! 

This is my magic potion. 

I thought it was worth giving the skirt a shot for $13 - I do LOVE this print and the fit is great. And it has pockets!

Here's the full skirt, after Folexing twice, inside and out and letting it fully dry: 

I see no spots! This is a longer cut pencil (a "midi" in J. Crew-speak), with slits on both sides. I think you know how I feel about side-slits! 

Isn't this a pretty textile? I like the random black and teal flowers - it even has bits of tan (leaves) and brown (stems) in it. 

You can just see a bit of the blurry jam-hand mark, but I think that would barely be noticeable when it's on. Yay! 

As mentioned, it's J. Crew, and was $19.95 with 1/3 off for the spots, so $13.30.

It's from Summer 2016 - only 5 years old. 

It sold for $118.00 US. It's called the Pintucked Midi Skirt in Morning Floral. 

Lyocell, linen and polyester, and yet it says "Dry clean only". 

I popped into Lazy Susan's on the way home and had a poke around. They had new scarves, and I found these two for $21.00 each. 

I immediately thought of the Loomed Lady coat with this scarf, as well as my caramel leather trench coat. 

Pierre Cardin is a Classy designer! 

Look at that groovy "Jeunesse" font - this is totally aimed at the "hip young crowd". 

Made in Italy, nice. I'd guess this is early 1970s. I knew it was silk by feel, and look at those handrolled edges! Be still, my heart. 

I fell for the dark purple, burgundy, red, pink, peach palette in this scarf, and what a pattern!

LOVE! That is so very 1960s. This will be amazing with the Fuzzy Flamingo. 

I searched for "gold camel" from the label, and found out that this is a vintage Zhensi scarf. It's apparently a Chinese company, but there is very little online about them. 

Handrolled edges again. I was thrilled with both of these scarves. 

Any favourites here? Have you ever rescued a damaged piece of clothing?