Funky Friday: Blue Hair, Pastel Blue Flashback, and Pink Accents

Yee haw! Friday and the long weekend is upon us! We have the Victoria Day stat holiday here in BC, so we have Monday off. Yup, we celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday here, which usually means a giant parade and loads of partying, but this year (just like last year), it's just an extra day off. 

Of course, I get an extra-long long weekend, as Tuesday's a non-office day for me, so I'm raring for it to start! 

I coloured my hair yesterday as a pick-me-up. I had a box of Feria in Smoky Blue (a desperation purchase when stores all seemed to be out of my usual Smoky Lavender a couple of months ago) so I thought, "May as well join the blue-hair brigade!" Do you remember when older ladies were referred to as "blue hairs" or the "blue rinse set"? 

• Jacket - Dolce & Gabbana, vintage, thrifted; last worn here in August 2020 over a toile dress
• Top - Jones New York, thrifted; last seen here in August 2019 with checks
• Skirt - Ted Baker, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in November 2019 in autumn sunset colours
• Shoes - Sol Sana; last seen here (2nd outfit) with a plain black dress in June 2020

Blue hair actually has a bit of history to it, I was excited to learn! Inspired by Jean Harlow in the 1930s and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mum, not the current Queen) in the 1940s, women with grey or white hair would add a diluted blue dye (aka "bluing") to their tresses to make them appear more platinum blonde or whiter. Adding a blue (or purple) rinse cancels out the natural yellow/brassy tones in white/grey hair.

In the UK, the "blue-rinse brigade became a label for busybody-dom...and synonymous with unchangeable Thatcherite thinking." (link, 'cause I love). Well, that seems just a titch sexist! I'm glad we've reclaimed blue and purple hair as a fashion thing. 

As I still have quite a bit of light brown growth (my natural colour) in the back/underside of my hair, I get that yellow tone too. I remember my Mom's mother/my grandmother using a purpling rinse regularly into the 80s...and I also recall her having violet hair once or twice after leaving it in too long (which was a common occurrence - sometimes I also forget to watch the clock).

As my blue fades and/or is leached out by the sun, my hair will appear more silver, but for today's funky look, I matched my outfit to my hair.

This ensemble is one I created recently while playing in my closet, built around this amazing printed skirt, which is yet another Vancouver anniversary trip second-hand purchase. I always find such good stuff over there! 

I've been diligently cutting back on snacking (I'm a salty-crunchy lover, as well as a chocolate junkie), and am thrilled that this snug pencil skirt is fitting me again! 

I haven't worn the skirt that many times (this is only outfit #4), but I have a lot skirts, so it's hard to get to them all. I love the digital print on this. 

Without the jacket, so you can see my striped navy blue and white top, which has a tie accent at the neckline. 

I like the mix of stripes and floral or whatever this print is. 

There's more dark blue on the back of the skirt than the front. There's a fair bit of pastel pink in the pattern, so I tend to match blue or pink (or both) to it. 

Masked up - more blue. 

The blue jacket was a great find a few years back - it's vintage D&G. We'll have a wee Flashback on all the ways I've worn it shortly.

The stuff: 

Pink velvet shoes! I love this rosy-pink shade. 

Silver and pink bling: 

Sadly, I caught my salamander brooch on the edge of a printer at work, and broke the tail of it right off. I remind myself, "Things are meant to be USED."

I don't think I'll be able to fix it. The metal bar broke right off. 

Articulated brooches are fairly rare - my chance of finding another salamander is low, but I'll keep my eyes peeled. 

• Earrings - thrifted
• Filigree bracelet - St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop, London
• Link bracelet - Fossil, gift from L
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Shield ring - Nine West
• Salamander brooch - vintage fair
• Mask - Lazy Susan's

Maybe I should just permanently sew it onto the Fuzzy Flamingo? Or maybe a hat? What would you do?

 

Flashback: Dolce & Gabbana Studded Pastel Jean Jacket

I found this studded baby blue denim jacket here in December 2017 at the Patch on a "buy 2, get 1 free" deal - it was marked at $32.95, and was the cheapest of the 3 things I bought, so it was FREE. But we'll use the $32.95 for our highly-technical cost-per-wear calculations. 

Although it doesn't have the original price tag, it's clearly new, with a part of the tag still attached. 

I suspect it's late 90s/early 00s. 

Look at that leopard lining! It's a fine mesh.

It's got all the proper holograms and such, and it's made in Italy. 

I wear this where you might wear a denim jacket, as a topper for a bit of extra warmth, sun coverage or to match some other baby blue in my outfit. Following my motto "Always Be Upgrading", this is my upgrade from a plain jean jacket. 

You can see two missing studs mid-back and one at the back of the neck. This doesn't bother me one bit. 

Ready to see my outfits? I wore it right away in January 2018, layered over one of my Desigual dresses. The jacket is a snug fit - I have never been able to do it up, which also doesn't bother me.

I used to loathe pastels, but I've come around on them. I really love this pale blue colour - it goes with everything! 

I'm sick here in March 2018, and only wore this outfit for the time it took me to batten down the hatches at the office and then go home to bed. 

Only the jacket remains out of everything else in this outfit. 

I wore it to see Canadian pop-punk group The Beaches in April 2018 - a rare sighting of me in jeans! 

The one and only time I wore this Helmut Lang feather-printed dress - he and I don't see eye to eye (he's too body-con for me). I love that purse. 

This May 2018 ensemble reminded me that I used to have a sweater with a whale on it! How whimsical of me. 

I let go of this maxi skirt after a few wears, as it was way too long, and I didn't like the jumble of patterns. Give me one or two patterns, but not three! 

You might think this is the same striped top that I'm wearing today, but this is actually a different sleeveless striped top, with a mock-neck. I still have it (striped tops are useful). 

Not the skirt or shoes, though; they are long gone. This was in August 2018.

Layered as a jacket here in September 2018. 

One of my favourite skirts ever! I loved those shoes, but now Cat has them. 

I have a few matchy pieces that I often wear with the jacket: my Lady Footlocker (KLASSY) leather belt and these awesome Fluevogs. 

I wore that dress for a couple of summers, then got bored with it and passed it along. 

Another outfit with that maxi skirt, in May 2019. 

You can see how long it is there, even with me holding it up - it used to drag on the ground. 

Layered over my stretchy Etro dress, here also in May 2019.

I like the yellow accents. 

Worn as a topper with my Spanish Ladies dress, in June 2019. 

That makes me feel summery just looking at it! 

I dressed up here in April 2020, layering the jacket over one of my favourite vintage dresses. 

I didn't wear this out of the house - this was early in lockdown last year. 

An extra shot to flash the leopard lining at you! 

Sassy! 

As outerwear in May 2020.

I find this pale blue + studs much more interesting than a plain ol' jean jacket. Why wear denim when you can wear studded baby blue? 

Layered over my neon pink dress here in June 2020 for L's birthday wander downtown. 

My blue and pink Fluevogs have a touch of baby blue on the buckles. 

And here's the last time I wore it, as sun coverage over my ruffled toile dress. 

Same pastel Fluevogs. 

Mathy stuff: Today marks the 16th wearing of this jacket, which bring us to $2.06 per wear, IF I'd paid the full price of $32.95 for it. But since it was FREE, I'm in the negatives, ha ha! 

Vizzini, do you have a favourite outfit? 

"The ones that I can chew on or sit on."

That's not a surprise. He usually tries to bite the studs on it. 

"Just let me sleep, Woman."

Aw, I can't say no to that! Look at those little white bean toes! 

And with that, my friends, I'm off to enjoy my long weekend. I'll be back with tales of adventure on Monday. Stay safe! Thanks so much for stopping by!