Double Flashback: Pink Jacket, Beaded Cream, and Grey Suede Swirls

On the weekend I spent some time making outfits out of all the new-to-me things I've picked up recently. I need to ensure that each piece gets its chance to say, "Hey, I'm a keeper." Or not!

First up is this wonderful grey sueded leather skirt. 

I enjoy the contrast of soft and tough so I paired it with some warm pink bookends, in the form of jacket and shoes. 

• Jacket - Brooks Brothers, thrifted; last worn here in April 2020 with a blossom maxi
• Silk beaded top - Jones New York, thrifted; last seen here in July 2019 with my black patterned suit
• Skirt - Nine West, thrifted; purchased here for $24.95
• Shoes - Sol Sana; last seen here in May with blue everything (including my hair)

I haven't posted a picture of the Castle in a while.

I say hello to it every time I do my stair picture. Hello! 

Back to clothes! I realized last night that two of the items I'm wearing have been with me for quite a few years, but have not been featured in a Flashback yet, so today we'll look back at both the pink jacket and the beaded cream top I'm wearing under it. 

Instead of a solid cream top (it would have been this ruffled one), I decided to wear this delicate beaded top due to the bits of grey in it. 

I thought the random "branch" design would work well with the swirl pattern of the skirt. 

The pattern gets a bit lost in pictures, but this is a gorgeous silk chiffon top. 

Once I have a piece that matches a pair of my shoes, it's hard NOT to wear them together. 

Enter my pink Brooks Brothers jacket. 

I love this dusty rose shade - it's flattering on me, but doesn't disappear into my skin like blush pink does. 

Masked up - this is a grey pattern.

This overall look is a bit more subtle than my usual colour that slams one in the face, heh heh. 

• Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 

These are such comfy shoes, although the ankle straps work their way to the inside of my ankle every time I wear them. Annoying, but I can live with it. 

Filigree bling: 

I pinned the brooch to the lapel of the jacket; the rest is all arm-party stuff. 

• Filigree cuff - St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop, London, UK
• Silver cuff - Karen's
• Brooch - The Bay, c. 1999
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Shield ring - Nine West
• Earrings - Lazy Susan's

Flashback #1 - Brooks Brothers Belted Jacket

I found this fabulous pink blazer at the Women In Need (WIN) Warehouse store back here in July 2017 on one of my regular post-grocery weekend shopping trips. 

The colour stood out, as did the composition of the fabric, which is linen, silk and wool and was made in Italy. The buttons are real mother-of-pearl, not plastic.

It's by Brooks Brothers and was priced accordingly higher than usual at $32.95.

The blazer is only lined in the sleeves and to the mid-back, so it's intended for warmer weather. 

I was in the midst of growing out my formerly very short darker purple hair, and really grooving on matchy things. This was in July 2017.

I wore it done up and belted, and paired it with a navy blue/pink/white crackle printed skirt (I think Yvonne has this now), and my beloved Trout shoes.

This jacket brings out the classy in me, as I did a subtle cream/pink mix here in October 2017. 

I like the addition of my copper and white enameled jewelry here - copper and pink are so pretty together. I still have that skirt but I let go of those too-high heels. 

Once I had this jacket, I realized that I didn't have that many things to pair with it, so I started actively hunting for bottoms with pink in them. 

Showing off my butterfly "bandage" skirt here in January 2018. I let go of the skirt as it rode up my thighs atrociously! Bad skirt! 

Instead of going matchy here in May 2018, I let the jacket be the pop of colour against navy and white. 

I love that comfy velour skirt - it's due to be worn again soon. I like seeing my progress in growing out my purple hair by going magenta, then lavender, as I let my grey come in fully. 

Again, using the pink of the jacket to spice up this look from November 2018. 

I'm a big fan of pink and red. I still have that red lace top and shoes, but I let go of those boring grey wool pants. Yuck. So dull. 

I love how this blazer goes with my lavender and orange Fluevogs. I have a tiger (brooch) on my shoulder too!

This is from January 2019. The skirt felt too uniform-ish. I think I still have that blouse...

Rosy pink goes with neon yellow - who knew? I did! Pink and yellow are a great combination. 

This outfit is from March 2019. I still have every piece! I know the jacket looks better done up and belted, but it's more comfortable worn open when I'm working. 

I did not keep this pretty skirt, worn here in April 2019. It was very tiny - I'm wearing it half-unzipped - so I gave it to my colleague Emily.

I did notice how well the pink on the backside of these boots went with the jacket, though. These will be paired again. 

Nothing like a blazer to perk up a casual tee! This is how I styled my Corey Hart tour t-shirt from the concert the night before, in June 2019. 

Sadly, that skirt is now gone - I washed it and ruined it. Sigh. Ah, well. 

This is a fun mix of subtle pink and peachy shades in September 2019 - that tiered chiffon skirt is a very tricky piece to style. 

I'm shocked that this is only the second time I've worn my vintage pink crystal jewelry with this jacket (a moment of sadness for the broken salamander brooch!). That's nearly all of my white/grey hair grown out, by the way; it was around this point that I said, "F**k it, I like colour," and went back to playing with pastels. 

And here's the last time I wore the pink blazer, in April 2020. With pink hair! 

This might be my favourite look of all of them! The green jewelry is so pretty against the pink, and that skirt is such a beauty. 

Do you have a favourite? What would you wear with this colour? 

Mathy stuff: I have now worn this blazer 12 times, which brings us to an excellent cost-per-wear of $2.75. I am still going strong with outfits, so I can't see this leaving my closet any time soon. 

Flashback #2: Jones New York Beaded Silk Top

Now we go all the way back in the mists of time to...March 2015, and my last shopping trip here at the Hospice Thrift Store. Their lease was up and now, 6+ years later, their building is being demolished to make way for 3 giant condominium towers. I still miss the bargains I used to find in this store! 

On my last visit, they had 60% off on all stock, so I picked this up for a whopping $2.60 (from the original $6.95, which was already quite bargain-y). 

It's 100% silk chiffon, fully-lined, and it buttons up the back (these buttons are plastic). 

All of that bead and sequin work is hand-done. Amazing. 

My wearing of this top has dropped off over the past couple of years, but you'll enjoy the glimpses of my red/purple short hair in the early pics. 

This is from April 2015 - this top is the only thing left in my closet. I do remember that skirt was by Chloe, and I thrifted those funky shoes for $10. 

A couple of months later - I've become a purplehead! - and it's June 2015. 

Some of my readers might remember this skirt - it was an old Smoking Lily purple silk one with silver chairs silk-screened on it. 

This looks more like me - my Yeti jacket must be pretty new here in January 2016. 

I've always played with greys and creams - I do enjoy a neutral outfit once in a while. I still have the grey wooly Fluevog boots. 

A simple look in April 2016 with these funky plaid trousers. The pants are too snug on me these days, and I have set them aside to go into the giveaway pile. I'll see how they fit when I do my fall closet swapover.

I had just purchased the chartreuse sandals in Vancouver that March. 

This July 2017 outfit is notable for a few reasons. For one, it's the only time I've worn this top tucked in (it looks good!). It's too short to tuck into most bottoms, but this skirt had a high waist. 

And speaking of that skirt - it's leather and I didn't own it very long. I gave it to coworker Pam when I upgraded to my pouffy black Kenzo skirt not long after this outfit. Lastly, I loathed those shoes - they were Fluevog and they were horrible to wear. I don't even know why I bought them. 

I think this is my favourite look, just because I have such good associations with the event I wore it to in September 2016. Mom and I went to see a production of "Spamalot" and laughed ourselves silly. 

I'm doing a big feather fascinator in my hair. For the commenter who suggested a silver skirt to me recently: I already got one! (that's a Spamalot reference, tee hee). 

I remember being very soothed by the soft textures in this April 2017 outfit. 

Everything is silk except for the shoes. I still have that handstitched vintage Pierre Cardin skirt! 

My wearings of this top start to drop down to once per year around this time. That usually tells me it's time to move an item along. 

This was in June 2018, and I still have everything but the shoes. 

And here we are - I last wore the top in July 2019. 

I'm not entirely shocked that I didn't wear a fussy beaded, button-up silk top during the Pandemic Gap. 

Mathy stuff: Oh, this is going to be good. *clackety-clack on the calculator* I've worn it 10 times so that's 26 cents per wear. 

What do you think? Time for this top to move on? To be honest, I'm feeling a little "meh", especially after seeing that none of my outfits with it are all that great.