McQueen Blue, Copper and Brown Linen Flashback

Happy Monday, my friends! We are in the home stretch - this is the last week of my spring/summer wardrobe, so I'm eking out a few outfits before we jump into autumn. 

I classify this blue top as a warm-weather item - it is best worn on its own, not good for layering (maybe a thin blouse), and I have at least one blue sweater in this colour that I'll be pulling out for fall. Ergo, I needed to sneak in an outfit featuring it before I store it, ready to discover it anew in March 2022 (which feels very far away).

This skirt is also getting packed up for another season - while the colour is firmly in the fall palette, it's linen, so I relegate it to warm-weather wear. 

• Top - Alexander McQueen, early 00s, consignment; purchased here for $65.00
• Skirt - Andrea Jovine, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here in April with beaded linen and ruffles
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here in July with black and more blue
• Coat (below) - Cache, consignment; last seen here in May with read

The blue top is indeed by Alexander McQueen, likely from around the same era as my trousers (Flashback here). 

It is cut in a cropped style, so it stops at my waist - I noted when I bought it that I would need to wear it with something high-waisted. 

The top is fully lined, and you can see the nice sleeve shape here. 

There is an additional seam on the sleeves, midway down the shoulder, which gives me extra mobility with my arms. 

It's a thoughtful detail - I've owned many non-stretchy tops that I could barely move my arms in. 

Masked up - it's navy blue with copper sparkles. 

I am not usually a fan of linen (due to wrinkling), but I make an exception for this beautiful skirt. We'll have a Flashback on it shortly.

• Mask - by Mom

Outerwear - after a day of nothing but rain on Sunday, we're back to sunshine and warm temps today, but the clouds are rolling in.

It's still chilly in the morning, so I wore this light leopard coat - it's perfect for our changeable seasons.

Accoutrements: 

Thin gloves and a snuggly scarf. 

• Scarf - gift from Mom, Italy
• Leather gloves - vintage, thrifted

It rained all during the day, but was clear for my walks both ways - hooray!

The stuff: 

I'll be keeping these shoes out - they are good all year round. Such a fantastic colour! 

Copper bling: 

Wearing my new-to-me copper set, and some other favourites. Did you spot the brooch on the skirt?

• Bracelet/earrings - Renoir, vintage 60s, consignment; purchased here for $26.00 for both pieces
• Necklace - Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Modern copper cuff - Karen's
• Copper rings - Glee
• Copper brooch - thrifted 

I have a ton of copper jewelry, and pull most of it out for fall/winter. I should do a post showing you all of it - would you be into that? 

Flashback: Andrea Jovine Linen Skirt

I found this skirt at the Women in Need (WIN) Boutique on Quadra Street, here in June 2019. I recognized the quality of it right away, despite all the wrinkles. 

It's a faux wrap - the wrap pieces are securely stitched into the side seams so that it doesn't gape open. I also really like the "pass through" of fabric near the waistband - I'm fond of putting brooches there. The back side of the skirt is lined (the front wrap parts are not). 

It's by Andrea Jovine, who I'd never heard of. She's still around, but seems to be focused on interior design more than clothing now (about her here, link 'cause I love). 

This is a pretty early piece by her - as it was made in Hong Kong, and they went back to China in 1997, I can confidently say this is at least from before 1997 but it could certainly be from the 80s. It was $34.95, which is a little on the pricey side for thrift stores, but I also found this article here from July 1988, noting that her skirts were around $100 then - that would be about $190.00 today.

As noted, I only wear this in spring/summer, but it's been a few years, so let's have a look at some outfits, shall we? 

This is an outfit from June 2019. I still have both that green sweater and the green shoes (Flashback here). 

"You also still have this cat."

I put a pin on the gathers, and I'm wearing copper jewelry! What a shocker. 

This outfit is from August 2019 - I bought this faux wrap top in Vancouver that spring, and liked how it went with the faux wrap of the skirt. 

I didn't keep that top (it was a very short crop), but I do still have those pink Fluevogs. 

I wore this outfit out for lunch with my former WW colleague Betty in June 2020. 

I layered my same leopard coat over it as today. 

I'm fall-ifying again here, in September 2020, getting in a wearing of this velvet tasseled kimono. 

I don't wear those sandals too often anymore - they are very high. I still have everything else. 

And here's the last time I wore this skirt, this past April 2021. 

The jacket is in the giveaway pile. I see I did a brooch on the gathers again here. 

Mathy stuff: Today's outfit marks the 6th wearing of this skirt, which brings us to $5.83 per wear. I am fond of this piece and am always happy to rediscover it every March, so it's not going anywhere. 

How do you feel about wrap skirts? What are you looking forward to wearing this autumn?