Sunday, December 12, 2021

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Dalmatian Brunch and Shop Scores; Book Club Blues Brunch

Hello, my friends! I hope you're still enjoying whatever's left in your weekend. This one flew by for me, but was filled with good times, including brunch with Nick and L, followed by the last of my Christmas present shopping - and you know I bought a few things for myself along the way, heh heh. I also had our annual Book Club holiday gathering, in the form of lunch on Sunday.

On Saturday, L and I were up early. I dressed for comfort and to feel merry. 
I layered a full vintage slip underneath, which was a good thing, as it turned out. 

  • Dress - InWear; purchased here last weekend for $15.00
  • Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last worn here in October with the inaugural wearing of my Snake Jacket
  • Coat (below) - Topshop, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in November

I love this dress - the scatter print reminds me of Dalmatian spots, even though the dress came labels as "unruly dots". 
It's an extremely forgiving print, hiding anything I'm not happy with. 

I only was able to show it like this while we were at the Ruby. 
I was coated for most of the day. 

Outerwear - this coat is nothing but trouble, speaking of unruly. 
When I was out shopping, I was constantly having to pull my dress down as it kept riding up. At one point it was around my waist! 

Thank goodness I had a slip on! 
After brunch, L and I did our weekly grocery shop, then walked back to town together to do our last gifts for each other. 

The bright sunlight we'd had in the morning turned to gloom, and the skies opened up.
It was cold and rainy and windy. Brr!

Accoutrements: 
Not shown, the hat I grabbed at the last minute to keep my hair dry in the rain. 

  • Scarf - Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier, vintage 90s, consignment
  • Hat (not shown) - gift from Tammy
  • Gloves - Danier Leather
  • Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 
My boots were pretty wet by the time I got home. 

  • Silver/onyx ring - Toccara, vintage fair
  • Mexican silver/onyx ring - gift from Mom & Dad, c. 1987
  • Earrings - thrifted

Ostensibly, I was shopping for L, but I couldn't help it! I bought a few things for myself. I had eyed this dress? robe? kimono? at Verve Consignment the last time I was in, but put it back. 
I decided to go for it this time (plus it was marked down further). 

The background is a pale mossy-minty green. 
I love the aggressive lilies and chrysanthemums. I have ideas for outfits - I'll likely wear it like a kimono. 

It's viscose - no washing!
Viscose and water are not friends. 

It's Dries Van Noten. 
It was marked down to $89.00, which is about right for a consignment store - it would have been well over a $1,000 new. Designer! 

Way over on the other side of the price spectrum, I also popped into the Women in Need (WIN) on Pandora Ave and had a quick look through the vintage, dresses, coats and accessories (the best sections if you're in a hurry), looking for the Good Stuff and things for me to turn into Art Projects. 

This caftan needs a bit of love, but I fell for the wonderful fabric. 
It's polyester (which surprised me - I thought it was cotton). 

The design is enhanced with gold glitter painted on the front - so "me."
It is coming apart a bit on the sides, plus inside it shows evidence that the previous owner pulled out the elastic or draw tie under the bustline. There is actually a hole right in the centre, below that V. 

I'll have to do some mending on it, but for $11.95, I don't mind. 
The brand is Nf (Free Size just means it's "one size fits all") and it was made in India. 

I spotted this full-length black leather coat and gasped. 
It's totally from the late 90s/early 00s, right in the time when "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was airing. This is a Spike coat! 
It's thick, butter-soft leather, with four buttons, and two giant slash pockets on the front. It has some shoulder pad action going on, but not the really huge earlier 90s ones. 

It's by DC Collection and was made in Canada. 
Since DC is now associated with comic book/superhero movies, I had no luck finding anything about this company. It was probably made in Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto, though - Canada had a huge manufacturing industry in those cities up till the early 00s. 

It has a big slit up the back. 
I have to admit, I have visions of covering this with silver or gold drawing...

It was only $9.95. 
Like I was going to leave a full-length leather coat behind for that price?? NO. 

In addition to coats (I put back a cream PVC one after debating over it - it wasn't nice enough quality), I perused the purse section to see if there was anything I could turn into an Art Project. 
That's a very blah colour for a purse. What would you call that? Putty? Blerg. I wouldn't even paint walls that colour. 

I would never buy this normally, but it will look amazing once I draw all over it. It has a big front "envelope" pocket with more pockets inside. 
And a zipper section on the back. 

There is an "LL" logo stamped on the front. 
The main inside section of the purse is also quite large. 

It's marked Pelle (which means leather) and RFID. 
That stands for Radio Frequency Identification (note the little waves) and means it will protect your credit cards from being scanned. This was probably not a super-expensive bag to begin with, but it is all leather. 

It has a couple of marks in the lining (looks like a pen was open), but I don't care about that. 
It was only $9.95, which is good enough both to go in my cart and to draw on. 

I also bought this purse, which is not going to be an art project. 
It's purple, a lovely violet shade. Lots of hardware. 

I spy an upside-down name on that big rign. 
These straps across the front of the bag are adjustable - I used an X-acto knife to cut the unopened slits and tightened these up to make the bag look more "paper bag"-ish at the top. 

Nice hardware on the sides, with free-spinning clasps for the straps so they don't get twisted (nice).
The shoulder strap is also adjustable and removeable. 

This really long chain came attached inside. 
I guess it's for clipping your keys onto, so that you can rummage around for the chain instead of a small bundle of easily-lost keys.

More names on the hardware (I've never seen stamped magnetic fastenings before), on the zipper pull and the lining is a custom weave. 
Yes, that says Sonia Rykiel, Paris. Woo! I'm a fan of her - read about her here in her obituary (she died in 2016), link 'cause I love, of course, as always. I have a skirt by her - one of the velour, exposed seams styles (this one) mentioned in the obit, and a black sweater (this one). 

Due to the wear on the outer leather (especially the front corners), this was marked at a mere $24.95. 
It is called the Martha bag, and originally retailed for 890 Euros (over $1,200 Canadian!). It's not a new bag, however, and based on the style, I'd guess it's from the early 00s, up to 2005-ish. I found a ton of them on second-hand sites, ranging from $125.00 to $495.00, depending on the condition. I didn't find a single picture of a purple one though, so it's a pretty rare colour. 

L and I hung out and played boardgames on Saturday evening - our last free evening for the next few weeks! We were up early on Sunday for football, and I had a mid-day Book Club holiday brunch meet-up. 
Some colour, some shine, lots of texture! 

  • Jacket - Elizabeth and James, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in November for brunch with Nick and L
  • Sweater - Banana Republic, thrifted; last seen here in November for a shopping day with L
  • Skirt - J. Crew, thrifted; last worn here in December 2020 with foxy blues
  • Shoes - Miista; last seen here in September for a Mental Health Shop

I only had my jacket off in the restaurant, and Cat, Yvonne and Ciara only saw most of the time from the waist up. 
A comfy outfit for walking to and from town. 
I'm a fan of this wonderful necktie silk skirt - that pattern is woven. 
I added more blue for my outerwear.

Masked up. A little purple to go with the purple legs. 
I have a purple velvet scarf on there - I went full matchy with my accessories. 

And voila! My fancy new Sonia Rykiel bag is getting its first outing. 
I feel so classy! 

In reality, I wore it cross-body. 
It was lovely - I did use the long chain for my keys, and it was so easy to dig them out when I was walking home in the dark. 

Accoutrements. 
All the purples! I love that the bag matches so well. 

  • Purse - Sonia Rykiel Martha, thrifted; purchased above for $26.95
  • Silk velvet scarf - thrifted
  • Beret - consignment
  • Gloves - Danier
  • Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 
Awesome shoes - I'll be very sad when these wear out, although I have worn them well over 45 times. 

Bigass bling: 
Cat was wearing a Robert Larin pendant, so we were comparing notes on our pieces. 

  • Cuff and bracelet - Robert Larin, vintage 1970s, both gifts from L, vintage mall
  • Necklace - Dots
  • Brooch - Eatons, c. 2002
  • Earrings - gift from Petra
  • Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

I stopped in at Lazy Susan's (FB link here) on the way to town, and bought each of my gals a wee vintage sparkly brooch, just a small gift for the holiday. This is one of my favourite local shops - she carries a mix of vintage jewelry, housewares, plus locally-made items. She's got a very good eye, so I am often tempted! 

I might have picked up a few things for myself too...
You know I find it hard to resist sets! The long glass bead necklace came with a matching bracelet, and I used to have a 5-tiered necklace like this green tones one back in the 90s (it broke and I donated it). 

I love the pretty shades in this - it's a mix of glass beads and faux pearls. 
It was $32.00 and is probably from the 50s. 

The necklace and bracelet are made with glass beads and are actually a rich navy blue. They were $45.00 for the set. I never mind paying more when I'm buying from a local business. 
The bracelet has a very pretty clasp in gold-tone with leaf decorations, but the necklace clasp is your standard "lobster claw." I think these are also from the 50s (inspired by the 20s). 

And how was your weekend, my friends? Tell me all about it! 

13 comments:

  1. That sounds like a lovely, realxed weekend.
    I suppose I'd better give some thought to Xmas this week but I keep finding stuff for me!
    I think the boots you're wearing with the dalmation dress need to be in my wardrobe, they're perfection!
    Well done for having to vision to snaffle that black leather coat and bag for future art projects, I'm already excited at what you're going to create. Purple leather! There isn't enough purple in this world, one of my favourite colours! xxx

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  2. I love the purple Sonia Rykiel bag you found - such a great colour! You so rarely see purple bags, I sole one I had and I always regretted it! It works so well with your blue outfit too! :)

    So excited to see what you do with your leather bargains for creative projects!

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  3. Great SR bag. Nobody studies clothes closer than you.

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  4. Your Saturday dress is very similar in style as one I charity shopped last week, including the sporty trim and the forgiving model :-) I'm loving the tights and boots you wore with it.
    Fantastic finds too: I can't believe you've thrifted yet another Dries Van Noten! The purple Sonia Rykiel bag is gorgeous too, what an amazing colour!
    Talking of colour, I'm loving the blues and purples of Sunday's outfit. The skirt is such a great pattern. And I think purple leather gloves are still missing from my collection ...
    Can't wait to see how you transform that leather coat! xxx

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  5. What a gorgeous dress. The black and white one. And that purple bag is fantastic too!

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  6. What a find, that leather coat.
    I’m very excited to see your creative work on your coat and bags, fabulous blank canvasses.

    Your Sunday outfit is beautiful, the blue and purple combination has given my an idea for an outfit.
    I love how you have paired those colours. x

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  7. Love the blue outfit on you! I can definitely see more leather painting sessions in your future - that coat would be a great canvas for your decorative skills.

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  8. What a great idea to decorate the bag. It will look amazing when you've finished it. And talking of bags the Sonia Rykiel bag is beautiful - and very clever! I loved the chain for the your keys - what a brilliant idea. I spend ages scrabbling around in my bags for the keys... the leather coat was also a great find and a great price!

    Lovely outfits and I loved your necklaces - more great finds.

    Have a great week.
    xxx

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  9. Your hunch regarding the age of the jewelry is right on the mark. Those elegantly lovely pieces are straight up 1950s or early 60s.

    My jaw just about hit the ground when I saw not only that marvelous circa late 90s/early 2000s leather coat but also (and all the more so) the price tag on it. That is the thrifted deal to beat just about all thrifted deals.

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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  10. Love those 'unruly dots' and your furry jacket (despite its bad behaviour!, I have a coat that does exactly the same, so I have to check where is my dress/skirt before taking my coat off).
    Lovely finds, and lovely projects!, totally a fan of your Buffy Coat and the idea of drawing something on the 'oat colour' bag to jazz it up! (it looks like a practical bag!). And obviously, love your purple bag!, and love your last outfit, the textures, prints and shiny details! everything rocks!
    besos

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  11. I love the snow leopard dress. Sooo good. And well styled. The blue outfit is really good too. (And as you know, I am not a fan of mini skirts, so this is a double compliment.)
    Greetje

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  12. The unruly dalmatian dress is excellent. I'm not surprised you couldn't resist the Spike coat, what a bargain.

    I do like to think of you saving the world from blah leather goods one art project at a time.

    ReplyDelete

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