A Snaky Day, and Long Grey Vest Flashback

Despite teases that things in my province may be opening up again in the next month, my office continues to be dead. 

Thanks to my Calgary colleague Valentina, who called me on Teams for a work conundrum and asked me to show off my outfit. How I miss my fashion chats! 

• Vest - Pink Martini, consignment; last seen here in November 2021 over soft blue velvet
• Blouse - Cabi, consignment, Powell River; purchased here for $17.00
• Skirt - J. Crew, thrifted; last worn and Flashbacked here in March 2021
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog, consignment; last seen here in November 2021 with this vest!
• Leather coat (below) - Elizabeth and James, consignment; last worn here in January

I had this outfit all planned and ready to go...but without the vest. 

However, it's been so darned cold and damp lately that I really wanted another layer...but how to do that without hiding the blouse?

I've been eyeing my cardigan collection - do I still wear these? - and noticed that the grey knit of this vest would work with my snakeskin print shoes...

Can I do grey and cream together? Sure, why not? It all goes. This is my 10th wearing of this wool pencil skirt, so I'm doing well there. 

And voila! We'll have a little Flashback on this vest in a bit. 

I had to remember to wrap the bottom ends of the vest over my lap to keep them from getting rolled into the wheels of my office chair. Chairs like to eat long skirts, dresses and cardis.

I loved wearing this blouse (the sleeves delight me), but it is sheer, so I wore a blue cami underneath. 

Overall, this was a chilly outfit. I struggled finding something interesting to wear with the blouse, so I've chucked it into my spring/summer I'll-deal-with-you-later hiding spot (behind the shorter skirts).

Masked up.

This one is nearly an exact match for the snaky shoes as well as the snake texture in the blouse's print. 

Outerwear: 

As noted, I carried the vest to work in a separate bag (my shoes are carried in my leather knapsack). I picked this wonderful coat because of the vivid cornflower blue - it matched the blue in the blouse's print. 

Accoutrements: 

I wished for both a warmer scarf and a hat. Sheila, it is not spring yet - bundle up! 

• Silk scarf - fake Louis (Lewis!) Vuitton, thrifted
• Gloves - vintage, thrifted
• Mask - by Mom

I attempted to do a Movie Star Wrap around my hair while paused at a stoplight on the way to work, but between juggling my coffee travel mug and my extra bag with the vest, plus headphones, a mask and cold gloved fingers, it was a losing battle. I did better on the way home, when I could wrap myself up before I left the office. 

The stuff: 

Yup, I went full snaky today. The shoes are such a great basic style. 

Snaky bling:

While I was perusing my bling (which I pick out the night before), I was looking for a necklace, and spotted this gold vintage one peeking out of my Soft Bag of Large Neckpieces. Aha! A theme! 

• Necklace - vintage 70s, vintage expo
• Snake cuff - Whiting & Davis, vintage 70s, vintage fair
• Earrings - Red Sky (local)
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Snake ring - BC Museum Gift Shop, c. 1986

The earrings are a pain with a mask - it gets caught in the twisty parts - but I continue to suffer for fashion, heh. (*dramatic flourish, hand to the forehead*)

Flashback: Pink Martini Grey Knit Vest

I found this knit vest at Upcycle on my very first visit there - I don't pop in very often as it's a little bit out of my way when I'm doing my downtown stores, but it's thriving so I'm happy for them. I like their model of discounting items that have been lingering for longer than a month (Rich Rags does this too, somewhat erratically), so I was thrilled to pick this up here in November 2019 for a mere $12.50.

I've always been a fan of long-over-long dressing, since I'm short (5'4") and have a tendency to be Darth Sheila. 

I recognized the brand, Pink Martini

I also have this skirt by them that I also bought second-hand.

I wore it right away (as I do) in December 2019. The soft grey colour is an excellent neutral, and matched well with those shoes (Flashback here, although they are no longer in my closet).

I just wore those trousers (Flashback here). The blue silk blouse is still in my wardrobe.

On its second outing in January 2020, I wore the vest over my favourite striped sweater dress for my brother Dave's 50th birthday. 

Unfortunately, the buckles and gewgaws on these boots snagged the crap out of the knit vest, and I was resigned to it being destroyed. 

However, after a stern talking-to-myself, I cleaned up all the snags and gently pulled the stitches back into place, and wore it again in April 2020. 

Not one of my favourite outfits, although in theory, it should have worked. The pants didn't fit right, the blouse sat too low in the cleavage (it's in the giveaway pile now), and I didn't like those shoes. Everything but the vest is gone! 

A much better outfit in September 2020. 

I found that skirt too tricky to match with things (plus it's a couple of sizes too big), so it's also in the giveaway pile. I have to keep culling clothes from my wardrobe if I want to keep shopping! Top Flashbacked here, and shoes here. 

This is a snuggly-looking outfit from January 2021 - that's a 100% cashmere dress. 

Those are the same shoes as in the first outfit.

This is a total Darth Sheila Boss Lady outfit, don't you think? 

Love those trousers. Top Flashbacked here; shoes here.

And here's the last time I wore this vest, in November 2021.

Same shoes as today. I love that velvet skirt (so slinky). The blouse is Flashbacked here.

Mathy stuff: Today's outfit is the 8th wearing of this vest, so that bring us to $1.56 per wear. Awesome! 

What's your favourite look? Do you have any clothes that make you feel like Darth [your name]?