Fancy Friday: Fashion Officer, Luke/Yoda Flashback and a Wee Shop

Full confession: I wore this exact ensemble out for dinner at the local pub last night. My Thursday off was a challenging day, as I've been dealing with the blues, the greys, the mean reds...whatever you want to call them. It's winter and my mental health is at a low ebb. 

Instead of beating myself up for not taking pictures Thursday night, I took the easy route and just wore it all again to work on Friday. 

• Dress - Karen Millen, consignment; last worn and Flashbacked here in December 2020 with Monster Vest
• Shoes - Irregular Choice "Star Wars" Collection; last seen here (2nd outfit) in March 2020 for a Mental Health fantasy outfit
• Coat (below) - Mallia, consignment; last worn here in January

Due to weather (rain) and brain state (foggy), Mom and I did a nice long Zoom call on Thursday. I forced myself to shower and put clothes on, but didn't dress up at all - but I still count that as a victory, and it set the stage for putting on "real" clothes hours later. 

I did some sewing - a hem and the ripped skirt section from Monday's sidewalk fall - while we had a nice long chat. Talking to Mom did me good, and I set to work on my Peacock Jacket - it's nearly finished, so I hope to have a big post for you soon to ooh and ahh over. 

Anyway, the outfit.

This is a lovely wool-blend dress and I adore the lined-up stripes, which are orange, blue, tan and grey. It has a slightly formal look to it so I added my Star Trek magnetic communicator badge to my chest - "Beam me up, Scotty! This planet is swarming with a pandemic!"

L said I looked very "Fashion Officer, reporting to the bridge." Love it! 

I always feel great in this dress. 

I have a full vintage slip on underneath, with fleece tights for extra warmth. 

Masked up: 

The dress tends to ride up when I walk, and goes from mid-calf to above my knees within a few strides. 

Outerwear. 

Hence the long coat! I don't want to be fussing with the hem of my dress, and I don't have to worry about it in this.

Accoutrements: 

We've been beset by drizzle, aka a constant heavy mist in the air. 

• Beret - Parkhurst, consignment
• Scarf - fake Louis (Lewis!) Vuitton, thrifted
• Gloves - Echo, consignment
• Mask - Lazy Susan's

A hat is needed. 

The stuff: 

I bought these shoes in a fit of Retail Therapy, but I rarely wear them. However, they manage to maintain a place in my wardrobe, as I think they are totally cool and I'm a massive Star Wars fan. We'll have a wee Flashback on them shortly. 

Space bling:

I did include one of my new-to-me items from my recent shopping hauls, the giant dome ring.

• Star Trek Communicator magnetic badge - MoPOP Museum gift shop, Seattle
• Earrings - Tania Gleave, Granville Island, Vancouver
• Studded bracelet - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
• Leather/steel cuff - Rimanchik
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Dome ring - Kenneth J. Lane, consignment, Powell River; purchased here for $15.00

I removed the big hinged bracelet and the dome ring for my outerwear - neither fit under my gloves.

Another thing I did on Thursday was to finally install the new door knocker that I gave L for Christmas 2020 (harumph! I do all the construction-y things in our house). 

From this functional brass knocker...

To a fierce dragon. I coloured the screws black with a permanent marker, clever me.

Abandon hope all ye who enter...

There be dragons in this house, and they need coffee in the morning! Rar! 

L went out after work (he's much more extroverted than me), so I went for a leisurely browse at the Patch on my way home. They are struggling in the pandemic and are having a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale. Gotta support local! Plus I know I can always find some good stuff there, and tonight was no exception. 

All of my purchases in total came to $56.00, so each of these was $18.67.

My first find was something for L, who I am always shopping for. The fabric and pattern caught my eye. 

It'll be a good summer shirt, either worn done up or unbuttoned and showing one of L's rock tees. 

It was matched so well, I nearly missed the pocket! 

L has lots of these colours in his wardrobe - this will go with a lot. 

Made in Hawaii! You don't see that very often. 

This has a bit of age on it, but not too old. 

I discovered a small hole on the front when I got home (dang), but it's not too bad. I can patch that or just tell L to say it's a bullet hole. 

Sadly, it's likely a security tag hole from a shoplifter. This shirt was probably stolen! 

It's by Tori Richard of Hawaii - and they are still making this shirt (not in this pattern) and they retail for $105.00 (link here to their site, 'cause I love).

It's 100% cotton lawn, and their prints are all custom done in Japan. That label is from the 90s, when their menswear line took off like gangbusters (about them here). I have a Tori Richards dress that is older (1970s), here. As soon as I spotted the label, I grabbed this. 

I'm always looking for good quality fabrics and bright colours. 

This is a beautiful 100% cotton sweater. I love the shorter cut (this hits me at the top of my hips, a good proportion for me) and the bracelet-length sleeves. 

I wonder who it's by??

RLL. Hmmm. I wonder.

There's a small pen-mark on the shoulder.

I zapped it with some Folex when I got home and it's gone. 

Of course, it's by Ralph Lauren. 

That address is his flagship store. 

This sweater is made in Japan! How unusual! 

The employee and I both agreed that this is probably from the 80s or early 90s. 

My third item was this odd dress. The fabric is what I noticed first in a sea of gross polyester dresses. I put a peach vintage slip inside it for taking pictures, as it's unlined. 

I like the uneven hem and the slit. 

This is the back, but when I tried it on at home, it actually looks very flapper-ish worn this way - it works either way! 

Isn't it the oddest thing? It's...hairy. 

It's strips of sheer black, interspersed with thick woven fabric that's been frayed at the edges. 

It needs a bit of a haircut for the straggly threads. 

It's sewn really well - it has a side zipper, and is beautifully made. 

It's also very sheer! 

I have slips, I'm not afraid of sheer. 

And it has pockets! 

Which work no matter what way I have it on. 

I found the tag way down the side of the garment. There was supposed to be a lining. 

It's by City, and it's...made in Japan. How odd, every one of the three things I bought were made in Japan in some way. I couldn't find anything about this brand, but it's a cool dress. 

And now...

Flashback: Irregular Choice Star Wars Collection, Featuring Luke and Yoda

My work's ginormous office move in Feb/March 2018 did a number on me: I did most of the logistics and set-up, including packing the office kitchens and supplies, by myself, and worked 12+ hour days for a couple of weeks straight. I was severely burned out and on this day had a bit of a crying jag at my desk and was caught by the HR guy, who marched me into my boss's office to chat about my mental health. In addition to helping me unload some of my overwhelming work, they told me to leave work and chill out for the afternoon, so of course, I went shopping! 

I popped into now-gone She She Shoes, and picked up these lace-up brogues that I'd been eyeing for a couple of years, since my mother-in-law bought me my Han/Leia "I Know" shoes in May 2016 (Flashback here). They were finally on clearance, so I bit and bought them here in March 2018 for $209.00 - I think they were close to double that for regular retail! 

Yoda is on one toe and Luke in his pilot outfit is on the other, both images from "Return of the Jedi" (my favourite of all of the Star Wars movies). The toe section is fabric, and the black section around the laces is sparkly leather. 

They have a strip of dark sparkly glitter down the back of the heels. 

I like details like that. 

Look at the awesome soles. 

Darth Sheila Vader, Han Solo and Yoda. They don't look like that now - shoes are for wearing! 

Lastly, the inner soles. 

I had to add a stick-on padded insert, as these shoes aren't that comfortable for long shopping expeditions or a ton of walking. You'd think for that price...Let's just say: they're not Fluevogs!

I wore them immediately in March 2018.

I've divested myself of every piece in this outfit, from the belt (which broke) to the lacy top, to the itchy wool Comrags dress. 

I wore them again in August 2018 for a shopping expedition. It was a really hot day, so minimal make-up and frizzed out hair. I also wore white socks (!) as these shoes tend to rub just under one ankle. 

That denim dress was Armani and I gave it away. I have very little denim in my closet these days. 

Another shopping trip in October 2018, where I matched my outerwear to the shoes. 

Luke's orange jacket means I mostly match oranges or lighter blues to the shoes. I gave that fake leather dress to a work colleague, Janie, a few years ago.

This was a casual - but shiny! - outfit from December 2018. That knit sweater is in the giveaway pile now, having served as a "house sweater" for a couple of years. 

I let go of that red suede skirt this year (with its matching jacket). I wasn't feeling it. 

This outfit is from March 2019 - a quick change to comfy clothes for Book Club after work. 

I still have all of those pieces; the cardigan was Flashbacked here. 

I wore this outfit (same shiny silver pants as above) for brunch in January 2020 at Pluto's Diner. 

I layered my sparkly black turtleneck under this loosely-knit sweater (Flashback here). 

And then the pandemic hit! I really haven't worn them at all in the last two years, aside from this last outfit. I did two "fantasy" outfits in March 2020, as a mental health exercise. I dressed up, took pictures and then went back to my at-home clothes. 

It was a good experiment (I highly recommend it) to see how getting dressed impacted my mental health. You can revisit some of my ORANGE LEATHER SHORTS (sorry, it's in their contract to do all-caps) outfits here in Flashback. 

Mathy stuff: I had not expected a very good cost-per-wear on these, as they were expensive to begin with, but I'm happy to count eight outfits so far. That's $26.13 per look - not bad, but I know I can do better. They are a little tricky to style, but such a cool Star Wars collectible - they might be worth something one day! 

And lastly, I will leave you for the weekend with a pic of me and Vizzini, who was lurking around while I did my pictures in the morning. 

"Is it cuddle time now?"

Yes, bud, it is. Let's go chill. 

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure.