Monday, August 29, 2022

Monday Madness: Dress of a Thousand Nipples Debut!

This week, I will be taking a short mid-week blog break (no worries, nothing terrible, just taking a couple of days), and so today was both my Monday and my Friday.
This calls for madness! Dress of a Thousand Nipples! 

  • Blazer - Zara, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in May with dots and white jeans
  • Dress - Faux-lexander McQueen, consignment; purchased here for $60.00
  • Shoes  - Super Fine Cardinal, Fluevog; last worn here in July with a snake theme

I'll say it right away - this dress is SHEER.
I'll show you how I managed it in a bit. 

I layered my jungle blazer over the dress in an effort to look slightly professional. 
The office was dead, but the few people I saw really liked the dress. 

I look totally normal from behind! 
I can picture this dress in fall/winter with a turtleneck and matching tights layered with it. 

Masked up. 
Look at all those nipples! There must be...a thousand

Incognito. 
I didn't realize quite how low the front was, so the scarf was welcome. 

Here's the dress on its own. 
Rest assured, I am wearing a layer under this. 
The back is much more solid than the front. 

I have a peach vintage slip on underneath. 
Vintage underlovelies to the rescue! 

Accoutrements: 
I'm fond of this bug scarf, which is over 25 years old. 

The stuff: 
Lots of gold - so classy! 

Gold bling: 
Wearing some of my new-to-me pieces. 

  • Brooch - vintage 60s, Mom's
  • Filigree bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
  • Chunky bracelet - J. Crew, consignment; purchased here for $15.00
  • Giant ring - Harriet Grey, Sidney; purchased here for $1.00
  • Earrings - Shiraleah, Sidney; purchased here for $1.00
  • Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes


Well, there you have it. I'll be back later this week - stay chill, my friends! 

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Fancy Friday in Vintage Green; Pop-Up Vintage Fair and Shopping Expedition

Welcome back, my friends! I had a lovely weekend full of vintage and friends and quiet time. It was a nice mix of people-stuff and non-people stuff. 

Here's my Fancy Friday outfit.
This vintage dress has been with me for ages.

  • Dress - Styled by Adrian, vintage 60s, thrifted; last worn here in September 2021 for a Mom-Day adventure
  • Shoes - Chanii B; last seen here in February(!) when I debuted my Peacock Jacket

I found it in 2014, nearly 8 years ago! 
I'm just thrilled it still fits. Vintage doesn't have any stretch!

It's one of many green-based dresses I have.
I don't vary up the style much - green or teal shoes, usually. 

I'm okay with that. 
Isn't the essence of a Jammy Dress that you don't have to do much with it? 

Masked up. 
I'm matching all over the place. I even wore my turquoise frames today! 

Incognito.
For fellow blogger/reader, Sam, I wear my white Geox shoes to walk to and from work, as seen here. Just picture those on my feet and that's me walking to and from work. In winter, I wear Doc Martens.

Accoutrements: 
Pretties. 

  • Scarf - Lanvin, vintage 80s, vintage mall
  • Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 
My HR lady was entranced with these shoes. 

Green bling: 
The earrings are a nightmare with my mask, but I saw very few people today. 

  • Stone bracelet - vintage 60s, Mom's
  • Enamel bangles - thrifted
  • Glass bangle - thrifted
  • Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
  • Silver/malachite ring - consignment
  • Thermoset brooch - Coro, vintage 60s, thrifted
  • Earrings - consignment

L and I spent a quiet time playing boardgames on Friday night, but were up bright and early on Saturday. Cat and I walked down to Oak Bay Avenue for a Pop-Up Mini Vintage Fair! 
Vintage fairs always encourage dressing in vintage, and I pondered for a while until my eyes alit on my massive Picador Skirt. 

  • Blouse - J. Crew, consignment; first seen here in July with lemon
  • Skirt - vintage 50s, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in August 2021 with stripes for Book Club in Ye Olde Pandemic Park
  • Shoes - Half-Truth Tanya, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) in July with a fit-and-flare dress

It is no exaggeration to say I have been severely missing vintage fairs! They are one of my favourite events to attend - check out the Vintage Fair Victoria page here (all links 'cause I love, of course), and there are some FB pics here (I'm not in any of them, although my pic was taken - it might be on IG, but I don't have an account). 

I dug this green silk peasant blouse out of the Giveaway Pile, where I'd tossed it in a fit of purging. 
I loved it with this skirt, so it's back in the closet. A green blouse is a useful thing, although I have not yet achieved Best Green Blouse.

I showed off my Picador Skirt to anyone who glanced at it. 
"There's blood on it!" That's a man on a horse, stabbing a bull with a "pic" (stick), hence picador. It's a souvenir skirt from either Mexico or Spain from the 50s, and it had many fans. I even did a full twirl in it! 

Masked up - and Cat has arrived (I'm running late, dammit, sorry, Cat!). 
She wore vintage mid-century jewelry and a picnic plaid and daisy theme. 

Incognito. I was recognized by a few of the vintage fair regulars, regardless. 
Both Cat and I noticed when we finished with the pop-up fair how much we'd missed bonding over vintage stuff with other folks. I dress like this all the time, and so seldom get comments from people, but at vintage fairs, everyone notices and comments on every detail. It was so nice to be around like-minded fashion/vintage lovers! 

Accoutrements. 
I ran into at least one other person carrying a bag like this, and flaunted my Halston scarf to all and sundry. 

  • Purse - Street Level, thrifted
  • Mask - by Mom
  • Scarf - Halston, vintage 70s, thrifted

I folded the scarf in half, into a triangle, then rolled it for knotting around my neck. 

The stuff: 
My shoes had many fans, as they well should. We walked there, and shopped for close to 4 hours - my feet were tired, but these shoes are awesome. 

Silver bling: 
I vibed off the skirt and went with some of my silver collection. 

  • Enamel cuff - consignment
  • Silver/malachite cuff - thrifted, Sidney
  • Silver/malachite ring - consignment
  • Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
  • Earrings - consignment
  • Belt - Rohesia belt, Fluevog; last worn here in July with dots

A few people thought my belt was vintage. Nope, just a really cool Fluevog piece. 

Vintage fair loot! 
I bought all these things at various tables/from different vendors. With vintage fairs, I bring my budget in cash, and let myself just buy things on impulse, even if I know not everything will work in the long run. I believe in supporting my local dealers! 

This flapper-inspired headband had a really cool vintage brooch on it - these didn't start their journey together. 
You don't see those kind of slide/tube pin closures too often - it usually indicates age. I also didn't own a flapper headband, so y'know...that's useful. You never know when I might need one! 

See, isn't the pin awesome? 
I think someone has added clear acrylic over this vintage 1920s brooch. It's missing a couple of "gems" but they are under the acrylic finish. I love the Art Deco design! 

These earrings came with the headband/pin in a pouch for $10 total. 
These are cheap crap. The white metal finish has rubbed off in places. They go right into the Giveaway Pile. The $10 was worth it just for the brooch/headband. 

This is the back of the big shiny gold bow pin, as see in the group shot above. I liked the oversized look of this brooch, and can see it on a beret or coat.
It's stamped "Monet" and was $7.00. I spied this same brooch on several resale sites for between $45 and $75.00. Nice! 

This table had all jewelry 2 for $10.00. 
I liked the waving seaweed look of the vintage 60s(?) unmarked goldtone brooch, but it was the Ziggy Stardust pin that I really wanted. 

I nicked this photo from the FB page, because it shows my Ziggy brooch on the right.
Cat bought the three bangles on the left (circled in blue) - they're really lovely! 

I liked this pink mod 1960s bracelet.
It's not Bakelite, but it is a thin rigid plastic. Not bad for $5.00! 

We've had a long-standing rule since our Vintage Expo days (me, Elaine, Cat, Yvonne and Karen!). "Don't let me buy a hat." As you can see, this rule has gone right out the window! 
It's a real fur ocelot hat! I have no issues with vintage fur. It's cut like an open beret and sits on the back of my head. 

From the Import Salon at Eaton's department store. Classy! 
I thought $25.00 was a solid price. This is probably from the 1950s/60s.

This vintage skirt caught my eye. 
I love the rainbow-effect of the pattern - it reminds me of Missoni's classic zig-zag. 

It's a woven textile. 
I can see red, orange, green, black and shades of brown, caramel and cream all working with this in fall/winter. 

Union made! 
This label was in use between 1968 and 1984 in Canada. 

I can't read the CA number, but the label is bilingual, so it's after the Official Languages Act (applied to clothing labels between 1974-9). I agree that it's 1970s. It reminds me a lot of big curtains from that era!
It was $35.00, but since I didn't get a chance to try it on, I was hoping for the best. It is kind of a weird fit, and a bit big on me, but I'll give it one shot when the weather is cooler and see what I think of it then. 

From the Pop-Up Vintage Fair and a browse through Lazy Susan's, we meandered back up the Avenue to House of Savoy, where Cat scored a ring and two amazing dresses (one was a Kate Spade NWT!). 
I found these really amazing bangles in the jewelry case. 

I was drawn to the construction, which looks like layers of white and black acrylic that have been molded into a tube and then "sliced."
The two bangles were sold separately, for $15 and $12.00. 

Aren't they cool? 
I was very pleased with them. 

We had a quick browse through Good Things Consignment Vintage, where I found this small 4" raised dish. This was $6.00.
I have a collection of small dishes - we use them for storing little pieces when we play boardgames. It keeps "someone" from stealing them off the table. 

We dashed across the street to Turnabout, and - stomachs growling - did a quick go-through to see if there was anything in the clearance area and if anything in the new fall arrivals really rocked our boats. Cat found an amazing pair of Lisa Tucci shoes:
(A screen-cap from an old Etsy listing). These retailed for $250 - these were $89.99 at Turnabout and they were brand-new! The black is laser-cut leather laid over the white - Cat's pair also have black laces. Love that little pewter heel. 

As I'd suspected, all the blingy statement necklaces had gone on half price, along with the small selection of bracelets. 
I picked up this gold-tone, faux tortoiseshell, crystal bracelet for $15.00. 

A small "J. Crew" stamp on the inside. 
This will go with a lot of my fall stuff. It would have retailed for around $75.00.

I don't buy sweaters that often, but when I see one that rings my bell, I buy it. 
I adore the green, blue, red, black and yellow plaid of this. That short length also works really well on me. 

Some of you are itching just reading that label! 
I'm not bothered by wool, or mohair (although angora and I are enemies). 

It's by Ralph Lauren Sport.
Probably early 00s. This was $59.99. A splurge, but I really like it. 

I definitely seem to be veering in a kooky way with some of my clothing choices lately. 
It's like an old-timey nightshirt married to a party dress. L also thought I looked like a cultist (a compliment). 

It's by Zara, and new with tags (NWT). 
I spotted a listing for this dress that noted the original price was $115.00 - I paid $57.99 for it. When I got home, I experimented with styling it as an underlaying piece - wearing a longer garment over it, so that the swooshy skirt collar and cuffs show. It's a little odd on its own, but I'm determined to play with this and experiment!

Cat and I had some hilarious banter with other shoppers while we were trying things on in the shoe section. She'd spotted these boots and I clutched them to my chest, gasping. Another shopper said, "Oh, what do you have there?"
"Back off, lady! These are mine!" I joked, and we all cracked up. Seriously though? MINE. 

These amazing booties tick every box. Black and white, sporty...
That heel, which is incredibly comfortable (barely 2"). The reflective silver!

A double zip?? I can do them up by pulling the loop at the back! So handy! I carried them around by the loops.
The back zip area and the trim around the top are leather. 

The body of the shoe is this nylon sport fabric - it's not too stiff, and there is reinforcing at the toe and heel. 
The silver reflector-tape detail is awesome. The black here is heat-applied rubber or vinyl. 

Not even a lick of wear. 
Shiny heel! 

They're by United Nude.
They are a current boot, still available at their site (here, oh my gosh, they make cool shoes). This is the Molten Calli Mid - the mid refers to the heel height - you can also get them in Hi, a 3.5" heel. These originally retailed for $240.00 and are on sale for $145.00 if you want to be twinsies with me. I happily paid $129.99 to Turnabout. 

Exhausted, hungry and parched from our marathon shopping expedition, we joined L and Ross at Christie's Pub for a late lunch/early dinner before parting ways. L and I hung out and played boardgames until the wee hours. 

On Sunday, we took it easy with chores, and chilling out. Vizzini lazed in the sun, looking at himself in the reflection of the deck door.
"I'm a fine-looking fellow."


Hey, bud, say hello to your fans! 
"Hello to your fans."


Thank you so much for stopping by!