Thursday, September 29, 2022

Reader Request: Jammy Dress at the Periodontist, and Some Cat Pics

Today's Reader Request is from dear friend Laurie, who asked for both my purple Chia skirt (I might get to that) and less specifically, a Jammy Dress.

Since I have a periodontist appointment this afternoon, a Jammy Dress is definitely in the cards.
By the time I did my pictures, the sun had nearly covered the stairs, causing me to scrunch down at the top. Too bright! 

  • Dress - No. 6 Store, consignment; last worn here for a Mom-Day adventure in May
  • Boots - BCBG Max Azria; last seen here - same outfit in May

Mom will be picking me up after my appointment, as I'll be woozy from the happy pill. 
Pockets! All the best Jammy Dresses have them.

I'm wearing a cami, tights and a half-slip under this dress, for extra comfort and a bit of warmth in the chair. 
This is a repeat outfit from May of the main, trackable items. I just changed up the accessories. 

I will be walking to my appointment, as it's a glorious day.
I need the sunshine. 

Masked up. 
Leopard matches everything. 

Incognito.
Lots of armour going on. 

Accoutrements: 
Minimal but still badass. 

  • Purse - Rebecca Minkoff Linear Studded Rocker Bag, 2009, consignment
  • Mask - Lazy Susan's
  • Prescription sunglasses - Woow

The stuff: 
Please ignore the dust on my boots - I wiped them off after I saw the pictures! 

Badass bling:
Armouring myself up is needed this week. 

  • Belt - gift from Ruth
  • Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
  • Studded cuff - vintage 80s
  • Chain ring - Mexican, consignment
  • Pivot ring - consignment
  • Earrings - thrifted
Edited to add some pics from Mom's brief visit afterwards.
She knows you're there, Vizzini.

We had a cup of tea and caught up until I started to get woozy and tired.
"What is this delicious gift you've brought me?"

Mom dangled the tassels from her shirt to see if he could see them. 
"Oh, I can see these, all right."

He can sit right up on his haunches. That's always when I realize what a big cat he is.
"Chomp."

Time for a pat.
"I have a special gift for you."

Yeah, thanks for the butt-hole shot, cat. 
"Very well, I will play with the tassels some more."

Then it was dinner time. 
"Feed me or the tassels will die!"


Time for a quick selfie before I crash into bed to sleep this off. 
Thank you so much for picking me up, Mom. I love you! 

Can we do a picture with the cat? Ever tried to get a cat to do what you wanted?
"No way."


Tomorrow is the memorial for our dear friend Karen, who died back in June 2020 (my tributes here, here, and here). The Winesday Women will be speaking about all of our good memories, and I'll also be reading an e.e. cummings poem (this one, link 'cause I love). I'm nervous, but I want to do a good job for Karen to honour her and all the wonderful times we shared. Please send good vibes! 

I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure. Thank you all for reading, commenting and yes, even for lurking. 

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Reader Requests: Pink Big Boss Lady Pants and "I Know" Shoes

Today's outfit features two reader requests: my pink Boss Lady Pants from Nancy, and Unknown asked for a repeat of my Star Wars shoes. 

Apologies to longtime reader Charlotte who remembered and asked for my "stained glass" dress (this one here, and that's probably the last time I wore it). Unfortunately, it's both too snug and it has a small rip in the non-stretchy silk, so I will not be wearing it. I do still have it - it lives in my archives.

Back to the Boss Lady Pants and my "I Know" Star Wars shoes. 
I actually own another pair of Star Wars shoes (these ones here), but they're in with my fall/winter stuff.

  • Blouse - Bird by Juicy Couture, thrifted; last seen here in June with more pink
  • Pants - H&M, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in May for a visit to the periodontist
  • Shoes - "I Know", Star Wars for Irregular Choice, gift from Louise; last seen here a week ago for a Mom-Day adventure
  • Coat (below) - Only, consignment; last worn here in July

I noted when I jotted down both requests that they would work together. Yay! I can do more requests that way.
It was just a matter of picking a top to make it all work together. 

I liked the blue and pink, but this is a lot of pastel. 
This blouse is getting slightly worn - it's 100% silk and I always sweat in it.

It washes well, though.
Nancy specifically requested that I not wear grey or black with my Boss Lady Pants. I hope you liked this outfit!

Masked up: 
I saw a few people today. 

Incognito: 
That's a lot of pink. I'm probably going to illustrate this jacket once I'm done with L's BOC one. 

Accoutrements: 
I love this scarf. 

  • Silk scarf - Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier, vintage 00s, consignment
  • Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 
I pack these shoes away in fall/winter as they're all fabric. I laughed at Unknown's request, since I wore these less than a week ago. 

Blue bling: 
The belt always makes me laugh - Lady Foot Locker! 

  • Belt - Lady Foot Locker, thrifted
  • Brooch - vintage 60s, vintage fair
  • Crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy
  • Tower crystal ring - Sidney
  • Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
  • Earrings - Sherman, vintage 60s, thrifted

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Reader Request: Bullfighter/Picador Skirt

Thanks so much to reader Maureen for suggesting this skirt again - great request, Maureen. 

Gentle readers, feel free to drop me a comment and let me know what spring/summer thing you'd like to see me wear again!
This skirt's been one of my favourites over the 8 years that I've owned it.

  • Top - Grey by Jason Wu, thrifted; first seen here in June with my rainbow skirt 
  • Skirt - vintage 50s, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in August for a vintage fair and shopping day with Cat
  • Shoes - Marc; last seen here in August with the Murder Mystery dress
  • Poncho (below) - Welsh, vintage 60s, thrifted; last seen here in May

This is the 15th outfit it's been in.
I decided to go with a fairly plain top this time. 

But even my black top is special. No boring stuff allowed! 
It's silk with a high-low hem, and a classy designer, Jason Wu! 

Oh, you wanna see the skirt. Very well.
There's the picador. He's preparing the bull for the matador by poking it with his pic (stick). If you look closely, you can see the blood on the bull! So Hemingway! 

Masked up.
I met a couple of new coworkers today and they were fans of my reds.

Incognito.
Poncho! I felt very comforted in this.

Accoutrements:
The usual. 

  • Silk scarf - Halston, vintage 70s, thrifted
  • Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 
I've been waffling on these shoes more than once for the past 5 years, even pulling them out of the giveaway pile (twice!), and today they just hurt too much. Off to the giveaway pile for the third and final time! I'm adding red dressy shoes to my "want" list. 

Silver bling: 
Yes, that all seems to be in order.

  • Malachite/silver bangle - Mexican, thrifted, Sidney
  • Enamel cuff - consignment
  • Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
  • Silver/malachite ring - consignment
  • Balls ring - Sidney
  • Earrings - gift from Petra

I caught Vizzini surveying the neighbourhood this morning from his scratching post in the bedroom. 
"Officer Vizzini may be retired, but he still watches his 'hood."


He's doing really well with his medication and his sight is stabilizing, although not what it was - he's been chasing shoelaces, meowing at us, sleeping with us and yowling for his treats. So, pretty much normal.

Monday, September 26, 2022

Acid Wash Denim, and New Art Project: L's Blue Oyster Cult Jacket

Another week closer to the end of my closet season, and a reminder to drop a comment with your request for "Last Call." What's that? It's something in my spring/summer wardrobe that you'd like to see again. It can be a specific garment, a colour, or even an accessory (or pair of shoes). I'll pick and choose and wear the suggestions over the next two weeks, until I do my closet swap-over.

For today's outfit, I'm squeezing in a wearing of my vintage 80s acid wash denim dress.
I thought I'd wear it in the early "shoulder season" (aka March), but here we are in the other shoulder season (aka September). 

  • Dress - Santana, vintage 80s, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in February for a long-weekend gathering
  • Boots - Donald J. Pliner, vintage 00s, consignment, Sidney; last seen here in June for a birthday lunch and shopping spree

My Purolator guy was mightily impressed with this (we're around the same age).
He remembered his own high-waisted acid was jeans from the 80s! 

This dress is a lot of fun, totally the best for waggling my massive shoulder pads at coworkers.
It's also a pain to wear all day, as every time I used the washroom...

...I had to take the whole thing off. 
That's a snug pencil skirt! My grad ceremony dress had a similarly long and skinny pencil bottom, and they are not meant for striding about. 

Masked up. 
Turquoise for the match! 

Incognito.
I got a lot of side-eye on the walk home. Maybe people are not quite ready for this much acid wash? 

Accoutrements: 
Didn't need the scarf, but I wore it anyway. 

  • Scarf - Fluevog
  • Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 
I love these boots, but may pack them away for the wet season. That burlap fabric is not waterproof. 

Turquoise bling: 
All the turquoise! 

  • Belt - Brave Belts, thrifted
  • Bronze/turquoise/pearl cuff - Myka, consignment
  • Steel cuff - consignment, Powell River
  • Pendant - Karen's
  • Turquoise ring - Karen's
  • Pivot ring - consignment
  • Earrings - consignment, Powell River

I was sufficiently armoured up! 


Art Project: L's Blue Oyster Cult Jacket

My brain's been in a snarl lately, which usually means it's time for me to do some art. L's been watching me do all these projects and giving them away (most recently, the Mica Bag and Eternally Autumn Jacket), and has been hankering for one of his own. 

I suggested that we keep an eye out for a light-coloured leather jacket for me to create a Blue Oyster Cult jacket for him...and we found one here in June for $249.00 on consignment at House of Savoy. It's by former Canadian chain The Leather Ranch, which I remember from every mall when I was a teen (you could smell the leather) - I couldn't afford anything in that store, but I wistfully eyed all the beautiful jackets.

Blue Oyster Cult is a band, by the way (Wiki link here). You've probably heard "Don't Fear the Reaper", "Godzilla" or "Burnin' For You" - if you check any of those songs on YouTube, you'll immediately recognize them. 
This is a lovely slate blue colour and it's likely early 80s, before jackets became oversized and shoulder-padded. It fits L perfectly.

It's light enough for black ink and some colours to show up on it, and L really wants something completely badass...
So I plan on covering this with BOC stuff! 

I asked L to put together lyrics, either full songs or snippets that have meaning for him, and then I went through them and highlighted lines I thought would be easy/cool to illustrate. 
Then I mapped out all the areas of the jacket - the collar (showing and hiding), the top of the back, the "back-patch", the sleeves, the pockets and flaps, the front areas and even the cuffs. Planning is essential - I would never start working on a piece without all the planning.

The tricky part is finding motifs I can actually draw (or use clip-art images for copying/inspiration) and matching them to the lyrics. 
As the lyrics are important to L, I want to be able to include them all over the jacket. I had to trim them down a lot as I worked through each section, and I'm sure I'll have to adjust things as I go.

I did all that a month or so ago, when I needed a rest from Mica's Bag, and also took pictures of all of L's BOC albums (i.e. all of them) for art/images I could include. 
This past Sunday, I put all my pens together (having already tested them on an inside piece of the jacket), along with the printed images and my "maps" of where everything's going to go. I also grabbed a ruler as I used to free-hand a lot of signs at my old retail job in the 90s and I wanted to make sure that my words are fairly even. 

Materials: Black "S" fine-point permanent Staedtler markers, "M" medium-point permanent black Staedtler markers, Tombow alcohol-based ink "paint" pens.

The Q-Tips and bowl of water are for removing the sketching pen marks, but I quickly discovered that the pen I'm using to sketch with disappears as the ink dries!
I had drawn in "Blue Oyster..." to match the font I'd printed and got up to grab a drink and when I came back, it had all disappeared! 

Well, CRAP. I was going to have to do it one letter at a time! No pressure! This ink cannot be erased - it's permanent.
Okay, this is not too bad...phew. I did guidelines for the top and bottom of the biggest letters, plus a midway guideline for the lower case letters. 

The first time I touch that black pen to the leather is the absolute worst. "Don't f**k it up!" my head screams. 
Fortunately, I'm fairly confident in my Old English fonts. I did the single outline of each letter, then gave each one an extra outline to make it more substantial. The BOC symbol at the bottom will be all over the jacket - it's very much identifiable with the band. 

All the outlines done - it's looking pretty cool! 
But this is the "back-patch" so it really has to stand out. More work is needed! 

When I tested my blues, I wrote down all the colours that went together (they look very different on leather than they do on paper), so that I would remember them.  
Creating depth with two shades of blue.

Then I used another shade of blue on the letters to create "shine".
All done - I used one of my pastel pens to blur the edges of the "shine" and make it look more like polished steel. 

Vizzini helped. 
"Feed me or I'll chew your pens."


In the above image, I used one of my medium-point black pens to outline all of the letters again, to really make them pop. I've done up to the "C" in "Cult."

Here's the back-patch all done. L was happy with this, but having my "customer" watching everything I do is intimidating! I might have to hide this from him until I'm done. 
I will probably leave this section as is, so that it really has an impact.

I couldn't resist adding to the upper back and playing with some scroll-y tattoo font.
"Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars" is a BOC song. I might include some sort of design around this - it looks a little bare to me - so we'll consider this section unfinished for now. 

That was about 2.5 hours of work in the sun...and my brain is feeling so much better today!