Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Brunch Leopard and Mental Health Shop; Birthday Sequins and Cyclist Closure

Hello, my friends! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend. It's been sunny and clear, and danged COLD here, but we're still having fun! 

L and I hung out and played board games for most of our Friday off, well into the evening, but we were up bright and early to meet up with Nick for brunch at the Ruby.

We only had to stand in line for a few minutes, but I did enjoy the sun beaming down. 

• Coat - Cache, consignment; last worn here in April
• Sweater - Tatyana, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) in May for Book Club at Mindy's
• Skirt - Mexx, consignment; last worn here in March with shades of blue and red
• Sneakers - Steve Madden, thrifted; last seen here in September with a black patterned trouser suit

I only took the coat off briefly while we ate, but layered up with non-breathable fabrics, including a black nylon tank under this acrylic sweater. 

I dressed for shopping, as we split up after lunch and I went for a Mental Health shop. 

Isn't the jacket fabulous? 

It has bright red lining, which you can kind of see in the stair picture. 

It's a satin finish.

With two big flap pockets. Love! 

Masked up.

Matchy, of course. 

And all done up, and incognito.

I had a few people compliment me on this outfit overall. "I'm liking this vibe!" said one lady.

Accoutrements: 

My stretchy velvet gloves are invisible against the scarf, but they were excellent for shopping and for fitting over all my rings (always something I have to factor in - I wear a lot of rings). 

• Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Scarf - fake Louis (Lewis!) Vuitton, thrifted
• Gloves - Principles, vintage 90s, thrifted
• Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 

Comfy shoes for three hours of strolling around town. 

Bold bling: 

Things that didn't get in the way. 

• Necklace - consignment
• Earrings - Fiji, Mom's
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Bronze ring - vintage mall

I started at the vintage collective on Yates St (it has no name - it's a mix of different vendors under one roof). It's highly curated, meaning that the stock has been selected to appeal to the Gen Z+ and Millennial market. Lots of stuff from the late 90s/early 00s, which is very much "in" with the cool kids these days. It's also way marked up from in comparison to the thrift store prices, but you never know what you might find. 

I enjoyed a browse, but when I saw this leather blazer and tried it on, I was in love.

Oh, yes, it must be mine. 

Unfortunately, she's showing her age - someone did a little surgery on her and cut out her massive late 80s shoulder pads. 

Butchery! But not too noticeable once it's on. 

The tell-tale stitching of someone who was all "Trend over!" with this style, likely in the early 90s. 

I know I did this with a few blouses back then - and for some reason, I hung onto the shoulder pads themselves, like I was ever going to sew them back in (spoiler: I did not). 

Old tag in the lining. 

Made in Canada, I like that! 

Oops, cut out half the label, but not a huge surprise that this is Danier Leather. That's an 80s label - they switched to black labels in the mid-90s. 

See what I mean about the "curated" pricing? $58.00 is a little on the high side, but I have never seen a yellow leather vintage blazer like this - it's fabulous on, and the sleeves are short and just meant for scrunching up to my elbows! 

From there, I wandered up Fort Street to the Velvet Crease, where everything in the store was 50% off. I did a bit of Christmas shopping, and also bought some goodies for myself, starting with this little bit of insanity. 

It's a rubber and canvas backpack. It's Backpack of a Thousand Nipples! To go with my dress, hee hee. It actually reminded me of Shelley's pink spiky backpack (pic here) that she wore when I flew to Vancouver for the day back here in June 2019

It has this weird spidery logo on the top - there is also a zip pocket just above it.

A good sturdy closure. The back "nipple" section is latex, and a few of the nipples are a bit crusty on the ends - I think this has been sitting in someone's closet for a couple of decades! 

It's all shiny silver inside, with one Velcro-closure pocket near the top, and a drawstring to secure it.

Vizzini was lurking around, making his presence felt. 

Craig Morrison, made in England! The Victoria & Albert Museum in London has a "Bug Bag" (which is what this is called) in their collection (link here, 'cause I love!), dated from 1993. A

 few of the nipples on my bag are degrading and going a bit flaky/crusty, but for a bag that's 30 years old that's not too bad. The condition is very good otherwise - I suspect this was sitting in someone's closet for those 3 decades. These bags seem to be fairly rare, but I spotted a few for $150-250 secondhand. I paid $50 for this one, and I plan to use it! 

I have been eyeing this cropped woven jacket for a while at the Velvet Crease, but at $55.00 it felt like too much. 

However, for $27.50, I was ready to make it mine. You may admire how beautifully the pattern is lined up right across the chest and arms and hem, and even right down the front. Ah, that makes me happy. 

It's by Anthracite, and that's a small size 12. You can see the nice weave and texture here. 

That brand name is now used for an outdoor clothing line, so I suspect that this is no relation, and is from the 90s - the colours in it are very much of that era. 

I would never have bought this sweater at full price (I'm cheap when it comes to sweaters). I love the caramel brown shade, a colour I've been looking for. 

It's a pretty basic cut - that deep V neckline suits me and elbow-length sleeves are nice. 

It's by Prada. Real Prada, found locally, how about that? 

And it's 70% cashmere, 30% silk. It has barely any wear on it, and I searched it vigorously for moth-damage before purchasing. 

Australians, Prada is dissing you! We can clearly read the English instructions here on the label (and can we all agree that not being able to wash a sweater at all is ridiculous? I plan to hand-wash it). 

But apparently, Prada felt the need to single out Australians!? This was marked at $65.00, but with 50% off it was $32.50. New sweaters from Prada are between $1,950 and 2,500 - I know, my jaw dropped too. I would never pay that for a sweater! 

I have also eyed this upscale version of a graphic tee a few times and put it back - it always felt a little too pricey at $30.00.

But for $15.00, I will overlook its one MAJOR issue. 

I love the rich orange and tangerines - great colours. 

Super cute, right? Aw, look at the shiny gold bits on the leopard! 

It says in gold across the top, "A leopard doesn't change IT'S spots" which drives me absolutely insane. 

Wrong "it's/its" - there is no apostrophe in this! I might have to get out a bit of orange paint and cover that up, or it will send me into a grammar frenzy when I wear it! 

It's by Garcia

This would have sold for around $55.00 new. I'm happy with $15.00. Off to the summer pile for you! 

I always check out everything in the store, including all accessories on the displays. 

I scooped up both of these shiny metallic knit toques and grabbed the snake buckle belt. 

Both of the toques are by Zara. 

I don't think they've ever been worn (they still had their massive sheaf of labels attached, which I've now zipped out). They were $10.00 each at half off - two for the price of one! 

The belt is leather and is by "Notes Du Nord." I like the extra belt loop.

This is called the Paxton Belt and it retails for $115.00 - I paid slightly over 10% of that, $12.50. Score! 

Flush with my victories, I had a quick browse in MONA, but no luck. I just had time for a breeze through Vanity Fair Antique Mall, where I found this sterling silver ring. 

I love the folded look of it. It reminds me of icing, or maybe I've been watching too many baking shows...

It's stamped .925 (hard to see here - I've circled it below), and it's been custom-engraved...

It says, "Anneke-Lars Forever," with a heart below. 

Aw! Unsurprisingly, I was not able to find out anything about them! But I will keep their love alive when I wear this ring. It was $30.00, which I'll get down to pennies per wear over time. 

After hours of shopping, L and I got ready to walk over to Linda's for a house party to celebrate her 50th birthday. I had a VERY weird encounter at the party, which I shall tell you about after we admire my outfit. 

I finally got around to hauling out my winter coats and putting away about a dozen jackets that were just too thin for this chilly weather. While I was in the library (where I store things), I went through all of my gowns and party dresses and pulled this lovely vintage early 90s sequined dress out.

• Dress - Adrienne Vittadini, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) for my October 2021 birthday party (it was the second dress I wore during the evening)
• Boots - Original Sabado, Fluevog; last worn technically here (3rd outfit, not shown), in October, but shown here earlier in the month
• Coat (below) - Donna Karan, consignment; last seen here in February

I adore this amazing dress, and it's stretchy and comfy to wear.

So gorgeous. What a treasure. 

I pointed out that - thank you, Adrienne Vittadini - the dress is designed so that the shoulders do not fall off me, AND so that you can wear a regular bra. 

The allure of not having to wrestle with a strapless or where-do-all-these-straps-go specialty bra...I cannot understate how much I love it. 

With my purse so that I could freshen up at will. 

Ready to kick some butt!

We walked to Linda's and back, about 30 minutes each way. It was cold and crisp, with no wind or rain, so the perfect temp for hoofing it. 

L is loading the drinks into his backpack, and I'm snug as a bug in my down-filled coat. 

I didn't even need to put the hood up.

But it's nice to know I could.

Accoutrements: 

That ginormous silk velvet scarf is from when I worked at Fairweather, back in 1999-2000. 

• Scarf - Fairweather, c. 1999-2000
• Purse - Zara, consignment
• Gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff: 

I have sport insoles in these fabulous boots - as noted, we walked both ways, and stood around gabbing, laughing and eating for 4+ hours. We got home at 2am.

Simple bling: 

"F#@!" I don't know any of these people! Aside from our Family We Choose, we didn't know most of Linda's friends - but I like meeting new folks. But there was one person there I never expected to meet...

No, it was not L, but I thought you might like to see his outfit. "Pose," I said, so he looked surprised. 

A gorgeous cobalt blue blazer (consignment), a thrifted shirt, vintage consignment Versace trousers, and his Fluevog Ozzies. 

So...some of you longtime readers might remember back here in August 2014...I was hit by a cyclist who zoomed down a driveway and knocked me down - her front tire slammed right into my stride, leaving a big black mark down the front of my skirt. I wasn't hurt, although I did drop a couple of F-bombs on her (and if you know me, I would NEVER swear at a person!) as it scared the crap out of me! I could have been knocked into the street and been hit by a car! 

Anyway...she was at the party! She recognized me (impressive considering I had short red hair back then) and said she used to see me every day walking to work. The hedge at the front of her condo always blocked the view of anyone coming down the sidewalk, and that one time she didn't see me. 

I've long since gotten over my mild trauma (it was 8+ years ago), but it was still a shock to meet here. We chatted for a while - nice to meet you again, Amy! - and let bygones be bygones, and we both had closure over it. We'll always have an awesome "How we met" story, that's for sure! 

And now, my friends, a leisurely day of not doing much is in my future, including some cuddles from this little guy, I'm sure. 

"Nope, I'm staying where the warm air is."

He's catching the baseboard heat in our bedroom, and happily snoozing, so I'll leave him be...for now. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Any strange encounters in YOUR life this week?