Mental Health Shop Bonanza in Funky Hawaiian

Sadly, no Mom-Day Adventure today, folks - Mom wasn't feeling up to it. She's just low energy, which is a side effect of her Post-Polio Syndrome (about it here, link 'cause I love), otherwise all good. 

Since I was all ready to go out, no sense in wasting an outfit. Hmmm...should I go for a Mental Health Shop? 

It was such a beautiful, hot sunny day, with temps up in the high 20s, I couldn't resist the temptation. 

• Dress - Malia, Hawaiian; vintage 70s, consignment; last worn here in August 2022 for a Mom-Day Adventure at Thetis Lake
• Shoes - Doc Martens, consignment; last seen here (2nd) outfit for a long weekend brunch earlier this month

I wanted a thick cotton dress with lots of coverage against the sun.

I sunblocked my arms thoroughly with SPF 60. 

I wandered down to my favourite block of Fort Street and visited the cluster of consignment and second-hand shops there. My dress was loved by customers and staff alike. 

I love the abstract pattern. 

Most Hawaiian-made dresses look touristy, covered in hibiscus or cultural clichés. 

I like that this just looks funky and retro. 

Incognito. 

It didn't work - I was recognized in a few stores (the staff know me). 

The stuff: 

My feet are feeling ever so much better. These cushy Docs were perfect for four hours of shopping. 

Black and white bling: 

Did you spot the brooch on my dress? It's best seen in the Stair Pic. 

• Purse - Roots 73, thrifted
• Black and white cuff - vintage, vintage fair
• Black and white acrylic bangles - consignment
• Brooch - de Passille-Sylvestre, vintage 70s, consignment; purchased here for $36.00

Oops, forgot to take off my earrings! 

They're clip-ons, so I just pulled them off to try things on. 

• Earrings - vintage 60s, West German, vintage fair

My first success was at MONA, where I spotted this amazing steel alloy and glass crystal belt. Sparkly! 

It's very malleable and has good weight. New with tags! 

Original price from Zara is $59.90. 

I paid $24.00 for it. 

I also found this gorgeous mustard print blouse. 

It has ties attached at the neck. 

The pattern mesmerizes me - it's like murmurations of starlings! 

Along with the black, it has light grey and hints of lavender. It's by Wilfred, which is an Aritzia line. It's 100% silk, and was $42.00 - their silk blouses retail for around $79.00. 

I spent a while next door in the Velvet Crease (shout-out to them being named one of Victoria's Best Kept Secrets shops, article here).

Everything was either 20% or 50% off - the prices I note are what I paid. 

The square acrylic bangle is fun. 

I love the massive steel (?) bangle. Neither of them have any marks, and they were $12.00 apiece. 

This was the second-most expensive thing I bought all day, at $38.40. 

Every so often I splurge on a scarf. 

This is by Andres Courreges of Paris - he and Mary Quant both claimed to have invented the mini-skirt in the 60s. It's super-rare to see things by him second-hand - I also have this amazing wool skirt here (which is in my archives as it is a few pounds ago). 

I couldn't resist this at $38.40 - scarves by him start around $75.00 second-hand, and I spotted a few on a chi-chi consignment site for over $3,000. 

I am a sucker for rose florals, especially dark ones. 

A flowy, ruffly jackety thing? 

I am also a fan of Betsey Johnson! This topper was made in India. 

Such a pretty print. It was $24.00. 

I really liked the sporty vibe of this sleeveless mock-neck top. 

Stripes, a gorgeous swath of blue and snake-print? Yes, gimme gimme gimme! 

It's by Marc Cain Sports. 

It's a really nice stretchy knit. 

Yup, there's a nice shiny logo. 

I looked up the CA number on the inside tag, and found it was from 2014. It was $20.00.

Flush with my success, I had a good look around Vanity Fair Antique Mall. 

More cuffs! I ended up with four of them - it was a bracelet bonanza! 

This steel one says, "Moda Hand Made in Malta." Malta! I have never seen anything made in Malta before. A bit of digging around on the interwebz revealed that Moda (which means "fashion" in Maltese) was a UK couple who made and sold steel and glass, stones and shell in the 1960s and 70s. 

It was $12.50. 

This cuff fits my wrist perfectly - and I have really tiny wrists, so that's not a common thing. 

I think it is possibly 80s? It's not a molded acrylic, but has been heat-shaped into a C. I like the design on the triangle accent, which is raised and melted to the black section. This was $12.00. 

I then popped into the Vend Collective, where I found this gorgeous velvet dress. 

I had a similar dress to this in the late 90s/early 00s, and I thought this dress was for sure from that era. 

A nice V in the back. 

It has bra strap holders - a mark of quality. 

Talbots, a quality mall brand. 

It's fully lined. 

And it's cotton velvet, nice. Pretty sure I can spot-clean this. 

There's the date it was produced, June 2012! Not the early 00s! I was fooled, Talbots, you got me. 

This was $70.00, and my priciest item of the day. 

I thought you'd like to see it on. 

It's a perfect sheath dress. 

I would love to wear this to a fall-winter party! 

And finally, I popped into the WIN Boutique on Quadra Street, and found myself another white cotton t-shirt.

This is a more curvy cut than my other white tee, which is starting to get a bit pits-y (the curse of white tops!). 

It's by Cynthia Rowley and was only $6.95. 

I'm sure it would have been more than triple that originally. 

And finally, my last wee score, these flocked, velvet-textured bright pink heart earrings. 

They're by Dolls Kill, a Goth-rave brand. They were $7.95 and they are nice and light! 

Phew, I need to go chill out after all that. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend - I'm off now till Sunday, when I shall return to regale you with tales of adventure. Until then, take care.