Welcome back, Gentle Reader! A semi-busy-ish weekend ensued for me, with good times with the people I love. Lucky me!
Let's start with Friday's outfit - which is not at all what I'd planned to wear! Only 2 elements remained from my original 'fit.
Those items are the new-to-me orange ruffled blouse and the platform sandals.
- Jacket - Zara, consignment; last worn here in April for a Mom-Day at Beaver Lake
- Blouse - Ralph Lauren, thrifted; purchased here for $19.95
- Jeans - Articles of Society, thrifted; last seen here in May with my maxi-bomber (I need to wear that again!)
- Platforms - Chie Mihara; last worn here with dragonscale earlier this month
I'd planned on my haori over black shiny snakeskin leggings, plus my Fendi belt over it all...and that did NOT look anywhere near as cool in real life as it did in my head!
I had to rebuild my outfit at the last minute! What to do? When in doubt, grab the white jeans.
I still have not achieved Peak White Jeans. Remember, Always Be Upgrading, second-hand shoppers! I check the pants section in every store I visit to see if a better pair in my size appears.
I'm hunting for wider legs and actual pockets (the front ones on these are fake, which is OUTRAGEOUS), but I like the distressed cuffs and shredded spots on the legs, so I'm still hunting. A name brand or fancy designer would be nice. They will eventually come to me!
My jungle blazer has the teensiest bit of orange in the pattern.
I usually wear pink or blue with it, so this was a leap, but I really liked how the orange blouse contrasted.
Without the jacket, which I only took off when I arrived at the office, glowing from the stairs. I didn't layer a camisole, and the blouse is quite sheer so I wore the jacket all day. It was a wrinkled mess by the time I got home, although the pirate ruffles stayed nice and fluffy.
The orange colour is washed out from the morning light, by the way - the colour is richer in person, like in the Stair Pic.
Incognito. I had a few stares and glances on my bus ride home.
Yeah, this is what getting older looks like - awesome!
The stuff:
These are the best pair of heels I own - they are only 1.5 inches after the Shoe Math (platforms are sneaky!). I'll wear them until they fall apart!
Turquoise bling:
I had to swap out all of my accessories, from my planned copper and turquoise bling - it was an easy switch to silver and turquoise.
- Belt - Brave Belts, thrifted
- Brass/crystal cuff - Loren Hope, consignment, Sidney
- Plastic bangle - vintage, thrifted
- Silver/turquoise ring - Glee
- Silver/turquoise ring - Karen's
- Silver/turquoise pendant - Karen's
- Silver/turquoise earrings - thrifted
L and I had an evening of our favourite entertainment - board games and music - and then I was up early on Saturday morning, ready to get the day started.
Casey joined us at John's Place for brunch - Nick's out of town. So good to see him!
- Laurie Dress - no label, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here in June 2021 for an early Mom-Day
- Cropped top - For Love & Nancy, thrifted; purchased here for $11.95
- Shoes - Miz Mooz, thrifted; first seen here a couple of weeks ago with pebbles and leopard
When I bought this cropped top, I knew I would not be baring my stomach - that's not my style.
But my brain immediately went to wearing it over a slim-fitting dress.
Reader/friend Laurie also suggested that in the comments (I see you, so good to hear from you!).
So of COURSE I had to wear it over...the Laurie Dress! So-called because I wore this when she came to town with her husband Fred and son Robin and I showed them around, took them shopping and had lunch (way back
here in June 2018). Ah, such great memories!
I loved having the extra coverage from the sun on my arms, and waved the giant sleeves around at the servers at John's.
I am now thinking of what else I can wear this top with!
Without the top, although I didn't take it off.
It's beautiful, isn't it? It just shimmers in the sun.
Incognito. I had many compliments on my sparkly dress (a few folks thought it was a skirt).
After brunch, we ran a few errands downtown.
We've got places to go - people to see!
All good things, naturally.
Accoutrements:
This purse doesn't hold much, but it's still very cool.
- Purse - Streetwear Society, thrifted
- Sash - came with the dress
My shades are prescription.
The stuff:
These sandals were fabulously comfy - I thought the colour was neutral enough.
Gold and pearl bling:
No real gold or pearls were used in the building of this outfit.
- Gold bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
- Pearl bracelet - thrifted
- Sparkly ring - Liz Claiborne, vintage fair
- Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
- Earrings - thrifted
Oh, my bad - Dad's ring is real gold. Duh.
I had time for a 10-minute browse at the Beacon Ave Thrift Shop next to the diner. This is a transitional time in second-hand stores, with the dregs of summer things and no fall stuff yet. Slim pickings!
But I did find this Bag-o-Necklace in a rummage bin and a silver ring in the case caught my eye.
The necklace is very long.
The chain is black-coated metal.
The pendant is gold plastic and the black parts are rubberized.
For $4.00, I'll give it a go then will pass it along.
I confirmed that the ring was indeed silver.
.925, yup.
I'm not sure how the staff knew the stone was jasper, but that does match with what the Interwebz says.
It was $9.50, a good price for a nice ring!
A hello to the lady in the thrift shop who said I looked like someone who knew the best shops in Victoria - I rattled off a bunch and gave her one of my cards.
L and I got ready for Petra's birthday party on Saturday afternoon. As I went through my closet, I was looking for as-yet-unworn items (backwards hangers).
This sparkly jumpsuit is perfect for a backyard schmooze-party with kids and dogs roaming around.
- Jumpsuit - Eva Franco, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in July 2022 for a long weekend with our Chosen Family
- Shoes - Groovy Aubrey, Fluevog; last seen here earlier this month with leopard and orange velvet
I always feel badass in this.
"You are going to feed me, right?"
Clothing as Armour, baby! I didn't know most of the crowd - we go to parties at Mac and Petra's a couple of times a year - and I have anxiety about these sort of situations.
The only solution is to look fabulous!
"You could always stay home with me..."
The jumpsuit is black with woven bits of blue, red and gold - and it's got pockets!
Incognito - we drove over and left after a few hours.
"That sounds like a good plan."
A shout-out to Jeanine, Shelley, Heidi and Naomi - we all chatted clothes and shopping for a while, and I gave out a few of my cards. Hi! So lovely to meet you/see you!
Accoutrements:
My purse is home-grown vintage, bought at a shoe store in the downtown Bay Centre mall in the late 90s. I am sure I didn't pay more than $10 for it.
- Purse - vintage 90s
- Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment, Vancouver
The stuff:
Super comfy shoes for navigating in tight spaces.
- Eelskin belt - Yves Saint Laurent, vintage 80s, thrifted
- Plastic cuff/ring - Italian, vintage 60s, vintage mall
- Orange bangle - consignment, Sidney
- Lucite/steel ring - Calvin Klein, thrifted
- Wooden earrings - vintage, vintage expo
Before the party, I spent an hour on the deck and did a Zentangle "card" for Petra to go with a big wooden gold P (a wall plaque) that I'd bought for her.
Free-handed and then adding colour.
Blues, greens and a touch of fire.
It felt good to exercise my creative muscle a bit.
I was accompanied by Vizzini, who was dozing in the hazy sun all afternoon. Hey, buddy!
"It warms my old bones."
Aw! We had a great time at the party, and arrived home with enough time to still hang out and play some more board games before we crashed into bed at 1am.
And now, my friends, I'm off to spend what's left of the weekend chilling with my guys. I hope you're well and finding joy! Thank you for stopping by!
It's not an exact match for the blue in this quality J. Crew linen skirt, but it's close enough. 
I'm still boggled that I only paid $14.95 for it. It's 100% silk, made in Canada too.
"Fantastic outfit!" shouted a construction worker as I crossed the street (I had my walking shoes on).
I didn't do much walking in these blue beauties, but I did go up and down a stepladder a bunch of times. They were the perfect bookends to the blazer (and hat!). 
I considered a brooch for the blazer's lapel, but none of them appealed to me. 
