Weekend Wrap-Up: Funky Friday in Flatforms and Skants; Brunch in Brights and a Shop

Welcome back, Gentle Readers! I hope y'all have been keeping well, and that the weather is not too terrible where you are (I am sending you all cool ocean breezes and warm sunshine). I've had a wonderful weekend full of quiet times with L, and also some social-leaning activities - okay, I went shopping, not much of a shocker there!

Kicking things off is Friday's outfit - I've been excited to wear my Skants (skirt + pants) since I bought them, and shared them with one of my favourite additions to my shoe wardrobe this season.

I felt very hip and cool, as no one says but me. 

• Menagerie blouse - consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in April 2023 with pink and blue velvets
• Skants - no label, consignment; purchased here for $60.00
• Flatforms - Skyhigh F Razzle, Fluevog; first seen here (2nd outfit) in May with a giant Marimekko skirt

The top is a t-shaped silk beauty, covered in a menagerie of real and imaginary animals. Real things - elephant, flamingo, octopus, squid, etc. 

Imaginary - Renaissance-style dolphin, unicorn, alien lizard thing. It's a fantastic print. I picked out the light pink in it for the shoes and my make-up. 

Isn't the Skant interesting? It was very comfortable to wear, although I'll have to watch going up and down stairs, as my foot caught in the hem. Danger Skants!

Colleague Nour admired the cut and shape and felt the soft chambray denim. 

I'm looking forward to future stylings of it - I might keep it out for Fall/Winter, as it has boot potential. 

I forgot to take my Incognito pic, but it was [spoiler] the same pair of sunglasses. 

The stuff: 

I carried these massive neon pink beauties to work, and hopped the bus home (a Friday treat). They were supremely comfy to wear - if the neon green version dips lower in the clearance, I might be tempted to pick up a pair. Who doesn't love a squishy flatform? So fun! But yes, I exercised extreme caution in them, taking deliberate steps and using handrails. No need to twist an ankle. 

Blue bling: 

L and I are watching "Gossip Girl" on Netflix - I've never seen it (don't spoil anything for me!) and he's re-watching. I am loving it for the fashion of the era - I noticed Serena wearing a bunch of these Swarovski necklaces in a recent Season 1 episode, which helps me date them to around 2007. 

• Necklace/bracelet - Swarovski, CAB's mom
• Eelskin hinged bangle - vintage 80s, thrifted
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Scarab ring - Heidi Daus, vintage mall, gift from L
• Gold hoops - 2002, gift from L

After an evening of board games and music, L and I were up early for a stroll down to John's Place for brunch with Nick.

I had plans to meet up with coworker Helen to show her some of my favourite downtown second-hand haunts, so I dressed for shopping and lots of walking. 

• T-shirt - Northern Reflections, thrifted; last seen here in April for a Mom-Day at Beaver Lake
• Dress - Trina Turk, thrifted; last worn here on another shopping expedition in September 2023 (same boots and colour scheme)
• Boots - Doc Martens; last seen here in February for a non-Mom-Day shop

I had many compliments on my colours while I was out and about. 

I love the big pockets in this cocoon-shaped dress. I stashed my sunnies in one.

The hook at the top of the back (under my hair here) always undoes itself.

I had loose enough layering that I didn't need to take any of my clothes off for trying stuff on...except for the Docs. They were a little annoying but worth it for the comfort.

Incognito! I wore the scarf like this for about an hour.

And then it was too freakin' hot! We have been having temps around 24 all weekend, and there's more of that to come. Classic summer weather is here! 

Accoutrements: 

One of my favourite purses, actually purchased retail at a MALL when I was out shopping with another coworker many years ago. 

• Purse - Aldo
• Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment

The stuff: 

As I do with all my Docs, these have an additional sport insole added by me. Great boots! 

Minimal bling:

I took the squishy silicone bracelet off a few times - it gets in the way a bit when I'm trying on clothes. 

• Bracelet - Materia Designs, thrifted
• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
• Olivine/coral ring - Hawaii, c. 1977, Mom's
• Earrings - consignment

Helen and I met up at Cherry Pick Vintage where L, Nick and I were having a poke around. None of us found anything there, and L and Nick headed off to enjoy some beverages at the Garrick's Head Pub with Casey for the afternoon, while Helen and I continued to Flavour Upstairs.

Helen found lots of interesting things on our shops - she knows her style, and I was there with helpful tips on how to date things and what to look for with good construction, etc. These suede pants called out to me. 

They were a perfect fit (isn't that the best?) and I love that they were made in Canada. 

Real leather - and it's butter-soft. 

I remember a Neto store here in Victoria back in the 90s. They started in Vancouver in 1969, and my internet searches seem to indicate they still have a factory there, but no website. 

I was happy with $49.99, which is on the higher-end of my scale. I'm excited to wear these once the weather cools off (no rush, Summer! not complaining!). 

From Flavour Upstairs, we wandered over to Bric-a-Brac where I bought L a Northern Pikes CD and Helen found an eelskin belt for $3.00. We then strolled to Upcycle where we had a good browse. Nothing for me there this time. 

We headed towards the big WIN store on Pandora Ave, and stopped in at CSino's Vintage on the way, where I had some luck. 

This gorgeous scarf caught my eye - it feels like silk (non-rolled edges, though), and I love that rich purple-y colour with the tan and black. Do you see the ladies? 

It's by Maxine Noel, a First Nations artist who has the Order of Canada (link here 'cause I love).

This image is called "Sun Spirit" and the scarf is indeed silk - it retailed for around $40, so $15.00 was a good price. This matches my purple Fluevog boots! 

I am always on the lookout for cool belts, and this jelly one caught my eye.

I've also been hunting for a good red belt for ages. The length is...long - I can do it up at my waist but also at my hips for low jeans/pants. Grommet belts are useful that way. This was $20.00 - the plastic is quite soft, which convinced me. I see a lot of grotty plastic accessories out there. 

From there, we went to WIN, which had its lights dimmed and was sweltering hot (most places are not air-conditioned here). A sweaty selfie of me and Helen in the vintage section.

That was so much fun - we'll have to do this again! 

Before I show you what I bought, I thought I'd share this amusing shot of what I did NOT buy.

A duplicate of the purse I was carrying in blue! It was $19.95 - should I have bought it? Ah, no regrets - it's not like I wear the yellow version that often! 

I did score in the scarf section, picking up this massive chiffon beauty. 

Yellow to burgundy/brown to orange - it's a very pretty ombre.

All the edges are hand-rolled and it billows and feels like silk. 

It was only $6.95. 

The pattern of this scarf caught my eye. 

Olive green, red, denim blue, turquoise and purple are the colours. 

And the label leaped right out at me! LANVIN! I showed Helen, who had not heard of the brand - "Are they still around?" - and we pulled up the website where I showed her their similar-sized silk scarves, which list for $255.00 (on sale!) to $570.00. 

While mine does have a tiny hole in one corner, I'd say $6.95 is a fair price. 

I'd seen this suede and leather mini-skirt at WIN before, but passed. 

I love the asymmetrical faux-wrap and the leather hem.

It's by Hallhuber - I have this dress (last seen here) by this brand, bought on consignment (on sale) for $38.00.

While $38.95 is too much (in my mind), that punch on the tag means it was half off, so it was $19.50. And it fits perfectly! 

I gasped when I saw this skirt - it's another Dragon Scale skirt! (check out my shorter gold/brown/cream version here)

This is nearly a maxi length, and a completely different colourway, in shades of red...

Or is it?? The silk circles are iridescent with "flip shades" of olive green and turquoise and burgundy.

As always, I'm in awe of the amount of work that went into this. 

Each one of these circles was sewn by hand. 

The white bits are the original pattern - you can see where the paper backing has been removed after they were stitched together. 

It's 100% silk, even the lining. 

I know this brand used a dedicated factory in Vietnam for their work (it's a later offshoot of Tangerine Jill, a local Victoria brand I've also had in my wardrobe over the years). 

Strawberry Jill, as I knew it would be! 

It's large on me, so sits lower on my hips - I'm fine with that, and can't wait to add this to my fall wardrobe. It was $18.95 - I'm sure it would have been very expensive originally. 

Helen and I parted and I walked home in the hot sun, where I found a kitty sprawled out. 

"It's too hot."

He's been shedding like mad (I brush him almost daily).

"How about a bit more?"

Looks like I have more work to do! Signing off to go enjoy my Sunday...

Thank you, as always, for stopping into my little corner of the interwebz.