Mom-Day Adventure: Swan Lake in Halston Day 4 and Yellow, and a Wee Shop

Hello, my friends, and welcome to Halston Day 4 - if you missed Days 1 and 2, I've added pictures of them at the bottom, so you can review the outfits as we go.

The challenge? To style this beige, oatmeal, tan, insert-other-blah-colour dress every single day.

Why? Because I have been notoriously anti-oatmeal for YEARS and this is a vintage 70s Halston, so why not see if I'm willing to change my mind about it over a really awesome oatmeal dress.

Mom-Day returns! Mom and I went to Swan Lake, last visited here in October 2024.

It was so good to see Mom again, and we had a gorgeous day! No zombie birds this time, either.

Back to the outfit. I wore the dress in a coat-like way again, this time layering OVER it. 

As usual for my Mom-Days, I go a bit more casual than my office-y outfits. 

• Ultrasuede dress - Halston, vintage 70s, consignment; last seen here yesterday with a floofy gold skirt and an obi
• Vest - Religion, consignment; last worn here earlier this month with my patchwork denim skirt
• T-shirt - JJ Wilde concert 2023 merch; not tracked
• Silk/cotton skirt - Akris Punto; first seen here in March with tweed (and the same Docs)
• Boots - Doc Martens; last worn here (3rd outfit) out for dinner on our anniversary weekend in April

I liked the mix of black, yellow, orange and soft green in this outfit. 

My vest fit well over it - I had to adjust around the arms and neck but nothing more than the usual fussing.

Mom admired the look from the back. 

I do too! 

Without the outerwear, which I took off while we had lunch at the Monkey Tree Pub.

The tee is from a concert (JJ Wilde at Tilt at Phillips Backyard, here in August 2023). It says, "Born to Die" at the bottom. 

I had a plethora of pockets! Two big ones in the dress.

And four in the vest! I was loaded up and hands free! 

The stuff: 

I kept feeling like I was missing something - a purse! I loved my little teddy bum-bag. 

• Teddy bum-bag - thrifted; purchased here for $6.95

I had lots of compliments on the boots while I was out and about. 

Bold bling: 

Mom noticed "her" choker right away. 

• Amber/sandalwood choker - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Yellow plastic cuff - thrifted
• Leather/chain cuff - Jenny Bird, consignment
• Silver Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Gold hoop earrings - 5th anniversary gift from L, 2002

Here's the review of the Halston outfits so far...

Halston Dress Challenge - Day 3

Halston Dress Challenge - Day 2

Halston Dress Challenge - Day 1

And now we move on to pictures of our walk! 

Uh-oh, there's been a cougar spotted in the area. 

We weren't too worried - Mom's poles are good weapons. "I'll toss you one," Mom promised. 

The temps went up to 22 but of course, we always have wind, so it feels lower. I was glad of my layers.

A green wooded path? Twist my arm! 

We stopped briefly at the Nature House, where we both voted for the Official Bird of Saanich (that's a municipality). 

Mom casting her vote. I also voted, since I venture into Saanich frequently and I grew up there. Our choices were Bewick's Wren, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Flicker, and the Great Horned Owl. 

Go, Cooper's Hawk! 

The view of the lake from the Nature House.

Perfectly hideous! 

I am fond of the barred owl. 

I have never seen an owl in the wild. I keep looking! 

We walked down to the floating walkway.

The underbrush was full of things starting to bloom. 

Orange and yellow.

Just like me! 

Honeysuckle.

Sorry, a little blurry.

Wild roses.

These perfumed the air.

I kept seeing a flock of birds swooping and looping. 

As we walked back to the car, I saw a man with a dove? pigeon? on his shoulder, so I think they're a locally-owned flock. 

The ducks were all in hiding. 

Duckling season is nearly here. 

As we strolled the air was full of birdsong. 

Robins, wrens, sparrows. 

Swallows flitted along the water. 

Mom's looking very spiffy in her grey pants and teal tee and jacket. Love the white hat! 

As we paused to look around, a heron flew past us. 

There were very few waterfowl, other than this one.

Time to go for lunch! My stomach was rumbling. 

This walkway is floating, so it's like walking on a boat. 

We stopped and enjoyed the sunshine.

I love our shadows on the water. 

This little song sparrow had a beautiful call. 

It's hard to spot them sometimes! 

This giant Garry Oak towered over us. 

It was full of more birds. 

The robin came out to visit.

Spotted towhees, cedar waxwings, red-winged blackbirds, and brown creepers were all picked up on my Merlin app. It's so fun "collecting" them. 

I liked this old car strung up with coloured lights. 

I hope they turn it on at night! 

We had a lovely lunch of cod tacos and salad (for Mom) and mac and cheese with bacon and a salad for me (I took half of the mac & cheese with me to have for lunch tomorrow). 

Thanks so much for such a lovely day, Mom! I love you! 

I hopped the bus to town, and had a peek in the WIN Boutique. This oversized tee was in with the pajamas.

It's more like a dress. 

Made in the UK? You don't see that much! 

Also flammable, apparently. And mostly viscose, so it's really soft. 

It's by PrettyLittleThing and was only $4.95.

Seemed like a good deal. I plan to wear it around the house in summer. 

I found three pieces in the jewelry case - each one was $7.95.

The big green leafy earrings have an iridescent element in the green plastic and are very light - the top parts are gold-coloured. 

The clerk thought the stone ring was wood, but it really is stone - I'm fairly certain it's a type of jasper.

It fits my pinky - yay, I never find rings that small! 

This ring is pretty simple, but is heavy. 

I tried to take a picture of the 10K stamp, but it didn't show up. I think this might be a tiny emerald. 

It looks the same as the emeralds in my top gold ring.

Either way, for $7.95 each, I'm sure I'll get plenty of wear out of them. 

I was excited to find a neon yellow cap in with the menswear stuff. 

Adidas! And the logo is embroidered, ooh. 

And it's on the back too, plus the size adjuster is nice quality.

Including a custom slide.

I found a date: 4/20. 

I wonder what was happening in April 2020?? Hmmm...

The underside of the cap is grey, and overall, it's really well-made.

Not bad for $9.95! It retails for $31.95.

I found a great red "small top" - these are good for layering under jackets. 

This one is a deep blood red, and it's that halter-ish neckline that was very popular in 2008-2009.

"Grin and wear it" says Ted.

100% silk says the tag. 

Only $9.95 for Ted Baker?

Add at least another zero to that for retail! 

I bought this dress because of the quality - and it fits me but doesn't suit my style, so it's moving along. 

I've already alerted Vero to it - she's getting first dibs on it.

It's 100% silk also.

I really have no patience for crappy plastic fabrics these days. 

It's by Obakki, and is a strapless dress, with wide elastic at the waist and chest in the back.

I was shocked at only $24.95! This would have been $200-300 at least new. It was made in Canada! 

I walked into Fernwood on the way home to check out Cream, a shop I've noticed, but not gone into. They always have a rack of clothes out front, so you know that caught my eye. They're another collective (link here 'cause I love), all women who specialize in different retail items, including vintage clothing and accessories.

This gorgeous enamel and goldtone necklace enraptured me. It was $32.00 with the 20% off. 

The "black" looks like dark brown in bright light.

I love all the swirls! 

I also love spying a stamp. 

I know this one - it's D'Orlan. 

Another tag on the clasp.

And a handsome clasp it is. 

And then I walked home. 

But wait, what's that up in the tree?

It's a Cooper's Hawk!

It was making a bunch of crows very nervous.

Thank you so much for swinging by, my friends! I'm signing off now until Sunday, but do stop in for more tales of adventure!