Here's Friday, a day I knew would be quiet in the office.
My cherished JCDC jumpsuit! Such an amazing piece.
- Cropped jacket - Adidas, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in June for dinner out on L's birthday
- Linen jumpsuit - Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here (4th outfit) in August 2024 with pink platforms
- Sneakers - Soul Speed Duesy, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) with this same jacket in June
I'm pulling out all the greatest hits of my closet with this gorgeous linen Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, a French designer. Remember when Lady Gaga wore the Kermit the Frog jacket? That's him.
I looked at it in my closet and thought, "How can I make it Weird Adidas?" By adding my two sporty bookends!
Pretty much any solid bright colour works with the jumpsuit. I've done pink, yellow, orange, red and chartreuse.
I loved the cropped Adidas jacket with it - it really let me show off the legs.
And do I ever have LEGS!
Incognito.
No pockets and I walked to and from work both ways, so I needed a purse.
Accoutrements and stuff:
These sneakers are taking a while to break in. They're getting there!
- Purse - Roots 73, thrifted
Minimal bling:
I don't need much with all that pattern.
I added a pair of insoles into these boots, and hooray, they were so much more comfy!
- Leather/steel cuff - Rimanchik
- Silver mesh cuff - consignment, Sidney
- Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
- Silver/red enamel ring - consignment, Sidney
- Earrings - vintage, vintage fair
L and I had a chill Friday night, playing boardgames, listening to music, and then falling asleep on the couch. Saturday saw L playing Ulti, followed by brunch. I dressed for...me!
There's a faint chill in the air, and that's all the excuse I need to bust out a pair of boots!
- Dress - Just Cavalli, consignment; last worn here in March to see a punk show in Vancouver (in the rain)
- Boots - Bandolino, vintage 80s, thrifted, Sidney; last seen here in July with another awesome Jammy Dress
- Suede coat (below) - Mangoon, vintage 00s, thrifted; last worn here in March with this dress
I wore the hat most of the time we were out, but I took it off for brunch.
I was thrilled to see that these green leather boots matched this desert critter printed dress. It was overcast, so I risked wearing fishnet tights.
Rock on!
Incognito.
I liked how the pink purse softened the look overall.
Coat on! I loved flapping my fringes around.
I've had this felted wool hat for ages.
I'd forgotten all about this coat! I haven't opened my coat closet in months.
Accoutrements:
- Purse - thrifted
- Hat - thrifted
The stuff:
These boots have been a good purchase this season. Who knew green boots would be so versatile?
Snaky gold bling:
My friends loved the "front-and-back" snake dangle earrings.
- Snake bracelet - Whiting & Davis, vintage 70s, vintage fair
- Enameled bracelet - Lauren G. Adams, consignment
- Brass/jade ring - vintage 70s, Mom's
- Jade ring - thrifted
- Stone ring - thrifted
- Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
Mom and Dad were both with me. *smile*
I took lots of pictures of our walk there and back, plus four hours spent at the park, and my dear friends Yvonne and Randall also sent pics (the good ones are from them!). Enjoy!
L and I walked through the Fairfield neighbourhood. My mom grew up in this 'hood, and I lived here in the early 90s.
With me in my fringe and L in his cowboy hat and suede jacket, we were a thematic pair.
As we neared the park, a woman asked us, "Are you from Calgary?" (Calgary is the Texas of Canada).
L spotted this sweet tuxedo cat spying on us.
What a good kitty! Guarding her home from weirdos like us.
We're there! The field was full of soccer players, so Yvonne and Randall were holding us a spot on the far corner, out of the players' way.
Peace out! He and L are Team Handlebar Mustache.
We spread out a blanket and had a knapsack full of drinks.
Nick arrived! How are you doing, Nicky?
Vero and Justin arrived. Vero, you have the most ripped abs of anyone I know - seriously impressive.
She was full of energy, and on a leash, but still wreaked havoc. Brad, Nick, and pal Greg - she really did not like Greg, and growled and yapped at him. He's the sweetest guy in the world, so strange.
Vero's in my Stella McCartney Adidas jacket that I picked up in Powell River a couple of years ago, and a cropped newspaper-print mesh top. Love the cargos!
She and Justin brought their puppy Ada (named after Ada Lovelace, computer pioneer).
Then she lunged for the food, which had to to moved to just out of her reach. Puppies! She is 9 months old.
Where they found the energy after a punishing game that morning is beyond me.
Yvonne's feet, Randall, Brad, and Justin taking care of that popcorn.
L is most emphatically NOT a dog person, so guess who she wanted to hang with? Vero was very amused.
She was very sweet, and they are training her well - we all learned the hand signals for "sit" and "lie down."
I guess this dog is not so bad after all?
"And I don't even like dogs!"
Some of the guys tossed a frisbee around.
Poor L was worn out.
I guess I better wake him up so we can go home and have dinner!
Casey brought bubble blowers which I greatly appreciated. I jumped around popping bubbles!
You just lie there for a bit, my love.
Uh, you weren't supposed to fall asleep!
But at least he had enough juice to walk home afterwards.
Me near the end of the afternoon.
But I'll chat with Casey some more first. At a later point in the afternoon, a large group of people started running up the field one at a time, shouting as they ran - the goal was to not run out of breath. We cheered and egged them on! It was so fun! I love seeing other folks celebrating in the park (they did a piñata later).
It got chilly later (we hung out from 3pm till around 7), and the scarves, toques. sweaters and jackets came out. Peace out, Justin!
Randall always looks spiffy in his hat - I noted that he was wearing the vintage Guy Laroche shirt (the blue print under the plaid jacket) that I bought for him a couple of summers ago. It's his go-to summer gathering shirt.
Brad, Nick and Greg, chilling out.
Vero and Yvonne! Love you, honeys!
Fairfield is peppered with these, most from the 1880s-1890s.
Cat, Ross and Rosanna weren't feeling well, and Linda was away/travelling. I missed getting a pic of Mieka and her pal Dylan.
Me and my girls.
A beautiful Victorian house on our walk home.
As we neared home, this lovely cat came towards us.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Thank you for granting us safe passage! Where did L go, did you see?
"He's up ahead. Hang a right at Nick's place." Thanks so much!
The setting sun over downtown Victoria.
I'm thankful for the wonderful people in my life.
L and I hung out, playing boardgames till the wee hours.
So much love to my dear friends, and thank you again for the pics!
Enough with dresses and jumpsuits, I'm ready for separates again!
I enjoyed just picking what I felt like in the moment. None of these are "not yet worn" - I still have four weeks in my spring/summer closet and I like to revisit some of my favourites and rewear some of my new pieces, like this neon swing top.
After what's felt like weeks of dresses and jumpsuits, it felt good to wear pants and a top! I adore these pebble-print trousers.
This felt comfortable and easy. I had a vintage cami under the mullet top (it's longer in the back).
I wore the scarf around my neck until I started shopping, and then tied it to the purse.
"WHAT." Very me, heh heh.
Testing out my new-to-me leather purse that I picked up in Powell River. It was excellent!
Accoutrements:
I put a red "celery elastic" around the flappy bit of the strap (you can see it on the right).
- Leather purse - Fossil, consignment; purchased here for $20.00
- Silk scarf - Ralph Lauren, consignment
I also added a wee patch as a decoration.
The stuff:
Green bling:
The black "sleeves" are just big swaths of fabric, and they felt like wool.
Not too much stuff - it can get in the way while I shop.
- Silver/malachite bangle - Mexican, thrifted, Sidney
- Glass bangle - thrifted
- Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
- Silver/green stone ring - thrifted
- Silver/malachite ring - consignment
- Earrings - vintage, consignment
We started with the menswear, where L found a beautiful Etro tie on sale, and then we had a look through the Designer section together. I was enchanted with this...thing...and hesitated (it was a lot of money), and L offered to buy it for me. Um...OKAY! Wow, thank you!
It was called a cape on Turnabout's tag, but it's more like a poncho (no hand slots, like a cape would have) combined with a jean jacket. It has the two chest pockets, plus slash pockets below them.
And clearly, it's a jean jacket that has been drastically altered. The back of the neck has been split, with the edges left raw, and the back has been reworked in a criss-cross.
The selvedge edge is woven with "Made in Japan" and "Wool." Ah ha!
I like the little bit of colour that adds.
Someone's added their own stud-style button to the Levi's buttons going down the front. I noticed that there's another silvery button on the back as well.
It says "CDG Junya Watanabe." I know that name (I have this dress by him - the black part, not the white skirt).
And yes indeed, it is Levi's collaboration with Junya Watanabe (of Commes des Garcons).
So you know this was not cheap (again, thank you, L! You're the best) - it was on sale for $294.00, marked down from $489.99. I found the same one on a resale site for $852.00 US, which is $1,100 Canadian. Yikes!
And yes indeed, it is Levi's collaboration with Junya Watanabe (of Commes des Garcons).
Labels - the jacket and big leather Levi's patch are as expected.
The big black "wings" feel like a very lightweight wool, like what's used in men's suits. Very fine, good quality.
It was "customized in Japan of imported products."
They made it out of an existing jacket, and so "Quality...differs from that of standard Levi's products." I think I would have figured that out.
It was a jacket kind of day! I found another one, drastically different.
This blazer's pattern appealed to me.
The pockets haven't been opened - I'll be doing that right away.
The background colour is a plummy purple, with pale pink flowers edged in silver.
It'll be fun for spring/summer - it was $32.00, marked down from $39.99. It's all over the interwebz (there are matching pants), so it's pretty recent. It retailed for $89.00.
Another topper! This one made me catch my breath.
The inside of it is a thick acrylic sweater knit. Unexpected! It's very soft and cozy.
The outside is all tiny ring-sequins. That is an incredible amount of hand-sewn work, oh my gosh.
All of the trim has gold as well.
Two small front pockets.
It doesn't have any clasps, just sits open.
NWT! 89.95 Euros is about $145.00 CAD. This was marked at $69.99. I LOVE this little cardigan jacket, and can think of so many ways to wear it!
I don't really care that "cold shoulder" tops and sweaters are not trendy anymore.
This is a really nice quality marled knit sweater with two slits on either side of the hem, it looks great on me, and the "shoulder windows" show off my ink nicely.
I don't really care that "cold shoulder" tops and sweaters are not trendy anymore.
They aren't too big.
I'm excited to wear this, but am going to tuck it away until after I do my closet swap-over in 4 weeks.
It's the same era as my snake necklace, which is the 90s doing the 70s, which were doing the 1920s.
And that's a very good neckline. I can picture a long-sleeved shirt under it, just for fun.
100% cotton is awesome.
It's called the "Bernt Open Shoulder Sweater" and it's by All Saints. I like their rock & roll vibe and have had many pieces by them over the years.
I paid $30.00, reduced from $79.99.
I also spotted this little black and gold metal bracelet in the case.
It was $28.00, marked down from $39.99.
These are mislabeled all over the interwebz as Whiting & Davis (like my snake-coil bracelet above), but it's definitely not. They didn't do these cheap head/tail fixtures on their pieces.
And...there we are, weekend over far too quickly. L and I played boardgames till the wee hours on Sunday, and spent Monday just chilling out and listening to music. I hope your weekend brought you joy, my friends! Thank you for being here.
