Acid Wash Denim, and New Art Project: L's Blue Oyster Cult Jacket

Another week closer to the end of my closet season, and a reminder to drop a comment with your request for "Last Call." What's that? It's something in my spring/summer wardrobe that you'd like to see again. It can be a specific garment, a colour, or even an accessory (or pair of shoes). I'll pick and choose and wear the suggestions over the next two weeks, until I do my closet swap-over.

For today's outfit, I'm squeezing in a wearing of my vintage 80s acid wash denim dress.

I thought I'd wear it in the early "shoulder season" (aka March), but here we are in the other shoulder season (aka September). 

• Dress - Santana, vintage 80s, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in February for a long-weekend gathering
• Boots - Donald J. Pliner, vintage 00s, consignment, Sidney; last seen here in June for a birthday lunch and shopping spree

My Purolator guy was mightily impressed with this (we're around the same age).

He remembered his own high-waisted acid was jeans from the 80s! 

This dress is a lot of fun, totally the best for waggling my massive shoulder pads at coworkers.

It's also a pain to wear all day, as every time I used the washroom...

...I had to take the whole thing off. 

That's a snug pencil skirt! My grad ceremony dress had a similarly long and skinny pencil bottom, and they are not meant for striding about. 

Masked up. 

Turquoise for the match! 

Incognito.

I got a lot of side-eye on the walk home. Maybe people are not quite ready for this much acid wash? 

Accoutrements: 

Didn't need the scarf, but I wore it anyway. 

• Scarf - Fluevog
• Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 

I love these boots, but may pack them away for the wet season. That burlap fabric is not waterproof. 

Turquoise bling: 

All the turquoise! 

• Belt - Brave Belts, thrifted
• Bronze/turquoise/pearl cuff - Myka, consignment
• Steel cuff - consignment, Powell River
• Pendant - Karen's
• Turquoise ring - Karen's
• Pivot ring - consignment
• Earrings - consignment, Powell River

I was sufficiently armoured up! 

Art Project: L's Blue Oyster Cult Jacket

My brain's been in a snarl lately, which usually means it's time for me to do some art. L's been watching me do all these projects and giving them away (most recently, the Mica Bag and Eternally Autumn Jacket), and has been hankering for one of his own. 

I suggested that we keep an eye out for a light-coloured leather jacket for me to create a Blue Oyster Cult jacket for him...and we found one here in June for $249.00 on consignment at House of Savoy. It's by former Canadian chain The Leather Ranch, which I remember from every mall when I was a teen (you could smell the leather) - I couldn't afford anything in that store, but I wistfully eyed all the beautiful jackets.

Blue Oyster Cult is a band, by the way (Wiki link here). You've probably heard "Don't Fear the Reaper", "Godzilla" or "Burnin' For You" - if you check any of those songs on YouTube, you'll immediately recognize them. 

This is a lovely slate blue colour and it's likely early 80s, before jackets became oversized and shoulder-padded. It fits L perfectly.

It's light enough for black ink and some colours to show up on it, and L really wants something completely badass...

So I plan on covering this with BOC stuff! 

I asked L to put together lyrics, either full songs or snippets that have meaning for him, and then I went through them and highlighted lines I thought would be easy/cool to illustrate. 

Then I mapped out all the areas of the jacket - the collar (showing and hiding), the top of the back, the "back-patch", the sleeves, the pockets and flaps, the front areas and even the cuffs. Planning is essential - I would never start working on a piece without all the planning.

The tricky part is finding motifs I can actually draw (or use clip-art images for copying/inspiration) and matching them to the lyrics. 

As the lyrics are important to L, I want to be able to include them all over the jacket. I had to trim them down a lot as I worked through each section, and I'm sure I'll have to adjust things as I go.

I did all that a month or so ago, when I needed a rest from Mica's Bag, and also took pictures of all of L's BOC albums (i.e. all of them) for art/images I could include. 

This past Sunday, I put all my pens together (having already tested them on an inside piece of the jacket), along with the printed images and my "maps" of where everything's going to go. I also grabbed a ruler as I used to free-hand a lot of signs at my old retail job in the 90s and I wanted to make sure that my words are fairly even. 

Materials: Black "S" fine-point permanent Staedtler markers, "M" medium-point permanent black Staedtler markers, Tombow alcohol-based ink "paint" pens.

The Q-Tips and bowl of water are for removing the sketching pen marks, but I quickly discovered that the pen I'm using to sketch with disappears as the ink dries!

I had drawn in "Blue Oyster..." to match the font I'd printed and got up to grab a drink and when I came back, it had all disappeared! 

Well, CRAP. I was going to have to do it one letter at a time! No pressure! This ink cannot be erased - it's permanent.

Okay, this is not too bad...phew. I did guidelines for the top and bottom of the biggest letters, plus a midway guideline for the lower case letters. 

The first time I touch that black pen to the leather is the absolute worst. "Don't f**k it up!" my head screams. 

Fortunately, I'm fairly confident in my Old English fonts. I did the single outline of each letter, then gave each one an extra outline to make it more substantial. The BOC symbol at the bottom will be all over the jacket - it's very much identifiable with the band. 

All the outlines done - it's looking pretty cool! 

But this is the "back-patch" so it really has to stand out. More work is needed! 

When I tested my blues, I wrote down all the colours that went together (they look very different on leather than they do on paper), so that I would remember them.  

Creating depth with two shades of blue.

Then I used another shade of blue on the letters to create "shine".

All done - I used one of my pastel pens to blur the edges of the "shine" and make it look more like polished steel. 

Vizzini helped. 

"Feed me or I'll chew your pens."

In the above image, I used one of my medium-point black pens to outline all of the letters again, to really make them pop. I've done up to the "C" in "Cult."

Here's the back-patch all done. L was happy with this, but having my "customer" watching everything I do is intimidating! I might have to hide this from him until I'm done. 

I will probably leave this section as is, so that it really has an impact.

I couldn't resist adding to the upper back and playing with some scroll-y tattoo font.

"Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars" is a BOC song. I might include some sort of design around this - it looks a little bare to me - so we'll consider this section unfinished for now. 

That was about 2.5 hours of work in the sun...and my brain is feeling so much better today! 

Shiny Pre-Fall, and Mica's Bag Finished!

I've been feeling very drained lately, so I'm trying to take care of my mental health. Dressing up helps, and so does working on my art projects. I've been slacking on the art (how did I ever find any space for myself in the Before Times??), but managed to finish the Mica Bag finally! 

It's okay if you want to scroll down and look at that first, hee hee. 

But this is a pretty solid outfit. This skirt is a winner.

• Blouse - Escada, vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here for $8.50
• Skirt - Ralph Lauren, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in April for Mac's birthday
• Sandals - Chie Mihara, thrifted; last seen here in August with swooshy pants
• Impractical raincoat (below) - Animale, thrifted; last worn here in August

There won't be too many more days when I can wear a short sleeve. 

Or sandals, for that matter. 

I do keep the skirt out all year round. 

It's so shiny! 

It gives me joy.

It's almost a full circle skirt. 

Masked up. 

I had a few comments that my outfit was very "fall", but it's still a summer-weight look. Let's call it "pre-fall."

Outerwear.

The Completely Impractical Raincoat makes an appearance. 

Accoutrements: 

Some favourites. 

• Silk scarf - Lanvin, vintage 70s, consignment
• Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 

This is likely the last wearing of these sandals. Are you looking forward to Boot Season? I am! 

Gold bling: 

I nearly always wear this belt with these shoes! 

• Belt - Fendi, thrifted; last worn here last week
• Bracelet - J. Crew, consignment
• Smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neuman, Sweden, vintage mall
• Amber thumb ring - antique store, Sidney
• Amber ring - c. 1996
• Earrings - thrifted
• Gold chain - Grandma J's, vintage 80s
• Open chain - Monet, vintage, thrifted

Art Project Finished: Mica's Bag

If you missed the last update, or would like to see more detail pictures, go here, and then jump backwards to when I first started it. This is the 5th and final update.

Here's where we got to last time - I'd figured out what to do on the back and had done all the blackening/darkening.

Hee hee, that makes me happy just looking at it. 

Here it is with colour.

More purple and blue roses, with the shield outlined in blue. I added a little bit of yellow to go with the gold hardware and to make the lettering stand out. 

I gave a little extra enhancement to the secret "Crazy."

Colouring is pretty quick - this was about an hour. 

I added Mica's motto to the zip sections. 

"I Can!"

"And I Will!"

Just a little reminder: You're a stronger person than you know. Be determined. Don't think too hard - just do it. 

And I signed it and labeled it. 

All done. 

I reattached the shoulder strap. 

I'd wear it like this, with this side showing. 

Flip it around for showing off. 

Don't forget to show the "Crazy."

Maybe open the sides up? 

This should be fairly permanent - some of it might rub off over time (my own Badass Bag is holding up well). 

Mica, it was wonderful doing this for you! 

I hope you like it! I'll be mailing it back to Australia this week. 

My next project is for L...a Blue Oyster Cult jacket! 

Caramel and Copper; Mica's Bag, Part 4

Happy Monday, my friends! Today I have a caramel and copper outfit for you, plus another update on Mica's bag, which I worked at on Sunday afternoon while L was busy. 

But first - outfit! 

One of my favourite VPs was in today so I thought I'd look profesh for her. 

• Crocheted vest - Active USA, Powell River; first worn here in January over a sweater and suede dress
• Blouse - Nanette Lepore, thrifted; purchased here for $7.50
• Trousers - BCBC Max Azria, consignment; first seen here (4th outfit) in July
• Sandals - Chie Mihara; last worn here (4th outfit) in the same outfit as these trousers

I'm done with this crocheted vest thing. 

I liked it with this outfit, but it's a little too bohemian-flavoured for my taste. 

It was fine layered over this new-to-me blouse for its first outing. 

But I have to really work at styling it. Clothing shouldn't be that challenging! 

And I don't like that low back - the shoulders tend to fall off my shoulders.

I only paid $12.00 for it, and I wore it twice, so I'm totally okay with letting it go to a new home. 

Masked up.

I liked my outfit overall, though. All these caramels and coppers are my jam. 

Incognito. 

The weather's settled into pleasantly nice and warm, with cool ocean breezes at night. 

Accoutrements: 

I like a bit of fall colour in my summer wardrobe. 

• Scarf - Lanvin, vintage 70s, consignment
• Mask - Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 

I laughed when I realized I'd paired these shoes with my swooshy caramel pants last time too. They're meant to be! 

Copper bling: 

I think I wore most of this copper with that last outfit as well! 

• Red enamel/copper bracelet - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 50s, vintage expo
• Ball ring/aqua ring - vintage, consignment
• Earrings - vintage, vintage expo
• Chain/pendant necklace - Bell Trading Post, vintage 50s, consignment
• Ball necklace/cuff - vintage expo

Why mess with a good thing? 

Art Project: Mica's Bag, Part 4

I'm still not finished the bag, but I'm getting closer. A few more sessions - one with colour, then a bit of detail work - and then I'll be done. 

In case you missed it, we all agreed: "Nice Bottom." 

Link here (scroll way down) to see pics and previous updates.

The back of the bag has stymied me for a while. It's got these black-edged seams, same as the front, but that little pocket features so predominantly. What to do with it? Well, Mica told me that she refers to herself a "crazy bag lady" to other people.

There is a faint outline of my plans above - the paper has a small drawing of the design I was playing with. All the brush-strokes are from cleaning the black ink from my coloured pens (gotta keep them clean). 

If she wasn't Certified Absolutely Official Bag Lady before...she is now! It mad me giggle, and imagine how fun it will be for Mica to show this off. Below is my rough line drawing to get everything where I want it. 

It's a shield (meant to look like a plaque or award that you might get), with a scroll across the top with "Certified" on it. I decided to do a different font, and I KNOW, it's messy in the "Bag Lady" area, but I'll clean that up before you know it, and no one will be the wiser. 

I hid "Crazy" under the flap! Crazy doesn't advertise! 

I'll clean up the little rainbow there  - that was my original test spot for how colours would show up on the bag. 

My alphabet guide for the font - I changed it up slightly. 

Darkening up the lettering to make it look better. I got to this point a couple of weeks ago, then stopped.

I tend to "visit" the bag while I'm working on it - I draw on it here and there when I have a few minutes. One day I decided it needed a couple of crests to make it look more official. 

The one on the left says "Institute of Bagology, Aus. & Canada, Est'd 2008." Of course, I am in Canada, and Mica is in Australia, and I'm pretty sure we met through blogging in 2008 (I've lost track!). The other circle says, "Purse Division, 2022" (as there are other kinds of bags, like knapsacks, luggage, etc.). 

This past weekend, I spent time getting most of the back done - I had help from Vizzini. 

"I'm essential to the process."

He's lurking in the background of the below pic too - such a funny kitty.

I completed the lettering (see? it looks much better!), and added some more details to the shield. I added an exclamation point to "Absolutely!" to make it more balanced.

I drew a little replica of this purse with an "M" on it. A purse...on a purse! Ha! 

I added a little leaf detail under the flap too. 

A better look at the crests there. 

More cat help. 

"Wait, you need even more assistance than my magnificent tum can provide."

And so I did! Vizzini plopped himself down on my lap while I worked. 

"Isn't this better?"

I rested the bag on his back and kept going. 

"Now, don't move for at least two hours."

This is why my knees hurt today! 

Two hours later...all the detail and darkening has been done on the roses, leaves and vines. 

I darkened up the lettering on the crests and added some more detail there. 

Now, it's time to colour this, and then a bit of final detail and I'll be done. L is impatiently waiting for me to start a leather jacket for him, so I'm hoping that the coming weekend will see the purse finished.