Smoking Lily Bonanza, Voting Verdicts! and Lilac Greyhounds

This is a long weekend in my lovely province of BC (Family Day, a new, invented holiday), so I have Monday off - woo hoo! I started my week off with a bang, and the third wear of my vintage 80s strapless dress:

This was perfect for casual Friday - I felt professional but fun.

This is my Smoking Lily stretch denim jacket, featured in the March 2012 capsule (recap here). I only wore it once that month (I forgot that it only works worn done up), but I have hung onto it because I love the construction and the lovely collar and turquoise cuffs and piping.

This is the third and final wear in a week of my vintage 80s strapless dress - I made it! Since I've made my decision on whether I keep this (more on that shortly), there won't be a vote on this outfit.

I previously wore it here and here.

I did comfy Fluevog flats for my Friday.

I like how the black diamond shape echoes the pattern in the dress. I wore these in the September 2012 capsule five times (recap here). They were as wonderful as I remembered, and perfect for walking to the Smoking Lily store after work.

Jacket (Smoking Lily, consignment), dress (AJ Bari, vintage 80s, thrifted), shoes (Impulse Presence, Fluevogs), earrings (Oscar & Libby's).

The February sample sale at Smoking Lily has been on all weekend! I was excited to get down there and see what goodies I could find. I did really well last year (scoring the Octo-coat), so I was hoping for something equally spectacular.

I was in luck! Holy ship!

I snagged this from someone who was debating the colour - you snooze, you lose! Me? I have no issues with mustard - it's my favourite yellow (and my favourite condiment).

This was $65.00 and fits me perfectly; good bust shirring, a nice shoulder and a bit of elastication in the back for a strong waist. I am really excited to wear it.

 I adore the ship patterns!

So. Cool.

I also bought this Emma top - it's the same cut as my emerald green Emma dress (this one) - for $20.00.

The designs are magnolias and running greyhounds. I wasn't 100% on the colour, but since I'm playing at being a blonde for a while I thought, "Why not?"

I spotted this skirt way up on the wall:

The Smoking Lily store is smaller than my closet - it used to be an elevator! - but the ceiling is over 20 feet high, so you have to look up. This skirt was a one-off sample and was $25.00. No silkscreen, but don't you love the fabric? I am so excited about this one!

I bought one of their sheer wool Ashni scarves for $20.00.

It's so soft and warm, but totally lightweight. It has two colours of safety pins - a little homage to my punk-inspired safety pins that I wore as earrings in the mid-80s.

I have a bit of an obi fetish.

This is one of their silk ones; it was $25.00. The yellow is a brighter lemon, and the silkscreens are fly wings and a cross-hatched pattern (the same one is on my blue corduroy dress).

I also bought more of their underwear, at $10.00 a pair.

 Canoes, arrows, flies, stars and feathers. The heart is a silkscreen on vinyl pin - it was $5.00.

After my shopping bonanza, I met up with Elaine for dinner and drinks, and then we went to see "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (linking 'cause I love) at the Victoria Film Festival. It's downloadable on iTunes, and I'd recommend it - what a fascinating view of a strong, opinionated woman who knew style! I didn't know anything about her prior to seeing this - check it out!

On Saturday, L and I went for lunch. I decided to start another round of voting with the lilac greyhound t-shirt.

I'm planning to do a Valentine's week theme this week, with lots of pink, red and lilac. .

I wore the tee V-neck at the front (they're reversible), with my plain stretch grey pencil skirt which was featured in the April 2012 capsule (recap here). Yeah, it's a boring skirt, but even I need a good basic! Maybe I'll replace it if I find a more interesting skirt...hmmm...would you believe I have TWO grey skirts waiting in the wings for their chance to be voted on?

I added a Smoking Lily obi (one of my first ones), and red-y/burgundy tights.

I like how the deeper reds play off the lilac and grey, and go with the colour of the magnolias.

Let's vote! Smoking Lily Lilac Greyhound Tee - Outfit #1:

Smoking Lily Lilac Greyhound Tee
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

My awesome Prepare Volunteer Fluevog boots get back into rotation. I wore them a lot (nine times!) back in the December 2012 capsule (recap here).

I dressed for a brisk day - it was clear but cold out.

I wandered around downtown after lunch and did a bit of shopping (I did go back to Smoking Lily to see if they had anything else new that day, but I just got L a t-shirt).

Jacket (Le Chateau, consignment), tee (Smoking Lily), skirt (Plum), boots (Prepare Volunteers, Fluevog), obi (Smoking Lily, consignment).

I found this leather and chain wrist-wrap, made in Los Angeles, at a boutique for $29.00.

It has great weight, and it actually fits my head perfectly, like a headband! I'll probably wear it that way at least once.

I went to Mango's, a little boutique near Smoking Lily, and hit their clearance on tights. They are one of the few places that carries tights that are made in Italy (yay! not China!), so when I find them on sale, it's a major score. All of these were $10-20 a pair (that's half-price! these aren't cheap).

Nude-coloured with chevrons on the left; a Nordic sort of pattern on the right

I have bought both Filodoro (my striped black tights that I am still wearing after 4 years, and these little socklets that I got last summer) and Trasparenze tights (these multi-coloured striped tights) before, and have found the quality to be superb.

Nude back seam and pattern on the left; nude with back seam on the right

I fell in love with the back detail on these ones. Yes, that pattern does go right up to the top! I haven't had Philippe Matignon tights before, so we'll see how those work.

I really stocked up!

On the left, mine are a nude colour (not white!) with pink and blue floral pattern up the back;
on the right, faux stockings and panty

I ended up spending just over $90.00 on all six pairs, but if the quality holds out on them for more than a year, it'll be worth it. I hate cheap tights! 

Inigo was fascinated by the shopping bag from Mango's. 

"I smell a person."

The owner's daughter decorates all their bags by hand.

I popped into the Hospice Thrift Store on the way home and found a lovely silky cami by Liz Claiborne for only $6.00.

Such a rich colour!

I also found this wonderful steel cuff for $6.00.

The copper pin was from Flavour Upstairs, a thrift/consignment store I check out once in a while. It was $3.00 and I love the retro look of it. I'd guess it's from the 80s.

The cuff is stamped inside:

It says "Lakeland Art Metal Work - Hand Made." I couldn't find anything about Lakeland Art Metal, but I like the cuff.

Okay, now we're on to the Voting Verdicts!

First up: the black Max Studio dress:

I wore it here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 140
• Lose it: 37

It's a landslide! However, the verdict is: Lose it.

I originally had thought that this dress would be a keeper, and for many people it would be. But you know, I was hanging on to this dress for sentimental reasons. I wore it for my 40th birthday party, I bought it when I first lost my 50 lbs, and it's so comfy to just throw on - how could I not keep it? But as many of you pointed out, it's just a black dress, and not entirely flattering in either cut or colour on me. It's also not very versatile; boots and tights, boots and tights. Blah.

So into the giveaway pile it goes! I have no regrets.

Next up: the AJ Bari vintage 80s strapless dress:

It was worn here and here (and above, as noted). The votes are:

• Like it: 121
• Lose it: 27

Another strong contender! And the verdict is: Like it.

It's a keeper. I debated when I bought it about getting the zipper fixed and having it taken in, but I'm so glad that I did - I thought hard about it, and I'm glad that my instincts paid off. I am looking forward to mixing it with my spring/summer wardrobe. If I can get 3 good looks in a chilly month like February, I can't wait to wear it in warm weather!

And lastly, the Halogen Black Leather Skirt:

I wore it here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 62
• Lose it: 72

A close vote! The verdict: Lose it.

This one divided voters over the length and simple cut. Some loved it, others - not so much. On my first wear of it, I really liked it, but by the second wear, I started to notice the shoddy quality. The leather is thin and crunchy (not like my lovely buttery-soft Danier leathers), and the hem came unglued. I don't have an issue with the length at all - I like a variety of skirt lengths on me - but it felt cheap.

I hope you enjoyed the first week of "Like it or Lose it" - it was eye-opening for me! I found that my preconceived ideas of what would be keepers (the dress and the skirt) were turned around after wearing the items multiple times. In the past, both of these would have continued to take up valuable closet real estate, but now I feel invigorated by knowing for sure that I'm only keeping what really works for me - in this instance, the 80s strapless dress.

I'm excited to do another outfit with the brown lace skirt and the greyhound tee, and probably a few more items this coming week!

Edit: I just realized this is my 1400th post - woo! Round numbers!

Black Dress and Purple Legs

I made it back to the gym today after a week off - it felt good to move and sweat and work my muscles again. I will beat this dratted cold!

Today, I went for comfort and another wear of this black dress.

With purple tights! And brown boots!

The boots are my luscious Mini Babycakes by Fluevog, featured in the October capsule (recap here) in 6 outfits. I do love them.

Get your vote on!

Black Max Studio dress: Outfit #2 (here's Outfit #1)

Black Max Studio dress:
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

I already know what I'm going to do with the 3 items that are up for voting so far, but I'm going to save that for the Saturday Reveal where I'll disclose my own vote, the total of Like it/Lose it votes overall (as of that day), and my decision on each item.

No hints! I'll try to remain (more) impartial in the posts so that it's more of a surprise and less influential on the voting.

Thanks for all your comments pro and con each item so far - I'm glad you're all enjoying this! It really is quite amazing how quickly items reveal themselves to you when you're forced to wear them multiple times in a short period - I recommend it if you're a "keep it!" type of person.

The stuff:

I love the necklace - the black dress does give it a great background to show it off.

Dress (Max Studio), tights (Noa Noa), boots (Mini Babycakes, Fluevog), necklace (gift from Mom).

Post-Challenge: When In Doubt, Wear a Dress

This feels so weird! I admit, I struggled with what to wear on Day One after the challenge! After a year of only having 30 items to choose from, it was a bit panicky to review my entire closet (and all the stuff hiding underneath) to find something to wear - there's so much! 

In addition to the "Like it or Lose it" voting on my new items, I'm also going to apply the same voting system to the items in my closet that didn't get into a capsule last year, and yet remained in my wardrobe. The first item up is...this black dress!

I was lazy and just used the same boots I had in the January capsule (summary forthcoming at some point), last worn here. I took the harnesses off them this time.

I bought this dress at Winners in the fall of 2007 - it was part of the re-stock of my wardrobe after I lost 50 lbs. I wore it for my 40th birthday party, and possibly a couple of other times pre-blog. It's by Max Studio and I think it was under $40. It's hugely comfortable and easy to wear. But is it "me"?

I last wore it for our December 2011 Christmas trip to Powell River with tights (including these leopard ones) and boots. I wore it earlier that same month (2nd outfit) with...tights and boots! I'm sensing a trend. I've also worn it in summer (June 2011, 2nd outfit) with sandals, but in mostly winter (January 2011). I also wear it shopping (in November 2010) because it's easy to try clothes on with it. It's one of those lazy outfit dresses - a jammy dress (as worn in December 2009). I've dressed it up with heels too (September 2009), including orange ones (May 2009). I've worn it to feel better (January 2009), and as an all-black theme week before our Alice Cooper concert (September 2008). Speaking of concerts, I also wore it to Vancouver when we went to see Rush (June 2008).

I am looking forward to seeing if I can still make the dress exciting over the next 7 days.

Here we go! Time to vote.

The black dress: Outfit #1.

Black Max Studio Dress
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

The stuff:

Mismatched gold hoop earrings (I lost one, got a new pair and then lost one of them). That's the necklace Mom gave me for Christmas.

Dress (Max Studio), tights (Le Chateau), boots (Adriana Agnes, Fluevog), necklace (Global Village), bracelet (Club Monaco).

Remember the amazing bright strapless dress with the broken zipper that I thrifted a few weeks ago for only $10.00? I had the zipper replaced and the dress taken in two inches - by a tailor! This is a first for me - I have never taken anything to a tailor before. I found this old guy, Vlad, who has a little tiny shop in the basement of a building near my office downtown. He did a beautiful job on this, and it only cost me $40 for major seaming work on it!

I was happy it was ready in time to wear out to the Urbanite event at the Art Gallery on Friday night:

Rock on!

I have a thing for strapless dresses, especially when they are really fitted - this one was perfect. No tugging all night, and it wasn't too tight.

I showed off my ink, of course. Any opportunity!

There's something about pink legs that I love.

I bonded with several women (and men) over my Fluevogs. These are my Prepare Guides, last worn in July 2011, and featured in my May 30 for 30 capsule (recap).

I did a mix of new and vintage: old punk cuff, recent Shi Studio wrist-wrap.

Polka dots!

Fistfuls of rings.

Vintage snake ring, new Wendy Brandes lapiz lazuli ring.

A light jacket for the walk down.

We had a good time, but I'm glad the events are only 3 hours long - I was exhausted by the end and couldn't wait to climb into bed. Ugh, this is a nasty cold.

I debated whether I should include this dress in the Like it or Lose it voting, but I think my reluctance to do so may indicate where one of my weaknesses with keeping clothes is: it's pretty! I like it! I need to remind myself that I want my full wardrobe to be functional.

So...AJ Bari vintage dress: Outfit #1

Vintage 80s AJ Bari Dress
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

This one is going to be a challenge to re-mix!

Jacket (Le Chateau, consignment), dress (AJ Bari, vintage 80s, thrifted), shoes (Prepare Guides, Fluevogs), belt (80s vintage, thrifted), earrings (locally-made), studded cuff (vintage 80s), turquoise wrist-wrap (Shi Studio), snake ring (vintage 80s), lapis lazuli ring (Wendy Brandes), red/silver ring (Oscar & Libby's).

I'm going to be running votes on several items concurrently, as you can see. More fun that way!

Today, L and I met Chris and Alli for lunch. I felt like a kid in the candy store; whatever shall I wear out of all these clothes!

I chose this black midi-length leather skirt, thrifted here for $20.00.

My red silk blouse was featured three times in the August 2011 30 for 30 capsule (recap).

The vest was part of the January 30 for 30 capsule, and only got worn once (here, with the turquoise fringed skirt). Obviously an oversight of me not to wear it more!

One can never have enough pairs of red boots.

I've missed these lovely burgundy boots! They were in the March 2011 30 for 30 capsule (recap).

Since my white leather jacket was still sitting where I'd dumped it last night, I wore it again today.

Ready to vote?

Halogen black leather skirt: Outfit #1

Halogen Black Leather Skirt
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

The red shirt has a very strong pink-y tone to it, so I went with a pink and red necklace.

We're having a Super Bowl party tomorrow for all the players in the football pool - chili is simmering on the stove right now, filling the house with a lovely spicy smell. Mmmm!

Blouse (Elite International, thrifted), vest (Bisou Bisou, consignment), skirt (Halogen, thrifted), boots (Miz Mooz), necklace (thrifted), earrings (Plum).