First Time Floral, Second Time Coral, Plus Verdicts and a Closet Changeover

Ah, last day of a long weekend. I can't help it - I spend half the day being anxious about it being the last day! So silly.

Anyway, aside from going out to get my hair cut today, I didn't do much of anything. Well, I did clean out my closet. I guess that counts.

But clothes come first.

I walked to and from the hairdresser - it's only 25 minutes each way, and it felt wonderful to get outside and enjoy the sunny weather. Finally! Sun!

This is a new-to-me floral cardigan by Mexx, bought on consignment a couple of weeks ago (here) for $19.98.

I like the interesting pattern of leaves and flowers, and the unusual colour combination (which is probably why someone got rid of it!). I think it'll work well in my wardrobe.

What do you think?

Floral Cardigan (Mexx): Outfit #1

Floral Cardigan (Mexx)
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The skirt is on its second time 'round. I'm not usually down for t-shirt cotton skirts, but I like how this one fits, even over tights (yes, I have tights on - it wasn't that warm).

I layered a teal-y blue cami underneath to hide the skirt's waistband, then did the purple-y grey Chie Mihara flats for walking (last seen here with my pink velvet jacket).

I last wore the skirt twice on the Anniversary Weekend of Adventure (here).

Coral Pencil Skirt (Floating Gold Iceberg): Outfit #2

Coral Pencil Skirt (Floating Gold Iceberg)
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I added my white leather jacket over it, and carried my red Danier Leather purse.

Simple teal and silver earrings and voila! All done. And my hair is now nice and short again!

Jacket (Le Chateau, consignment), cardigan (Mexx, consignment), cami (Ricki's), skirt (Floating Gold Iceberg, consignment), shoes (Chie Mihara), bag (Danier Leather), earrings (Oscar & Libby's).

And now, on to the voting verdicts! So exciting.

First up, the burgundy suede pencil skirt by Danier Leather.

I wore it three times: as in the picture above (here, my personal favourite of the 3), in the crazy pirate-y outfit here, and with my new-to-me Etro jacket here.

And the votes are...

• Like it: 102
• Lose it: 24

Whoa, it's a landslide! And my verdict is: I'm keeping it. It's an excellent colour, a great shape and fit and it cost me a whopping $14.50. I've worn it 6 times total so far, so my cost per wear is under $3.00. Not that cost is a major factor, but that feels good. This skirt is a good basic. 

Done - no more shopping for burgundy pencil skirts, Sheila! I packed it away with my fall/winter items today. Ha!

Next up, this lovely grey suede skirt.

But what's that, you say? I only wore it twice? Yes, indeed, your powers of observance are very keen. I wore it with black and white striped and yellow accents (here) and in the corseted rocker outfit (shown above, here).

Well, let's see what the voters said:

• Like it: 53
• Lose it: 14

And it's another blow-out! However, my verdict is: I gave it away. Don't get me wrong; I adored this skirt. Love the colour, the cut, the suede is to die for...but it was a size too big. I knew that it would look amazing on one of my coworkers so I gave it to her last Thursday.

Someone commented (forgive me, I don't recall who) that I seem to make up my mind about my items completely independently of the voting. Yes, I do. I see things that the camera doesn't pick up (good and bad), and I'm the one wearing it - so I know pretty quickly whether it's going to work or not.

Someone else (again, memory like a sieve here) mentioned that most of the items are getting "like it" votes. I think that's entirely to be expected - I don't buy stuff I don't like, and I know how to put together adequate outfits to show off items. Why I'm doing this is because I like to see how people vote when it's anonymous (you guys are honest!), and see what you REALLY think.

It's also an interesting experiment to see if I can turn something I'm not terribly fired up about into something worth keeping, and ideally into something that I love.

Anyway, enough of my babble. Last item: this rusty-orange blouse:

I didn't actually wear this three times either, but the two times I did were enough for me to make up my mind (plus it's in the wash, and I don't do laundry all that frequently, heh). 

I wore it as pictured above, here (in a pinch, I guess you could say that was two outfits - I did change my shoes for boots), and here, layered under a leather dress with turquoise accents.

And the voting is:

• Like it: 41
• Lose it: 22

Ooh, pretty close! My verdict is: I'm keeping it. I love the colour and the fit and it's an excellent colour in my wardrobe.

I hope you enjoyed voting for these items as much as I enjoyed wearing them. 

And now onto the closet portion of my day. I had to stop partway through my clean-out to go to the hairdresser, and then I napped when I got home, and then L and I went to the gym, so there was a large gap between when I started and when I finished. 

I pull everything out, vacuum and dust, and then decide what's staying and what's going. I cleaned out a bunch of things that I'd forgotten about, that I didn't love or that just didn't work for me anymore. I also pulled out heavier-weight items, winterish and autumnal clothing, and most of my boots. I'll do the reverse at the end of September.

I have the most fun looking at my shoes. These are the ones I pulled out as being the most spring-summer:

I count 33 pairs there. I do have a couple of pairs of booties for colder times (September can be cranky, weather-wise), and even there, I see 6 pairs of shoes that I still haven't worn in over a year. I promise, they will be worn! Some of them are party shoes, so not good for my feet for a whole day's work.

And on the other side of the room, we have the more winter-fall shoes. A lot of these go back into the closet (it holds a lot), but I did pack up about 2 dozen pairs to go into storage. It's always so fun to pull them out again. "Oh yeah, I forgot about these!"

Not including my two pairs of walking runners in the upper left corner, there are 22 pairs of shoes here. There are 4 pairs that didn't get worn, so I'll see if I can work them into a party outfits at some point.

Although I didn't get rid of any shoes, I am debating a few pairs that I don't completely love. I'm more likely to keep shoes, especially really cool ones or Fluevogs!

Pile o' boots (10 in total):

I did pull out two pairs of boots to donate: the brown suede ones that don't go over the knee, and the black ones. I was really annoyed that the brown boots didn't stay up (and I already have two pairs of great brown boots), and the black ones are too big in the calf on me, plus I have two good pairs of black boots already. There is one pair of boots that I didn't wear in capsules - a pair of Fluevogs! - but I'll be wearing them soon. 

That's 66 pairs of shoes/boots, and I didn't even include the 16 pairs of summer shoes that I unpacked. Ulp, my total is 82 pairs of shoes. Move over, Imelda! In case you were wondering, I have 21 pairs of Fluevogs, easily the most of any brand. I'm a Fluevogaholic, I admit it.

Vizzini helped me clean by supervising from below:

I kept an eye on him - no more chewing on my shoes!

Thank goodness this is a short week - so looking forward to another long weekend, although I don't get Easter Monday off (it's not actually a statutory holiday in my province, boo).

Suede the Last, and Etro the First

It's a long weekend for me (vacation days - yeah!) so I'm gonna make this short. I'll be back on Sunday or Monday, and I have a surprise - I'm meeting up with another blogger! Who could it be...?

For my Friday, it's the third wear for this burgundy suede skirt.

I previously wore it here with lace and leopard, and here this past Monday (yarr!).

Burgundy Suede Pencil Skirt (Danier Leather): Outfit #3

Burgundy Suede Pencil Skirt (Danier Leather)
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I'm also wearing my new-to-me Etro blazer that I picked up a couple of weekends ago (here, lots of detail shots of it) for $42.00 - not bad for high-end real designer wear made in Italy. I think it's probably from the late 90s, based on the length of the jacket.

I added my mustard ruffled shirt (last seen here with my brown lace skirt) to pull out a bit of the yellow in the jacket's lapels.

Black Blazer with Tie Lapels (Etro): Outfit #1

Black Blazer with Tie Lapels (Etro)
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I like this longer line of jacket - it also has very nice sharp shoulders (not padded, just well-shaped). I rolled the sleeves to bring out the oyster silk.

For my shoes, my lovely Coffee Sumatra Fluevogs were perfect (worn 3 times in the March 2012 capsule, recap here).

The stuff:

Someone's legs are in the shot...

These are the most comfy shoes - I wish Fluevog still made the Coffee family!

Jacket (Etro, consignment), blouse (Gap, thrifted), skirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), shoes (Coffee Sumatra, Fluevog), belt (Gap), spinnner ring (Twang & Pearl), vintage ring (Sarah Coventry).

Gusty Pirate and the Return of the Suede Skirt

Today was an odd Monday. I felt like a pirate all day, yar!

I've got my ruffles, my frock coat and my boots! Avast, me hearties!

The weather is clearing up, but it's very windy. I got hit by a mad gust of wind just as the timer went off. I was highly Visible in this outfit, so I'm joining up with Patti's "Visible Monday" at Not Dead Yet Style.

There are a few things in my closet that I won't be putting out for a vote because they are completely awesome, and this frock coat is one of them. I got it at Dots as a sample piece for $56.00 (regular $375.00). It's by Noa Noa and is 100% cotton.

I've had it since spring 2010, but I didn't wear it until Hallowe'en 2010 (check out my contest-winning Mad Hatter costume). Yes, it is a bit costume-y but I've worked it a few times for work, here in March 2011, and here in November 2011 (where I actually converted it into a steampunk type of outfit). I also wore it just before the 2012/13 Capsule Challenge started, in January 2012. The last time was for the Steampunk Convention in April 2012, in the favourite Wild Card outfit.

It's tricky to style, being very long and very full at the bottom, especially at the back. It has great motion, pouffing out at the back when I walk (it's a middle-weight cotton, so not too heavy), which never quite comes across in the photos.

But hey! There's the burgundy skirt again!

Burgundy Suede Pencil Skirt (Danier Leather): Outfit #2

Burgundy Suede Pencil Skirt (Danier Leather)
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The blouse is my J. Peterman thrifted shirt, featured three times in the December 2012 capsule (recap here). I turned the cuffs of the jacket up to show off the ruffled cuffs of the shirt.

I love the embroidery on the back of the coat.

I'm also wearing my black stomacher with a shiny black belt over it, and a pretty little heart patch that Steph the Dashing Eccentric sent me. The boots were worn 7 times in the October 2012 capsule (recap here).

Coat (Noa Noa), blouse (J. Peterman, thrifted), skirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), stomacher (InWear), belt (Nygard), boots (Marc Softwalk).

Burgundy Suede Skirt - A First Outing

It feels like Spring is just around the corner! It's even a little glare-y in the mornings.

An outfit with some old favourites: my CAbi vest (worn 4 times in the February 2012 capsule, recap here), my leopard blouse, my lovely bow metallic shoes (both from the March 2012 capsule, recap here).

I was very close to incorporating this suede skirt into one of those months, but it always got bumped for similar items, like a red suede skirt or a longer burgundy Smoking Lily skirt or my burgundy dress. I got rid of the red suede skirt, gave the Smoking Lily skirt to Megan the Fashionable Bureaucrat, and that burgundy dress is still kicking around somewhere, but here we are: this skirt is still in my closet.

I've had it since September 2011 (here), when I thrifted it for $14.50. Since then, I wore it in March 2011, and again in January 2012, right before I started the year-long capsule challenge.

I have a big butt, and I cannot lie!

It's a fairly snug pencil cut - for once, it's actually my exact right size. I tend to go up or down a size...depending on the size you find in the thrift store! Sometimes you just take what you can get.

Burgundy Suede Pencil Skirt (Danier Leather): Outfit #1

Burgundy Suede Pencil Skirt (Danier Leather)
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I'm distracted in the above picture by the sound of someone digging...more on that in a minute.

The stuff:

I went steampunk for the accessories. Shiny, gears and keys.

The wonderful Tamera made the necklace.

The C-shaped ring is meant to look like a horseshoe nail.

Vest (CAbi, thrifted), blouse (Planet, consignnment), skirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), shoes (Jeffrey Campbell), necklace (gift from Tamera), earrings (locally made), spinner ring (Twang & Pearl), C-ring (Club Monaco).

So what was Mr. Vizzini doing?

"I smell an elastic band!"

He dug in my bag until he found my address book (which is held shut with an elastic - so classy), pulled it out and then took off with it. I trapped him in the bedroom and pulled the slobber-covered book away from him then wrestled the elastic from his sharp teeth/claws.

Then I zipped my bag shut.

"It's in here, I know it!"

He actually managed to get it out AGAIN, and I snagged it back from him pronto and zipped it into the wallet compartment. Little bugger!

As soon as I got home, he went for it right away.

"You're no fun."

He's so full of mischief.

Sedate in Burgundy

I filled in yesterday again as a receptionist at a downtown WW meeting. Considering that it was over 3 hours long last week, and I'd planned to meet up with some former co-workers for drinks at 4pm, I figured I'd stay downtown.

I wore a couple of new things I'd picked up in my thrifting adventures of the last few weeks:
The floral top was thrifted for $9.50 (it's Mexx), and the suede skirt (Danier) was thrifted for $14.50.

I like the slightly longer kimono style of the top - you can do the ties in the back or wrap them around to the front for more of an obi look. The skirt has a hidden zipper slit in the back, so you can customize how big the slit is.

I quickly learned that a bigger slit is better for walking.

I layered my tights:

Brown lacey fishnet over burgundy. Unfortunately, I had a major case of crotch-sag all day, which was annoying.

The stuff:

Slightly blurry after two glasses of wine! Oops. I last wore the shoes here - I've had them since September 2009 and worn them 7 times now.

A better shot of the fabric of the top:

It's got burgundy, rusty-orange, cream, taupe, brown and olive in it, so I can mix a lot of different looks with it.

Top (Mexx, thrifted), cami (InWear), skirt (Danier, thrifted), shoes (Seychelles, consignment), choker (vintage 60s, Mom), earrings (gift from L).