Another WW Meeting...and Lunch Out

WW meeting number two went well - although, wooo...funny how quickly you get out of the habit of getting up at 6am. Heh.


I had another new pair of shoes I just HAD to wear: Plus, I needed to break out the glitzy clothes for late December glamour! I last wore this vintage Alfred Sung skirt here (holy moly, last Feb/March!).

I really loved the neutral metallic colour of the shoes but the floofy bow really pushes them up a notch, so I kept the rest of the outfit (aside from the green lame lace skirt) also neutral.

Sorry, blurry - hard to keep my balance!

I last wore the jacket back in June (here) - it was a little cool, but I have a hard time finding really unique plain brown jackets.

Oh, but I know you're dying to see the shoes:

Pretty sweet, eh? My mom's vintage necklace added a bit more green up near my face (to bring out my green eyes!).

These were the best score of the four pairs I got:
$174.95 and I paid $40.00. Wow.

Mom gave me this awesome purse for Christmas:

I love the colour, and it's a really nice quality vinyl.

Jacket (Pelican Cove, consignment), top (Ellen Tracy, gift from Caro), skirt (Alfred Sung, vintage 80s, consignment), shoes (Jeffrey Campbell), necklace (Mom's, vintage 60s), purse (gift from Mom).

Today, L and I went out for lunch, then bought groceries. Of course I dress nice for groceries!

These jeans are new! I adore black jeans, and these were marked down to $27 at Plum, from $90. They are pretty long on me, but I'll see how they shrink after I wash them. It's not like I suffer from a lack of heels to wear.

The top was last seen here - the bright sunny colours make me feel happy!

I also got some new outerwear accessories at Plum earlier this week:

It's that 80s shade of green - really vibrant. The gloves and scarf are acrylic wool; the gloves were $4 and the scarf was $7. I love long gloves.

And if I'm going to do yellow and green, then I have to wear the yellow leather jacket:

Woo! Bright!

My new little wrist-twist:

I like the neutral metallic leather and the studs - cool clasp, too. It was $7, regular $45 (I hit the Club Monaco accessory sale selection again). Gotta have my rock 'n' roll, man!

I needed a) heels with these long jeans and b) comfy shoes and c) something that went with the outfit. My python wedges fit the bill:

I totally cheated and wore taupe socks with them! Bwahahaha! The jeans were so long, you couldn't see them, even when I was sitting down.

I also wanted to wear this awesome new belt buckle (I just attached it to the belt that I use for this buckle worn here):

I'm a huge fan of pin-up girls - and I fell in love with this lovely beauty. This buckle was 1/2 price for $12.50. I got it at the same store where I got all the shoes.

Top (Liz & Co.), jeans (Dish), shoes (Aerosoles), gloves/scarf (Plum), jacket (Danier Leather).

A very Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers, readers and commenters. I am honoured to know you all, and thankful for your kind words, encouragement and I celebrate your general awesomeness. I hope you have a safe, happy and fun-filled evening tomorrow night!

I will be posting my New Year's Eve outfit (we're throwing a party!) after the fact...and stay tuned for the 2010 Major Awards!

S.U.C.E.B.W.E.

I felt like my outfit was very Style Underdog today - not really sure why, but what the hell! It's S.U.C.E.B.W.E.:

Style Underdog's
Color Explosion Birthday Week
Extravaganza!
S.U.C.E.B.W.E

Happy S.U.C.E.B.W.E.! (edit: I am so bad with acronyms. I think I have them all correct now)

I felt great in this outfit all day, aside from forgetting every time I wear them that these shoes always slip in the heels. Must remember to buy heel grips!

I just love the leopard top (first seen here), and this is also the second wearing of the royal purple pencil skirt (previously here).

I tried to emulate SU's brilliant posing:
Hmmm. I need sunglasses.

I haven't worn these shoes in over a year! Wow, that was an oversight.

The stuff:

Mmm...those are such a nice shape. I love my Calvins.

The shiny stuff:

Mom's vintage chain belt, my spring ring and my classic real gold giant hoops. Love.

Jacket (Banana Republic, thrifted), blouse (Planet, consignment), skirt (Jacob), shoes (Calvin Klein "Gabby"), belt (70s, Mom's), ring (Aldo Accessories), earrings (gift from L).

Tweed and Eyelet

There's nothing particularly exciting about this outfit:
New black eyelet button-down shirt (100% cotton, my favourite Club Monaco) that I picked up in the thrift store for $14.95. My tweed skirt that Celia gave me ages ago (seen here and here).

I added a red cami under the shirt for a bit of visual interest:

My hairdryer broke this morning - it now only shoots out cold air at a very low speed. My hair is now flat, arg.

Add in the bigass shoes (last seen here):

And Grandma J's lovely necklace.

A close-up:

I love that. The beads are heavy (glass? jet?) and warm up as I wear it.

Inigo obliged by being cute:

And now I have to get into my Hallowe'en costume for Book Club! I'll be wearing it to work tomorrow as well.

What are you dressing up as for Hallowe'en?

Blouse (Club Monaco, thrifted), cami (Mexx), skirt (Mexx, gift from Celia), shoes (Qupid, consignment), necklace (vintage 50s? Grandma J).

Much Floatiness

Finally, it feels like summer is here! I really shouldn't be complaining about it being late - yesterday was the solstice/first day of summer, after all.

Most of my outfits this week are planned to be nice and cool to wear - my office area has floor to ceiling windows, and that ceiling is over 20'. When the sun hits it...whooo! Feels like early menopause...uh, not that I know...(not yet).
I like seeing how other fashion bloggers do the drapey cardigan, so I was inspired to wear this thin mesh one with a belt. I usually tie it in front. What do you think?

Oh, before I forget, Lorena, a "beeline" or to "make a beeline" is to head straight for something without getting sidetracked. It's from how bees fly straight back to the hive. There, the origin of an English phrase for you!

The stuff:
Last weekend, I hauled all of my summer sandals out from the depths of my closet. I forgot I had these!

A close-up:

I've worn all of these lots.

Cardigan (Guess, consignment), cami (Nygard), skirt (Nine West), shoes (Chinese Laundry, consignment), belt (Nygard), necklace (Melanie Lyne), ring (Nine West), earrings (don't remember).

Gold Digger

I was in a huge hurry last night after work - I had to dash to Book Club, so I only had time to take my pictures. I felt very retro:
Do you not love that green skirt? It's a Banana Republic, from Spring 2007, and was $18. This just reminds me of why I love shopping second-hand: why would I bother to go try and find something new when I can find something old? I snicker when the magazines tell me that full skirts are in style...yeah, they've been "in" a few times.

I didn't wear a sweater with this during the day at work, but it was a bit windy last night, so I chucked on this sweater:

I dug out my summer shoes last weekend, so these lovely ones are reappearing.

The stuff:

They're woven straw with leather accents. Shamefully, I still had my turquoise toenails from our party a few weeks ago. Fortunately, I always stash a bottle of quick-dry nail polish (I love Rimmel's 60 Second) in my desk at work...so *swoop slap* I did my toenails when I arrived at work.

A close-up of the jewelry:

I've had that pin forever. Mom gave it to me (as opposed to my usual "borrowing" from her jewelry box) to hold the neckline of a stripey tunic closed - I was 11 or 12 years old and starting to get my boobs...and feeling very self-conscious about the low slash neckline. I'm wearing it the same way - the "boob button" on the blouse refused to stay shut, so this little shovel kept it secure all day and evening.

Blouse (no label, vintage, thrifted), skirt (Banana Republic, consignment), shoes (Franco Sarto), belt (Le Chateau), cardigan (Express, thrifted), earrings (vintage), ring (70s vintage, Sarah Coventry), pin (Mom's, at least 70s).

Summery and Shiny

For Julia who asked, the temperatures are in the low 70s here (highs of 17 or so for those of you who use Celcius). So yeah, I'm still hauling out my sweaters and tweeds:
I got the shoes in a thrift shop this weekend for only $8! They still had the Winners price tag on them: $50.00. And to top it off, the next day I saw the same pair (different size) in my favourite consignment shop for $32! Score!

The purple tank peeking out is also new. It still had the tags on it - it was $15.

The stuff:
Oh! Shiny! Caw caw! Look at all those glorious sequins!

I do love the cool colours in the shoes: yellow, green and purple.

A close-up of the jewelry:

The necklace and earrings are cheapy-cheapy, but the bracelet is vintage (Mom's).

This is the last day of the Summer Black-Out, so I'll be back...in black (or not).

Cardigan (no label, consignment), tank (Costa Blanca, consignment), skirt (Precis Petite), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, thrifted), necklace (Le Chateau), earrings (Aldo Accessories), bracelet (Trifari, vintage, Mom's).

Double Challenge: Summer Black-Out and Summer Capsule Wardrobe - Day 4

I went to see "Sex and the City 2" with Elaine last night (didn't like it - but I got to see Wendy B's earrings!!), so by the time I got home I was too tired to post my outfit for Day 4 of the challenges.
I dressed up, of course, so layered the silk top over Day 1's dress. Unfortunately, when I planned all these outfits last Sunday, the weather was gorgeous and warm...but this week it's been rainy and cold. I'm sorry, I had to include outerwear:

This brown sweater was necessary for me to go outdoors! I hope Jane won't begrudge me outerwear (I had to put on a jacket today/Friday as well).

The stuff:

Neutral shoes, my groovy leather cuff (the dark pattern is green, not black!), and my new belt from Dorothy Perkins in London. I do love a bigass belt.

Dress (Maggy London), blouse (Zara, consignment), shoes (Seychelles, consignment), belt (Dorothy Perkins), cuff (Catalyst Leather), earrings (gift from L), cardigan (Jacob).

Paris - La Tour Eiffel, La Seine, Notre Dame

We were off to Paris on May 12th! I was full-on sick at this point, oh woe is me. But I was greatly cheered to see our first-class train car:
That nice gentleman took a picture of L and I:

If you ever have to get from London to Paris, I highly recommend the Eurostar train - holy smokes, it's fast! Only two hours, city to city! I sprung for first-class tickets - what the heck, we were on holiday (and I'd booked them months ago, so they were already paid off before we even left home).

We got fed a fabulous breakfast:

That's mine (you can see I've snagged L's yoghurt, heh heh). That's a salmon mousse omlette with potatoes and mushrooms - and real cutlery too!

Poor L went with the cheese breakfast:

Three measley grapes? Lame!

Because the trip was so fast, we were able to have the whole afternoon to explore! We stayed in the Trocadero area, only a couple of blocks from...

Wow, so amazing. All the plum/cherry trees were in bloom too. We decided not to go up the Eiffel Tower - too pricey.

We walked along the left bank of the Seine, thinking it was only a mile or two to reach Notre Dame Cathedral. But no...

That shot reminded me of the scene in "Les Miserables" where Javert throws himself into the river.

After over an hour, we arrived at Notre Dame:

See that crosspiece between the towers? and the top of the tower on the right? We went up there!

But first, we went inside:

It was gorgeous. I love old churches.

We waited in line for the tower tour for about 40 minutes. Was it worth it?

Heck, yeah!

Forgive me, I love gargoyles. I took a lot more pictures than these few. Here's a view from the very top of the tower:

You can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance on the left side. That red arrow is pointing to the "Place du Wipeout", which is where I tripped and fell in front of hundreds of people, skinning my knee and ripping my tights, and resulting in me having a bloody knee. Of course, I popped right back up: "I'm fine!" and suffered for the rest of the day. Gah, I'm so clumsy.

You can see that it was a pretty cold and hazy day. We did not have great weather while in Paris.

Here, I'm climbing into the top of that tower, where the bell is:

You can see a bit of my skinned knee. I'm also totally bundled up in my toque, scarf and gloves. I'm so glad I took them!

This is my favourite gargoyle:

Because I have a replica of him!

That's my "Smaug", and he was made locally - he's a limited edition casting. I got him about 17 years ago.

And now back to fashion!

I dyed my hair last night and it came out a lot darker than normal (ah well, it will fade). I also have bad hat-head because I got caught in the rain on the way to work. Enough of rainy spring! I want summer!

Check out the shoes! I got them in Paris, near Montmarte (near the Moulin Rouge). There were tons of cheesy prom gown stores and cheap shoe stores. I fell in love with these - only 29 Euros (less than $40), so I'm sure they won't last more than a year.

The stuff:

But they are gorgeous, aren't they? They smell (vinyl) and they make my feet sweat.

A close-up of the jewelry:

I've worn the pins before, but the ring is new - I got it at the Louvre gift shop (more on the Louvre tomorrow). It's inspired by the Russian exhibit they had on - we didn't view it, but that's the kind of souvenir I like to buy. It was 35 Euros, is gold plated and that's an enamelled "stone" on it. I like the thickness and the scrolly pattern on it.

Vest (Le Chateau, gift from Ruth), blouse (Vero Moda), skirt (Mexx), shoes (Belle Women), skinny pin (80s vintage), big pin (The Bay), ring (The Louvre Museum).