Old Lady Chic?

I found this awesome skirt in a thrift shop on Friday afternoon. It's Precis Petite, which happens to be the same brand as this jacket (I have the skirt that matches the jacket too - seen here with the same blouse, belt and flower). This lovely camel skirt was only $7.50, which is oh, about $150 more than what I paid for the jacket/skirt suit and they were on sale 70% off!

The skirt is an interesting length, but I think it's saved by the slight flare at the knee - it reminds me of those 50s "wiggle" dresses. It's a very soft faux suede.

I haven't worn this jacket since last December, as it's rather warm. This is the first time I've done it without the faux fur collar.

I felt a little weird about the leg business, since these are actually...get ready for it...

*gasp!* Knee highs! I'm officially an old lady, haha!

Actually, when I bought these at Winners my intention was to wear them like socks. The cuff at the top is a really nice lace, and the knee-highs themselves are quite thick, without a lot of stretch. Check 'em out:

It's a nice olive green sort-of plaid pattern.

The stuff:

My lovely thrifted shoes and blouse (that was $2 some months ago).

Jacket (Precis Petite), blouse (no label, vintage, thrifted), skirt (Precis Petite, thrifted), knee-highs (Winners), shoes (Steve Madden, thrifted), belt (Nygard), rose (Roberta's Hats), earrings (Renoir? vintage, Grandma J).

More Snow! And Many Adventures Today

Today's forecast: more snow! Yikes! With this in mind, again, I dressed warmly:
A whole lotta layerin' goin' on. I have a long-sleeved tee under my camel dress (first seen here), with my denim skirt underneath that (blatantly violating the company's dress code, but what are they going to do? Fire me?). I also have on tights, knee-high socks and boots.

Today is a bit nutty. I have a dentist appointment that takes me an hour to get to by bus - and it's in the middle of the afternoon (because I scheduled it when I thought I would be out of work), so I have to get back to work after...another hour+ by bus.
Then I have an eyebrow waxing (my one luxury) downtown, and then it's our fantasy football pool re-draft! I am in first place (wee!) with a few people breathing down my neck, so I need to do some prep work. Spreadsheets and such.

The stuff:

I love that belt buckle. It rules!

I've had this necklace for years:

I like that the stones are real stones, not plastic.

The leg business:

I wore these boots last winter and they are great in the ice and snow.

I am taking tomorrow and Friday off work, to watch football all day with my guys (I'm making turkey burgers in honour of US Thanksgiving) and then hang out with Ruth on Friday - I'm also going to the theatre with Mom and my nieces. And I have Weight Watchers training all weekend! Crazy!

Happy Thanksgiving to my US friends!

Dress (Coupe), tee (Press), denim skirt (Bebe, swap from Caro), tights (Voila), socks (Point Zero, I think), boots (Indigo by Clark's, consignment), necklace (Plum), belt (Shi Studio).

Fancy Outfit, a Casual Outfit and Book Blurbs

We went to a special event at the Art Gallery on Friday night. As usual, it was full of arty types (many being obnoxious twits) - I enjoy wandering through the Gallery and checking out the exhibits, but my favourite thing is checking out all the outfits. I spotted 12 pretentious hats and one hat worn non-ironically (our friend Ross, who wears his ball cap everywhere).

I decided to go with black, even though 90% of the women there also wear it. Last time, I wore a very bold outfit, but the time before I did black as well. This is my 3rd wearing of this dress in 3 years (last time here, with pants). That's pretty pathetic, but it's a tricky dress to wear. You can't do a necklace because of the funnel neckline, it's REALLY short, and its's 100% wool, so no stretch. Not exactly versatile.

I do regret walking the 3 blocks to and from the Gallery. My feet really hurt by the end of the night, and no amount of fancy cocktails numbed that.

Dress (Studio Holt Renfrew, consignment), shoes (JLo), earrings/ring (Lavishy).

What I wore to Weight Watchers yesterday: I also wore it out for lunch and for a wee shop around town with L (I bought my winter supply of tights). I wore my black leather jacket overtop.

Sweater (Press), skirt (Jacob Connexion, consignment), tights (Hue), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, gift from Cat), scarf (Metrowear).

I finally finished my book yesterday, and read another comic: Magic Teeth Dailies #37 by Gareth Kyle Gaudin, and "Farewell Summer" by Ray Bradbury. Magic Teeth Dailies #37
I have been collecting Gareth's daily comics pretty much from the beginning (I bought issues 1-4 at the same time, and have been picking up the rest since they've been published). I am a big fan of the Perogy Cat, and of Gareth, who is a nice guy (as is his lovely wife and mum, both of whom I know, although I have not yet met his daughter, Enid). All of my copies are signed by Gareth when I buy them, and a few of them have personal inscriptions to me. Someday, they'll be worth something!

Stats: Read this in about 30 minutes November 7, 2010.

Blurb: Same as the other MTDs, the cartoons are typically one-offs. Hilariously foul, inappropriate and funny as heck. Love.

Farewell Summer
I have been a fan of Ray Bradbury since I was a kid. I have 25 of Mr. Bradbury's books and love most of them.

Stats: Hardcover, 210 pages. Started Oct 19th, finished Nov 7, 2010.

Blurb: This is the 50 years later sequel to "Dandelion Wine" the now-classic coming-of-age book that Bradbury is probably best known for. It's a pretty slim sequel (apparently it was originally part of "Dandelion Wine" and his publishers told him to drop this section), but as viewed as part of DW it makes more sense than if read alone. Although I love the feel of his books, this was not his best.

I fall into Bradbury's language and cadence very easily (he is a big influence on my own creative writing), and blasted through this in about an hour yesterday. The only reason it took me so long to finish is that I have been doing crossword puzzles before bed instead of reading.


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As I will be officially out of work next week, and not dressing up on a daily basis as much, I'm open for questions, suggestions and requests! Tell me what you'd like to see, throw some questions at me, and I'll do my best to create an outfit, answer your request or address your burning questions in a post!

Olive Flapper and Yes, More Cat Pictures

Today is a bit of a different look for me - I tend to favour figure-conscious outfits that highlight my hourglass shape. However, I fell in love with this dress:
I know it looks like a big rectangle of blah, but wait! First I have to smell these flowers that L bought me:

Okay, now let's look at the dress. It's long and lean with a dropped waist (the black vinyl "belt" is sewn on and has long fringed ends). It has a high neckline and is sleeveless...yet it's made of wool and is super thick, like a nice blanket for TV-watching.

It also has a wrap-around bottom half:

Showing my navy blue full-length slip and my funky brown lace-net tights. I like the granny boot-ish Oxfords with this ensemble.

I was concerned about being chilled so I took a thin scarf to work:

But wait, there's more! Check out the lovely detail on the bottom:

With my hand underneath to show the cut-out bits. It's sewn in a dark brown. The edging is just stitched (not wrapped over) and all of the seams are totally invisible. I showed them to someone at work who sews and she was VERY impressed.

It was only $26.95 and still had the tags on it!

I couldnt' find much on the brand online, but from an image search, they seem to have been making dresses since the '70s. As this one is size 10, I am wondering if it's actually from the mid- to late-80s (since I am a size 6 in today's sizes, generally). Either way, doesn't look like it's ever been worn!

The stuff:

I've had the shoes for a while (seen here and here) - not sure how much longer I'll keep them as they rub my feet a bit.

The accessories:

Airplanes and swirly patterns. Happy!

Dress (Kenar, thrifted), tights (Silks by Phantom), shoes (Max Studio, consignment), earrings (Plum, gift from L), cuff (Catalyst Reaction Leather).

Did I mention cat pictures? Someone has been playing in boxes a lot lately:

The upside-down box with the red on it has been Inigo's favourite toy for about a month, but last night, he decide to sit inside this box...which is a smidge too small for him.

We had a bunch of friends over - we were all laughing at him:

He looks like a fuzzy gumdrop.

Later on, he just lounged about:

"My box!"

Weekend Wear and Two Book Blurbs

We had a nice quiet weekend - I only went out to Weight Watchers, lunch and a brief foray into one of my favourite thrift stores (new-to-me outfits coming this week!). I like picking a dress for WW - they're nice and light!
I last wore this dress here - but the tights are the scene-stealer for sure.

It was a little chilly in the morning, so I loaded up with my beret, fingerless gloves and cashmere scarf, as well as my leather jacket:

I didn't need the beret or gloves in the afternoon at all.

Dress (Gap, consignment), tights (Trasparenze), boots (Aldo, consignment), jacket (online auction), scarf (Club Monaco), beret (Jacob, consignment), gloves (Parkhurst).

I finished a couple of books this week: "How to Be a Budget Fashionista" by Kathryn Finney, and "Going Solo" by Roald Dahl.

"How to Be a Budget Fashionista"

Ruth gave me this book for my birthday, with a note inside: "Read it, then write your own, Sheila-style!" I have to say...I could do better.

Stats: 218 pages. Started around October 10th, finished early last week.

Blurb: This how-to guide seems to be intended for fashion lovers who have no idea how to shop, don't know their own style and are completely clueless when it comes to fashion. I feel like it missed out on its real target audience: women who already know all that stuff, but who now want to be fashionistas on a budget. Crucial difference there.

I already know my style (I don't need pointers on how a white blouse and an LBD are essential to any woman's wardrobe) and are there really that many women out there who don't know a bargain when they see one? Do they really need tips like "Shop the sale racks" and "The importance of undergarments"? I don't.

What I would have liked to have read about is more along the lines of "How to find the treasure in a pile of junk at the thrift store" or "How to know when consignment items are overpriced" or even "How to negotiate better deals from stores." There are only 5 pages dedicated to second-hand shopping!

This book is so light it practically floats, and there's a lot of filler like charts (this column is expensive vs. this column is cheap) and little somewhat amusing anecdotes that don't really relate to shopping on a budget. Even the "case studies" are thin - someone looking for ideas on what to wear to a high school reunion is told to wear an LBD and pumps. Um, yeah.

"Going Solo"

Most people know Roald Dahl's children's books ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach", for example), but he was also an amazing writer of adult fiction ("My Uncle Oswald" is one of the funniest, raunchiest novels I've ever read). He also wrote several collections of short stories, which have just been reissued - they are wonderful and well worth looking for. Dahl brings his slightly gruesome and comic touch to everything he writes, and I've collected nearly all of his books over the years.

Stats: 210 pages. Started and finished within the last 2 weeks (early to mid-October).

Blurb: "Going Solo" is the sequel to "Boy" - they are the two autobiographies of Dahl. "Boy" covers his childhood and "Going Solo" covers his experience living and working in Africa before learning to be a pilot and fighting in WWII. His tales are absolutely amazing and are not at all tedious or boring - he is an expert at seeing what is the most interesting in a story and at evoking that experience for the reader. I'm not usually a huge fan of books about war, but this one is superb. Loved it and devoured it quickly.

Late Weekend Edition and a Book Blurb

I had a really busy weekend, following an exhausting week. I need another weekend!

Getting some catching up going on here, this is what I wore to Weight Watchers, brunch out, and to Winesday with my wonderful gals:
It was still a little chilly on the legs but not too bad. That's my corduroy skirt that I last wore here.

Long-sleeved top (Mexx), t-shirt (BCBG Max Azria, consignment), skirt (Jacob Connexion, consignment), socks (Hue), books (Aldo, consignment).

Yesterday I had "Day with Auntie Sheila" - I do this for my nieces (the two eldest ones) every year on their birthdays. I had my day with Hannah (8 years old) a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday was Zoe's turn (11 years old).

We did High Tea at a local swanky old hotel, so of course, Crazy Auntie had to get her funk on:
My fab Betsey Johnson dress getting a daytime workout (previously seen here, here and here).

I had fun adding the double-layered tights with it:

They were a little on the warm side later in the day, though.

Dress (Betsey Johnson), t-shirt (SportMart), belt (gift from Ruth), boots (Aldo, consignment), necklace (The Bay).

I finished another graphic novel a few weeks ago and forgot to write about it (I've been "off" reading the last little while and have been doing crossword puzzles to make myself dozy before bed. I go in cycles this way).

Kelly lent me this one (he's been reading my Sandmans) after he read my Jeff Loeb Batman titles. It's "Arkham Asylum: Living Hell" by Dan Slott and Ryan Sook:

I enjoy the newer Batman series (much like the new series of "Batman" movies, they are darker and not as campy as the originals). This one actually barely features the Caped Crusader.

Stats: Uh, it's a graphic novel, so about 4 comic books' worth of pages. Started around October 1st and finished a couple nights later.

Blurb: As I mentioned, this novel really doesn't feature Batman (he makes a token appearance near the end). It takes place almost entirely within the walls of the infamous Arkham Asylum, which is where all the psychotic bad guys in the Batman universe end up if they have good lawyers (if you saw "Batman Begins", the Scarecrow ends up in Arkham). The plot of this story revolves around a rich tycoon who decides that pretending to be insane is going to be easier on him than going to jail, after he's caught as a criminal. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

I found the story interesting and full of little twists and turns - but be warned, it's violent. The illustrations are very well done and evoke the minds of the madmen; slightly warped and askew versions of reality. If you enjoy the re-booted Batman, this is a fun side-story.

Attack of the 50 Foot...Alice

Thank you, everyone, for your very kind words, good wishes and hugs for us and Othello - it's been a tough couple of days, and your words have meant so much. Our poor little guy doesn't have a lot of time left and we're just trying to make it the best for him, no matter how hard it is on us.
This picture is from last month (what can I say, we take a lot of pictures of our cats). Othello is sitting on L's lap while he paints. This shot captures Othello's general crankiness well. He's begrudgingly affectionate with us.

And on to fashion! If the world gives you lemons, suck 'em up and look fabulous!

I greatly enjoyed this outfit - I felt very Alice in Wonderland, but also Tom Waits' "Alice", which is one of my favourite albums and songs by him. The strange, melancholic tune suited my mood on Friday.

That's my old work-horse polka dot dress. I've worn it a LOT (although the only pictures I could find are here last May, and here in March 2007).

The white floofiness is this ruffly ivory skirt (worn once, here, last August), which I've been meaning to wear again. I threw caution to the wind since it was Casual Friday and did the crazy painty tights again.

And finally worked down to my flats:

I forgot my cool green and pink ring, but otherwise I really liked all the stuff.

A close-up:

Can you ever go wrong with pearls and Audrey?

Inigo was so cute today - I had to take a picture of him on L's lap:

He's sitting like that on me as I type this. *smile* We're making sure we give him a lot of love right now too.

Wish me luck! It's the big 10K race tomorrow morning!

Dress (Do & Be), skirt (no label, consignment), tights (Hue), obi (Smoking Lily, consignment), shoes (Franco Sarto, consignment), pearls (Eaton's, '90s), various charms.

Floral Legs

More of my weekend shopping loot! Today, it's this new ultra-thin silk and cashmere sweater ($18), a necklace and ring from the $10 grab bag, and these crazy-ass tights:
Can you believe people actually thought that a) those were tattoos and b) I had painted the roses on my legs? Uh, yeah.

I really like the sleeves on the top - this is the pink top I've been looking for for ages!

The ring is a nice simple hunk of shiny, and the necklace will be good layered with some pearls or something.

The stuff:

Those ar the tights at the bottom so you can see that they have a bit of purple in them. Of course, I had to do purple shoes!

Sweater (Esprit, consignment), skirt (Kensie), tights (Hue), shoes (Friis and Co., gift from L), necklace/ring (consignment), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Colour Matchy Fear - Gone!

I had a little mini-epiphany last night while throwing today's outfit together: I've lost my fear of not being matchy! Example: in the pre-blog days, I would definitely have bought this skirt:
But I would have been stymied by what to wear with it, in a tizzy over finding the right blue to match it, and probably stuck with wearing only black or white (or a matching blue, if I found it) with it. And in fact, the first time I wore this skirt, it was with just plain ol' black.

The horror!

I stood there in the closet, staring at the skirt, and then it struck me: red looks great with blue! And I grabbed the red shoes, then the (different shade of) red top, the lacy nylons and the black cami.

The stuff:

Ah, Fluevogs, how I love thee.

I also felt very daring in mixing up my metals and colours in my accessories:

The brooch is done in copper (and the blues don't match the skirt!), the earrings are actually dark orange, and the ring is a deep blood red.

I felt great in this, but I had a crappy day. It didn't help that I got rained on while walking home. Ah, well...maybe there will be sun tomorrow.

Cardigan (Vero Moda), knit top (Planet), skirt (Ricki's, consignment), nylons (I forget), shoes (Fluevogs), earrings and brooch (Plum), ring (Kenneth Cole).

Casual Friday - Uniform, and Special Occasion - Ronnie's 40th!

Friday was a busy day! First of all, I had some GREAT news: the project that I have been doing at work that was hugely stressing me out for the past 3 months? Tanked! Gone! I am back to doing what I am good at, what I get results at. I am so relieved.

I also really liked my outfit, my usual casual uniform:
Long sleeved tee: check! Graphic tee: check! Denim pencil skirt: check! Funky leg look: check! Great footwear: check! Polished but cool accessories: check!

I added a tweed blazer and fun bag (it was very warm all day - this is the only outerwear I wore):

I think I could put this look together in my sleep now. Heh. I used to really struggle with finding a casual look that suited my personality (a little bit of rocker chick, slightly sophisticated, yet polished), but this uniform is very comfortable and fits the bill.

These low boots worked great for showing off my knee high socks - and yes, I am bare-legged!

Friday night was our friend Ronnie's 40th birthday party. Happy Birthday, Ron! Ron's a good ol' boy, a real down-home Canadian, and he's married to my dear friend Caro. If you wanted to meet someone really Canadian, Ron is it. Hockey jerseys, jeans, and lots of beer and distilled liquor - that's a typical Ronnie party.

But of course, I prefer to stick out in a crowd:

That's my new green satin off-the-shoulder Club Monaco dress - it was $40 in one of my favourite consignment stores. Isn't it gorgeous? It looked like nothing on the hanger - that's why you need to try stuff on!

The back:

You know, I love this new lighting technique from Kasmira, but now you can see how pasty-pale I really am!

I did do a little dancing in the kitchen once I had some wine in me:

Rebecca, I don't recommend you wear shoes like these! Those heels are 6" less a 3/4" platform.

Shout out to Anita, a lovely woman I met at the party...one of those kindred spirits.

L also dressed up, although not as much as me. He did his rocker look (as demonstrated in "How to Dress Up Your Man"):

Rock on, love!

He's doing a dark blue velvet blazer, a patterned shirt, his naughty lady belt buckle, distressed jeans and red Fluevogs. Doesn't he look great?

Tweed jacket (Jacob Connexion, consignment), graphic tee (Truly, Madly, Deeply..., consignment), skirt (InWear, consignment), socks (don't remember), boots (Hispanitas, consignment), necklace (Plum), belt (gift from Mom), earrings (Plum, gift from L).

Dress (Club Monaco, consignment), fishnets (Hue), shoes (JLo), earrings (Plum, gift from L), bracelet (The Bay), ring (Sarah Coventry, vintage 70s).

Terrapin Legs - My Stab at a Conservative Outfit

The president of my company was coming to my department today, so I thought I ought to dress not quite so whackadoo as I usually do:
It's the tights. They are still a little cuckoo for most people (but I like them). They reminded me of terrapins, the stripey-ness. I kept asking people all day, "Do my legs remind you of terrapin heads?"

Sadly, I think most people don't know what a terrapin is. But oh well. I knew.

Oh, and I barely saw the president. Effort wasted.

The stuff:

These shoes have just about hit the end of their life with me...the heels are scuffed (they're not leather), and some of the colour is flaking off. But I love them! This is at least the 18th time I've worn these on the blog, and I've worn them tons more for weekends. It will be sad to see them go...but of course, that means I can look for some better quality ones to replace them with. I think I've definitely gotten my wear out of them, considering they cost only $15!

Jacket (Smart Set), cami (Reitman's, consignment), skirt (Tobias), shoes (Wild Diva), wrist wrap (Shi Studio), earrings (The Cobbler).