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).

My "Sexy Secretary" Look (and the Plastic Bottle Sweater)

I read with interest Sal's post (and the ensuing comments) on the "Sexy Secretary" look. Although I'm not a secretary, I often wear what I think of as that look, with fitted, body-conscious tops, pencil skirts and heels, often with some sort of fancy hosiery. I never, ever refer to it as "sexy secretary" - I just think it. It's a look that makes me feel very feminine and powerful.

I also want to mention that I do not work directly with the public - all my interaction at work is either with my co-workers (in person) or my clients (phone and written correspondence), so I can push the envelope a bit. I would not dress as "over the top" as I do in a job where I might deal directly with the public, like a bank or a law firm. Ya gotta know your audience. I also want to give a shout-out to my girl, Bianca, who so kindly pointed out in the comments of the above-linked post, "my girl Sheila above indicated that she wears SS often, however, I read her blog daily and would never consider her outfits inappropriate for work or fetishizing in any way at all. " What a sweetheart! Thank you.

Anyway, food for thought. I am always careful not to be too tight or revealing, but I personally think it's okay to express yourself through your clothes, and dammit, I am a sexy woman!

The outfit today features my new aqua sweater worn under my plaid bustier, and a nice (not tight) pencil skirt. The sweater was $5 in my favourite store that I missed so much last year, Dots - they sell off manufacturer's samples cheapy-cheapy.

I wore brown fishnets instead of black (I find black is too harsh against my skin), and check out my new shoes: Drool! They are Guess, and were about $40 - they are another of the 5 pairs I got just after Christmas with gift money. The insides of them are red - how awesome is that?

The stuff:

I also love that they are real patent leather (not plastic) and that the heel is not too high (about 2.5 "). They were super comfy.

A close-up of my new jewelry:

It's by Foxy Originals (the "o" in Foxy is a star), a Canadian company out of Toronto. They were 50% off (about $16 for the necklace and $13 for the earrings, I think). The necklace is from the "Enchanted Forest " collection and is called the Arbor Necklace. I don't see the earrings on their website, so they must be older. They are clock hands, see?

The sweater is actually made from recycled plastic bottles! It is very thin but warm.

I actually bought one in a nice grape green, but when I went to pack it this morning, I discovered I'd grabbed an XL by mistake. Whoops!

Sweater (Kersh), bustier (Le Chateau, consignment), skirt (Jacob, consignment), hose (probably Hue), shoes (Guess, gift money), earrings/necklace (Foxy Originals), belt (some tourist shop in Times Square).

Woo, Wasn't That a Party?

In case you were wondering, I am now 42 years old. This is an interesting age. I am 21 twice (woo hoo!). And 42 is also the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life in Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy":

"Forty-two, " said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

But what was the question? We don't know - but what an answer!

Okay, let's get to The Dress:
I know! Isn't it killer? The seaming is amazing, and I love the "red storm" pattern of it.

L and I love to dress up for parties - check out the zoot suit he found in Seattle (accessorized by yours truly):

Yeah, baby! We really cut a rug in our fab party clothes!

Practicing my dancing:

Look at the heels on those babies - they killed my feet, though. Note to self: get some more Dr. Scholl's inserts.

The stuff:

All new black accessories from my fave place for good cheap jewellry, Le Chateau. The two bangles were on sale for $4.99, the earrings were also $4.99, and the ring was $15.

A close-up:

We had about 20 people, and the last of them left at 3 am.

Oh, I got a Winners gift card from the Winesday Women! More "banned" shopping! Hurray!

Dress (London Times), Fishnets (Hue), shoes (Calvin Klein), accessories (Le Chateau).