A Spring Bouquet

I felt very Spring-y today, although the weather did not cooperate. I got soaked when I headed out at noon to go do my Tuesday WW group meeting.

I liked that there are really no neutrals at all in this outfit: I got the top a couple of weekends ago. Normally, I would shy away from Tabi (isn't that an old-lady brand? No offense to old ladies, hee, I'm well on my way!), but I was really attracted to the abstract paint-y look of the pattern. It reminds me of tulips and poppies in the rain. How apropos, considering the weather!

It's a cotton/Lycra blend, and is a wrap cut (my favourite, works great on me). I think it was $14.98. I liked how it looked with this bright purple skirt (first seen here): I've only worn the skirt once because it's not lined and it's also a cotton blend. I did have a bit of hosiery creep with my nude microfishnets today. Most annoying.

I love how this all looks with the bright blue shoes. Stuff:

These are one of my very favourite pairs. Good thing they didn't sustain any damage from the rain.

A close-up:

The pewter rose has a wrist-strap and is made of leather. I bought it in a consignment store for about $15.

Regarding Fluevogs, because I have been blathering about them for a couple of weeks now, the lovely Terri of RAGS against the MACHINE asked me yesterday, "Can you remember how and when you first discovered fluevogs?"

Terri, I can't actually remember NOT being aware of Fluevogs, at least since I was a teen, back in the mid-80s. It was the height of the punk era, and supremely pointy-toed shoes were everywhere, and the brand everyone wanted was Fluevog.

My best friend Lynette and I went to Vancouver, to the original Granville Street store, just after it opened in 1986. We couldn't afford anything (I recall that we ate at McDonald's and I bought this vintage bathrobe - yes, that's me in about 1986-7) except our ferry fare there and back.

I remember walking up Granville (it was pretty scuzzy back in the day, with peep shows and head shops) and then gasping at the window. Flames! Pointy-toed shoes with chains that went from the toes to the ankles (oh, how I wanted those)! They were the most amazing shoes I'd ever seen. The store wasn't open (must have been a Sunday), but we pressed up against the glass exclaiming over the wild styles.

I lost touch with Lynette, I worked for minimum wage for over a decade, had an ex, and then I met L back in 1995. Fluevogs remained unattainable - and not just because only one store sold them in my town. I just couldn't afford them. Then about 5 years ago, when I first got my last job, L and I went to Vancouver for our anniversary, and the first of our annual pilgrimmages to Fluevog was born. L bought me the pair I wore yesterday, and he's been steadily buying them for himself over the years (I think he has 6 or 7 pairs). We always go to the Granville Street store, and every time I remember that very first trip to Fluevog.

Blouse (Tabi, consignment), skirt (Jacob), shoes (Feet First), cuff (consignment), earrings (don't remember).

A Fluevog A Day - Listen Ups Ivanna

I have embraced Casual Friday as a way to play a little bit with the business casual dress code. Maybe I'll wear something made of denim (a dress, a skirt, a vest, a jacket, jeans) or maybe I'll just wear something a bit...different. Today's Fluevog is an old favourite: my Listen Up Ivannas.

However, the real star of the outfit is the pants. But onto those in a minute. Here's the outfit: Pretty sedate for me, yeah? Nice brown pants, black cardi, pretty top with some sparkle, and oh, check out the shoes:

It poured all day today and my feet got wet every time I went outside. I have thick socks on now.

I got this top at Plum in their closing out sale. It was $18.00. I love the pattern and the loose tunic style. I don't have a lot in this cut, so it's been a bit of a challenge to find something to wear it with.

Yes, these are real leather pants! I found them in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago at a retro/vintage/thrift clothing store (the same store where I got my python jacket and my vintage Gianfranco Ferre pencil skirt).

They felt wonderful on the rack and when I tried them on...well, they fit like they were made for me. The length is perfect, they don't sag anywhere and they're not too tight (they're lined from the waist to just below the knee). They were $59.99, and worth every penny. It's hard to see here, but the colour is a rich cognac brown.

And they do amazing things for my butt:

I felt powerful in these all day. No one said a thing to me, although when I was standing at a stop-light a lady asked me if I worked in Melanie Lyne (a clothing store that caters to middle-aged rich women - they have nice things, but I have only bought jewelry there) because I perfectly had their "look." I think it was a compliment.

They are way better than my last attempt at a (p)leather pant.

When I got them home, I went through the pockets and found this piece of paper:

At first I thought it was blank, but then I saw very faded printing:It's a receipt from Finale Bar in Cambridge, Massachussets (which apparently, still exists). Not a huge deal (although cool that my pants travelled all the way to Vancouver), until I spent some time figuring out what else was printed on the receipt.

The total on the bill is $19.85 for a drink and white chocolate cheesecake, but the interesting thing is the date of the receipt: Dec 31 '02, at 10:37 PM. Someone was wearing these pants on New Year's Eve 2002, and paid for her food and drink before midnight! And then she obviously never wore them again, because this receipt remained in the pants' rear pocket for over 8 years.

Isn't that neat? The stories these pants could tell! I wonder if she had a bad date, or left to go to a(nother) party? Maybe these pants had such a bad association with her NYE that she never wanted to wear them again and they sat in her closet accusingly until she threw them in a garbage bag and left them at Goodwill, where they sat on a $5 rack until a buyer for this retro store spotted them and shipped them back to Vancouver and marked them up horrendously.

The stuff: A much better representation of the colour of the pants there. That's a pretty high waistband, but it felt comfortable all day. At least I didn't have any plumber's crack or muffin-top going on!

These shoes were last worn here. I got them in October 2008 (on sale) at the Granville Street store in Vancouver. They are the last of the old Listen Up line, with that exact heel. This was a shoe that didn't grab me at all until I put it on, and then I had to have them!

Oh, one more thing about the leather pants. Since they're from the Gap, it's easy to figure out exactly how old they are: All Gap (and Banana Republic) labels have the season on them (it's true, go look). These pants are from Fall 2000. Hmmm...and these are vintage how, exactly?

The sparkly stuff:I love the coppery sequins on the tunic, so themed my accessories to go with that, rather than contrast. Please ignore the Band-Aid sizing on the ring.

Cardigan (Kensie Girl), tunic (Dex), leather pants (Gap, thrifted), shoes (Listen Up Ivanna, Fluevog), leather cuff (Oscar & Libby's), ring (Fossil), earrings (Plum).

Inigo was just being so cute last night:We restocked his cat fud (spelled like in The Far Side) and gave him the tray to sit in. All cats love sitting on any kind of paper product. It's a fact.

Inigo sort of...overflowed his tray: Still - utter cuteness! Have a great weekend and may all your trays be full.

Leopard Week! Leopard with Leather

I'm doing leopard today, but this is my last day for Leopard Week. I enjoyed my daytime outfit:

The return of the $20 leather dress (last seen here)! This was probably a little heavy for my weigh-in at WW today (I was up a pound, boo), but I had fun with the leopard tights and another leopard scarf (tied around my neck).

Aside from the outfit I'm wearing tonight, this is pretty much it for my leopard collection. I think I am going to look for more when I'm out thrifting now, though! I love that this dress has pockets - so comfy! I wore this out for lunch as well, so it got lots of looks.

The stuff: Those boots need to go into the re-heel bag for the cobbler.

Dress (Truly, Part Two), tee (Banana Republic, thrifted), tights (Le Chateau), boots (Miz Mooz), belt (Le Chateau), scarf (Fairweather), earrings (gift from L).

In My Comfort Zone

I'm gradually rolling out all my Plum goodies that I picked up last week. First up: this top/dress that didn't grab me on the initial run through the store:
When I scout a store with the intent to buy and/or try on stuff, I grab all the things that immediately leap out to me. Then, for my second go-round, I pull out things that intrigue me, scare me (yes!), or are a little outside my comfort zone (especially if they're on sale). You never know until you try things on!

I loved how this dress fit, and I'm totally (dude!) having an 80s flashback with the batwing sleeves.

There are two zippers off the neckline that sit at the shoulders - you can't see them very well in these pictures (sorry). It made for a very forgiving and comfortable outfit.

This is a very thin viscose knit (nice and soft, with some stretch), although the material is a bit see-through. I kept pulling down the hem when I was walking. Good thing the tights are thick! I think I might wear this with my skinny black trousers. The dress was $23, regular $85.

I wore this to my regular Weight Watchers meeting (I hadn't been in six weeks, what with being sick, going to Florida, Christmas, New Year's, and visiting L's folks) - it was perfect and light for my weigh-in. Only gained 0.6 lbs over the holiday season (and considering the amount of booze and junk food I consumed, that's amazing), but that has strengthened my resolve to exercise more.

I bought one of the WW workout kits: Punch! it's called. It's a DVD and a set of weighted gloves, and it has Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced kick-boxing/boxing moves. I did the Beginner mode (30 min) yesterday and I was actually sweating!

I did my fab yellow leather jacket over all this business:

All dressed up for lunch with L after my meeting. He dressed nice for me too (in his skinny purple jeans), and one of our regular waitresses, Sarah, asked us what the special occasion was. Heh, just bein' with my sweetie.

The stuff:

These boots have earned their price tag a dozen times over (I got them new, on consignment for $79.99).

Jacket (Danier leather), dress (Kensie), boots (Aldo, consignment), necklace (The Bay), earrings Aldo Accessories).

Dinner Out and Lunch & Shopping with Mom

As I have spent a good portion of my days this week either in my robe or in my "at home" clothes, I'm going for any excuse to put on a "real" outfit. I have a feeling I'll be doing the casual uniform a lot!

Last night, L and I met Casey and Nick at the pub for a few pints and dinner. We walked down, so I picked warm but comfortable pieces:
Hee, see Inigo on the left? He wants dinner too!

This is my olive leather skirt (last seen here), a long-sleeved purple tee and this t-shirt that I wear a lot.

My lovely (and practical) Miz Mooz boots.

Because it's a little chilly out, I did some outerwear stuff:

The olive-coloured hat is a somewhat structured fuzzy angora thing - I found it in a vintage store years ago and always forget to wear it. I'm also wearing my purple scarf and grey fingerless gloves, along with my swag leather jacket.

Hat (Boutique "Katy", vintage), scarf (Fairweather), gloves (Parkhurst), jacket (swag from old job). Long tee (Press), tee (Lisa International), skirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), boots (Miz Mooz), necklace (Foxy), earrings (gift from L).

Today, Mom and I are going to wander down the avenue to another pub for lunch...do a little shopping, get caught up before Christmas. We're walking, so again, I had to base the outfit around the shoes. I totally forgot about these (have I mentioned I need to clean out my closet??):

I got those in the summer at Value Village for cheapy-cheapy ($15), last seen here. I did tones of grey to match the cloud in my head (I am still sick - the hacking cough starts soon).

I am not picking my nose, I'm trying not to sneeze:

The top is cream/grey striped, the tee is multi shades of cream and grey, the skirt is a grey/black herringbone, and the tights are sort of a bluey-grey. Oh, and a first wear for this little thin silver headband - picked it up at Club Monaco some time ago for about $7.

I promise I am wearing my yellow leather jacket (this one) to offset all the grey.

I am so ready not to be sick anymore:

My hair is fading out to a nice colour.

Long-sleeved tee (Majestic, gift from Caro), tee (Plum, gift from L), skirt (Mexx, gift from Celia), shoes (Stonefly, thrifted), necklace (Claire's), earrings (Aldo Accessories), headband (Club Monaco).

Leather for Work, and What I Didn't Wear on Friday

I'm on an emailing list from Dots (one of my favourite stores) and this week's email was "$20 for all winter dresses." Well - I'm not one to turn down a deal like THAT! I headed there after work on Tuesday and scoured the dress section. I must have tried on 2 dozen dresses, but I found two that I really loved.

This being one: I love the taupe colour (yes, I know, a neutral, how unlike me!), and it's got pockets, and it fits great. And it's leather! As I'm the Queen of Sneakily Inappropriate Workwear, this was right up my alley. The leather is "like buttah."

I layered my favourite floral silk blouse (last seen here), with my new olive sequined cami (thrifted for $8.50) underneath that. I think the floral and the drapey lines of the blouse helps soften the more severe dress.

The dress came with its own belt, but I didn't like it, so I swapped in my darker brown one to go with the boots.

These are my classic brown boots that I've had for over 3 years. Worn them a billion times, easy!

But it does my thrifty little heart so good to know I've gotten a bargain on something, so check this out:

The dress's original price tag. It sold for $499.00 CAD (Canadian dollars)! And Dots was selling it for the relative bargain of $149.99...but I got it for $20! That's a 96% discount off the original price - score!

The stuff:
Slightly blurry - I was in a rush to get to Book Club.

Blingy stuff:

Uh-huh.

Dress (Truly, Part Two), blouse (Kaliko, consignment), cami (Esprit, thrifted), boots (Roberto Vianni), belt (Plum), earrings (Plum), ring (some vintage store).

L needed the camera today, so my plan was to put together today's outfit last night when I got home from Book Club, take a picture of it, then just wear it today. We're going to Sherylyn's for dinner tonight (she of Yummyland fame, and the foot-shaped cheeseball), followed by a concert to see Dan Mangan, so I won't have time (or the inclination) tonight to do my Friday outfit.

Well, that was the plan.

So this is me after 4 glasses of wine at Book Club:

I didn't wear that today. Well, I wore MOST of it - everything but the skirt (which I've only worn once, here). I couldn't handle wrestling with a pair of tights this morning, so I wore jeans, and did a different belt. If I'm still awake tonight when I get home, I might take a picture.

Anyway, just picture this oufit but with jeans on the bottom! That's what I'm REALLY wearing.

The plaid tweed jacket is new, by the way - I got it last Friday in a consignment store I don't go to very much.

It's a nice mix of browns and camel (no actual yellow in it, but I liked how the yellow cardi looked) - it was $22.99 and is Zara. As we have no Zara store here, I always wonder what travels my clothes have taken before they get to me.

I'm also cheating by wearing the exact same cami as yesterday. This is the jewelry (I wasn't up to taking a pic of it last night). I've worn the boots several times (seen here).

Mr. Purry wanted some lovin':

Aw, what a cutie! Inigo is the best accessory of all.

Jacket (Zara, consignment), cardigan (no label, consignment), cami (Esprit, thrifted), belt (not shown, Plum), jeans (not shown, Esprit), boots (Hispanitas, consignment), necklace/earrings (Plum).

A Second and Third Try at Combat Boots!

Okay! After last night's half-assed outfit (in my defence, I was in the dark walking there and back and spent most of the night shivering in the arena's air conditioning, so really, it's like no one saw me anyway, right?), I wanted to give the boots another shot but with a skirt:
I dunno. They are awesomely awesome, but maybe not with this outfit, which seems kind of dressy on the top half (or above the ankles, basically).

And having tried them with skinny pants (I don't own skinny jeans, so that's out too), I do think they look better with skirts. Maybe I could do this look with more of my usual casual uniform.
I think it's the jacket - not quite right. Too formal for the very informal boots.

See how cool they are?
Mmmm...rocker studs. Me love...

The necklace (nice blurry shot, way to go, Sheila):

You can see the good purple of the sweater much better there, at least (yes, this is the same sweater I wore last night).

As soon as I got home, I had to change to go out for dinner (Indian food with another couple):Basically, I just chucked the jacket and then flipped up the cuffs of the boots and laced them to the top. Nothing else changed.

Threw on my leather jacket and hoped that the restaurant would be warm:

It was! Yay!

Cuffs up:I love these boots! Why are they so difficult to wear?

Jacket (RW & Co.), sweater (Daniel Bishop, consignment), skirt (Armour Jeans, consignment), tights (Miss Sixty), boots (Penny Loves Kenny), necklace (Nine West, gift from Cindy), leather jacket (corporate swag).

Dinner Out Friday and Saturday Casual Wear

I had a quick nap after shopping on Friday, then got dressed for dinner out with some friends. I wanted to wear this new sweater I found at Winners:
Isn't that a great colour? I am so grooving on that marigold yellow right now.

That's my suede skirt that I wore first here, and those are my favourite boots (last seen here).

I have a really tough time with big sweaters, because they almost always have high turtlenecks or big cowl necks. As a woman who's...er...gifted...in the boobular region, those are no-nos for me. So when I look for sweaters, I try to find open necklines like this:
That gives the look of a cowl, but is nice and wide and shows off my collar bones - and distracts from the boobage.

Sweater (Pria), skirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), boots (Indigo by Clarke's, consignment), belt (Anne Klein pour Caleche, consignment).

L and I are going to see Leonard Cohen again this month, so my tour t-shirt made an appearance today for my Weight Watchers outfit:
I've worn this tee and stripey top several times before (here, here (ha, that's another Winners shopping trip!) and here after the last concert in 2009). I stripped off the belt before weighing in!

I wore my new cobalt blue wooly coat:

I love the semi-military look of it and the off-centre buttons. This was on sale at Winners for $59.00.

Coat (Mario Serrani), t-shirt (Leonard Cohen tour shirt), striped top (Majestic, gift from Caro), skirt (Club Monaco, consignment), belt (gift from Ruth), tights (Hue), boots (Miz Mooz).

Keeping Busy - and Some Goodbye Pictures

Hey! Emotionally, I'm all over the map this week (and I'm sure next week - my last week at work - will be the same. Mental note: waterproof mascara), so I'm trying to stay busy, make plans with friends and not wallow and/or dwell too much on my impending unemployment. Amazing how much our work ties into our feelings of confidence and self-worth.

Anyway, Fake It Till You Feel It, right? Wear yellow!
And a bright pattern! I treated myself to a little shop at Dots (a local chain that sells off samples from manufacturers - it's where I get my awesome Noa Noa items) and got this groovy top. I love the neckline (hard to see, but it has a flat wide collar) and the swirly pattern. It was $29.99 (note: shopping thrift so much makes new things seem so expensive!).

I'm enjoying breaking out my boots for the season too. I got these ones last year (last seen in the 2010 winter wardrobe challenge here):

They're cheap, but I love the styling: the wedge, the little bow on the back.

A close-up of the new jewelry I got:

This was my treat "from the company" - I spent my $35 Visa gift card from winning the Hallowe'en costume contest on these (and a necklace). They're by Lavishy (the Lava collection). Made in Canada - yay!

Top (Liz & Co.), skirt (Club Monaco, thrifted), belt (Aldo Accessories), boots (Outline), ring/earrings (Lavishy).

Last night I rushed home and changed to go to my friend Carollyne's art show opening. I promised her I would weaar something arty:

My favourite arty dress - doing my 60s mod pose. Worn this a few times (a selection here).

I walked down, so I wore my comfy boots, my leather coat (ironically, it's work swag), scarf and gloves.

I felt so colourful! I really wanted to buy a painting, but art purchases are just not in my budget right now - although I do feel strongly that when you can, you should buy art! Support artists!

Dress (Desigual), boots (Aldo, consignment), jacket (work online auction), scarf (St. Michael's, thrifted), bracelet (Fossil, gift from L), earrings/ring (Lavishy).

Inigo watched me pose from his view in the box:

This week's been all about wrapping things up and saying goodbye. I am going to miss my lunchtime walks, and doing my stairs, so I took some pictures of my walk to and from work, and of the views around my work location. I did something similar here in June 2010.

November here is lovely - sometimes it's rainy, sometimes it's foggy, sometimes it's lovely and sunny and crisp. Yesterday was a crisp autumn morning. I love all the colours in the trees. This red Japanese maple is one of my favourites:

It's just changing from dark to light when I leave the house in the morning. Check out the sky as the rising sun tinges the clouds pink:

Walking along with my mp3 player on, sipping my tea...this beauty greets me and reminds me how good it is to be alive.

Lovely yellows and oranges in the leaves overhead:

Puffy little cumulous clouds and streaky high stratus clouds:

The orangey-pink of the light hitting this steeple just blew me away:

My parents got married in that church.

A row of yellow-leaved beeches:

This mural's just recently been repainted to a circus theme:

Those roly-poly clowns creep me out. I do love when building owners let artists paint the sides of buildings rather than let them get covered in grafitti.

I had a very long shadow!

I look like I belong in a circus myself!

The view from my desk:

That's a scrap metal yard on the left, and a little bit of the ocean peeking through.

All the trees changing colour on the other side of the trestle:

Do you see what's on the dock?

A seagull having a sit in the sun!

Look at that glorious blue sky!

I had the sun on my face, the clean fall air...my stairs:

I have to find another set of stairs close to home that I can work out on - I'm going to miss these!

Looking down:

I always have visions of going ass over teakettle down these.

Coming back with the sun streaming through the bushes:

Back to the water:

See the mountains in the far background? Those are in Washington State.

For some reason, at this time of year, there are a lot of starfish close to shore. This one is not really deformed - the wind was coming up and the ripples of the water distorted him:

Hee!

There are two starfish in this picture;

The water is pretty clear - these are only about 2-3 feet below the surface (you can see some leaves floating on top).

This starfish is a lovely orange. There are dark purple ones too, but they're hard to see.

And I was so excited! Look what else I spotted:

It's a jellyfish! It's about the size of a fist, and he was gently bobbing along, not 10 feet away from me.

Edit: for other wildlife lovers - I also see otters swimming near here, and today there were 3 fat harbour seals swirling through schools of little fish.

This is my desk from the outside of the building:

I can just see my green file folders and my overhead bin.

Hope you enjoyed my autumn tour!