Ephemera: Leopard Week

The reason why I couldn't elaborate too much on what the deal was with our Craft Corner Deathmatch the other night was that we were making decorations for our dear friend Cat's 40th birthday part - a suprise party!

We had been making giant tissue paper flowers to decorate Caro's house - they turned out gorgeous.

So, the Core Four of the Winesday gals met up to go for dinner. It still being Leopard Week in my week last night, I wore a leopard dress!

I picked this up at The Bay on Wednesday - it was regular $89, marked down to $59.99, then marked down to $44.99. There was an extra 50% off, but when it got scanned in, the sale price came up at $26.99...so it was $13.49! Score!

I'm wearing my tube/smoother undergarment (not as tight as Spanx) just to even things out under there:

I felt pretty sexy in this all night.

We had a lovely dinner, some drinks and then headed back to Caro's place for more wine...and everyone jumped out and surprised Cat! She had no idea and was amazed that we'd all kept it from her for two months. Woo! I love surprises.

The shoes:

I'm just not feeling the super-high heels these days. These were just fine at a sedate 3".

I'll be doing the Leopard Week summary tomorrow.

Dress (I.N.C.), shoes (Guess), gold hoop earrings (gift from L).

Friday, March 4, 2011

Leopard Week! Funky Friday

Welcome to Leopard Week! Go here for links to participants.

I plan to extend leopard week to tomorrow, as I have a special occasion tomorrow night and I have some crazy leopard action that I want to show off. You all can continue if you like - enjoy leopard! I will post a round-up of my favourite leopard outfits from all of the participants on Sunday.

Not much going on today/tonight, aside from meeting up with my ex-cohorts from my last job in about half an hour for drinks (eep, I'm running late!). Of course, I had to go a little over the top - it's Friday! Woo hoo!

Inigo is studiously ignoring me.

This is my awesome ruched leopard pencil skirt (last seen here, with exactly the same taupe top and necklace). I wanted to show off these fab booties that I picked up a couple of days ago at The Bay:

Inigo deigns to notice me. This calls for some lovin'!

Seriously, aren't those awesome boots? They were regular $170 and I stalked them until they were marked down to a more decent price, and then an extra 40% off. They ended up being $47.99.

The top business:

My thrifted boyfriend jacket tops it off (last seen here, with leopard, how cool) and my cuff, of course.

But check out these bad boys:

See the leopard lining? It's like secret leopard! And how could I resist all those studs and buckles? *swoon*

Jacket (Banana Republic, thrifted), top (Ellen Tracy, gift from Caro), skirt (Le Chateau, consignment), belt (gift from Ruth), booties (Libby Edelman), necklace (Plum), cuff (vintage), earrings (gift from L).

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Leopard Week! Leopard for Luck - 2nd Interview

Welcome to Leopard Week! Go here for links to participants.

Yes, I wore leopard to a job interview! Following last week's successful interview, I carefully prepared my outfit for this one:

I'm wearing my leopard blouse that I wore for the Wardrobe Challenge in February, with a black cami underneath and a denim blazer (yes!) over that. I kept the jacket done up the entire time.

I thought long and hard about wearing denim for an interview. But frankly, I didn't want the interviewers to be put off due to my age (it's easy for employers to figure out about how old you are when you start listing your education), or feel like I am too old for this position (I kind of got that vibe at the last place I interviewed), so I chose to wear the denim jacket to project more of a youthful image. It's also quite a casual office, so it wasn't inappropriate.

I thought it also toned down the leopard, and I love that it is cut so nicely - it holds everything in! I last wore it here.

On the bottom is a new dark chocolate brown pencil skirt that I got at Plum (it was a sample, $18). But check out my shoes!

The stuff:

They're a thick suede penny-loafer with a lug sole and a pointy heel. What I love is that the heel is not actually as high as it looks - it's barely 2.5". I ran half a block to the bus stop in these and they were comfy as heck.

And even better? They were cheap!

$115 on for $34.50, not bad! I do love Town Shoes' clearances.

Overall, I think I did really well in the interview, and I hope to get some good news next week!

Jacket (Bisou Bisou, consignment), blouse (Planet, consignment), cami (InWear), skirt (Tobias), shoes (kate & mel).

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Leopard Week! Got the Red Pants Memo

Welcome to Leopard Week! Go here for links to participants.

Another casual day here at Leopard Central. Tonight I'm headed off to a friend's place for a Craft Corner Deathmatch (not really, but we will be doing crafts). I really loved that show when it was on - but I don't look much like the Craft Lady of Steel:

These are my new-ish red mystery jeans (last seen here), with one of my graphic tees, and my denim shirt. Ha! I'm doing double denim!

I added my leopard flat wedges (last seen here, oh my, in June) and a leopard scarf at the neck - and I rolled the cuffs of my jeans for sort of an Audrey Hepburn casual look.

In a bizarre coincidence, both Bev at Style Underdog and Jentine at My Edit are also doing red jeans - with leopard! It's always nice when you get the memo.

Unfortunately, due to crazy weather, I had to bundle up:

This is the first appearance of my toes since probably around September (I quickly slapped on some coral 60-second nail polish on my naked nails), and my feet were freezing all day while I was out. So now I'm in socks for crafting.

The leopard bounty:

Denim shirt (Mexx, consignment), t-shirt (Upper Playground), jeans (mystery, no label), shoes (unknown, The Bay ages ago), scarf (Fairweather).

I was out browsing in The Bay today, checking out the clearance racks and seeing the new Spring '11 clothes - I couldn't believe how much leopard there was! Did I buy any? Well....I think I have a leopard addiction! I did buy a few things (everything was extra 40% off sale prices) and would you believe every single item has leopard on it? I may have to extend Leopard Week...or at least have another one in a couple of months!

Oh, and this is something I would normally never, ever show on the blog:

My Betsey Johnson leopard bra (I have matching panties) that I got nearly 4 years ago in NYC, at Lord & Taylor. Heh.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Leopard Week! Plaid and Leopard? It Can Be Done!

Welcome to Leopard Week! Go here for links to participants.

For my Tuesday WW group, I wanted to bust out my leopard pumps. However, it's still frickin' cold out (thank goodness the snow is finally gone), so I didn't want to wear a skirt. I was waving my shoes around randomly at my various skirts and pants to see what went well with them, and lo! These pants looked good with leopard:

It's been randomly said around Style Nation that leopard is a neutral - TRUE! Treat it as the closest base colour (in this case, sort of a camel colour). Some leopards are more white/cream based, some are more brown or black, and yes, some are hot pink. Whatever. The rule of thumb holds true - go with the majority colour for mixing with other patterns.

This sweater is new-to-me:

I am secretly crushing on Emma Pillsbury from "Glee" and when I spotted this thin sweater in the consignment store, I grabbed it. I love the little bow! I think it was about $20 (and when I checked the Trina Turk website I see I probably got a good deal!).

The pants were last worn here, the shoes last worn here.

The stuff:

See? My shoes even have leopard inserts!

A close-up:

My spotty belt and earrings from Plum.

Sweater (Trina Turk, consignment), pants (no label), belt (Nygard), shoes (Steve Madden), earrings (Plum).

Monday, February 28, 2011

Leopard Week! Some Casual Leopard

Welcome to Leopard Week! Go here for links to participants.

Now, leopard is not to everyone's taste, but it sure is to mine! I love the luxurious look of it, and it makes me feel like a 40s movie star. I also like that it's a pattern found in nature. Many people have associations of leopard as being "too old" or connoting some crazy old lady who draws on her eyebrows (wait a minute, I draw on my eyebrows!). But give leopard a chance and it can add some zip and zing to an otherwise blah outfit!

Today, I'm busting out my furry leopard skirt:

Last time I wore this (and the time before that), I did a more dressy look, so this time I thought I'd try to do more casual. This outfit would be a kind of dull with a denim skirt, which is what I would normally wear, don't you think?

Oh, and this is a fist-pump:

Second round of interviews is on Thursday! Woot!

As seen above, this leopard pattern has light and dark banding, like on an actual leopard. I felt like I had a full food chain on me: Leopard eats the birds (on the tee), birds eat the bug (in the necklace). Ha!

I also dug out my black velvet gloves with the leopard trim to add a little dash to my outerwear:

I felt very posh as I strolled to town to get groceries.

And of course, one must have some luxury in one's house clothes too:

Leopard slippers!

The stuff:

Comfy boots, leather cuff and necklace.

A close-up:

That's a real beetle encased in the drop (and it glows in the dark!).

Long-sleeved tee (Plum), graphic tee (Truly, Madly, Deeply, consignment), skirt (S&D, thrifted), boots (Indigo by Clark's, consignment), cuff (Catalyst Leather), necklace pendant (some gift shop), leather jacket (work swag), gloves (gift from Elaine).

Leopard Week! The List of Leopard Lovers

Hey, all, and welcome to Leopard Week!

To refresh your memory on what this is all about, we're celebrating our love for leopard pattern, and paying homage to the Queen of Leopard, Ms. Wendy Brandes (she of the fab leopard dress).

This week, break out your leopard clothing, shoes and accessories and show 'em off! This post lists all the folks who are planning to wear some leopard - maybe just one day, maybe Monday to Friday (which is what I'm doing), your choice.

In no particular order, here are our Leopard Lovers:

Laniza - Getting Fine
Pam - Over 50, Feeling 40
Megan - Megan Mae Daily
Ponchmor - The Empress of Goodwill
The Style Crone - The Style Crone
Tat - Rate My Outfit
Lorena - Lorena's Every Day Wear
Secret Squirrel - no blog link, but she bragged about a purple leopard dress and I want to see it!
Bev - Style Underdog
Yvonne - Fashion RECON
Alison - no blog, but she's going to do it!
Jac - Dirty Shiny Pretty
Tessa - Tessa Scoffs
Dreamy Girl - Dreamy Girl
Karen - The Outfits of a Twin Mummy
WeShop - We Shop Therefore We Are
Ann - Annimal House
Emma - Daily Clothes Fix
StephM - Style Sideshow
Genuine Lustre - Genuine Lustre
Sarah - Misfits Vintage
Reva - Reva's Rags 2 Roses
Jentine - My Edit (and check out her leopard dress! I want!)
Anika - By Anika
Goose - Rubenesque
Ray - Fashionable Academics (check out this fab cardi)

Please go visit their blogs and show your appreciation for their lovely leopard!

If you would like to be added to this list, with a link to your blog, drop me a comment and I'll add you.