Good News!

Firstly, I'm fine - we got a 1 meter surge from the tsunami that hit Japan, but no one is hurt, no damage. Thank you everyone for your concern. I live on the West coast, so there is always a risk of an earthquake or a tsunami here, but you can't live your life in fear. If it happens, it happens.

Secondly, much better news! I called the company this morning (and thank you everyone for your encouragement and good vibes) and they sent me an offer this morning. It's a great offer and I'm accepting. I start next Wednesday!

I'm off shortly to drop off my accepted offer and other various forms, and then I am going shopping! I am going to reward myself with one of these gorgeous Desigual jackets (there's a shop in town that carries them).

I'm so glad to have an excuse to wear one of my new items - this lovely skirt:
This was one of the most expensive "thrift" items I bought yesterday at $22.00. But...it's real suede, and it's washable, just like my other suede skirt. I also love the colour - it's a nice sand shade - and the midi length, which I hear is all the rage among the cool kids these days.

I look so happy. I feel happy!

Second wearing of my thrifted Mexx top:
I wore it last here, also with a suede skirt (I'm getting quite a collection!). Also my second wearing of my gorgeous red boots (last seen here).

It's warm enough now to just wear a blazer as a jacket:

Such a nice dark burgundy! Last seen here.

I realized after I took these pictures that I forgot to put my jewelry on! D'oh! Here it is:

Gold hoops and my tree necklace.

Jacket (Zara, consignment), top (Mexx, thrifted), cami (Mexx, thrifted), skirt (Skotts Suede, thrifted), boots (Miz Mooz), necklace (Foxy), earrings (gift from L).

Shades of Green - Interview Outfit

Did I mention I'm also sick? Some sort of sinus/coughing cold thing - gah! Enough already with the sicky-ness! I doped myself up with coffee and cold medication and pretended I was not sick.

So I had my interview - I think it went well. It was for a Project Admin for an IT company. The admin side I'm a pro at, IT not so much, but hey, it's a new challenge, and I do like challenges. We'll see what happens.

At least I know I looked properly professional:
I liked how the two shades of olive/khaki looked together. Jacket last worn here (ha, for an interview!), skirt last worn here (scroll down).

I'm totally layered up for warmth with a cami, the shirt and the sweater vest underneath the jacket.

Blouse and vest last worn together here.

The stuff:

Of course, I did not brave the snow and icy sidewalks in these shoes! I wore little runners and socks and changed just before I got off the bus. I'm so sneaky!

I only wore crystal stud earrings with this - no jangly bits of jewelry.

Jacket (RW & Co, consignment), shirt (Nicole Beniste for Point Zero), vest (Le Chateau, gift from Ruth), skirt (Club Monaco, consignment), shoes (Jessica Simpson).

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).

Metric, Monday and Mauve

This fall is all about concerts! I love going to gigs, but not many groups come to my city. In addition to Mr. Cohen later this month, we also went to see Metric last night. I've been a fan for several years and I think they are just starting to hit big in the US. It's always weird when a band I've known forever suddenly becomes "big" - remember when Barenaked Ladies hit big in the US? Yeah, they'd been around for a decade before that.

Anyway, if you're not familiar with Metric, they are a great dance/pop band with an awesome female lead singer. Their site is here - you can listen to some of their songs in the little TV graphic in the upper right corner (I recommend "Help I'm Alive", "Gimme Sympathy" and "Stadium Love").

A bunch of us met up beforehand for barbecue and beer - a concert is always fun with lots of friends! I kept it cool:
Casual uniform top, jeans and my new boots. Good thing I went mellow as we were about double the age of most of the attendees. Some days you just feel old...

A shot of the boots done up:

I'll wear them with a proper outfit later this week and show off the details. Ha! I'm such a tease.

Long-sleeved tee (Plum), tee (Plum), jeans (Esprit), boots (Jenny Loves Kenny), jacket (corporate swag).

And it's Monday. And I'm really tired from the concert (*yawn* past my bedtime). So I went with a pretty easy outfit:

The purple (mauve, get it? get it?) drapey cardigan is new. I can't just sit here and watch all of you rocking the drapey cardis and not want to get in on it! I'll probably belt it next time, but I didn't have a belt that went with olive, chartreuse and mauve. It was $24.99 at Winners.

I keep wearing this skirt with these shoes.

If you didn't notice, I've had a slight change of hair:

Got sick of my "dog ears" so told my hairdresser to do whatever she wanted. I'm never that attached to my hair - it's just hair, it grows back.

A close-up of all my matchy-matchiness:

Erm...I forgot to crop before I shrunk it, so you get to see how messy my closet is. The foreground is one of my shoe shelves where I perch the camera. My sweaters are rather haphazard, but at least my shirts are all hung up nicely!

The stuff:

You can see the nice texture in the cardi fabric. It was very comfortable.

A close-up of the baubles:

Mmmm...I love chartreuse and mauve together.

Cardigan (Bobeau), top (Ellen Tracey, gift from Caro), skirt (Club Monaco, consignment), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, thrifted), necklace (Oscar & Libby's), earrings (don't remember), ring (Guess).

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).

Not Quite Over - Tall Boots Redux

After yesterday's mind-f**k, I decided to go with what I'd planned for my formerly last day: my thigh-high boots:
Last seen here. This is basically a repeat of this outfit, only with the boots and slightly different accessories.

I rarely repeat outfits, but I love this top so much - but it's hard to wear! Not many things go with an asymmetrical hem, let me tell you.

It's also cold out and the heating in the office hasn't been working for several weeks, so I need that extra warmth.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts, congratulations and good advice. I don't plan to stay past this month (I have a holiday booked in December), and I made sure that my "golden carrot" is not being reduced - I will get an extra month's pay out of this (nothing to sneeze at). The months leading up to the end of the year are brutal for job-hunting, so I'd planned to take them off anyway.

The stuff:

The boss is taking us out for a long expensive lunch today. Yum!

Cardigan (Express, consignment), top (Zara, consignment), pants (Kensie), boots (Pegabo), multi-strand necklace (Plum), single neckace (2028), gold hoops (gift from L).

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!"

Anything But Casual Monday (More Interviews)

So, today was the 4th - and as it turned out, also the 5th - interview at the company I want to work for (last discussed here). In keeping with the last interview outfit, I also kept this one pretty low-key: My grandmother's necklace is the only bling (I'm wearing crystal stud earrings), and I kept the colour palette in a nice autumn mix.

Edit: this skirt is a real workhorse in my wardrobe. Last seen here, here, here, here and oh, too many more times before that. I wear it about 5-6 times a year.

I really like how this jacket fits:

Lock and load!

The interviews went well, I think. Hours, when I can start and salary were briefly discussed, so this seems promising. After a total of five interviews, with 9 people, I sure hope so! Fingers crossed!

The shoe business: And my pretty necklace.

Jacket (RW & Co., consignment), sweater (Jacob, consignment), skirt (consignment), shoes (Guess), necklace (vintage '50s, Grandma J's, stamped "Lisner," info about it here).

Age Appropriateness - A Miniskirt and Thigh-High Boots

Warning: this is a wordy post.

Every morning, while I chow down on my Fibre One and Shredded Wheat (with skim milk), I get caught up on my favourite blogs. I don't always comment, but if I follow you, I read!

This morning, this article on Age Appropriateness caught my eye over on Sal's "Already Pretty". I thought about the questions she asked us to ask ourselves about the choices we make. As I'm now an old bag of 43 (hee!) who still likes to wear so-called "age inappropriate" items, these questions hit home.

Because today I wore thigh-high boots and a mini-skirt:
Oh yes, I did!

Do your friends and peers wear it, and wear it well?
Mini and thigh-high boots. No to the boots, but yes to the mini. I'm a more daring dresser than most of my friends, and I'm okay with that. If I saw someone dressed like this today, walking down the street, I would admire her outfit, regardless of her age.

If it’s outside what your age group normally wears, why do you want to wear it yourself? The boots especially are outside my age group, I think, but the mini probably is as well. I wanted thigh-high boots in general because I just love the look. It's very "out there" and I enjoy being a little (or a lot) different! Wearing a mini is me being defiant in the face of "No Mini-Skirts after 35" (take that, Stacy London!). I think it's good to have general style guidelines for age, but I think by now I know how to style myself so that I don't look like I'm trying too hard, or look sleazy. I hope! Ha!

Does it make you feel fabulous about your body? Why, yes, it does! I love my body - and I worked hard to get it (maintaining my 50 lb weight loss for 3.5 years now). I like how my bum looks in this mini, and I like how my legs look really long in these boots.

Where will you be wearing it? I wore them to work! And although my coworkers went "whoa!" they did agree that they were neither slutty nor costumey (the Dread Duo of Daring Dressing). I have worn the skirt a few times before to work (here, here and here), always with a dark, opaque tight. I'll be wearing the boots again, for sure, probably with a dress or with some skinny jeans.

Who will be there, and whose judgment are you considering? Well, my coworkers (and I just showed them off to some guy friends who arrived). The judgment question is interesting. I know I like to create a stir with my outfits. I enjoy messing a bit with people's perceptions. Do I care what people think of how I look? Yes, of course. Do I care THAT much if people think I look a little nutty? Nah, not really. However, if someone said something nasty to my face, sure, I'd be hurt - I don't want to look BAD...just a little eccentric (like my friend, Steph, The Dashing Eccentric - yes, I'm just throwing that in there because she's given me a few shout-outs and I think she's marvellous).

Anyway, I felt good in this, and I felt ME in this. And that's what counts.
Okay, now I have to gush about the boots a bit. I spent my $300 birthday money on these ($250) and yesterday's shoes ($75) - plus a little bit of my own. It was hard to spend all that money on one item - but I felt I should get myself something I wouldn't buy on my own, something that maybe if I went shopping with my mom or mother-in-law, I might have wanted them to buy for me.

They're Pegabo which according to this site isn't made anymore, but I bought them at Feet First, which is owned by Aldo, who also acquired Pegabo. Looks like they are resurrecting the brand. Huzzah! And it's a Canadian company. Love it. They are suede uppers and leather inside, but I have to say: they stink! Whatever glue they've used on these is stinky-stinky. I'm going to have to stuff some dryer sheets in them and put them on the deck overnight to detox them.

I had two criteria for thigh-high boots:

1. No pirate boots. No fold-over flap at the top. No higher front than back. No laces at the back of the calf (a buckle would be okay, though). No pointy toe. I've had pirate boots before (c. 1989) and loved them. They were purple suede and they got ruined at a GWAR concert when I had some fake bodily fluids sprayed on them, but that's another story. *ahem*

2. No hooker boots. No "Pretty Woman" boots. No shiny. No uber-high heels or hidden platforms. No crazy colour, something neutral but not black.

After dragging my niece to most of the downtown shoe stores, I found these. My heart raced. They met all my criteria! Olive green goodness. I don't need the little zippers to get these on and off, so I leave 'em done up.

The other stuff:
I was pleased with the mix of pattern and tweed.

Blouse (Nicole Beniste for Point Zero), vest (Le Chateau, gift from Ruth), skirt (Jacob, consignment), boots (Pegabo), green necklace (Mom's, vintage), other necklace (Plum).