Dandelion Head and Three Verdicts

Happy weekend, everyone! I am off to hang out with my Core Four Winesday gals for lunch, having had a marvelous time at the G++ Gallery last night, for the debut of "fish.e"*, an interactive art and light installation. L and I always like to get dressed up and meet some of the fun arty people in Victoria - a bunch of our friends were there too, so it was a blast to hang out, have a few drinks and dance in the gallery. 

*linking to support my local arts community, yo!

We also debuted our new specs:

L is such a stylin' dude

L's are metal and mine are plastic. Mine are the "Rosalind" by Rapp* of Toronto - they are made in Canada! Yay! I had fun bouffing up my hair to go with the over-the-top look of my glasses and outfit. It was super windy and rainy so the hair stayed intact - it felt like I had a big dandelion puff on my head.
*linking 'cause I love

I wanted to wear this olive dress again. It's by Adrianna Papell and I bought it in December 2011 at Winners for $25.00. I have only worn it the one time (here). It didn't get worn as a Wild Card outfit during the Capsule Challenge, and it's not an appropriate day-dress, so it got a quick "Like it or Lose it" from me last night.

I'm wearing a black slip underneath for warmth

My verdict: Lose it. Not a flattering style on me - I do look better in fitted clothing than baggy stuff. Off to the donation bag with you!

My wonderful Mini Babycakes Fluevog boots, brown tights and brown leather gloves kept me snuggly and warm for the walk to and from the gallery. I last wore the boots here, with the now-gone black sack dress.

I bundled up in my Smoking Lily octo-coat:

And a good time was had by all!

Dress (Adrianna Papell), boots (Mini Babycakes, Fluevog), earrings (Aldo), gloves (Club Monaco, consignment), coat (Smoking Lily), bag (fake Jil Sander, consignment).

Let's get on with...the Verdicts!

Brown Lace Skirt (Planet):

I wore it here, here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 139
• Lose it: 41

A fairly large margin for the Like It camp! My verdict: Like it. I'm keeping it.

Opinions were really mixed on this - some didn't like it, didn't think it was "me" enough, and some loved it. Not a lot of in-the-middle! One of the things I noticed is that when I really made an effort in the outfit, that the positive votes went up. The first outfit (which I admit was the weakest of the 3) garnered a huge amount of Lose it votes, while for the other two (better) outfits the Like its easily outpaced the Lose its. It's not just about the pieces alone - it's about how they work in your wardrobe, and how you style them.

The skirt on its own is fantastic. It is sexy as hell when I walk in it (it has no slit, so really accentuates the hips and legs), which doesn't come across in static photos. I have always loved this skirt and continue to love it. It's the best chocolate brown skirt I've ever owned.

Next up: Red Dress (Calvin Klein):

I wore it here, here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 118
• Lose it: 17

It's a blowout for the Like its. My verdict: Like it.

I feel like I've been looking for that perfect red dress for my whole life - this is as close as I've ever come. I like the exaggerated shoulder detail, the pleats at the front and back and the beautiful seaming through the waist. I was concerned that the dress would pill near the boobular region, but it held up very well. I love the vivid colour too!

And last but not least, the Lilac Greyhound Tee (Smoking Lily):

I wore it here, here and here. The votes are:

• Like it: 113
• Lose it: 14

Another landslide! And my verdict is: Like it.

Of course I like it! It's an awesome tee. However, it's not going to be in regular rotation as I did find it to be a bit too casual for work/everyday styling. Each of the outfits is a casual or weekend look (two Casual Fridays and a Saturday outfit), which is fine. It will be worn around the house, as a layering piece or in the summer on its own, but you probably won't see it in many outfits going forward. 

Over the last year, I have come to realize that the casual side of my wardrobe isn't where I want to be in terms of my own style. I can have fun doing a rocker look through accessories or a strong statement piece like my leather pants, but t-shirts aren't really part of that any more. 

So! Agree, disagree on any of the verdicts? Feel free to air your thoughts - I really do like to hear your feedback! 

Tomorrow will be the results of the voting for the Capsule Challenge's Favourite Outfit of the Year - have you left a comment with your top 3? It's not too late! Go here and have your say.

Last Chance for Brown Lace

For a Monday, today was surprisingly mellow - spring must be on the way! I've seen crocuses and the first buds of the daffodils pushing up. 

And here we go - the third outfit for the brown lace skirt.

For this outfit, I'm pairing it with the jacket from Kim Cattrall's suit (featured with the skirt in the November 2012 capsule, recap here). I had put aside the brown lace skirt with the intention of having it in the autumn neutral capsule that month, but it got edged out by the brown leather skirt (close in colour, but different shape and texture). I learned my lesson of not having two similar items in a capsule, and thought maybe the skirt would go in December's capsule (nope, not a brown-neutral month) or January's (put my crazy-shaped new-to-me brown skirt in there instead).

The shoes are fabulous - I forgot how much I liked them, since I haven't worn them since waaaay back in February 2012's capsule (recap here, where I wore them four times in a month).

Hee, I look half-asleep there

The green top is from the August 2012 capsule (recap here) - I'm wearing it more as a layering piece here. It's got more weight than a camisole and is a bit warmer. It was chilly out today!

The danged nylons got a run right up the back of the leg today. *sigh* Oh well.

Get your voting on!
Brown lace skirt (Planet): Outfit #3

Brown lace skirt (Planet)
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

I previously wore the skirt here and here.

The stuff:

The shoes are by Fly London, and are made in Portugal. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for ethically-made shoes - not easy to find!

My new-to-me copper pin that I thrifted for $4.00.

I got the screw-on earrings at a thrift fair back in November - two pairs for $5.00. They are stamped "Lisner" so are likely from the early- to mid-60s.

Blazer (Pink Tartan, consignment), top (Harve Bernard, thrifted), skirt (Planet), shoes (Fly London), pin (thrifted), earrings (vintage, thrifted, Lisner).

I was so excited - a package came in the mail today from the awesome Lynne of The Good Will Hunting Paralegal.

This lovely snakeskin silk scarf is divine - so soft! And such a sweet card. Unfortunately, a little stick-pin with a leaf encased in resin was broken. Aw...Thank you, Lynne! You are so generous!

Pink, Pearls and Lace With Coffee

Woo! It's Wednesday! And tomorrow is Valentine's Day! I like V-Day: it's a chance to tell people you care about them, and not necessarily a spouse or partner, but family and friends. 

I'm showing my romantic side (ha!) in some lace, pearls and pink.

This is my thin pink sweater, featured in the August 2012 capsule (recap here) and my Coffee Kope Tiam booties, featured in the October 2012 capsule (recap here). I wore the sweater twice and the Fluevogs four times.

And...it's time to bust out the brown lace skirt for another round!

Brown Lace Skirt (Planet): Round 2

Brown lace skirt (Planet)
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

Edit: Oops, here's the last time I wore it.

It has quite a bit of pink in the brown - you can see a bit of that in the floral pattern in the above picture.

I felt romantic in my pearls, even though my day was crazy.

The stuff:

I did plenty of running around today, and was reminded how darned comfy these booties are.

The necklace was cheapy as is the cuff (which is more pink than that).

Look! My leg is on a table.

New tights - a little bit too "granny tan" maybe, but redeemed by the zig-zag. But they have one huge downside: they reek of perfume! It's the same weird thing I experienced with my olive knee-highs (I mentioned it here). It's like they intended them to be scented. It's not the brand, because I've bought lots of Filodoro (although, wait a minute: "-odoro"?? Fil-odoro? coincidence?).

Sweater (Reitman's, consignment), skirt (Planet), shoes (Coffee Kope Tiam, Fluevog), necklace/earrings (Aldo Accessories), cuff (thrifted), tights (Filodoro).

While I was photographing the stuff and my leg, someone was digging for kitty spaghetti:

"I must have them!"

He is very bad with shoelaces. He eats them - what a shocker! We have to keep them all locked away - as these shoes are now.

Brown Lace Skirt - Round 1

Time to throw another article of clothing to the wolves! This brown lace skirt has been in my closet since about 2007. It never made it into a capsule last year, so it's getting the same treatment as the new-to-me clothing and shoes: you get to vote!

And yes, I am wearing knee-highs. What of it?

Let's get the non-voting-for things out of the way. The green cardigan and the metallic shoes were seen in the March capsule (recap here), and the mustard ruffled blouse was in the October capsule (recap here).

I am on the lookout for another olive cardigan. This one is a great colour, but the cut leaves much to be desired. The mustard blouse got in the way much as I'd remembered, and I splashed salad dressing on the ruffles. *sigh* Into the wash it goes!

I adore the shoes. They can do no wrong.

But let's move on to the skirt. It's by Planet, a UK brand, purchased new but on deep discount at The Bay department store several years ago, just after I lost all my weight. I think it was around $39.99, but regular price was over $200.00. Planet ain't cheap! It's a lovely thick lace and is fully lined. The back of it flares and dips slightly at the hem - it is very pretty on and sexy when I'm walking (I tell myself).

I last wore it in January 2012, with my granny sweater (another item that didn't make it in any capsules, but that I ended up culling at some point - didn't love it). Before that, I wore it in June 2011 (with shoes that I still have - they'll be up for a vote at some point!), in November 2010 (with some seriously pointy and shiny red boots - consigned them, I think), in September 2010 (I'm showing off the back of the skirt), in February 2009 (dancing like Elaine in "Seinfeld" and wearing my kickass leopard shoes that ALSO did not make it into a capsule, that also will be up for voting - BTW, the text of a really good speech that I wrote is in that post), in December 2009 (with my lovely green tweed jacket and some great shoes that fell apart), and in August 2008 (with turquoise and my old cruise shoes, also long-gone).

So, really, this only makes 8 times worn in 5 years (on the blog). What do you think?

Brown Lace Skirt (Planet) - Outfit #1

Brown lace skirt (Planet)
	Like it
	Lose it
pollcode.com free polls

The stuff:

Shoes with bows...divine.

The bling:

Greens, and golds, and ambers, oh my!

I'm hungry (haven't had dinner yet), tired (just home from the gym) and shorn (got my hair cut). I'm outta here!

Cardigan (Kersh), blouse (Gap, thrifted), skirt (Planet), shoes (Jeffrey Campbell), bracelet (consignment), studded ring (JGI, consignment), amber ring (some junky store 10+ years ago), earrings (Plum).