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.

Red Dress Layered

Hey, hey! It's late (worked late, didn't go to gym and am starving), so I'm going to be quick(ish).

The 3rd wear of the red dress:

Lots of texture and pattern going on, starting with the blouse, one of my favourites which was featured in the October capsule (recap here). I wore it three times that month. The shoes are also from the October capsule and were worn 3 times - I often wear them with this blouse. I just like how the colours go.

Last time to voice your opinion!

Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #3

Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #2
	Like it
	Lose it
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I previously wore the dress here and here. Tune in this weekend for the final verdict!

These shoes are so comfy, even for a 2"+ heel - very stable for walking around.

Dotty tights (the dots are holes) and the black leather obi tie it all together.

 Funky, man!

The stuff:

Bronze leaf earrings and my spinner ring.

And...dinner time!

Dress (Calvin Klein), blouse (Marcona, thrifted), shoes (Mini QTees, Fluevog), obi (consignment), earrings (Plum), ring (Twang & Pearl).

Weekend in Purple and Red - Two More Votes!

Happy Saturday! I hope your days are full of sun, wind and lovely strolls (well, that's what mine's been full of!).

To start off, we have the second wearing of this lilac Smoking Lily tee:

I previously wore it here, with the V-neck in front. Although you can't see much of it, this is Outfit #2.

Smoking Lily Lilac Greyhound Tee: Outfit #2

Smoking Lily Lilac Greyhound Tee
	Like it
	Lose it
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I'm a bit behind on my 3 wears in 7 days, but I do have one more planned outfit for this tee next week.

For Casual Friday, I added my denim maxi skirt and my lavender Camper shoes (both featured in the April 2012 capsule, recap here). They were worn 3 times (the skirt) and 4 times (the shoes), so both are solidly in the "keeper" category for me. The skirt makes a great flapping noise when I walk, like sails.

The purple cardi was featured in the December 2012 capsule (recap here), where it was worn 4 times. I like that it has shorter sleeves.

Although the grey of the greyhounds in the tee isn't visible, I used that neutral to pull all the different shades of purple together, with the wide belt (you know I love a bigass belt!) and the grey legwear.

This skirt makes my bum look good! And these shoes are so easy to walk in.

My legwear is actually socks!

With birds! I've got birds on my legs!

The stuff:

I went out for a wee thrift shop and Thai food for dinner with a fellow fashion-y coworker, so had crappy light by the time I got home. I wore my new-to-me thrifted cuff. I walked home from downtown in these shoes - perfectly comfy!

We didn't have a lot of luck at the thrift store, but did a quick overview/try-on in about an hour. I tried on a wonderful pair of red wool pleated vintage Escada culottes (yes!) for under $20, but they were way too small.

I did find this awesome emerald green glass bangle for $5.00.

It is really small, which works well for me, as I have small wrists - most bangles fall off me.

Cardigan (Kenar, consignment), tee (Smoking Lily), skirt (InWear, consignment), shoes (Camper), belt (Plum), cuff (thrifted).

Today, L and I had eye exams scheduled (we're both getting new glasses!), so we got up early, walked to town and had brunch first. We spent the afternoon looking at frames (with our whacked-out dilated pupils) and narrowing it down - we are both craving something a little less "normal" than what we have now. You might not know, but I had to buy my current glasses due to my previous pair snapping in half about 4 years ago! (tragic tale here). I am super-excited to get my new glasses - I will post a pic of L's too! We should have them this week.

I wore the red dress again.

I last wore it for Valentine's Day, here.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from my capsules was the versatility of dresses. Layering them so that they look like a skirt is a great way to extend the wear out of a dress that you may only think you can wear one way.

Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #2

Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #2
	Like it
	Lose it
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I wore my leather shirt over it, this time around, belting the waist. Love that  shirt! It was featured in the very first capsule, in February 2012 (recap here), during which I wore it 4 times. I also wore it for one of my Wild Card outfits, my Steampunk Vampire Slayer outfit (here, in October 2012).

The boots are my flat Aldo riding boots, featured in the December capsule (recap here), where I wore them 6 times. They are wonderful for walking, although getting a little beat up. I would like to replace them with a pair of good Fluevogs...L and I will be doing our annual pilgrimage to the Vancouver Fluevog stores in March!

Shirt (Danier Leather, thrifted), dress (Calvin Klein), boots (Aldo, consignment), tights (Hue), belt (swap from Ruth).

I have another outfit planned for the dress for next week, and then we will be voting next weekend for it, the lilac greyhound tee and the brown lace skirt. So, nothing up today...sorry!

However, speaking of voting and Wild Cards, have you cast your vote for Favourite Wild Card yet? Final results tomorrow, and I'll also be putting up a vote for the top 3 outfits - as voted by you! - from each capsule. Woo!

Vizzini was being really cute this morning.

"Stay home and play with me!" 

He's looking at L. Cute-looking, isn't he? All lies. Evil cat lies.

Happy Valentine's! Red Dress for Tamera

Happy V-Day, my dear friends, readers and fellow bloggers! You're all special to me and I wish you happiness and joy today and every day!

And now...a red dress.

Accurate colours - it's a RED dress!

I just missed getting this dress into a capsule this past year. It nearly made the December one, but I ended up removing it right at the last minute. So many dresses, so little time!

It is by Calvin Klein and I bought it in December 2011 at Winners for $59.99, and I have only worn it for two outfits (here), both on the same day! One look was casual and one more dressy.

Today, it got the obi treatment. The dress has quite a defined waist but not an actual waist seam, so I like adding a belt to it.

This is my outfit for Tamera, The Menopausal Supermodel's e-Party for her birthday!

I had many compliments on the dress today - it really is that vivid red in the first picture!

What do you think?
Red Dress (Calvin Klein): Outfit #1

Red dress (Calvin Klein)
	Like it
	Lose it
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L and I decided not to do anything for Valentine's this year - we went to the gym instead! Rather than being weak in the knees for my wonderful husband of nearly 16 years, I am weak in the arms, ha ha!

Blowing a kiss

He surprised me and bought me this gorgeous bouquet of flowers (they are far away from Vizinni!) and some chocolates to have with our wine tonight. Yay!

The stuff:

My lovely red-lined pumps (last seen in the June 2012 capsule, recap here), my Smoking Lily obi and Smoking Lily gold leather anatomical heart pin. I quickly realized that saying, "I've got my heart on" is not appropriate at work (say it out loud!). "I'm wearing my heart" is much better.

I also wore my new gold chain and leather wrist-wrap and my clock-hand earrings.

Here's a look at my tights, which you can see better in the outdoor stair shot:

It's a black lace/fishnet layered over a bright blue. Cool, eh?

Dress (Calvin Klein), shoes (Guess), obi/heart pin (Smoking Lily), earrings (Foxy), wrist-wrap (handmade).

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail today! I ordered one of Megan Mae's gorgeous tie-obis and it came today!

She is so generous - look at the fabulous vintage scarf, and the chainmail purse! Inside the purse where two buttonflowers (I have quite a collection!).

Check out the "lid" of the purse:

I'm not sure if they are bears or some weird people.

The neck of the purse expands!

Wow! That is the coolest thing I've ever seen! I can't wait to wear this next time I go out.

Thank you so much for the wonderful belt and the beautiful gifts, Megan! I love them!

Someone wasn't very happy about me leaving to go to work this morning.

"I hope you remembered to close your closet door."

Happy V-Day!