Tuesday WW Group - Coral for Spring

Ah, my last day off before I get back to the ol' grind. I'm excited/nervous about starting fresh - I'd been at my old job for 5 and a half years before they outsourced us - but with Spring finally arriving, everything feels like a fresh start!

I even decorated my flip charts for today's meeting with shamrocks and tulips. Unfortunately, I got caught in a flash rain storm on the way home and got completely soaked - at least it was warm!

Anyway, I have all these lovely Spring-y things I've thrifted and nowhere to wear them (yet!). First up, this new cardigan and skirt:
The skirt is almost a neon coral - it's a linen and nylon blend, so it feels luxurious but doesn't crease! It was all of $5 in the thrift shop a few weeks ago. I vaguely recall that coral is an "it" colour this Spring, so woo!

The cardigan is also new-to-me - it was around $18 on consignment.

I love the big ruffles on it.

The blouse is one I've had for years - last seen here. Ha, I always wear the same accessories with it!

I can't wait to start building some new outfits for my new job...I have my clothes already selected for My First Day tomorrow, but how about a game? Let's see who guesses the closest to what I'll actually wear. Here's a poll - you can pick more than one item.

What Will Sheila Wear For Her First Day of Work?
	Trousers
	Mini skirt
	Pencil skirt
	Long skirt
	Dress
	Blazer
	Cardigan
	Blouse/Shirt
	Menswear-inspired
	Preppy
	Rock-n-roll
	Floral girly
	Multiple bright colours
	Primary/basic neutrals
	Pattern mixing
	Strapless
	Sheer fabric
	Bright legs (tights)
	Dressy boots
	Casual boots
	High heels
	Low or kitten heels
	Flat shoes
	Subdued jewelry
	Bold jewelry
	Belt
	Scarf
pollcode.com free polls

The stuff:

Lovely orangey-yellowy shoes. The buckle on the belt that came with the skirt is actually made out of bamboo!

A close-up:

I usually toss these belts, but I am going to keep that one. You never know when I might need to go on safari.

We donated a huge amount of stuff to charity lately. Inigo is very happy that he has his box back:

Lovey eyes!

Cardigan (American Rag Cie, consigment), blouse (I.N.C.), skirt (Rocket, thrifted), shoes (Tsubo "Erebus"), cuff (thrifted), earrings (Foxy).

Feeling Vintage

Ignore the hair - it rained all day today, that fine misty rain. So my hair is asstastic.

Anyway. I suppose the reason I am feeling vintage is that I'm wearing vintage! And the reason that I'm wearing vintage is that I did the wash last night (I do my own wash of delicate things, L does all his stuff and all the sport clothes, socks, underwear, that sort of things). I tend to forget what new/once-worn things are buried in the pile, like this shirt.
Inigo's coming in for a rub: feed me!

Shirt worn here. I thought it would look cute with a high-waisted skirt, and because I knew it was going to be cooler out today, I picked pulled this vintage wool one.

I think it's from the 80s; that double front and back slit was very 1983. I've worn it lots of times since I got it: here, here, here, here and here (check out the pictures of the labels). It was $15!

The stuff:

My 6-7 year old pumps, my much-loved belt (I need to get a new buckle for that).

A close-up:

Yes, that's a flaming skull on the belt (it's upside down, just the jaw). I'm a rock and roll chick from way back!

Blouse (Esprit, consignment), cami (Esprit), skirt (Gianfranco Ferre, from Giorgio Beverly Hills, thrifted), shoes (Le Chateau), belt (no label, consignment), ring (Plum), earrings (don't remember, probably Plum).

Black for Grandma, and the Funky Chicken

Yesterday, L and I spent the day going to to his grandma's memorial. It was a 3 hour drive, then over an hour on the ferry (and of course, you have to wait for the ferry) - each way! We got up at 5am and didn't get home until 10pm. I'm still exhausted.

I like to wear mostly black for memorials/funerals:
I've only worn this dress once (here) - I know, shameful. It's a wicked dress.

Because Grandma was a Wonder Woman, this one's for her!

The dress has a tie belt, which I've tied into a bigass bow. Usually, I toss such belts and use my own, but I really like the look of the bow.

I added the blue suede shoes, my Dad's scarf, and my yellow jacket in case it got chilly:

It did not, but I looked very chic carrying around my yellow jacket all day. I tied the scarf to the strap of my black bag.

Dress (Esprit), jacket (Danier Leather), shoes (Feet First), scarf (60s vintage), earrings (don't remember), cuff (St. Paul's Cathedral, London).

Today, back to work. I picked up this dress for $9.99 at Dots while I was waiting for the bus to get my hair cut on Monday night:

Classic! I am also thrilled that it does not wrinkle (and it's 100% cotton, go figure) across the bum from sitting at my desk.

I layered my floopy skirt under it (worn layered before here and here) for fun and to show off my awesome yellow boots (as previously seen here, here, here, here, and here).

It was only when I realized that I sort of resembled a chicken. Bu-kawk!
I'm a bit more Super Chicken than Wonder Woman today!

The skirt floofed out when I walked:

I felt like dancing!

The stuff:

Yep, those are yellow boots! Yellow boots!

A close-up:

The leather cuff is new too. It was $3.99 at Dots.

Dress (Coupe), skirt (no label, consignment), belt (Plum), boots (Aldo, consignment), cuff (Dots), earrings (Shi Studio).

Bride of Dress Week - Begins...on the Long Weekend!

In the hallowed tradition of my other Dress Weeks (see sidebar for links), this week's title is based on yet another monster movie title (the most excellent "Bride of Frankenstein"). I'm running out of ideas for titles, though! Any suggestions? I'd like to continue the monster movie theme, and it must work with the phrase "Dress Week".

I wasn't intending to do a Dress Week until September, but I was browsing in a second-hand store on Saturday and found THREE amazing dresses (all in the $20-22 range). Well, of course, this called for a Dress Week!

Saturday's outfit:
Nice and light for Weight Watchers, with a bit of badass in the skull scarf. I also went for lunch in this and did some shopping. Of course, I just got this dress last week and wore it on Monday.

Dress (Taylor, consignment), shoes (Reaction Kenneth Cole, gift from Cat), scarf (Metrowear, San Francisco).

Today's the holiday, but we still had to get groceries:

I ended up abandoning the shoes when I got home - darned things kept loosening up as I wore them. When I got home, I changed into a pair of flats, and we went out for lunch.

I've had this dress forever (3 years?): wore it here, here, here, here, and here. Whoa, that's a lot!

The weather's off and on, so the jacket is needed. We're off to the museum, out for dinner, and then going to see "Iron Man 2" at the IMAX!

Dress (Kenzie), wedge shoes (Tommy Hilfigger, consignment), flats (Franco Sarto), leather jacket (Danier), earrings (Plum, gift from L).

Hope you had a great weekend!

All Neutrals Wednesday

Some days I just don't feel like wearing colours (not very many days, mind you, but it does happen). I planned the rest of my outfits for the week last night, and I thought this one just seemed "Wednesday":
I've only worn this dress once (here) since I got it. I knew it would be a great summer dress (even though it's wool) because it's so nice and loose.

I was actually going to wear my other snakeskin print shoes but they were more of a brown base and these ones are more of a grey base and looked better.

I read on You Look Fab that pearls will be big for fall - well, I've been doing pearls for decades!

The stuff:

I was shocked when I did a search and saw that I hadn't worn this necklace since April 2009!

A close-up:

The bracelet is links of oak leaves - it was $12 in a thrift store about a year ago.

Dress (Gap, consignment), necklace (Aldo Accessories), bracelet (thrifted), shoes (Aerosoles).

Lazy Monday - Eyelet Lettuce and Sad News

My coworker, Ruth, teased me today: "Do you go shopping every weekend?" No! Maybe every 2-3 weeks, though. And I only buy a few pieces (mostly second-hand)!

I found this gorgeous dress for $27 - it still had the tags on it, so I don't think it's ever been worn. It's 100% cotton, lovely and light and loose, perfect for a Monday. The hem is strips of the same eyelet fabric, gathered and sewn in a boustrophedon pattern (heh, my degree in Linguistics pays off!). It reminds me of lettuce.

The stuff:

I liked how the orangey-caramel colour of these shoes went with the green - even the teal trim on them goes nicely. Then I went all matchy with Grandma J's vintage copper pieces:

Click here for a post a couple of years ago where I did research on the cuff. I have a necklace that matches the earrings too.

Dress (Taylor, consignment), shoes (Pink), cuff (vintage 1950s, Grandma J, Renoir), earrings (vintage 1950s, Grandma J).

Speaking of Grandmas, we just had some sad news: L's last grandparent, Grandma W, died today.

That's from August 2009.

She was so sharp and funny, but her body let her down. Whenever we traveled back to L's hometown, we'd go see her and her kitties (she loved cats), and hang out and chat with her. I lost all of my grandparents 13-20+ years ago, so she was my last grandma too.

I'll miss you, Grandma.

Colourful Monday

I like to rotate through my new stuff once it's been a month or so - put together another outfit, trying to pull out the potential. I first wore this skirt here (aw...the day we said goodbye to Othello). I love purple and yellow together, so played that up again today:
I left the side uncropped because Inigo's being cute.

The stuff:

I haven't worn these shoes in ages (yup, it's been a year). I put my sparkly barrette on the yellow scarf, since barrettes never stay in my hair (it's too fine). I feel so kooky when I wear a scarf in my hair for work.

A close-up:

The shiny rhinestone belt I also never wear.

Blouse (Esprit), skirt (Vivienne Tam, consignment), shoes (Jessica Simpson), scarf (thrifted), barrette (Club Monaco), belt (The Bay).

Casual Friday: The Key to My Heart

Ah, the weekend! I was in such a good mood all day yesterday: it was sunny, it was Friday, and I was wearing my new favourite denim acid wash skirt again:
*yawn* Yes, this old thing. I had originally planned to do the Stonefly shoes again, but then I felt like not having the ol' toes enclosed, you know? With all this daring pattern mixing I've been doing, my confidence has taken a turn up the rollercoaster, so I tossed these little leopard wedges into the mix.

A "top" shot:

Although it was sunny, it's always windy here, especially near the water, so I opted for long sleeves (also so that I wouldn't have to wear sunblock, ugh). I love this pretty silk blouse.

The stuff:

A nice look at the acid wash and pocket sparkles. The leopard inside these shoes is not original - they are little stick-on Dr. Scholl's liners (they come 3 to a pack for about $17), and they are great for dressy shoes that don't have any cushioning.

A closer look at the jewelry:

I got the key earrings for I think $10 a few weeks ago. They're just plastic, but I really liked them. The heart locket is actually my baby locket, so it's at least 42-going-on 43 years old.

Blouse (Kaliko, consignment), cami (Mexx), skirt (Cache, thrifted), belt (Plum), shoes (don't recall, but they were cheap from the Bay), earrings (no brand), locket (60s vintage).

Double Challenge: Summer Black-Out and Summer Capsule Wardrobe - Day 1

Woo! It's Double Challenge week! There will be no black on this chick, neither in clothing nor in accessories/shoes. I'm also only wearing 5 clothing items all week.

Today's outfit:I forgot to pick out earrings today. D'oh! Naked ears!

I love this dress, but I've only worn it a few times (here, for a party, here for a Dress Week and oh, hey, this last February here). I'll be wearing it one more time this week.

I'll be wearing the ruffled shirt a total of three times. I had to plan out my 5 outfits in advance. I took rough camera shots of each combo, but will put the accessories and shoes together when I pack my clothes up the night before.

The stuff (that's Inigo's paw in the upper left corner):

I thought I should go matchy with the shoes since I was doing an unusual colour combo with the green shirt and green jewelry. None of the greens quite match. I also liked the shiny gold chains and cuff with this.

I have never worn this necklace on the blog before:

In fact, I don't even know when I last wore it - maybe 20+ years ago? It's another one of those pieces that I "liberated" from Mom's closet.

I went to see my nieces, Zoe and Hannah (hi, guys!), play soccer tonight after work, so I wore this outfit to the field. Hee! It was a little much, but I did manage to kick the ball around with Hannah in these shoes.

Anyway, I showed Mom the necklace and she was shocked - she thought she'd lost it. Her dad (my Grandad, this guy) bought her the green necklace and her sister a blue one in Burnaby while he was over visiting a relative. She was in Grade 8, so this would be around 1958. How cool.

Dress (Maggy London), shirt (Esprit), shoes (Bleka), green necklace (Mom's, vintage 1950s), chain necklace (Plum), shiny cuff (The Bay), stone bracelet (handmade, gift from Cathy).

A Hot Mess? And Memory Fails Again

I got some interesting reactions to today's outfit. From my boss, "Oh, Sheila's all fancy!" to my husband, "I don't like it." I'll stick a poll at the end and let you decide.

First, here we go:
I spotted this skirt at Dots a couple of weeks ago - a big section of Noa Noa samples (some crazy stuff, like lace-trimmed pantaloons!) that they're clearing out.

I think it will be groovy underneath another skirt (it flattens out well - I could even do it under a slim skirt and have the ruffles peeking out), but the lining is thick enough for me to wear it on its own.

Of course, I had to wear my granny-boots with it! And then the vest just seemed very "Little House on the Prairie", then the bigass flower to bring that little Victorian touch, and the satin blouse to calm it down a bit.

What satin blouse, you may ask? (Edit: minus the jacket, this is what the top half of this outfit should have looked like. Here's a shot of just the blouse.)

Ah, right, the one I left hanging in the closet when I packed my clothes last night! This is not good, people! I think I am losing my mind! First I forget my top altogether, and now I'm left with a cami and a vest all day.

Fortunately, I think I got away with it this time. I only told two people and no one commented on my lack of sleeves. Also, the HVAC in our building was busted all day and it became sweltering, so my timing couldn't have been better!

Anyway, I am going to keep an eye on the Noa Noa samples, because the quality is just fabulous. There's a crazy long jacket that I might have to go back for - and this stuff is not to everyone's taste, so I think it will be marked down further...that's what Dots does!

I took a picture of the tag, because the whole buying process that stores and boutiques do fascinates me (I used to be a buyer for a store I worked at):

This skirt would have sold for $150 retail in Canada (but I got it for $34.99 - and an extra 20% off! - score!). It would have come in salt, farm, grain, bleach and carpet. What colours do you suppose farm and carpet are?

The stuff:

Trying to get a few more wears out of my boots before we get full-on spring.

This is my new leather cuff:

It's stamped "Catalyst Reaction Leather" inside. It was on clearance at one of my favourite gift shops for $9.99. I love the little grey planes and the dark green stripes.

Oh, and one more detail about the skirt:

Teeny metal buttons on the waistband. Now, that's amazing - metal!

Okay, I promised a poll:

Okay, whaddaya think?
	L is right, it's a hot mess
	Nah, I'm with the boss: fancy!
	I like it...but the blouse would have helped
	I love it just as it is
	Heh, she said "bigass" again
	I like polls, all clicky-clicky buttons and voting and the whatnot
	Where's the cat?
pollcode.com free polls

Vest (Vero Moda), cami (Mexx), skirt (Noa Noa), boots (LaTianna, consignment), cuff (Catalyst Reaction), flower (Roberta's Hats), earrings (Plum, gift from L).

I Always Wanted to Be a Librarian

Okay, I had to showcase the amazing shoes I got in Seattle - and I held fast and only shopped in second hand, vintage and consignment stores!

I built the outfit around them:
Steve Maddens, brand new, for $22.50? Get out of town! Ha! I did!

The thin wool sweater is also new (got it a couple of weeks ago, and now it's cold enough to wear it), and the blouse is a repeat from this weekend. Of course, I had to throw on some sparkly stuff so that I didn't have ruffle overload.

The stuff:
Oh, man, I love those shoes!

Speaking of shoes, here are the shoes I wore out in Seattle:

They are Linea Paolo, and are apparently sold at Nordstrom's - I've never seen the brand before. That's pony hair and the heels are burgundy as well. By the way, thank you for the kind comments on the dress - I wore it for my birthday last year too!

Sweater (Chinese tag, consignment), blouse (Kaliko, consignment), skirt (Kenzie), shoes (Steve Madden, thrifted), necklace and earrings (Aldo Accessories).