Weekend Outfits - and Some New Stuff

Whew! Monday already! Where does the time go?

I got dressed twice this weekend (aside from lounging around in my robe). Once, for my Weight Watchers meeting and weigh-in:
Down 0.6! Woo hoo!

I've worn this dress a billion times...okay, I may be prone to exaggeration. Those are my Tsubo Acreas (last worn back in July). I wore them walking around town all afternoon (I hit two more thrift stores and have all kinds of cheap goodies).

Dress (I.N.C.), shoes (Tsubos).

L was out of town this weekend, so Elaine and I went to see "Black Swan" (I loved the campy, over-the-top feel of it), and then went for drinks after. To go with the overwrought drama of the movie, I went with this slinky sequined tank dress:
It's one of my Plum deals from the clearance - it was regular $129.00 and I got it for $20!

(See who I'm looking at? I see a wee little head just peeking in the bottom of the picture).

I'm wearing a new-to-me cornflower blue cotton/Lycra tee that I picked up in a thrift store for $9.50 (which is probably a bit too much for H&M, but at least the tee has never been worn).

Dontcha just love the ruched sleeves?
Sorry that the photos are dark - black is the hardest to photograph at night and the flash looked ass.

Here's a better shot of the top:

I layered the tee under the dress for a bit more coverage - the necklines are the same.

But I know you're all squinting to see what the shoes look like. These are one of the sale pairs I got for $40 back in December:

Oh, *swoon*! Look at that rich purpley-blue! That part is suede, the black patent parts are patent leather. I love the stitching in the "fan" shape and the black ribbons.

The ribbons end in black leather hearts:

I had to double-knot the bows to make them stay done up.

The original price on these babies:

$139.95! Sweet! This brings my Poetic Licence collection to one, two, three, four, and now five.

Dress (Esprit), tank (H&M, thrifted), shoes (Poetic Licence).

Another WW Meeting...and Lunch Out

WW meeting number two went well - although, wooo...funny how quickly you get out of the habit of getting up at 6am. Heh.


I had another new pair of shoes I just HAD to wear: Plus, I needed to break out the glitzy clothes for late December glamour! I last wore this vintage Alfred Sung skirt here (holy moly, last Feb/March!).

I really loved the neutral metallic colour of the shoes but the floofy bow really pushes them up a notch, so I kept the rest of the outfit (aside from the green lame lace skirt) also neutral.

Sorry, blurry - hard to keep my balance!

I last wore the jacket back in June (here) - it was a little cool, but I have a hard time finding really unique plain brown jackets.

Oh, but I know you're dying to see the shoes:

Pretty sweet, eh? My mom's vintage necklace added a bit more green up near my face (to bring out my green eyes!).

These were the best score of the four pairs I got:
$174.95 and I paid $40.00. Wow.

Mom gave me this awesome purse for Christmas:

I love the colour, and it's a really nice quality vinyl.

Jacket (Pelican Cove, consignment), top (Ellen Tracy, gift from Caro), skirt (Alfred Sung, vintage 80s, consignment), shoes (Jeffrey Campbell), necklace (Mom's, vintage 60s), purse (gift from Mom).

Today, L and I went out for lunch, then bought groceries. Of course I dress nice for groceries!

These jeans are new! I adore black jeans, and these were marked down to $27 at Plum, from $90. They are pretty long on me, but I'll see how they shrink after I wash them. It's not like I suffer from a lack of heels to wear.

The top was last seen here - the bright sunny colours make me feel happy!

I also got some new outerwear accessories at Plum earlier this week:

It's that 80s shade of green - really vibrant. The gloves and scarf are acrylic wool; the gloves were $4 and the scarf was $7. I love long gloves.

And if I'm going to do yellow and green, then I have to wear the yellow leather jacket:

Woo! Bright!

My new little wrist-twist:

I like the neutral metallic leather and the studs - cool clasp, too. It was $7, regular $45 (I hit the Club Monaco accessory sale selection again). Gotta have my rock 'n' roll, man!

I needed a) heels with these long jeans and b) comfy shoes and c) something that went with the outfit. My python wedges fit the bill:

I totally cheated and wore taupe socks with them! Bwahahaha! The jeans were so long, you couldn't see them, even when I was sitting down.

I also wanted to wear this awesome new belt buckle (I just attached it to the belt that I use for this buckle worn here):

I'm a huge fan of pin-up girls - and I fell in love with this lovely beauty. This buckle was 1/2 price for $12.50. I got it at the same store where I got all the shoes.

Top (Liz & Co.), jeans (Dish), shoes (Aerosoles), gloves/scarf (Plum), jacket (Danier Leather).

A very Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers, readers and commenters. I am honoured to know you all, and thankful for your kind words, encouragement and I celebrate your general awesomeness. I hope you have a safe, happy and fun-filled evening tomorrow night!

I will be posting my New Year's Eve outfit (we're throwing a party!) after the fact...and stay tuned for the 2010 Major Awards!

Out With a Bang! - A Whole Lotta Frosting

Okay, have to make this quick as we have to eat dinner and go to our Strata AGM. The joy.

I was happy with this outfit. After all the cake and frosting discussion (and strangely, I am not craving cake AT ALL) yesterday, I resurrected this "cake" dress:
Can you believe I haven't worn this in a year? What's wrong with me? Clearly, I am deranged.

I enjoyed playing with layers with this - button-down shirts (this one was first worn here), once my sworn enemy, are now a staple for layering under my sweater dresses (and are good for showing off L's cufflink collection).

I felt too exposed in the middle (and lumpy) from the shirt, so I added the bustier over it (last seen for Hallowe'en - look out, costume pictures), and my bigass belt. I love the striped tights with the plaid.

Iced it all with the shiny shoes, two necklaces and the cufflinks:

This just didn't look right to me without all that blingy goodness.

The stuff:

The shoes were last worn in May with my groovy London dress (here). They are up high in my closet and I totally forgot about them!

The shiny stuff:

I've worn that pair of necklaces together for years.

The cufflinks are from the 50s-70s and feature hematite (known as "Alaska black diamond" back in the day, I believe).

They are stamped "Senator" which was by Sherman:

Nice.

Dress (Vero Moda), shirt (Ann Taylor, thrifted), bustier (Le Chateau, consignment), tights (Filodoro), shoes (BCBGirls), necklaces (Plum and Jacob), earrings (Aldo Accessories), cufflinks (Senator by Sherman, vintage).

I'll Fly Away

Dang, I hate that it's dark out when I take my pictures now - I have every light in the house on, the 'backlight' on my camera on, and still, all the colours look muddy and dark. Where's my cute guy with the light reflector? I'm sure L won't mind, hee.

This is my new top that I got at Winners last Friday:
I am not usually one to go with pastels (this is mostly mint green), or those "slash" dye jobs, but I liked the purple, burgundy, blue pattern over the green and the top looked cute on. Okay, the $10 price tag also convinced me.

In case you can't tell, I'm wearing burgundy boots (last seen here), a brown lace skirt (last seen here) and a purple long-sleeved tee (I had also packed my navy underflounce skirt, but it was too short to show under this skirt). Hmmm...my "teeth" necklace barely shows. What's up with that?

I liked the sleeves on this tee - something a little different. I've got wings!
It's also been a year since I started doing pee-pushups (have you been doing yours? scroll down) and I love that my arms are nice and shapely and strong!

The stuff:

Mmmm...shiny red boots...

A close-up:

You can see what I mean by the "slash" dye job.

Tee (Casual Freedom), long-sleeved tee (Press), skirt (Planet), boots (Aldo outlet), earrings (gift from Elaine), necklace (The Bay).

Because I Can Can Can!

Okay, another quick post! I've been out shopping (not for me, for Bo, who needed a dress...although I did buy a dress too), and I had a glass of wine. And now I'm really tired, and I have The Big Interview tomorrow.

I got this skirt on the weekend with birthday money from L:
I reminded me of can-can dancers at the Moulin Rouge. Of course, I had to go all in tones of red to go with it. It was $29.99 on consignment. It has big sections that are folded and stitched down, to give the hem an uneven edge. I love that detail.

The brand is MNG, which I'd never heard of, but apparently it's by Mango.

Looking somewhat normal:

I love these boots - I recall when I got them that I didn't think I'd ever wear them for "everyday". Heh. That was a few years ago.

The stuff:

I had blurring issues, and light issues (it's dark out), sorry. The colour are all wonky. Think blood red for the boots.

A close-up:

You can see that the skirt has this nice ribbon-y texture with stripes of red, burgundy, black and orange.

The necklace L bought me last year, Mom's vintage choker and my silver ring.

And look who was watching me while I did all this:

It's Inigo! That is classic Inigo posing.

Long-sleeved tee (Press), velvet vest (Surrey Classics, consignment), skirt (MNG, consignment), boots (Aldo outlet), choker (vintage 60s, Mom's), domino necklace (gift from L), ring (gift from Cindy).

Birthday Booty - and Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Whew! This lovely extra-long weekend is nearly over, sadly. But I packed as much into it (including the valued nap time) as I could.

Before I forget...I got a call-back from the phone interview! They were "so impressed" with my phone manner that they want to interview me in person for BOTH jobs that I applied for (hey, I give good phone, what can I say)! I will be doing multiple interviews AND a technology test all afternoon on Thursday. Woo hoo! I'm so excited!

Anyway, I was pretty much on cloud 9 for my actual birthday, as you can guess. I received $200 from my m-i-l (love her!), and L gave me his presents Saturday morning: How spoiled am I? Clockwise from top left: a handmade bracelet from India, a Tori Amos CD ("Little Earthquakes"), the next book in the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy, and a new wallet (SwissGear) stuffed with $100.

We went out for lunch to our favourite diner, where the owner Peter treated us to lunch on the house. They also made me a card: Eggs, potatoes and bacon - it looks like a face! (I had an omelette, salad and toast).

We tidied up the house and I got ready for the party. Face:
I did gold eyeshadow and red, red lips. Fresh-dyed hair too! With my specs, and my little workhorse of a camera. I also did my nails - I rarely do them (I think I was channeling Hillary again). I got these new Sally Hansen nail pens, so I did both hands and toes, then drew designs on my left-hand nails:
Those are the boxes in the background - they were only $3.99 each at London Drugs. I did every nail different, just to play with designs.

And here's the whole package:
This is the second wearing of this dress (worn for New Year's Eve last year here). I found a tube-shaped body slimmer to take out some of lines (this fabric shows everything).

I felt like a disco queen!

The dress is a very bright true red - not the pinky or coral shade it looks like.

The stuff:
My classic gold sandals. I don't even know how long I've had these. The ring and earrings are new, both on sale (less than $10). I love the look of them.

A close-up:

The ring has no loose end - it's like a double set of springs.

Dress (Lori Ann Montreal, thrifted), shoes (Guess), earrings and ring (Aldo Accessories).

I got a couple of other gifts:
A very generous present of scotch from Spence and Kim.

And Mom gave me this awesome Marks & Spencers necklace she picked up while thrifting (way to go, Mom!), and this lovely brooch she found in London (you're so sneaky): She also gave me $100, so I think I'm going to have to go find that pair of over-the-knee boots that have been calling my name...

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Canadians! I hope you enjoy your turkey and pumpkin pie!

Summery and Shiny

For Julia who asked, the temperatures are in the low 70s here (highs of 17 or so for those of you who use Celcius). So yeah, I'm still hauling out my sweaters and tweeds:
I got the shoes in a thrift shop this weekend for only $8! They still had the Winners price tag on them: $50.00. And to top it off, the next day I saw the same pair (different size) in my favourite consignment shop for $32! Score!

The purple tank peeking out is also new. It still had the tags on it - it was $15.

The stuff:
Oh! Shiny! Caw caw! Look at all those glorious sequins!

I do love the cool colours in the shoes: yellow, green and purple.

A close-up of the jewelry:

The necklace and earrings are cheapy-cheapy, but the bracelet is vintage (Mom's).

This is the last day of the Summer Black-Out, so I'll be back...in black (or not).

Cardigan (no label, consignment), tank (Costa Blanca, consignment), skirt (Precis Petite), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, thrifted), necklace (Le Chateau), earrings (Aldo Accessories), bracelet (Trifari, vintage, Mom's).

London - Victoria & Albert, and the Houses of Parliament (and Sort of Westminster Abbey)

And we're back to my vacation pictures. You've all been such a captive audience (heh heh).

We ate our dinner in this fancy-schmancy pub one night:
I worked in the service industry for over a decade, and I've never had such poor service as I did in London. Sorry to make such a sweeping generalization, but I guess I am spoiled by the service in restaurants I frequent. Things we noticed:

• no greeting;
• no taking a drink order right away (we have to get our priorities here!);
• no checking in to see if our food is okay/we need another drink;
• leaving all the dirty dishes on the table until everyone is done (ew); and
• not up-selling (dessert? coffee? another drink?).

It was just weird. No wonder the tip is included in the service! I wouldn't have tipped otherwise! It's been so good to get home and eat out properly. Hee!

Anyway, that pub above, aside from having bad service, also had a wandering saxophone minstrel. Oooooh, boy. He played the lyric line along with a karaoke-style music track for all kinds of songs, merrily butchering them as he went. It was standard AM radio fare until...oh no, he couldn't...oh, god, I hope he does! He is! Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"! Yes, it was a bad as you can possibly imagine.

I'm glad I caught a picture of the train coming in at Paddington Station:
We headed off to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where we took hundreds of pictures! I can't believe they let you take pictures in museums! It seems so strange.

Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you to death with pictures of sculpture and objets d'art. I went to this exhibit of Grace Kelly's fashion and I wandered in the general fashion exhibit for about an hour. Mom and L did their own things.

After that, we took the tube to Harrod's:

It was okay. Lots of snooty shoppers vying for attention with hordes of tourists. I liked the Egyptian escalator.

Then we wandered over to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben:

Everything was still in security lock-down following the election:

Yikes, that's a machine gun!

We fully intended to visit Westminster Abbey, but they closed at 3:30. What's up with that?

It did have some cool gargoyles:

Wait till you see the pictures I took of the ones at Notre Dame!

This pigeon was baiting me as I sat on the curb, waiting for Mom in the gift shop (yes, of course the gift shop was still open!):

He kept zooming in for a close-up, then would take off.

And on to fashion! I got this jacket for 10 pounds (cheapy cheapy!) in Camden Market:

It's sort of an irridescent grey scrunchy nylon, with gold trim on the shoulders and silvery-gold buttons.

I bought it because I loved the collar:

Isn't that cool?

I kept the rest of the outfit fairly low-key with a high-waisted vintage pencil skirt and shiny gold top with built-in embellishments:
Inigo's blocking the shoes, but I think he approved.

The stuff:

I was pleased with the gold and grey combination.

Jacket (A--- style, I can't read the label, it's too stylized), blouse (Casual Corner), skirt (vintage, Gianfranco Ferre), shoes (Aerosoles), earrings (Plum).