Flowers and Denim on a Weekday (Oh, and A Butt Shot)

Today, there were glimpses of sun, and not just on my lapel:

I do like to make my own sunshine. And as you can see from the glare on my picture, it's actually light outside! Will wonders never cease?

This jacket is new-to-me: it's another Smoking Lily item (I adore their clothing - here's a post with links to my Smoking Lily items). It was $26.95 in a consignment store and you can bet I snatched it up! It's a stretchy denim with aqua denim piping all around the edges, and aqua on the cuff linings:

The skirt is my mystery skirt - I thrifted it in Seattle a few years ago. It doesn't have a label, just a little tag with a leaf on it. I love the heathery green tweed of it and the embroidered flowers on the bottom.

I'm wearing a red top underneath to tie in with the red in the flowers. My second day with no neutrals! Colours are the new neutral!

Detail of the jacket:

Hand silk-screened detail on the inside back.

The stuff:

I would love to show when I last wore these, but it's nearly impossible to search on a brand called "Me Too". Actually, I think I remember when I wore them last...yup, here. Hmmm...I need to wear that skirt again.

A close-up of the bits:

That is a most excellent flower. The earrings were a gift from my dear friend Sherylyn.

Note: no kick-backs from Smoking Lily - I link because I love.

Jacket (Smoking Lily, consignment), top (Planet), skirt (mystery, thrifted), shoes (Me Too), flower (Roberta's Hats), earrings (Shi Studio, gift from Sherylyn).

Oh, and yes, that is my butt over on Wendy Brandes' blog, doing an imitation of a Loverboy album cover. I was browsing online late the other night and well...the rest is history:

I guess you could say I got lucky!

A Fluevog A Day - Listen Ups Harlow

Well, this is it: my last day of the Daily Fluevog. I have now worn every single pair of Fluevogs that I own, which is 11. I go to eleven!

These are my oldest Fluevogs and I love them dearly. I hope they never, ever wear out. I got these about 5 years ago, when I was heavier than I am now (remember? I lost 50 lbs). They are one of the only things in my wardrobe that I still have from my "fat" days. Without further ado: I quite liked this outfit - usually I do these shoes with black and some other colour to pop off the black (like last time worn here), but this time I did more of a colour mix. This is the second wear of both the skirt (last seen here) and the cardigan (first worn here).

Doing the Wendy B pose:

The shoes make me think of gangsters' molls.

The stuff:

My purple skinny belt went perfectly.

The jewelry:

My black rose and my little white stone earrings.

Wow, over two weeks of Fluevogs - whatever will I wear tomorrow??

Cardigan (Plum), skirt (Dex, thrifted), belt (Plum), bracelet (Le Chateau), earrings (Plum), shoes (Listen Up Harlow, Fluevogs).

St. Patty's Day Greens

I love having a holiday that begets dressing up right when starting a new job. It's my excuse to break out a little. Today, it was colour mixing and a touch of bigass: This is a new-to-me Talbot's shirt - it's 100% cotton and wrinkles if I even look at it, but I love the slightly olive tone to it and the tux details on the front. It was $10.50 thrifted.

I just now realized that the skirt is also a Talbot's item - I've had it for about 3 years and just love it (last seen here).

A close-up of the top half:

The collar of the shirt is actually mandarin - I folded it down to make a V to show off the (doubled up) necklace).

My bigass-ery is the rose and the shoes (naturally).

The stuff: You can see a bit more of the ribbon trim on the tux front of the shirt there. This is the second wear of the shoes (last seen here).

Close-up of the bling:

I did a mix of copper, orange and green. And isn't that a realistic-looking fabric rose?

Blouse (Talbot's, thrifted), vest (Vero Moda), skirt (Talbot's, consignment), shoes (Marc Fisher), rose (Roberta's Hats), necklace and earrings (Plum), jade ring (vintage, Mom's).

I miss being able to leisurely browse all your blogs - thank you so much for continuing to read and comment! - but I am back to minimal non-work computer time. And tonight, I have to dash off to Book Club.

I changed, since I'm walking there:

Of course, green boots are required!

Sweater (Max Studio), cami (Smart Set), jeans (Jackpot, swap from Caro), boots (Pegabo), same jewelry as above.

You Know Me So Well!

Today was my First Day at the New Job - and following yesterday's poll, I realized, wow! You guys really know my style!

Here's what I wore:
Pencil skirt: check! (30 votes) Blouse/shirt: check! (15 votes) Belt: check! (16 votes) Kitten heels: check! (17 votes) Bold jewelry: check (21 votes) Also, good job on predicting neutrals and pattern mixing!

I fooled you, too, though. I wore sheer (the shirt) and strapless! The single votes for those are mine - of course, I always vote on my own polls.

The skirt is new - I got it at the same boutique as the fab New Job Jacket.

Oh, and blazer: check! (19 votes):

It was sort of sunny today, and this jacket is a heavy velvety brocade, so I wore it as outerwear (only worn once, here).

I did wear a scarf, because it got chilly!

I walked to one of my company's offices this morning for the HR orientation, then walked about 8 blocks to my main office (it's only about 6 blocks from my old office, so I'm actually on exactly the same route to walk as before).

For those of you who've asked, I will indeed be able to continue doing my Tuesday WW group - I'll just make up the time missed. Pretty sweet!

My first day was good - I liked all the people I met and it seems like the job will be right in my wheelhouse. Lots of different things to do - and you can bet that in a year, I'll be running things like clockwork!

This skirt deserved some detail shots:

It's hard to see but it's a felted wool, with patches of fuzzier wool with loops of yarn felted to it, and random stitches. Above is the front of the skirt.

And here's the back:

I like the pockets.

The stuff:

You can see the nice brocade texture in the jacket there.

A close-up:

Naturally I went with bold accessories: my watch necklace, my silver ring and big white gold hoops.

I also did cufflinks:

These are L's and are 60s or 70s vintage, I think. The silhouette is of Pallas or Athena.

When you open the "lock" mechanism, you can see the "Hickok" stamp on them:

The opposite side says "USA".

Jacket (Nine & Company by Nine West, thrifted), shirt (Banana Republic, thrifted), bustier (Le Chateau, consignment), skirt (Solola), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, swap from Cat), belt and necklace (Plum), ring (gift from Cindy), earrings (gift from L), bag (Ollie & Nic).

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).

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).

A Wee Bit of Retail Therapy

I'm getting slightly frustrated (and depressed) about not hearing about this dang job. However, I found out today that my former boss had forgotten to check her cell phone (she also got laid off, so can't blame her) and had missed the call for my reference! She said she gave me a glowing review, but still...yikes. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what's going on - it's been a week since the interview and it seems like I should have heard something by now. I don't think that's too pushy, do you?

Anyway, I didn't want to sit around all day waiting for the phone to ring, so I got dressed in what I'd planned to wear to Book Club tonight (it was pushed back to next week) and visited four of my regular consignment/thrift stores. I had some major scores - I'll be wearing all the pieces over the next few weeks.

I was inspired by this outfit of Audi's over at Fashion For Nerds - I have been struggling to do a non-costume-y look with my long striped jacket that I wore for Hallowe'en and I loved how she did hers with over-the-knee boots.

Here's what I did:
My funky blouse (first seen here), with these new dark-wash skinny jeans (they're actually cropped with zippers - will be wonderful for warmer weather) that Caro gave me (I love my friends!), and my olive boots (last seen here). This is probably the last wear of my tall boots as the weather had better smarten up and be Spring-like, dammit!

Moving on...*ahem*

I'm also wearing my new zebra belt buckle that I bought in December when I hit my favourite shoe store (I got it the same time as my pin-up girl one).

And then I added the jacket over all of it! I must say, this looked awesome walking around. I did up the top 3 buttons and let the skirt part swing around - the jacket is quite a stiff cotton, so it billowed most satisfactorily in the wind.

I love the bits of embroidery on it. Please check out the details in the Hallowe'en link above if you want to see more of it.

The stuff:

I love that the blouse - which has no olive or khaki in it - goes so great with olive! I had fun mixing patterns in this outfit.

A close-up:

I also wore that necklace - I liked how all the patterns worked, and I think it's because they are all based on black and white. I had several compliments on my outfit from the ladies in a couple of the shops (although one of the shops is completely staffed by volunteer elderly ladies, who eye me suspiciously and follow me around. You'd think they'd recognize me by now).

Hee, you can see me in the ball earrings.

Jacket (Noa Noa), blouse (Marcona, thrifted), jeans (Jackpot, swap from Caro), belt (Shi Studio), buckle (She She Shoes), boots (Pegabo), necklace (Shi Studio), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Tuesday WW Group - Plaid Prada Peeking Out

After last week, this week feels very anticlimactic: I'm still waiting to hear if I got the job (they called yesterday for my references, yay!), and there are only a few social things on the calendar.

Today, my Tuesday group:
Our theme was "Celebrating Success" and it was a really good meeting - my group has now lost over 100 lbs!

I love this creamy white jacket - it was a fabulous consignment find a few years ago - it's amazingly good quality and fit. I haven't worn it since the 3rd Wardrobe Challenge (it was in the dry-cleaning bag for several months).

I built this outfit around the blouse:

First worn here (ha, same shoes and belt), this is my $3.99 Prada. I love bragging about it!

The stuff:

L and I are going to Vancouver soon, and I'll be checking out Fluevog for another gem like the ones above. What will it be? Hmmmm...

Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment), blouse (Prada, thrifted), skirt (Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy, thrifted), belt (Plum), shoes (Listen Up, Audrey, Fluevog).

Leopard Week! Leopard with Leather

I'm doing leopard today, but this is my last day for Leopard Week. I enjoyed my daytime outfit:

The return of the $20 leather dress (last seen here)! This was probably a little heavy for my weigh-in at WW today (I was up a pound, boo), but I had fun with the leopard tights and another leopard scarf (tied around my neck).

Aside from the outfit I'm wearing tonight, this is pretty much it for my leopard collection. I think I am going to look for more when I'm out thrifting now, though! I love that this dress has pockets - so comfy! I wore this out for lunch as well, so it got lots of looks.

The stuff: Those boots need to go into the re-heel bag for the cobbler.

Dress (Truly, Part Two), tee (Banana Republic, thrifted), tights (Le Chateau), boots (Miz Mooz), belt (Le Chateau), scarf (Fairweather), earrings (gift from L).

Leopard Week! Funky Friday

Welcome to Leopard Week! Go here for links to participants.

I plan to extend leopard week to tomorrow, as I have a special occasion tomorrow night and I have some crazy leopard action that I want to show off. You all can continue if you like - enjoy leopard! I will post a round-up of my favourite leopard outfits from all of the participants on Sunday.

Not much going on today/tonight, aside from meeting up with my ex-cohorts from my last job in about half an hour for drinks (eep, I'm running late!). Of course, I had to go a little over the top - it's Friday! Woo hoo!
Inigo is studiously ignoring me.

This is my awesome ruched leopard pencil skirt (last seen here, with exactly the same taupe top and necklace). I wanted to show off these fab booties that I picked up a couple of days ago at The Bay:

Inigo deigns to notice me. This calls for some lovin'!

Seriously, aren't those awesome boots? They were regular $170 and I stalked them until they were marked down to a more decent price, and then an extra 40% off. They ended up being $47.99.

The top business:

My thrifted boyfriend jacket tops it off (last seen here, with leopard, how cool) and my cuff, of course.

But check out these bad boys:

See the leopard lining? It's like secret leopard! And how could I resist all those studs and buckles? *swoon*

Jacket (Banana Republic, thrifted), top (Ellen Tracy, gift from Caro), skirt (Le Chateau, consignment), belt (gift from Ruth), booties (Libby Edelman), necklace (Plum), cuff (vintage), earrings (gift from L).