Bringing PANK to the Gloom

Back to work today after five whole days off (including my pre-planned stay-cation in there), and wow, was my office dead. For a few hours, there were only 4 of us there, on 3 floors. 

My boss gave me a quizzical eyebrow when he saw me. "I'm bringing PANK to the gloom," I said.

• Dress - Essentiel Antwerp, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) in December 2019 with trout shoes
• Shoes - Enneagram Individualist, Fluevog; last seen here in February for my last haircut (it's going to be a while before I get another one!)
• Coat (below) - Vassali, consignment; last worn here a week ago

I had a reader/commenter request for PANK, so PANK ye shall have!

Why PANK? It's so pink...it's PANK!

It's a lovely loose swing dress.

To which I added very busy floral tights.

It has pockets! Yes!

I loved how my shoes went with this full look.

Outerwear - it was chilly in the morning (and oh, did it ever feel early!).

I am done with this coat - it's got a rip in the back now, and I just don't love it. Off it goes to the giveaway pile.

If stores ever reopen, if the world ever returns to semi-normal, I'll look for a new long black coat.

It'll be hard to top the pizzazz of this one, but I have faith that an even better black coat is out there. Thank you, coat!

I first wore it here in December 2012, and bought it here in November 2012 for $72.00. I've probably worn it at least 5-10 times per year in just over 9 years, so I'm definitely under $2.00 per wear and probably closer to $1.00 per wear. I'm completely good with that.

• Gloves - consignment

The stuff:

I love these shoes, and although they aren't quite PANK, they are still a pretty close match to the dress and tights.

• Necklace - thrifted
• Earrings - Kate Spade, consignment; purchased here for $13.50
• Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

I totally forgot to take a "bling" picture. D'oh! My brain was all scrambled from the stress of restocking "someone's" kitty treats after work. Mental note: go to stores mid-day!

"But did you get me more treats, Woman??"

I had to wait outside Bosley's Pet Food, distanced 6' apart from the other shoppers, as they were only letting in 2 people at a time. The wonderful staff got what I needed, and then I paid for it...except that all the debit machines were down!

"Answer the question, Woman! This is important business!"

I did, little loaf-cat. After running to the drug store to see if their ATM was working (no), or to ask if I could buy some cash (no, they said it was nation-wide, that the system was overwhelmed), I ran back to town and took some cash out at the bank (that worked). Phew! I feel frazzled!

It's a frazzly time, isn't it? I also realized that I forgot to include this close-up of me and Vizzini in my Vampire Anniversary post.

"Woman, you need some serious purr-therapy."

I really do! And I'll have lots of time for it, since my boss told me to stay home tomorrow and Thursday - I'll be back at work on Friday to check in on the office (I had 75 emails today to slog through).

A quick thank you to all of you who are out there reading and commenting! I really appreciate it. Stay safe, my friends.

Pink Shirt Day - PANK Dress Flashback

Today, is Pink Shirt Day (link here 'cause I love) in Canada, in which you wear a pink shirt to show your support against bullying. I was bullied through elementary school, and in two jobs as an adult. It can happen at any age, to anyone, and it's a horrible, traumatizing ordeal to go through. 

I've had this outfit lined up since I bought the cardigan a couple of weeks ago. 

I had actually forgotten about Pink Shirt Day, so it was only a stroke of luck that I happened to pick a very pink outfit!

• Dress - Essentiel Antwerp, consignment; last worn here in March 2020 bringing PANK to the gloom
• Cashmere cardigan - Charter Club, thrifted; purchased here for $15.00
• Boots - Rockport, thrifted; last seen here in November 2020 with dragonscale and a cape
• Leather trenchcoat (below) - vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here in January

This dress is so pink...it's PANK!

I couldn't possibly be grumpy in this vibrant colour. 

First wearing of this new-to-me cashmere leopard cardigan. 

It was wonderful and soft, and fit really well with the dress. 

How have I not done leopard and pink (or PANK) before? 

Masked up - another leopard one (I have 3). 

I'll be doing a wee Flashback on this awesome dress shortly. 

Outerwear - the weather is mercurial. Freezing overnight, frost in the morning, then sun, then clouds. 

I'm ready for anything! 

Outerwear stuff: 

I do love a nice brown set. 

• Mask - Lazy Susan's
• Fur scarf - thrifted
• Gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff: 

I had a pretty busy day at work, and did a bit of running around in these boots, going up and down between floors. Good thing the Shoe Math is in my favour - they are really only an inch heel when you factor in the platform. 

Brass bling: 

My coworker Amanda was impressed at the age on my 1994-ish earrings. I feel old...I was 26-27 in 1994! It was just yesterday!

• Brass/leather cuff - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Mexican brass necklace - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Slashed cuff - Midzo, vintage fair
• Earrings - LA Express, c. 1994
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted

Peace! 

I took this at work and sent it out to everyone in my province, to encourage them to take a picture of themselves in pink shirts for our newsletter. It worked! 

Flashback: Essentiel Antwerp PANK Dress

I bought this dress here in November 2017 on a shopping date with Petra at My Sister's Closet - wow, do I ever miss that store! Of the five things I bought that day, I still have three of them: this dress, my silk Danger Pants, and my Rodarte Opening Ceremony coat (aka the Ringmaster Coat). They had such good stuff at My Sister's Closet - I really miss it since it closed last year. 

I was of course attracted to the very bright pink of it. 

It's not my usual style - I tend to veer away from swing cuts, as they just hang off my boobs and erase the rest of my figure, but I loved it once I tried it on. It's good for showing off my legs! 

It also helped that it had side pockets (that hadn't even been undone!). I do love pockets in a dress - that can make or break a garment for me. I also adore the big floppy cuffs - so dramatic.

It does up with those kajillion little fabric-covered buttons up the front - I have to do up about a dozen of them to slip the dress on over my head. It's not a good dress for shopping or when you want to try things on! 

I recognized the label and brand from my European blogger friends (Greetje mostly - she loves this brand) - so I knew it would be good quality. It's washable too. 

It was $60.98, which felt like a lot until I looked it up and found that it retailed for $300.00! It was from 2016, so was only a year old at the time I bought it. 

I'm pretty sure whoever consigned it did so due to the colour - you have to be okay with being stared at in it! I came up with "It's so pink it's PANK" the first time I wore it to work, in November 2017. It doesn't look overly bright here (it's very vivid in person), but I think you'll be able to tell when I replaced my camera...

I went safe and picked black as my accent, with a black and white polka-dotted scarf in my hair and pink polka dot tights. Boots Flashback here. 

I kept everything pretty simple in February 2018, just a gold necklace.

And these funky black and gold studded booties, which I moved along a few years ago (they were too high).

When I bought these new Fluevog boots in October 2018, I knew I had to wear them with the dress! And I did! 

Vizzini doing his usual photobomb. I did sheer black tights and a ribbon tied at the neck. I usually wear a slim-fitting half-slip on the bottom to keep from feeling/being overexposed.

I went back to colourful tights in December 2018, and added a matchy sparkly necklace. 

I love pink and purple together - shoe Flashback here. 

More colourful tights in February 2019.

A little furry blue brooch, and fringed booties, and I'm good to go! 

Are you ready? Camera change! Now THAT's the actual colour. PANK. 

More colourful tights and another pair of new purple Fluevogs, in June 2019. I seem to test out my new shoes with this dress a lot! 

A sedate "Clothing as Armour" look following a social evening out (at the Fluevog store, meeting John Fluevog!) in December 2019. 

A different pair of dotty tights, and my beloved Trout shoes (Flashback here). 

And this is the last time I wore it, with a different necklace and yet another new pair of Fluevogs. 

This was in March 2020. I brought PANK to the gloom of the then-recent lockdown.

Mathy stuff: Today marks the 9th time wearing this dress, and it's still going strong. We're currently at $6.78 per wear, which sounds much better than $60.98! That's sure to drop as I continue to wear it. 

Do you have any bright pink your closet? What would you wear with PANK? 

Necessary PANK and Red

Ah, Monday - but at least it's a short week with Remembrance Day (Nov 11th) a holiday in Canada. L and I have also both taken Friday off, so I'm really looking forward to a nice four-day weekend!

But I still have three days to get through, and that means lots of colour! 

I was really happy with this bright outfit today. This is my favourite shade of pink: PANK (all caps). As in, "It's so pink it's PANK!"

• Wool jacket - Gap, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in September with a pouffy skirt
• Blouse - Tatum & Olivia, consignment; last seen here in October with my Tattoo Jacket for brunch
• Wool/angora skirt - Escada, vintage 80s, thrifted; first worn here in January with purples
• Shoes - Truths Pilgrim, Fluevog; last seen here in March to say farewell to Pluto's
• Sleeveless coat (below) - Only, thrifted; last worn here in September

This skirt is challenging to style due to it being three bold colours: PANK, red and dark purple. 

I deliberately kept this PANK jacket out for winter this year, both for Colour Therapy and to go with this skirt. It's a necessary colour!

I went with just basic white for the top, although with all the ruffles, this is anything but basic. 

And I just wore beige nylons instead of the purple tights I'd planned - they felt too dark. 

The skirt is wool mixed with a touch of angora - it's knit like a sweater. 

The dark purple zigzags are intarsia knit - do you know this term? It means that the pattern is knit without the other colours being being carried across the back, leaving the inside of the garment looking almost the same as the outside. This article here shows the idea well (link 'cause I love, of course). 

Masked up - I went with a red one. 

I wish I'd had time to walk around and show this outfit to my colleagues, but I was swamped today and barely left my desk. 

Outerwear. This sleeveless coat is awesome for wearing over other jackets.

Brrrr, it's getting colder out now, with temps hovering between 7-10 degrees night and day. 

Accoutrements: 

I wore my new-to-me gloves and they were lovely (I didn't notice the hand-softening properties at all), although the snap-straps like to come undone. I might have to crazy-glue them shut.

• Gloves - Echo, consignment; purchased here for $32.00
• Mask - Lazy Susan's
• Scarf - Zhensi, Lazy Susan's

The stuff: 

These shoes are amazingly comfy, which is why I have one pair of boots and another pair of shoes from this family. 

Purple and pink bling: 

I wore the brooch on the lapel of the jacket. 

• Brooch - Eaton's, c. 2000
• Amethyst/silver ring - vintage mall
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
• Earrings - consignment, Vancouver

Do you have any PANK in your wardrobe? What's the brightest colour you wear? 

PANK and Lime Slackers

Today's outfit was built to showcase these fabulous new boots, but the PANK dress always steals the show! 

WTF is PANK, you wonder? It's so pink...it's PANK! 

• Dress - Essentiel Antwerp, consignment; last seen here in the final outfit (and Reader Request) of my 2021/22 fall/winter wardrobe, in March
• Boots - Slacker Vagabond, Fluevog; purchased here with gift cards for $529.00
• Sweetums Cape (below) - vintage 70s, consignment; last worn here in October to Winesday

I was amused by the "Valentino Pink" that has been all over the designer's runway this past season (prepare to have your eyes seared here, link 'cause I love). 

Puh-leeze, Valentino. For one, this is called Schiaparelli Pink and is from the 1930s, fer goodness' sake (Vogue story here from 2012!). 

I coined "PANK" for this colour the first time I wore this dress, back here in November 2017, five years ago.

Everything old is new again! 

Masked up. 

But of course, blah blah, PANK - it's all about the lime boots, isn't it? I pulled one of my only remaining pairs of patterned tights out to wear with them. 

Outerwear - Sweetums returns! 

I'm excited to wear her for fall/winter - I'll be layering coats underneath for extra warmth. 

I got soaked on the way to work, but she dried right out. 

Instead of my usual backpack (which makes me look like Quasimodo when I wear a cape), I carried a small purse, with my boots in a plastic bag, inside a cloth tote. 

Accoutrements: 

My lovely fur boa was looking rather ratty, so I gave it a good spray with dry shampoo. Fluffed it right up! 

• Boa - thrifted
• Cashmere beret - Club Monaco, thrifted
• Leather/cashmere-lined gloves - consignment
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

I love that these are called the Slacker Vagabond. The unique names of my Fluevogs makes it easy to find them when I search my blog, but it takes me a while to learn them. They were awesomely comfy all day. 

Sparkly bling: 

This set never photographs that well - it's set in a bronzy-tone metal, but those are Swarovski iridescent crystals in shades of purple and pink. 

• Necklace/bracelet/earrings - Myka, gifts from L
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall

Blue Lace Legs, New Floral and PANK Moto Flashback

Today was a busy day in the office, for a nice change. The day just flew by! I had a Teams meeting with some of my coworkers, who loved my bright outfit. 

Most of them only saw my top half, but I did stand up at my desk and waggle my feet for a few of them. 

• Jacket - Gap, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here in May 2020 over a second-chance blue dress
• Tank sweater - Ellen Tracy, swap from Caro; last worn here (3rd outfit) with a kimono for a party in the park in August 2020
• Skirt - Anna Sui, thrifted; purchased here for $16.95
• Shoes - Prepare Guide, Fluevog; last worn here in September 2020 for brunch

I am a big fan of this bright pink (aka PANK, as in "so pink...it's PANK!") colour - it makes me feel cheery.

I liked how well it went with this new-to-me skirt. 

I played with the colours of the skirt and brought out my blue lace tights. 

They looked so cool with the turquoise shoes. 

Masked up. 

I wore my jacket in the office all day - didn't take it off at all. We'll have a little Flashback on it shortly. 

Outerwear - I just added gloves and a scarf for warmth in the morning. 

It was supposed to rain today, but it held off until I got home. 

Outerwear stuff: 

I didn't need the scarf or gloves on the walk home. 

• Silk scarf - vintage, thrifted
• Leather/cashmere gloves - consignment
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

These shoes are so comfortable - I actually wore them home as I had a couple of errands to run, and frankly, I wanted to show off my full outfit. I hope I brightened someone's day. 

Turquoise bling: 

A bunch of favourites, including Karen's pendant. 

• Turquoise/silver ring - local
• Fulvia Ring/lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Earrings - used furniture store
• Pendant - Karen's 

Flashback: Gap Wool Moto Jacket

Yet another excellent item bought here in March 2019 on our last anniversary trip to Vancouver - that was a very fruitful shopping trip! I was drawn to the bright colour, duh. 

So sweet! I love all the pockets - they are all real (I found Linda's address in one this morning from a Winesday back in 2019). 

And yes, it is by the Gap, from their Holiday 2013 collection. I bought it second-hand for $22.49 - it originally retailed for $195.00. 

Excuse me, Gap people, you got the colour wrong - it's not "Vibrant Fuchsia"! It's PANK! 

I wore it right away that evening, out for dinner, so this is March 2019.

All bundled up with my matching fur boa. Shoes Flashbacked here. 

I mostly wear it as outerwear, so you'll recognize many of these outfits from Flashbacks...but here they are with my jacket over them. 

Also in March 2019, showing off my new jewelry and shoes from that Vancouver trip to my coworkers. Dress Flashback here. 

It goes really well with my little pink slippers (same Vancouver trip!), so I had to pair them. 

This was in April 2019. Pants Flashbacked here; shirt Flashbacked here. Hey, where is that scarf? That's the one I should have worn today! 

Matching to my tights, also in April 2019. 

That vest-y/dress thing was Flashbacked here, and the shoes here. 

I wore this outfit out for lunch for L's birthday with Mom. 

I'm showing off my pretty sequined Union Jack flag purse. I gave up both the dress and the sandals after 2019.

Ah, this is the Winesday outfit that I wore to Linda's, back in July 2019. 

That skirt is calling to me - Flashback here - I can't wait for hot weather to wear it again! 

I love the mix of PANK and orange here in September 2019. 

Those shoes again. Trousers Flashbacked here. 

And here's the last time I wore it, back in May 2020. 

With today's shoes (Flashback here)! 

Mathy stuff: Including today's outfit, I've now worn my PANK jacket 9 times, which brings me to $2.50 per wear. I'm shocked and a bit sad that I only wore it once all of last spring/summer, but it's not our usual world, is it? Hopefully, I'll manage to sneak in a few more wearings out of it this season. 

Are you a moto(rcycle) jacket fan? Would you ever wear a coloured one?