May 15th - Outfit #13 - Cobalt and Aqua

Not much to say today - it's still nice and warm out, and I've got to dash to my WW meeting.

I liked my outfit:

I love how this blue/aqua and the purple in the obi work together. So rich!

This is my blue top that I wore here last, with my Desigual skirt (last seen here). I'm wearing a turquoise cami (not in the capsule) underneath for less boobtacular views.

And Happy Fluevog Day*! Did you wear your Fluevogs today?

I did! I love these so much. I last wore them here.

Top (Oxmo), cami (Esprit), skirt (Desigual, thrifted), obi (Smoking Lily), shoes (Prepare Guides, Fluevog), necklace (Foxy), earrings (Plum).


*I link because I love - I don't get any kind of compensation for links.

May 14th - Outfit #12 - Bright Monday and Pay-Off

Happy Monday! We're having a major heat-wave here on the West coast - woo! It's like August! It's 23/78ish right now at 6:30pm. It's sure a nice change from all the rain and cold we've been having. 

As a result of all the sun, it's a bit glare-y:

This outfit features the last two "fresh" items in the May capsule: this green sleeveless top, and this embroidered tweed skirt.

The top is new-to-me, purchased in early March for $8.00. It's by Limited, and it has some nice neck detailing. The fabric is thick t-shirt material.

I've had this green mystery tweed skirt since October 2009 (here), when I thrifted it in Seattle for $12.50.

It's a mystery because all it has is a leaf tag.

The brown jacket makes another appearance (last worn here). I'm fearing that all the wear I'm getting out of it is starting to show - some of the stitches are unraveling.

I love these blue shoes so much - last wore them here.

Jacket (Pelican Cove, consignment), top (Limited, consignment), skirt (no brand, thrifted), shoes (Feet First), cuff (thrifted).

L and I had some good news this week:

Yes! We are mortgage-free!

This called for a celebration:

Mmmmm...peaty...

May 12th - Outfit #11 - Casual Weekend and Some Shopping

We didn't have enough people for Ultimate yesterday, but I went to my WW meeting anyway.

This was comfortable for my meeting, lunch afterwards, and a wee bit of shopping downtown in the afternoon. This is my Smoking Lily dress, last seen here, and my jean jacket (not part of the capsule) has been in my wardrobe since I went to NYC in the spring of 2007. I last wore it here.

I was really glad I'd covered up a bit - the weather has been HOT this weekend!

My little zebra kitten heels (last seen here) were perfect for all the walking I did - I probably walked about 6 kilometers/3.5 miles, including walking home. My bigass flower helped tie in the browns of the shoes and the bag.

I did simple accessories: my black leather cuff, my octopus necklace and plain white gold hoops.

Of course, I am wearing my Wendy Brandes ring - I wear it nearly every day!

Dress (Smoking Lily "Emma" dress), jacket (Ann Taylor Loft), shoes (Hale Bob), cuff (Guess, thrifted), necklace (Ravens Rest Studio).


I had a nice relaxing afternoon shopping. I've been feeling a little down lately; just stress over work and Inigo's death. I'm working through it, but I find that the peace I get from browsing the racks in consignment/thrift stores helps calm me.

I found these awesome kitten heel gladiator sandals for 1/2 price in a consignment store.

They are leather and are by Enzo Angiolini (I also have these shoes in the same brand). They were $19.

I found a short satin slip in a thrift store for $6.

Most of my slips are at or below the knee. This one is well above the knee so will be great for all those annoying skirts that are clingy.

I am in love with seersucker fabric lately, so I had to have this swooshy skirt.

It's by "Y" and was $16.00

I had a major flashback when Wendy B posted about 90s-wear the other day. Do you remember those beautiful washed silk blouses?

This one is a stunning deep red and it doesn't show any wear (nor sign of having had shoulder pads during its lifetime). It's by Elite International and was only $5. Score! And it's washable!

Today, I walked to the grocery store, bought my groceries (I have them delivered), then continued on my walk down through residential neighbourhoods and along the water. I stopped in at one of my favourite consignment shops for a browse.

I always feel kind of weird in my walking gear (long-sleeved tee, board shorts, runners) when I'm out shopping, but they know me at this store so I don't get followed around like I'm a crazy style-less person. Heh.

I found this awesome spring denim double-breasted coat on their clearance rack for $9.50:

It's by Armour Jeans, one of the lines that Le Chateau carries.

I also found this amazing fitted yellow strapless dress:

It was $18.98 and is by Jacob. I can't wait to wear it this summer!

This incredible pale pink and orange satin shirt/jacket made my heart flutter.

It was also $18.98, and is by La Fee.

I'm finding myself now shopping specifically for the months' colour themes that I have planned - and although it doesn't seem like it by the volume of purchases, it is actually restricting my shopping quite a bit. I'm quite mindful of not being tempted just because of the price, but thinking hard about how I'm going to wear each piece.

I don't usually buy low-end items from junky-quality stores second-hand, but this XXI cardigan was really cute on and fills a hole in my wardrobe nicely.

 It was $15.98, and is a poly/wool/angora blend (only a very small percentage of angora - I checked. Angora drives me crazy).

This blouse was so lovely and light:

I really like the soft colours in it. It's Esprit and was $15.98.

Hope you had a fun weekend!

May 10th & 11th - Outfits #9 & 10 - Springy Floral and Casual Friday Strips (and Some Shopping)

Miss me? I went shopping after work last night with Mom - our annual outing where I buy her a birthday outfit and then we go for dinner. We had a great time and found her a lovely jacket (Talbots) and top (from The Bay) and some hoop earrings (Reitman's), then we went to a brewpub down on the harbour for a fabulous dinner. After a pint of wheat beer, a special coffee, and then having some wine with L when I got home, I was worn out, so today here's yesterday and today's outfits.

But one more thing: Happy Birthday, Mom! 

I won't say how old she is (she'd kill me), but she was very young when she had me. 

This outfit features another "fresh" item for the May capsule: the first wear of my Desigual t-shirt dress. I've worn this a few times since I bought in the winter, and I've been looking forward to wearing it in the warmer weather. I last wore it here.

I layered a turquoise cami (not in the capsule) under it for less cleavage.

My green cardi makes another appearance (last seen here), as do my awesomely awesome Fluevogs (last seen here, 2nd outfit).

I get a lot of comments on these when I wear them.

I did my turquoise leather wrist-wrap as well.

Dress (Desigual), cami (Esprit), cardigan (Kersh, consignment), shoes (Guide Prepares, Fluevog), wrist-wrap (Shi Studios).


Today, I did two "fresh" items that are getting their first wear:

This wool/angora striped sweater was worn last here (2nd outfit). I love the feel of it - it's very soft and nicely warm and I like the t-shirt style of it...but I don't think it's that flattering on me overall. Too boxy.

Although it's early, this may not make the cut when I assess this month's capsule items. It was only $3.25, so I won't be too heartbroken to see it go. Maybe I'll just wear it around the house.

My denim pencil skirt makes its first appearance in May. I last wore it here (which, oddly is the same link as the sweater, although I didn't wear them together). I love these cowboy boots - they are just the right height on my leg. I last wore a week ago, here.

The stuff:

Lots of leather!

Sweater (Guess Jeans USA, thrifted), skirt (Smart Set, thrifted), boots (Two Roads, consignment), belt/buckle (Shi Studio), airplane cuff (Catalyst Reaction Leather), gears cuff (SkinzNHydez), skinny wrap (Club Monaco), earrings (Plum).


I did pick up a couple of things for myself while Mom and I were shopping. These awesome turquoise denim capris are from Reitman's:

They look killer on - I can't wait to wear them (in July's capsule!). They were $40 and they also had them in a dark red.

I also checked out the sales at Club Monaco. They have some deep discounts on their accessories right now. I found this awesome rhinestone snake bracelet:

It was $9, regular $49.50 (*gasp*).

I fell in love with this crazy metallic scarf:

It is huge and links together with a little metal button.

What I paid:

That's a good price...

Because this is the regular price:

Yow! That's just insane. Who would pay $98.50 for that?

In other news: I got my 10K medal! I got a silver.

Um...yes, I am under my desk. It was a strange morning.

Have a great weekend!

May 9th - Outfit #8 - Brown, Orange, Nickel and Dime

So you'd never know that my theme for May's capsule was blues and greens from this outfit:

This contains one "fresh" item that hasn't been worn up till now: this lovely cowl-neck orange top. I got it for $22.98 on consignment back in February, and I'm totally in love with it.

The rest of the outfit is stuff I've worn already, like this jacket (last seen here).

Vizzini is not that big - it's just perspective. He likes to watch me get ready in the mornings.

This is the second wear of the suede skirt (last seen here), and the shoes as well (last worn here).

But back to the blouse! It's sleeveless, so lovely worn on its own. The colour is really vibrant, and it's polyester - and lined!

Check out the back:

My little bun gets a cuddle before I go to work. He huffs when I pick him up, but he likes it.

There's a nice industrial zipper detail at the back. The best thing, though, is that the top is washable. I just can't handle anything else.

A close-up:

It's Michael by Michael Kors.

Zipper detail:

I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this.

The stuff:

A cool belt that Mom got me in London several years ago. I still love big dangly earrings.

Jacket (Pelican Cove, consignment), blouse (Michael by Michael Kors, consignment), skirt (Danier Leather, consignment), belt (gift from Mom), earrings (Plum), shoes (Hale Bob).

I went for a power walk when I got home from work today. Check out what I found on the sidewalk:

The coin on the left is a Canadian nickel/5 cent piece from 1920, and the one on the right is a dime/10 cent piece. The nickel has King George V and the dime has King George VI (Queen Elizabeth's dad, he was the king in "The King's Speech").

The backs:

I've been an amateur numismatist since I was a kid. I have a big box of coins and paper money from all over the world. Most of it is "found," meaning I got it from circulation instead of purchased from a store, although a bunch of it is from my Mom & Dad's travels over the years. I have some pretty interesting stuff, including a buffalo nickel (US) and some German WWII coins with swastikas on them.

This nickel is the oldest in my collection now - the previous oldest one is a bigger sized nickel (same size as the US coin and all current Canadian coins) from 1929 (also George V). My oldest dime is from 1939.

I also collected stamps for many years when I was a kid - I actually entered exhibitions and won trophies! Do you or did you ever collect coins or stamps?

May 8th - Outfit #7 - Snag Monster!

I'm so happy not to see that yellow shirt at the top of the blog anymore. Yes, I'll probably wear it at least one more time in this capsule (no swapping out just because I don't like something), but phew! I'm glad it's going to be going. Funny how that is - I guess this challenge is working!

I liked today's outfit much better. 

I felt all sparkly and lady-like (said like Eliza Doolittle - I'm a lie-dee, hee hee).

I first wore this sweater here (scroll down) back in July), and it's a really nice sweater. Why have I not worn it more?? Oh wait, I did here, in October.

The skirt is an 80s vintage Alfred Sung that I bought on consignment back in 2009. Last wore it here.

I like the glass button detail up the back of the sweater.

The skirt is a stiff metallic lace, and the edges are raw. They tend to ravel a bit, and they snagged the heck out of my nylons, especially the backs of the knees, which now have little puffs of snaggedness nested back there. Arg. These microfishnets aren't cheap.

The shoes are awesome - easily one of the most comfortable pairs of 3+ inch heels I own. I last wore them here.

Added to the snagtastic excitement was this stretchy rhinestone bracelet:

It belonged to my mom, so it's probably vintage 50s. The earrings were also hers, and I remember buying them for her for Christmas at Birks one year in the 70s with Dad. L bought me the necklace for Christmas a few years ago.

Everything I wore today, except for my rings, was second-hand. Cool.

Sweater (Plum, thrifted), skirt (Alfred Sung, vintage 80s, consignment), shoes (Hilary Radley, consignment), necklace (vintage 50s, gift from L), bracelet (Mom's, vintage 50s), earrings (Mom's, vintage 70s).

May 7th - Outfit #6 - Uncomfortable Colour

I was unhappy with today's outfit.

Much as I love this shirt (the yellow! the stripes! the yellow!), it is not staying in my wardrobe after this month. I can't button it over my boobs! When I bought it back in early 2011, I mostly wore it underneath other stuff, and I'd forgotten how snug it was.

Fortunately, I was able to get away with it by doing a bright blue cami underneath (not part of the capsule).

And this skirt...also not going to be staying in my wardrobe (last worn here). I bought it new when I saw it on sale in Jacob. I adore the rich dark purple, and I was hankering for coloured pencil skirts. But it's not lined, and it's cotton, so it grabbed onto my fishnets and drove me insane all day.

The one thing that I am keeping out of this outfit are these fabulous blue suede shoes.

I've had them for a couple of years, and last wore them here in October. Picked them up at Feet First on sale for $49.99 and they've lasted well.

Well, although I was uncomfortable in my clothes today, at least I was visible! Check out Visible Monday at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style!

Shirt (Ralph Lauren, thrifted), cami (InWear), skirt (Jacob), shoes (Feet First), necklace (Lavishy).

May 4th & 5th - Outfits #4 and 5 - Casual Cowgirl and Weekend Stripes

Happy Weekend! I hope everyone's having a great time. 

I have had a very busy weekend so far. On Friday night, I hosted a "Swap & Sip" at my office. I work for an IT consulting business; out of 150 people in my office, there are only 35 women. Most of them don't know each other that well, so what better than a clothing swap, some wine and nibblies for all the women to get acquainted?

I did casual, but wore clothes for trying things on.

This is another new Smoking Lily dress, that I bought in February at the sale at the downtown store. The dress is called the "Garden State" and originally sold for $108 - I paid $30 for mine! Score!

The shirt is my denim button-down, last worn here, back in March 2011! I also wore it here in August 2010, and here in June 2010. I must have bought it some time around then - I picked up on a consignment clearance rack for less than $10, I recall.

The dress is a thick, sort of fuzzy jersey, not quite t-shirt, not quite sweater. Very soft and again, like pajamas!

The cowboy boots were purchased back in December for $32.99 on consignment. I last wore them here in January. And yeah, I'm wearing striped socks with them instead of tights, heh.

Here's the pattern screened on the bottom side hem:

Pretty!

The stuff:

My feather charm. The belt was one of the items we thrifted for our steampunk costumes - it's leather and the silver pieces are really heavy. It was $1.00 in the children's section (I don't think it's a kids' belt, though).

Dress (Garden State, Smoking Lily), shirt (Mexx, consignment), belt (thrifted), boots (Two Roads, consignment).

I took two bags of stuff to the Swap & Sip (which was a great success, thanks for asking). I got 3 items back. I'm pretty fussy - I'm not going to take anything unless I really like it.

I got this coral Alfani top:

It'll be a nice layering piece - good colour. I also snagged that lovely silver and stone necklace in all my favourite colours: red, cobalt and turquoise.

But the real score were these Airwalk sneakers:

Aren't they awesome? And they've never been worn - they were still in the box! Good thing I'm the only size 9 1/2 in my office! 

On Saturday, I got up early to go work Reception at the early WW meeting:

As I would be joining the Ultimate crowd right after work, I have my sports bra on, and I'm wearing loose layers that I can change out of at the field.

This is my emerald green striped Banana Republic sweater. It's a cashmere blend - got it for $11 out thrifting  in April 2011 (only worn once, here, scroll down).

It's a top that doesn't photograph well - I love the fit and the feel and the stripes are so vivid.

That's my thrifted Desigual skirt, last seen here. This is only the second wear for it as well. See? All these great things in my closet and I never wear them! This is one of the reasons I'm doing this year-long challenge:  what do I love enough to fit into a 30-item capsule?

Second wear of my Prepare Guides (last time here). Yes, a repeat item already - I adore these shoes. Holy smokes, they are the most comfortable shoes ever!

I wore my white leather jacket as outerwear - it was actually a little bit sunny out this weekend!

Jacket (Le Chateau, consignment), sweater (Banana Republic, thrifted), skirt (Desigual, thrifted), shoes (Prepare Guides, Fluevog).

After Ulty, we went for lunch (more showing off of the shoes, hee), then I had a nap, and then Winesday was at my house. Woo, a very late night! Much fun was had by all.

I got a kick out of the label on one of the bottles of wine:

Too bad they spelled "Sheila" wrong! Arg! I hate that!