Revenge of Dress Week! Grey Leather and Dots

One of the reasons why I like doing the "last seen here" links within my posts, is that it reminds me of how long it's been since I wore some of my clothes.
For this Dress Week, I wanted to get a wear out of this awesome leather dress before (if??) the weather gets warmer:

I last wore it here, back in August 2010. I don't remember it being this heavy in my pack, but I made a mental note never to wear it for my WW weigh-ins!

The outside shot:

Today was very rainy, so even my outside picture looks gloomy. It does show the colour of the greys well, though - they are all very warm grey tone. I have trouble wearing grey - it washes me right out.

The stuff:

The pop of colour is my wonderful blue dotty scarf that the gorgeous and generous Megan sent me when she sent this amazing skirt. Thank you, Megan!

I tied it in a single knot style, like a man's tie - my dad taught me how when I was a teenager and I used to steal his ties to wear to school.

The shoes don't get worn enough (last seen here and also worn here, here, here and here). Huh, I guess I just haven't worn them much lately.

A close-up:

Another pair of L's cufflinks - I had to rummage through his closet and remove these from one of his shirts.

Shirt (Banana Republic, thrifted), dress (Danier, consignment), shoes (Camper), cufflinks (70s? vintage), ring (trip to Scotland), earrings (Plum).

Revenge of Dress Week! LBD and Hot Pink

Dress week continues! It wreaks its revenge on...scarves!
Um...maybe not. But I wore a dress and a scarf today:

This is my classic Little Black Dress. I have seven black dresses actually, but this is the most classic. I last wore it here, for Grandma W's funeral.

I had a tough time coming up with an outfit for this scarf (yes, it would have been fabulous with yesterday's dress!), so I ended up doing it with black and then bringing in more colour with the hot pink tights. I got a lot of compliments on the tights, including from strange people on the bus. My WW group loved them.

Tonight was also the start of a new WW meeting that I am doing: "Mostly Men," which is why I'm late posting. Men make up about 5% of the usual WW meetings, but they deserve to have a meeting where they can learn, participate and talk when they don't have to listen to women going on about their monthly cycles (yes, women talk about this in meetings), babies and such. I like men (many of my best friends are men!) so here I am, the leader of this meeting.

Sadly, it hasn't had much promotion yet, so no one showed up. Ah well, it will grow!

I wore the scarf draped down my back:

Good mid-sized heels for walking too. My new scale arrived today while I was out - yay!

I layered this with my bright yellow jacket.

I pulled the ends of the scarf to the front then.

The stuff:

I found this scarf for $6.50 at the same thrift shop as yesterday's scarf. Isn't it pretty? I love the colours.

A close-up:

My yellow stone earrings and my bigass junk ring (some lady on the bus was very impressed with it).

The scarf is stamped:

I looked up the company - they have been around for over 100 years - and like Hermes, they make their scarves in France. Cool. I'm sure it's 100% silk.

Coat (Danier Leather), dress (Esprit), tights (Hue), shoes (Guess), scarf (Marc Rozier, thrifted), earrings (Plum), ring (some costume store, about 14 years ago).

Revenge of Dress Week! Yellow and Stained Glass

I haven't done a Dress Week since August 2010! That's outrageous! And so, without further ado, I bring you...
The Revenge of Dress Week! Thrills! Shock! Suspense! Scarves! (kudos to Audi for the title suggestion!).

Yes, scarves! I have a bunch of scarves that I've bought over the last few months and I never wear them, so all this week, I will be wearing scarves in various ways with my dresses.

Today: Blinding yellow! I gasped when I saw this gorgeous true yellow Calvin Klein dress in the racks at Winners. Isn't the colour amazing? And the cut? The length? I love everything about it and I'm so glad it fit!

It was $69.99, which is more than I've spent on a dress for nearly a year, but I love it so much. It's fully lined, and is made of cotton with a bit of Lycra for stretch. It has beautiful horizontal seaming from hem to neckline.

The outdoor shot:

Ah, that's the real colour. I added the skinny belt, although it didn't really need it - I just wanted to break up the expanse of yellow.

The stuff:

The scarf was $6.50 in a thrift store. It's 100% silk and is a lovely mix of colours. I pulled out the greens to go with the ring. You can also see the seams in the dress better there.

A close-up:

Birds! I felt very Spring-y.

A better look at the scarf:

It's like a stained glass window, which is what I am sure it is patterned after. I love all the bright colours.

I always look for a name on silk scarves and this did not disappoint:

Only from my favourite NYC museum ever! Museums have the best gift shops for good quality scarves and jewelry.

Dress (Calvin Klein), shoes (Feet First, thrifted), scarf (Metropolitan Museum of Art, thrifted), belt (Bianca Nygard), earrings/ring (Lavishy).

Casual Friday and a Too-Short Weekend

Friday's outfit: Pretty standard mix of my usual rocker-type ensembles. My sister-in-law, Angela, and I (yo! Hi, Ange!) went shopping at Winners after work, which was loads of fun (nothing like a little retail therapy).

I didn't dress as wisely as I did last time I did Winners, but it wasn't awful. The t-shirts came off as a unit - they are layered, but it's easier to work with them as one item when taking them on and off. The boots are my short cowboy booties, so easy to slip off for trying on shoes (although my sports socks were a nuisance).

I got some amazing shoes, a skirt and a dress. The shoes are killer.

I was tired Friday morning: Need. Coffee.

Yellow tee (Mexx), plaid tee (TMT), jeans (Seven7, swap from Caro), belt (gift from Ruth), necklace (The Bay).

On Saturday, I went to my WW meeting, then played Ultimate for two-plus hours, went for lunch, then wandered around shopping for the afternoon.

The weather was between spitting rain and just cloudy all day, but I am persevering with my belief that warm weather will arrive sooner or later. This skirt is one of the Winners finds. It was $29.99 - they had them in white and black as well, but this was the only green one I saw. I changed at the field into my Ulty gear, so again, I did easy on/off clothes (and light for my weigh-in too!). I am wearing a sports bra in these pictures (my poor boobs).

This is a better picture of the colour of the skirt:

It is sewn so that it has puckers in all the seams (the seams run in inverted Vs from the t-shirt waist to the hem), and the cotton is very thin and billowy, like a hot air balloon. It felt very romantic and airy when I walked around. I love long skirts!

These are a pair of new shoes that I got several weeks ago. I still have two pairs of sandals that I bought months ago that I haven't been able to wear due to the weather.

These are Indigo by Clarke's, and are super soft. I love the bronzy neutral metallic and the moulded wedge heel. They were around $40 on clearance.

Turquoise tee (Plum), white tee (Upper Playground), skirt (Cute Options), shoes (Indigo by Clarke's), earrings (Plum).

Green is for Growth

So...L lost his job this week (through no fault of his own), which is why I've been a little down in the dumps. L will land on his feet - he's an amazing and smart person (well, duh, he married me, hee) and whoever hires him will be hugely lucky.

However, it feels like one thing after another this last year: my dear kitty Othello dying last spring, ongoing repairs to our condo building, L's grandma dying, me losing my job...I think I must be due to win the lottery or something, at the very least!

Anyway, I'm trying really hard to "fake it till you feel it" so I wore one of my favourite pairs of shoes today: Another somewhat conservative outfit for me (ha, I guess not too many people would consider a leather skirt with monster heels conservative), but it helps me feel confident and powerful. If I can't control what happens to me, I can at least control how I look when I face it, right?

This is my awesome off-white blazer (last seen here), my many-times-worn funkadellic green shirt (last seen here), and the same leather skirt I wore last weekend.

I grabbed Inigo for some kitty therapy:

Aw! He is just the sweetest kitty ever! I just smile looking at him. Look at that face.

I tottered outside to do the stair pictures. There was a lady across the way doing her dishes who saw me as I staggered up and down to set the camera and check the pictures. I'm sure she thought I was mad.

As Sal so rightly commented yesterday, "embrace the pale!" I do like my pale skin, but I like a touch of colour in the summer, just to even things out, so I use a bit of self-tanner a couple of times a week (I have lots of varicose veins, thank you, 14 years of retail). I haven't tanned in over 20 years.

I barely made it to the stairs for this shot:

Yes, I am firmly back to heels after over a week in flats! Those shoes are not meant for lunging up and down stairs. They were pretty impressive for stalking around the office today, though. Hee! I last wore them here.

The stuff:

Sweet platform-y goodness!

A close-up of the jangly bits:

I generally try not to be noisy with my outfits (exceptions: this skirt and these pants flap like sails when I wear them, which I love).

Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment), blouse (Nicole Beniste for Point Zero), leather skirt (no label, thrifted), shoes (Le Chateau), necklace (Plum), jade ring (Mom's, vintage, 70s).

Practically Respectible

L said I looked practically respectible today (or maybe it was practically responsible, I forget). Not a usual state for me - ha!

Anyway, I'm tired and I haven't made dinner yet, so here we go. New-to-me blazer in the house: It's another Tahari (like yesterday's blouse), only this one says "Arthur S. Levine" (thank you, eBay for explaining the difference!). Apparently this is a pretty high-end blazer - it sure fits nicely, so the quality is definitely there. I picked this up in a thrift shop for $16.00.

I paired it with my old favourite silk floral blouse (last seen here), and my orange tweed skirt (last seen here), but kept the shoes neutral (last seen here).

Lounging about on the stairs: I went bare-legged today. Man, I need some self-tanner!

The stuff:

I doubled this long necklace up.

A close-up:

Like my ring sizing? It's a bandaid (oh, the shame). I'm so lazy.

Jacket (Tahari by Arthur S. Levine, thrifted), blouse (Kaliko, consignment), skirt (Talbot's, consignment), shoes (Seychelles, consignment), necklace (Aldo Accessories), ring (Fossil).

Blue Tuesday

Today, my scale broke, my massive one that I tote around for WW. I guess all that jostling and jolting from lugging it on the bus, up and down stairs and off curbs and sidewalks finally did it.

Added to the fact that I am just exhausted lately...and you have a blue day. Coincidentally, I wore blue today: My second wearing of this gauzy tunic (first seen here). I kept the bottom simple again, with just this dark grey pencil skirt.

I built the outfit around these shoes, which I only wore once:

And since they have only seen action at nighttime (first seen here - oh, hey, that's when I actually wore yesterday's jammie dress last!), they had to have some daylight!

Today was nice and bright, so after work, I took a couple of stair shots:

Ooh, those shoes are so vivid!

My sedate pose:

Hee, I'm such a lady. Not.

The stuff:

Oh, sweet blue-y purple-y shoes.

A close-up of the jewelry:

I liked how the scrolly stuff looked with the simple lines of the outfit.

Blouse (Elie Tahari for Nordstrom, thrifted), skirt (Plum), shoes (Poetic Licence), bracelet (St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop), earrings (don't remember).

Jammie Dress - Must Be Monday

I am so sore today from the 10K race yesterday! I'm sure I'll be stiff tomorrow too.

My time was 1:14, which, although not even close to my personal best of 1:07, was not too bad (remember, I racewalked it). I finished 6,421st overall (out of 13,000+ people), 4th overall in the competetive walking category and 1st in my age division. Yee haw! The gold is mine this year! I will show off the medal when I get it.

Anyway, seeing as I am so sore, I had to wear the jammie dress:
I last wore it last summer (here). It's so comfy and stretchy and I don't have to think about layers or belts or assorted gew-gaws.

Even the stuff was minimal:

Another pair of kitten heels (my most comfortable ones) and my bendy necklace thing.

I know I haven't been around much lately - life is crazy. I'm hoping things will get back to normal after this week. I miss all your blogs!

Dress (I.N.C.), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, swap from Cat), necklace (gift from Elaine).

Nuptials, Casual Friday, Fatigue and A Race

Well, now, where have I been? It's been a very full few days!

First, there was Casual Friday: My little teal kitten heels make an appearance (last seen in the Wardrobe Challenge here), along with my matchy-matchy cardi (last seen here) and my wardrobe basic denim dress (last seen here). I also layered my navy blue floofy sheer skirt thing under it for a little more coverage (last see here).

I was exhausted all day Friday because, yes, I got up at 2:30am (gotta love the West coast!) to watch the Royal Wedding. When I was 13, I got up and watched Charles' and Di's wedding, so I had to watch this one! I stayed up until 5:30am when they kissed, then crashed and slept for another hour.

An unprompted yawn...I napped for 2 hours when I got home from work.

The stuff:I actually built this outfit around the bracelet, which I got in Vancouver back in March.

It was $10 in a consignment store:

It's made up of 7 rigid panels that are attached to the two wires. I love all the little flowers (they have a bit of colour on them, with the cut amber glass. It has no marks on it or anything, so I have no idea how old it is...but I liked it and that's what matters!

Possibly a better shot in natural light:My, I am pale.

Cardigan (Kersh), dress (Ricki's), underskirt (Noa Noa), shoes (Le Chateau, consignment), belt and earrings (Plum), bracelet (consignment).

On Saturday, it was our first day of Ultimate for the season, but I had to skip it due to the 10K race on Sunday. I did go to my WW meeting, though:

All nice and light! My purple cardi (last seen here), my sparkly tee (last seen here), and my velvet pencil skirt (last seen here). I had to dig out my boots so that I could have some flat shoes to wear.

Cardi (Bobeau), t-shirt (Lisa International), skirt (Armor Jeans, consignment), boots (Aldo, consignment).

After another nap in the afternoon, L and I headed out for dinner with his boss and some coworkers. I was going to pose inside, but the light was really glare-y. However, Inigo was too darned cute:

Aw! Look at his little paws all tucked up! I couldn't resist giving him a tummy rub.

I ended up outside:

Same boots for walking to town. I got that skirt at a thrift store during the day - it has no label, but it was $12.00. It's leather and the waist is quite high, so I'd guess it is from the early 90s. I wanted to look a little sexy, so I did my sheer leopard blouse (last seen here) with a cami underneath.

Check out the skirt details:

The two zippers open up and those are pockets. Inside one of the pockets was stapled a replacement assembly for the back snap at the waist. Based on that, and that the skirt didn't have any stretch or creases, I'd say this was never worn.

It's hard to see in these pictures, but I love the crackle finish on it - it reminds me of those Indiana Jones/aviator flight jackets:

Love!

Blouse (Planet, consignment), skirt (no label, thrifted), belt (Gap), boots (Aldo, consignment).

Finally, today was the big race. I don't know how I did yet, as it took time to get to the Start line and the results aren't posted.

After jumping the gun last year, I'll hold off announcing my time until the official results are out. I don't think I beat my personal best of 1:07 for racewalking it, but I think I was around 1:12-1:15. Man, I am going to be sore tomorrow!

Hee, posing in my gear:

I am strong like bull!

And nerdy like dork!

But it was a beautiful sunny day and I'm glad I had my hat on!

And how was YOUR weekend?