Weekend Wrap-Up - Some Crazy Pattern-Mixing

I hope everyone's having a nice chill weekend (not chill as in temperature, but as in attitude).  I've been having a good time, punctuated by dinner out last night with 3 of my best gals. 

We all dressed up - I love it when people take the time to put on a nice outfit. Mine was a little whackadoo, of course.

We walked to the restaurant, and to Yvonne's, then staggered home, where I crashed on the couch until L roused me and put me to bed.

This is my entry for this week's "Visible Monday" at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style - I certainly felt visible!

Yes, those are little anklets! They are sheer cream with floral pattern.

The top is my pinstriped rocker girl one, last seen here with all-neutrals in June. I wore a deep purple cami underneath it.

The fabulous peony pink satin skirt is one I've had since 2010, and last wore it here in May with a denim shirt.

I am not much of a handbag person, but this is a cool yellow one. I got it a couple of years ago on consignment - it's by Aldo.

The stuff:

My Smoking Lily obi added an Alice in Wonderland type of fantasy element to this outfit, bringing in the yellow of the skirt and tied the black of the top and the feather fascinator.

The shoes are my very sturdy Campers. My feet were killing me after a rough game of Ultimate on Saturday morning, and these were awesome for comfort. I last wore them here in July with pink, teal and many other colours!

The bling:

Swirly shapes and colours.

Blouse (Heart Moon Star, consignment), skirt (Vivienne Tam, consignment), obi (Smoking Lily), shoes (Campers), fascinator (local), cuff (Fossil), lapis lazuli ring (Wendy Brandes), blue vines ring (Scotland, handmade), earrings (Le Chateau).

Backing up slightly, this is what I wore to the Ultimate field, then afterwards to lunch.

I loved all the bright colours.

I last wore this purple cardi with yellow and gingham here (last outfit) in June.

The orange tank is just a simple one that I picked up about a year ago. Good layering piece.

The skirt is so swooshy - I loved striding about in it. I last wore it way back in May (here) with a vintage jacket that I no longer have.

The shoes are ones I don't wear as much - the fringe does limit them to sort of a boho vibe, I think, which is not a look I do too often. However, they are fabulously comfortable and they were a good neutral shoe and easy on my feet after wearing cleats. I last wore them here, in July, with ruffles and leopard.

Cardigan (Kenar, consignment), tank (Jones New York, consignment), skirt (Corey Lynne Calter, consignment), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, consignment), earrings (local).

And that brings us to today, when I dragged my slightly-hungover butt out of bed to go get groceries.

A good casual look for me for a lazy Sunday.

The cardigan is my Periodic Table of Awesome Smoking Lily piece, last seen here in April with the same earrings and cami.

The jean skirt is a staple in anyone's wardrobe, in my opinion. I last wore it here (way down at the bottom) for a shopping trip to My Sister's Closet in June.

Yay, the Periodic Table of  Awesome!

The shoes are Chie Mihara, last seen here with my pink satin skirt earlier this month.

Cardigan (Smoking Lily), cami (Esprit), skirt (Talbot's, consignment), shoes (Chie Mihara), earrings (Raven's Roost Studio).

I've loved all the suggestions for monochrome looks, and I might just do a week-long challenge...stay tuned!

Casual Friday - Now With More Bustle

Happy Friday! I have pizza on the horizon, along with an evening of board games with L, so let's get 'er done.

Outfit:

I like to challenge myself to wear things that are "out there" or different than what you see all the time. Yesterday's outfit was nice, but "normal" compared to today's. Casual Friday is a nice chance for me to wear some of my different things, like this wonderfully odd shirt. It's hard to see, but it is actually striped red on white (not a pale pink). I last wore it here with the same shoes in April.

This is what I am looking at in the above picture:

Fog! You can barely see the tower of the castle behind the trees. It was foggy until about noon, but now the sun is out. It will be a lovely sunny weekend, I'm sure!

Okay, back on topic. I adore the bustled hemline of this blouse. So unusual.

The skirt is my tulip-shaped denim one, last seen here in April with two-tone boots and floral.

I wore these white and black floral knee-highs just for fun - I love the extra oomph a patterned leg adds.

The stuff:

Much badassery, heh heh. The shoes are my Sencha Teapots, last worn with chartreuse here in June.

Badass bling:

My dark red patent thrifted leather belt cinched it all in, and my usual collection of punk accents (mostly homegrown vintage).

I hope your weekend is less foggy and more fun!

Blouse (Linea Domani), skirt (OptionElle, consignment), shoes (Sencha Teapots, Fluevog), belt (Club Monaco, thrifted), cuff (Guess, thrifted), studded cuff/rings/snake pin (all 80s vintage), earrings (local).

Zebra, Floral and Suede

I love all the suggestions for future monochrome outfits! White (yup, several options there), pink (ooh, very tough - I don't have pink shoes!), green (kind of already did that here for St. Patrick's Day), and an all-monochrome week in a rainbow of colours! Wow, you guys really challenge me. 

Today's outfit: not monochrome.

But I definitely did stick to neutrals, with cream, olive and brown.

I'd forgotten about this jacket, since it has to get dry-cleaned periodically and so I throw it into the Laundry Bag of Doom and then it's like the Bermuda Triangle until one day I notice that there's something in the bag and I go, "Oh yeah, I have an awesome cream blazer."

I last wore it here in March with my plastic shoes (Vivienne Westwood!).

Second wear of the blouse since I got it in July - this brings my cost per wear down to $2.50. I wore it here with chartreuse.

Isn't the cut of the jacket great?

The skirt is indeed suede - I do enjoy wearing leather and suede in the summer. It's not hot to wear at all! That fake "pleather" and PVC is horrid in hot weather. I last wore the skirt here in May with teal and yellow (and a scabby knee).

The stuff:

Oh, I love these shoes so much, but they are getting rather beat up. I last wore them here in April with mint green and grey. I've had them since June 2008 (check out my first outfit in them!) and they've held up really well.

The bling things:

Shiny!

Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment), blouse (Coldwater Creek, thrifted), skirt (Danier, thrifted), shoes (Hale Bob), belt (Club Monaco), green ring/bracelet (consignment), spinner ring (Twang & Pearl), earrings (Plum).

Mostly Monochromatic in Reds (and a Bigass Shiny Jacket)

After having so much fun with my all-yellow outfit, I went back to the well for a mostly-all red outfit today.

My reds are a mix of coral (top and toenails), true red (in leather!) and tomato red (the shoes). Instead of overwhelming everything with a red topper, I chose to focus it with this red, pink and gold brocade jacket. All red can so easily go "Valentine's" or "fireman" so I was pleased that a lot of people at work liked this outfit.

The jacket was last seen here at the end of July popping off a black leather dress.

I'm going to have to try it with a crisp white shirt at some point, maybe with my leather trousers? There is something about this brocade that calls for leather!

I last wore this fabulously soft vintage leather skirt here in June with a pink plaid jacket.

The top is a simple cami-style sweater, last seen here in June with my splatter skirt (and daisies).

The stuff:

The shoes are still in the "iffy" stage. Will I keep them? I had to re-glue the inner lining (again) this morning, and again it rolled up on me. They sound creaky. I have a feeling I'll pack them away for fall/winter and keep an eye out for a replacement pair. They're just so cool. I last wore them back here in July with my tiki skirt.

Those two little hooks in the above picture are the only bling I wore - they are gold wire earrings that I picked up in a thrift store many months ago. One could argue that my jacket is enough bling to blind the unwary.

So: monochromatically-wise, what other colours would be fun? You know I have a wardrobe full!

Jacket (Aldo, thrifted), top (Jones New York, thrifted), skirt (Ocean West, vintage 80s, consignment), shoes (Locale), earrings (thrifted).

Lace Peplum and Grey

After yesterday's vibrancy, I've gone all neutral today. Must give everyone's eyes a rest, ha ha! 

I was excited to wear this newly-thrifted (last weekend) lace top today. However, I was groggy this morning, and actually forgot what I had planned to wear and had another hastily-prepared outfit actually on (a dress, if you're wondering - the best thing to throw on when you don't know what to wear) when I noticed this outfit nicely folded and ready to go.

Good thing I noticed.

I layered a grey cami underneath the top, and went with a plain dark grey pencil skirt (last worn here for L's stepdad's funeral in June).

The skirt is elasticated at the waist - just meant for a bigass belt!

The stuff:

I have a big scratch on one foot from "someone" who got a little excited about being ejected from my closet the other night - I have to wear shoes that don't rub against it while it heals. These are my uber-comfy kitten heels, last seen here (3rd outfit) a couple of weekends ago for Nick's birthday with my strapless 80s dress.

Bling things:

The belt and buckle are by Shi Studio - I bought them in September 2009 (along with a whack of other Shi Studio things at their studio) as a birthday present to myself. I first wore this belt here. Hey, those are the shoes I meant to wear today.

The cuff and earrings are very old - my Grandma J gave them to me when I was about 17, fresh out of high school and newly started at university. They are silver and Mexican obsidian and are likely from the 50s or 60s. I've seen cheap knock-offs of the cuff in antique shops and fairs (usually without the little faces, just squares) that are not as heavy or well-carved, but I've never seen the matching earrings.

The Mexican obsidian has flashes of gold in it. These are screw-on earrings, so a bit tricky to wear!

Blouse (Annalee & Hope, thrifted), cami (RW & Co.), skirt (Plum), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, thrifted), belt/buckle (Shi Studio), cuff/earrings (vintage, Grandma J).

Monochrome Monday - My Own Sunshine

My dear and long-time blog-friend Lorena (go say hi, she's lovely and we've been friends for nearly 5 years) asked me the other day, when I wore this blue and black outfit, if I had a blue skirt to try a full-on monochromatic look. I do have a blue skirt - and I'll certainly try an all-blue look at some point - but when I found this yellow jacket this past weekend, I knew I would have to do yellow as my first monochrome outfit. 

I was actually really pleased with how this turned out. What do you think?

The jacket is a gorgeous fit, totally what I expected for quality from Holt Renfrew. I was crowing all day about my great deal in finding this for $24.95 in a thrift store!

The skirt is one I've had for a couple of years, purchased for only $9.50 on the clearance rack at My Sister's Closet. I last wore it here with black and blue in March.

I also got the (barely visible) yellow cami that I'm wearing underneath the jacket at the same store, also a few years ago.

Today was a challenging day, but not awful. I always feel good in yellow. I think it's my power colour, even though I'd like to think that red is. Go, yellow!

The stuff:

I'm walkin' on sunshine!

I nearly went with a more delicate shoe, but I ended up with these monstrous Disco Dutch shoes anyway. I felt like a point shoe or strappy shoe would make this outfit a little too "old lady". I'm not there yet, let's not push it.

Yellow bling:

So many shades of yellow! I really enjoyed this experiment in monochromatic dressing. It's something new for me and I am excited to try it again. Thank you, Lorena, for the fantastic suggestion! I love how we bloggers and readers and lovers of fashion can inspire each other.

Jacket (Holt Renfrew, thrifted), cami (RW & Co., consignment), skirt (BB Dakota, consignment), shoes (Prepare Hi Steady, Fluevog), brooch/bakelite earrings (vintage, thrifted).

Officer Vizzini was out on the prowl this morning.

"Seagull!"

The seagulls have been nesting on the roofs of the neighbouring apartment buildings (and on our condo's roof), and the young'uns are starting to fly. It's driving Vizzini insane. I think they must be taunting him in a special seagull/cat language. He thumps his tail on the window, and they screech at him.

Weekend Wind-Up - Comfy and Casual (and Some Shopping)

Ah, it's been a nice relaxing weekend, full of fun with friends and some zen-like wandering around in second-hand stores. My favourite!

Let's kick it off with What I Wore to the Ulty Field:

I adore this chambray jean dress, which I've only worn once back here in June for a Casual Friday.

I loved how it looked with one of Megan Mae's tie obis worn over top.

I did cover up for the sun with my white cardi (last seen here in July over my yellow strapless dress, 2nd outfit). The pearly pale gold sandals were great for walking around. I last wore them in July (here, 3rd outfit) for a weekend jaunt down to another consignment store.

After brunch I hit the Hospice Thrift Shop and the Velvet Crease consignment shop. I didn't have a ton of luck at either store...or maybe I'm getting pickier! I hope that's it, heh. I did buy one thing, but we'll get to that in a bit.

Dress (Blues by J. Arcaro, 90s, thrifted), obi belt (Megan Mae), shoes (Artisans by Clark's, consignment), cardigan (Bellisima, consignment), earrings (local).

Today, I wandered down to get groceries (I have them delivered - free! - they show up after 4pm), then bought tickets to go see Emmylou Harris in November (woot!), and then meandered over to the WIN Thrift Boutique to see if they had anything I needed.

This is my entry for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style - I'm all sparkly in my sequins!

I like being covered up when it's sunny - I loathe the feeling of sunblock, although the back of my neck (my tattoos), my chest and my hands always get some. I wear moisturizer with sunblock on my face and neck every day (all year). I like the tops of my feet unblocked - gotta make that Vitamin D somewhere!

This stripey cardigan is one of my go-to pieces for sun coverage. I last wore it in June with that chambray dress that I wore on Friday (here's the link again). The sequined tank is a cheapy but I love all that shine! I last wore it in August 2012 for a casual weekend outfit here (3rd outfit). It's a good layering piece.

The skirt is my mermaid denim - it flaps like sails when I walk. I wore it last in May here (3rd outfit) for an evening of Arkham Horror at our friends' place.

The purple sandals were just worn last weekend (4th outfit) for some strolling about with L.

Cardigan (Express, consignment), tank (Costa Blanca, consignment), skirt (InWear, consignment), sandals (La Canadienne, consignment).

So here's my goodies from my shopping expeditions this weekend. Enjoy! I'll be making outfits around most of these this week. Exciting!

First up: this gorgeous yellow blazer that I found at the Hospice Thrift Store. The ladies there love to see what I find.

This has a rounded neckline and is very fitted. I love all the pockets and buttons on it. Plus - yellow!

The back:

I'm not sure if I'll keep that buttoned strip at the bottom; my penchant for belting my jackets is limited by that, although I don't know if I'd belt this blazer, since it does have a lot going on at the front anyway.

Here's a good look at the pattern.

It's yellow, plus shiny yellow, plus lime green (!) and a bit of white to keep it all calmed down. And yes, Holt Renfrew!

For those of you not from Canada, Holt Renfrew (or Holt's as we call it when we want to sound like we could afford to shop there) is a very high-end department store. It has all the real designers plus their own brand, which my jacket is. In briefly perusing their website, they don't seem to sell anything under $100, so the $24.95 I spent on this jacket is likely a good score!

Today, at the WIN Thrift Boutique I found this awesome lace blouse for $10.50.

I love the flounced hem (are peplums still in? Do I care?), and can't wait to wear this with a pencil skirt! This is by Annalee + Hope, which - HA - is sold on the Shopping Channel. It's made in the USA (bonus!).

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions with Friday's floofy skirt! I will definitely be wearing a slip and/or boots with it. I love the idea of the chunky sweater too, but I have to be really careful not to get overwhelmed by them. They tend to make me look like I have ginormous boobs.

I think this will work nicely in my fall wardrobe:

It's by Coldwater Creek and was $13.50. It's an acrylic and wool blend and I love the caramel colour. I can see one of my bigass belts working with this, and I can layer some of my thin long-sleeved tees under it for colder weather.

I also found a couple more pieces of undergarments for my vast collection. Slips get washed after every wear, but L (who does the laundry) does all our stuff every two weeks, so in the winter when I really need them, I always run out. Gotta stock up when the getting's cheap.

This mini black half-slip was $2.50. It's just a Sears brand.

I added another French Maid brand slip to the ones I currently own (about 3).

This one was $5.00.

I also found this sweet green shirt for L:

I had to sew a button on the cuff, but that's easy stuff.

Check out the nice texture of the dot pattern.

I like the collar detailing too. RedX Clothing seems to be a UK brand - I bet this cost more new than the $15.50 I paid for it!

Hope you all had a great weekend full of sunshine and good deals!