Monday, May 5, 2025

Red Dress and Warhol Boots

Well, that weekend went far too fast - Monday is upon us! Today is Red Dress Day, so I wore a red dress.
All this colour felt wonderful.

  • Silk dress - Diane Von Furstenberg, consignment; last worn here in May 2024 with the same boots
  • Boots - Warhol F-Trip, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) in January with a Pop art cardigan to see the Art Gallery exhibit with Betty
  • Coat (below) - L'Atiste, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in April

This dress is such a simple cut, but is so easy to wear. 
My only complaint is the lack of pockets. 

It's a light stretchy silk weave. 
I have a camisole and wee shorts under it. 

The surprise back - rock on! 
I like the brass snaps, two of which are undone so I can stride about. The boots are practically normal from this view.

Incognito. 
This coat was a little heavy on the way home, should've worn a blazer! 

Accoutrements: 
I love these orange gloves.

  • Silk scarf - Metropolitan Museum of Art, thrifted
  • Leather gloves - consignment

The stuff:
Amazing boots! I walked to work in these and bused home - they're very comfy. 

Orange bling: 
I rescued the necklace from the accessory Limbo - I missed it (but not the not-quite-matching earrings).

  • Necklace - Monet, vintage 80s, vintage fair
  • Orange bangle - consignment, Sidney
  • Lucite/steel ring - Calvin Klein, thrifted
  • Orange plastic cuff/ring - Italian, vintage 60s, vintage mall
  • Wooden earrings - vintage expo

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Velvet Brunch and Winesday; Legal Blondes Spring Birthday

Welcome back, my friends! I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend. Mine has been jam-packed with fun things, like brunch, Winesday, plus another brunch and a theatre outing to see "Legally Blonde: The Musical" with our spring birthday women. 

As that's left me with little personal time, y'all will forgive me, but let's get to it so that I can go hang with L for the remainder of my Sunday. 
A simple variation of my casual formula of Cool Skirt + Band Tee + Interesting Jacket (in this case a velvet shirt) + Groovy Shoes. 

  • Velvet shirt - J. Jill, thrifted; last seen here in April 2024 to see Dune 2
  • T-shirt - Corey Hart concert, 2019; last worn here (4th outfit) in August 2023 for the Barbie Pool Party with my blue velour tracksuit
  • Skirt - Cydney Mar, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here in August 2024 with neon orange
  • Boots - Austen Biblio, Fluevog; last worn here in April for our shop in Sidney

Two of these items - the velvet shirt and the tee - are "house clothes", meaning that I don't usually wear them in public. The shirt is my spring/summer piece when my arms get cold, and I wear the tee about once every two weeks (and sleep in it).
I added a belt for fanciness. 

Showing my bare legs (I have wee shorts on) and boots. 
Snag-monsters! The buckles and zips did not like the serged seams of the skirt at all. 

Winesday was at Ali's, and 11 of my besties and I hung out till the wee hours, eating, drinking and laughing.
I like when an outfit can be worn in different ways, depending on your location and situation. 

I used an old kilt pin of Mom's to pin the shirt to give it more shape (it's oversized). 
I did this during the day as we walked about. 

Rear view.
Rock on, my friends. 

I walked down to the Ulti field to meet L, and kept the Movie Star Wrap on while we drove around in Vlad the Jag. 
We did lunch at John's Place, then L picked up some CDs at Ditch Records, then we drove to Fairfield to pick up a package and some groceries, then finally to Oak Bay for booze and some banking. Phew! 

When I wasn't in the car, I tied my scarf to my purse, thusly. 
The usual. 

And finally, for early evening and coming home, I deployed my silk scarf for warmth. 
This was a great practical outfit worn for about 14 hours. 

Accoutrements and coffee: 
L left me lots of coffee in the morning. One cup to be nice to him; one so I can be civil in public. 

  • Leather purse - Rebecca Minkoff, thrifted
  • Silk scarf - fake Louis (Lewis!) Vuitton, thrifted

The stuff: 
Aside from snagging my skirt, these boots are fabulous. 

  • Aluminum metal belt - vintage fair
  • Black and white cuff - vintage fair
  • Black/white bangles - consignment
  • Silver Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
  • Silver/crystal ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence
  • Silver/red jasper earrings/pendant - consignment; purchased here for $22.50 each piece
  • Kilt pin - vintage 50s, Mom's

View after I walked across the field - cloud drama! Mack and Corey on  the ground, L in the 34 Dolphins jersey, Brad in the Zidane shirt.  
That's Central Middle School (formerly Central Junior High), where both Mom and Dad when to school - I live less than 4 blocks away from where Mom grew up.

I didn't take any pictures at Winesday, but I did come home with a gift - Sarah brought a bag of clothes, and this lovely top appealed to me. 
It's by Monk & Lou. The green matches my 80s boots!

I was up bright and early on Sunday morning to head back to John's Place for brunch - good thing I had my outfit and accessories all ready to go. 
I mostly copied an outfit I'd worn before, but added my metallic boots again. 

  • Dress - Evan Picone, thrifted; first seen here (3rd outfit) in July 2022 for Petra's 50th birthday
  • Boots - Mellow Bebop, Fluevog; first worn here on Friday with my long denim patchwork skirt
  • Leather coat (below) - Baez Leather, consignment; last seen here in February 2023 for a shop

I had only worn this dress once before, but pulled it out of my dress pile and put it in the closet with the intent of wearing it again this spring/summer season. 
I really loved wearing it again - it's comfy and has massive pockets.

See? 
I don't really do this fit-and-flare shape anymore, but the rock & roll styling helped make it feel me. 

I love the watercolour-y pattern and the purple, pink and yellow.
It lends itself well to black accessories. 

As it's spring, and still a bit chilly, I did a leather jacket, another one that has been neglected for a couple of years. 
It still does up, even though it's boob-mashy. 

I wore it like this, with my purse layered under it. 
I felt like a rock princess! 

Accoutrements: 
A good-sized purse for carrying stuff, and a scarf to keep my hands warm in the chilly theatre. 

The stuff: 
Immediate boot repeat! I walked to town in these and back. 

Black bling: 
The old faithful grommet belt. 

  • Belt - gift from Ruth
  • Crystal heart cuff - Juicy Couture, consignment
  • Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
  • Obsidian/crystal necklace - vintage 60s, Grandma J's
  • Earrings - thrifted
  • Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
  • Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall

Y'all will forgive me - I took a bunch of pictures of our brunch, our gaggling and our theatre experience. This was our Spring Birthday Celebration for Caro, Alison and Yvonne, plus Cat, Vero and Rosanna (and me, of course). We met up at John's Place.
Being a regular brings its privileges - I got a reservation on 'NO RESERVATION' Sunday! Those are the weekend specials (I had the Grilled Cheese Benny and L had the Chicken Parm Sandwich on Saturday). 

Looking towards the front of the diner. 
From left: Me, Ali, Cat, Yvonne and Rosanna - our server Maddie is in the ponytail behind Cat. Caro and Vero were not able to make brunch, and met up with us before the show. 

A better shot taken by Maddie, looking towards the back of the diner. 
From left: Yvonne, Rosanna, me, Ali and Cat. 

The service at John's is so fast, we had time to have a browse in the WIN store. I didn't buy anything, but Rosanna found a top, Cat bought a blouse and a shirt, and Ali found a white skirt, white jeans (which she changed into) and a t-shirt. 
Love you guys! Rosanna's outfit is fabulous - she thrifted that Moschino sweater! 

We got a text from Carolyn - she was in Centennial Square. The gorgeous Brutalist fountain steles and ring (which my stupid city wants to tear down to build a splash park...I just...can't. Stop the madness). 
The MacPherson Playhouse is the red brick building behind it. 

Me and the fountain. 
That's Caro in the orange haori and leather skirt just behind my head - she found us! 

Vero arrived and it's time for a selfie! 
Yay, so good to have the whole crew together. 

We headed into the theatre to get settled before the show. 
Everyone look down! From left, clockwise: me, Caro, Ali, Yvonne, Vero, Rosanna, Cat. 

We had great seats, only 4 rows from the stage. 
This is where Rosanna and I saw "Sweeney Todd" in December. 

We tried to do another selfie. 
Back row: Cat, Ali, Caro. Front row: Me, Rosanna, Vero, and a sliver of Yvonne's face (sorry, honey!). 

Rosanna took her sweater off, and revealed more badassery. 
"I'm a bad influence but damn I'm fun." 

Yes!!

We're definitely bad influences! From left: me, Cat, Rosanna, Vero, Yvonne, Ali and Caro.
Much love to you on your birthdays, my loves! So grateful to have such a fun group of women in my life! 

And now, my friends, I'm off to have a late dinner and crash on the couch. I could use another weekend. 
But I'll settle for a squirrel. 

Friday, May 2, 2025

Funky Friday: Patchwork Denim and Shiny Boot Debut

Hello, my friends! Just a quick hello before I head into a crazy-busy weekend, and a wee gift for you - a bonus post. 

I was craving this patchwork denim skirt. Must! Wear! 
That's how you know you've made a good purchase, right? Can't wait to wear it! 

  • Top - M by Missoni, thrifted; last worn here in November 2024 with a PANK suit
  • Vest - Religion, consignment; last seen here with a wooly bell skirt in March
  • Denim skirt - We the Free, consignment; purchased here for $129.00
  • Boots - Mellow Bebop, Fluevog; purchased here for $529.00 by L for our anniversary

It reminds me of the old Y2K style - the lower waist, slight mermaid shaping. 
I loved it, although learned I have to flip the sides of the hem over my lap lest the every-hungry chair wheels chomp on it. 

After work, I had to run errands. It was very windy out, and the skirt flapped around. 
It was very dramatic! People on the street told me they loved my outfit! 

I wore the menswear-blazer-reworked-into-a-vest for the FOUR pockets it has, including an internal one. 
These held my phone, keys, mp3 player and sunglasses. I didn't bother with a coat - it was sunny! 

I looked like this as I strode about downtown. 
The boots gave me enough elevation so that I didn't have a "train" at the back. 

I didn't take the vest off, but without is a good look too. 
This sparkly striped M by Missoni (classy!) top has been with me for years. It has a million colours in it, goes with everything.

Incognito.
I wore gloves on the way to work, and stuffed the scarf into my bag while I picked out birthday cards and bought drinks for the evening. 

Accoutrements: 
The scarf is so gaudy. I love it.

  • Scarf - Roberto Cavalli, thrifted, Vancouver
  • Leather gloves - consignment

The stuff: 
I broke my own internal "rule" of only one new thing per outfit, and also debuted these metallic pink boots which I've been shamefully neglecting. I hadn't been in the mood for this much WOW, as I was still feeling a bit sad about our departed feline companion. 

It could have been shoe-pidity, but I walked to work in these. I also covered about 8 blocks of downtown and then walked home in them...but they were fantastic! Not a rub, not a blister. I layered thin socks under my lacy orange tights to make sure my feet had some protection. I love these boots!

Bold bling:
These are all firm favourites. 

  • Leather belt - B-Low the Belt, thrifted
  • Lucite/silver bangle - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
  • Carved quartz bangle - consignment
  • Silver/onyx necklace - Mexican, consignment, Powell River
  • Silver earrings - consignment
  • Silver Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
  • Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall

My office pals Leah and Camille were both in the office today. Leah had worn a former dress of mine to work the previous day (this one, which I only wore once!) and gotten loads of comments. She bought it in my last Limbo sale (some of my things have gone to her mom too). She was thrilled with it and showed me a picture. My other coworkers all made sure to tell me they'd seen it - it was a hit! 

Camille has also gotten many things from me over the nearly 10 years I've known her. She was wearing two of them just the other day, and gave me permission to share her fabulous outfit.
Ta-dah! She's sporting my vintage leather Marc Jacobs shoes that I thrifted ages ago. The blue top was also mine, but I can't remember the brand (it has black and white trim at the arm-holes and neck). 

I love seeing my clothes going to such great homes! It fills my heart with joy. 

And with that happy thought and funky outfit, I'm signing off for the weekend! Do pop by on Sunday for tales of adventure! Thanks so much for stopping by, Gentle Reader.