Getting my Funk Back with Fluevogs!

First up, an apology to my mom: I know, I am a bad daughter who should have phoned you instead of you reading about my life on my blog. (I am also a bad auntie, and a bad sister, who never calls). I'm sorry.

Let's move on. On Thursday night, I did another fill-in for one of my fellow WW leaders. We are now getting autumn weather, so I'm having to prepare by doing layers. I got this new dress and wanted to wear it, mostly: That's my Leia jacket by local designer Bonspiel (last worn with the same belt and booties), layered over the dress, which in turn is layered over my navy net underskirt.

I wore the above outfit all day at work (it's rather cool in the new office too), but by the time I got to my WW meeting, the sun was out and it was a big meeting (45 people), so I took the jacket and belt off. Here's a better look at the dress itself.

It's hard to see because I'm looking down at Vizzini, but the neck has high ruffles all around. The material is cotton thin-wale cordury, and it's a deep navy blue. Very soft, and with a bit of stretch.

This is another Smoking Lily find that I was very excited to snag - it was $49.99 on consignment, which is a bit high, but still well under the regular retail for a Smoking Lily dress (I couldn't find anything online about this dress, but here's a recent cord dress by them for $180).

It's a slight mullet dress (just like my skirt):

The back has a bit of a bustle; it's gathered and then poofs out at the small of my back, and the hem hangs down a few inches lower than the front. You can see the ruffle detail at the neck better here too.

I think Vizzini was going for the laces on my booties!

The stuff:

I wore short sport socks with these booties so that my toes wouldn't rub. I love that it's nearly boot weather. Time to clean out my closet and remind myself of what I have! Yay!

Here's a close-up of another special detail on the dress:

That's a huge flower (about 8 x 10" across) that's silkscreened on the back bottom of the dress in a slightly lighter blue. You can just see the ruffly neck folded down above it too (even the button is awesome - it's irridescent and fastens with a loop of purple velvet ribbon).

Jacket ("Leia" by Bonspiel, consignment), dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), belt (Landes, thrifted), booties (Inez Sexton Bellevues, Fluevog).

On Friday, it was back to cloudy, so I busted out one of my thrift finds from a few months ago. I shop for all seasons, all year round, and have a bunch of amazing sweaters and jackets that have been languishing in my closet waiting for cool weather. I'm patient - I know it will come!

This is a 100% cashmere sweater:

Isn't it great? I love the rugby stripes and styling. It's snug but still a bit sexy and sporty. It was all of $14.95 in the thrift store (again, a little high for thrift, but for cashmere? Um, yeah, okay!).

I wore my suede jacket over top of it (it was only $7 back in January 2009), so that kind of ameliorates the dissatisfaction over the sweater, right?

Of course, the real star of the show is the shoes! I usually buy my Fluevogs new, but once in a while I see a pair in a consignment shop...these called to me! They were much pricier than what I'll usually pay for something that is essentially second-hand ($99), but considering that Fluevogs new are usually in the $200-$350 range, I think I did well.

They're from the Minis family, which has been around since 2001, and are called the Qtee. And hey, they sell for $265! I don't feel bad at all about $99 now. Mine are a different colour mix than what is currently available, so they are probably a few years old.

They were insanely comfortable (I ran a block in them!), and the thick soles were sturdy and nicely gripped the sidewalk.

Some details:

Oh yes! The sweater is Juicy Couture, and it seems to be authentic. This link is by eBay on how to tell if it's a fake or not - this cashmere sweater appears to be from pre-2006 - there's even a picture of this label down at the bottom. I'm pretty sure it would have sold for more than $14.95 new. Hee!

Here are the Qtees:

They were in very good shape - a few scuffs and some wear on the soles, but otherwise nicely broken in. Check out the wonderful hourglass heel! I love the red piping too.

Of course, they are signed by John Fluevog:

Classic.

And the soles:

F is for fun!

Jacket (B.U.M. Equipment, thrifted), sweater (Juicy Couture, thrifted), skirt (Smart Set, thrifted), shoes (Mini Qtee, Fluevog, consignment), belt (Plum).

And All of a Sudden - It Changes

This has been the weirdest week.

You may have noticed that since I got my new job last March, that I've seemed a little off. I don't like to disclose everything in my life on my blog (it's not that kind of blog), but I know some of my closer friends who read Ephemera have noticed that something wasn't right.

To be honest, I have had a really rough time getting a handle on my job; it was in a new field, and I had to learn a lot of complicated things quickly. It was discouraging at times, and I struggled with many aspects of it. Don't get me wrong: I knew I could do the job, and I did my best. But I wasn't happy.

But on Monday I was transferred to another office, and traded places with another employee. Starting on Tuesday, I have been doing reception and administration...and I have had some of the best days I've had in months. Months.

Also on Tuesday, the weather suddenly turned from full-on summer to autumn. It's overcast and cloudy and that chill is in the air.

But even though the sun is gone, I feel the sunshine inside. Finally.

So let's celebrate with some colour! My lovely painty blouse, and this is a new red pencil skirt that I found in a thrift boutique for $13.50 (which makes me grumble a bit because this skirt was on sale new for $19.99, but it's for a good cause, and it's Canadian made).

I had my WW meeting after work and my feet were a bit sore from the Monday shoes, so I went with the gold kitten heels, which I seem to always wear with Mom's vintage 60s chain belt. No stuff picture as I was bagged when I finally got home at 8 pm.

Blouse (Jones New York), skirt (Jacob, thrifted), shoes (Aldo, consignment), belt (vintage 60s, Mom's).

Today, I took full advantage of the chillier weather to break out some of the thrift and consignment items that I've been holding off on wearing. For example, this amazing skirt:It variously reminds me of blue cheese, snow on a black sky, or one of those black and white pictures of black tree branches. It's a thick cotton, almost a denim, and has a black velvet trim. It was around $29.00 on consignment. I couldn't find anything at all on the brand online but oh well. It feels like good quality.

Naturally, I went all matchy with the teal shoes and cardi! That's how I roll, baby!

Because my new office is so much closer (only a 20 minute walk versus 30-35 minutes), I can actually walk to work in my clothes (with runners!). I climb the 6 flights of stairs in the morning to get to my floor, as well. I felt the burn this morning!

This also means I can actually wear some of my outerwear, instead of workout jackets! Hurray!

This is a new-to-me leather jacket that I got for "free" with my credit at my favourite consignment shop a few weeks ago. It would have been $48, which is still a steal for leather. It's nicely broken in. I find you really can't be too fussy about light-coloured leather; it's always going to show dirt and wear, so you may as well just go with it.

Vizzini was showing the love this morning.

The back:

A great cut to it!

The stuff:

A good look at the pattern of the skirt. I didn't want to look too girly, so I went with my bugs and snakes and my rock 'n' roll grommet belt.

A close-up:

Scary! I got a lot of comments on them today.

Cardigan (Kersh), cami (InWear), skirt (J.J.F., consignment), shoes (Me Too), belt (swap from Ruth), snake pin and spider ring (vintage 80s, gift from Mom and Dad), bug pin (Le Chateau), snake ring (Museum gift shop, vintage 80s).

Blue Monday - Matchy-Matchy Overload!

I fell in love with today's outfit, so I wanted to post it tonight rather than wait. I totally overloaded on blue: I found this amazing dress at a consignment store yesterday (thank you, Velvet Crease, for being open on Sundays - finally!) for $29.oo. It's a slinky polyester jersey and wow, don't you just love the rich blue?

I have very little blue in my wardrobe - it's just not one of my "go-to" colours. However, I had enough to really go to town...Matchy-Matchy Town!

That's my off-white tux jacket, and my fabulous crazyass Oxfords from Paris only worn here and originally here (scroll down past all my travel pics), along with the scarf Megan sent me.

Here's a shot of the dress solo:

It has a ruffle of flowers all along the neckline (front and back) made from the same fabric. I'll be wearing this as a WW weigh-in/pre- and post-Ulty dress on the weekends, for sure! I love the little capped sleeve too.

The stuff:

All the blues together! Those shoes make my feet sweat, so they were perfect in my frigid office.

A close-up:

A blue pin, my ring from the Louvre and some cheap earrings.

Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment), dress (Just...Taylor, consignment), shoes (Belle Woman), scarf (swap from Megan), pin (The Bay), ring (the Louvre gift shop), earrings (Jacob).

Summer in September

Strangely, it's been roasting hot here for the past week! Summer is finally here - and it's only September! Fortunately, it's lasted all week, so I got to wear some lighter looks.

Thursday: My Lik-m-Aid Fun Dip top (2nd outfit), a classic black pencil skirt (with pockets!) and my low lime green suede shoes.

Top (Express, thrifted), skirt (Kensie), shoes (Circa Joan & David, thrifted), red bracelet/earrings (Plum), silver cuff (St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop).

On Friday, I felt like stretching!

I met up with my good friend Elaine after work for dinner and drinks.

I'm glad to have this new-to-me brown cardi (worn last weekend for the first time).

Not too many more wears for my sandals...I am totally jonesing for boots, sweaters and scarves now!

Cardi (Alternative Apparel, thrifted), top (Zara, consignment), Jeans (Jackpot, swap from Caro), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, consignment), cuff (SkinzNHydz), rings (Aldo and vintage 70s).

On Saturday, I got up early and went to my WW meeting. As usual, I wore stuff I could change out of easily at the Ulty field.

I love this purple silk skirt - it's so floaty and cool. I was really glad of easy sandals after running around in soccer cleats for two hours in the hot sun! Ha, I last wore this skirt with the exact same top (last outfit, scroll down).

T-shirt (BCBG Max Azria, consignment), skirt (Le Chateau, consignment), shoes (La Canadienne, consignment).

After lunch out with Nick and rushing around to the grocery store to get an assortment of cheeses, smoked salmon, mixed nuts and crackers for Winesday, we popped down to our neighbour Pearl's birthday party.

Vizzini was being a cuddlemeister:

I swapped the top (which had gotten sweaty and sunblocky) for a blue cami and my stripey cardi.

Cardi (Express, thrifted), cami (InWear), skirt (Le Chateau, consignment), shoes (La Canadienne, consignment).

Winesday is a group of professional women friends who get together every 6 weeks or so. Everyone brings a bottle of wine (white or red) and something yummy to eat (usually something pretty healthy, although we do like our cheese and chocolate!), and we let our hair down and talk about our lives. Most of us have been married/in relationship for 10+ years, and our guys get together for Mansday, which is a music appreciation get-together at a different home).

We rotate our hosting, and last night we were at Jeannie's place. It was a blast (as always) - we had nine lovely women show up, and a bunch of us went in Jean's hot tub for a soak. So nice for my aching bod after Ulty!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Jury Selection, a Cat Sandwich and Slouchy

As I mentioned on Monday, I had to go to Jury Selection all day on Tuesday. I most adamantly did not want to get picked; I'd rather be at work. The last time I did jury selection, I was about 20 years old, and I wore thigh-high purple boots. I did not get picked.

This time, I went for kooky and colourful, in the hopes that I'd be sending conflicting messages and they wouldn't peg me as a middle-aged professional woman (what I am): My coral skirt, my "Queen of the Faeries" blouse (3rd outfit down), my khaki jacket (2nd outfit) and my leopard flats (2nd outfit) for walking to the courthouse. And of course that bigass flower is enough to scare anyone!

I also wore my leather flower on my wrist:

And a blue belt! How's that for a lot going on?

It was a little more sedate with the jacket closed:

The bad news: stood in line and sat around all freakin' day, only to be told that selection had been postponed for two weeks. Gah! However, when I got home today, L told me that the Sheriff's Office had phoned - they settled the case out of court! I'm dismissed! Yay!

I'd like to think my outfit contributed.

Jacket (Bianca Nygard, thrifted), blouse (no label, consignment), skirt (Rocket, thrifted), shoes (can't remember), belt (Landes, thrifted), flower cuff (consignment), flower pin (Le Chateau).

On Tuesday night, I had my WW group. We are doing a promo right now, can you tell?

Yeah. I don't like wearing logo t-shirts, but I am making the best of it.

Let's move along:

I do love that skirt, though. I need to wear it again soon. The t-shirt, nah, not so much - it's going into the "Ulty t-shirts that I sweat in" collection.

T-shirt (Weight Watchers swag), skirt (Cabri, thrifted), cuff (Shi Studios), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction (swap from Cat).

Intermission!

Brought to you by the delicious Cat Sandwich:

Take one part sofa, one part part big squishy pillow and allow cat to squeeze in between. Enjoy! But watch the teeth and claws - they're sharp!

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Today was hot. I mean HOT. Like, nearly 30 degrees (that's around 90 for those of you on the other scale). For us delicate West Coast flowers, that's wilting weather.

However, I still have icy-cold air conditioning at work, so I had to wear sleeves:

My favourite blouse - it goes with so many colours! I last wore it here with red, beige and black; previously here with olive green and black and white; and here with a dark grey dress (that dress went in the swap pile right away, bad colour near my face).

I adore this shiny velvet skirt:

It's sort of a bubble-y hem, and don't you just love the pockets? I was all louche and insouciantly slouchy all day!

The stuff:

My funky Campers - I'm always amazed at how heavy they are! The soles and heels are solid rubber - it's like getting a workout just wearing them around!

My groovy necklace:

I love a big splash of red.

Blouse (Marcona, thrifted), skirt (Club Monaco), shoes (Camper), necklace (Plum).

Labour Day Weekend Gatherings

We've been having computer issues this weekend - finally! I'm able to get in!

As a reward for your patience, here are Eyes of Love: Vizzini is settling in well.

On Friday, I busted out the leopard footless tights! I got several comments on them. I wanted to wear my Fluevog booties again (someone mentioned that little brown booties are "in" for Fall, so woot! Once again, I am Cutting Edge, ha!).

The rest of the outfit is pretty simple, just my brown pencil skirt, a lace-trimmed long-sleeved tee, and one of my two denim vests. I also wore this out for dinner to the pub on Friday night, with L.

Vest (Bisou Bisou, consignment), tee (Banana Republic, consignment), skirt (Plum), booties (Fluevog Coffee Kope Tiam), cuff (SkinzNHydz).

I drank a bit too much wine on Friday night, so I was somewhat blurry for a shift at the WW centre at 8am on Saturday morning:

This is pretty much a repeat of this outfit (2nd outfit, scroll down), only with comfier shoes. I have my trusty sports bra on, and changed into my Ulty clothes at the field.

Dress (Planet, thrifted), cardigan (no label, consignment), shoes (La Canadienne, consignment).

I also agreed to work on Sunday morning at WW, so I dressed up a little for that:Vizzini is such a little ham.

I love pulling out the Autumn colours as it gets cooler out. This is my olive cotton jacket, my red sweater top, and this skirt that I just recently got and wore here (3rd outfit down).

Outside: Very early in the morning! I do love how the sides of the skirt gather up.

Jacket (RW & Co., consignment), top (Planet), skirt (Dolcezza), shoes (Expressions, consignment).

When I got home, L and I walked to town for lunch and a wander around, so I changed up my outfit a bit: I swapped out the jacket for this new-to-me brown tee cardigan ($3.00, thrifted), and added the long flowy skirt and good walking shoes. And the hat, of course!

Vizzini was not permitted to come with us.

Hat (DeLux), cardi (Alternative Apparel, thrifted), top (Planet), skirt (Cute Options), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction).

Sunday was my dear friend Vero's birthday - Happy Birthday, sweets! I found this amazing dress downtown for 70% off: It was regular $130 (and it's Canadian made and machine-washable!), so score!

I added my comfiest shoes (my feet took a beating with a lot of walking, standing and playing a full game of Ulty this weekend), and my rocker accessories.

Of course, I love that it shows my ink:Yee haw! We danced the night away at a local arts collective, complete with fog machine, lightshow and funky music.

I also wore these awesome earrings that I got a few weeks ago: They worked perfectly with the outfit.

Dress (Girl Friday), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, consignment), belt (Jacob), cuff (vintage), earrings (consignment).

Now...today I am not at work, as I have to go to Jury Selection. What would you wear to NOT get selected? I'll show my outfit later on.

Return of the Mullet Skirt...and Yet More Yellow

Firstly, don't faint, I know, it's two posts in two days - such a rare thing for me these days. But L is at a strata meeting, and I felt like saying hello to my dear friends in the fashion blogoverse.

Hello! Thank you for reading and for your thoughtful comments and support and encouragement. I appreciate each and every one of you for visiting my little corner of the online world.

Secondly, a Public Service Announcement (I can't even type that without wanting to say, "With guitar!" 10 points if you know what song that's from.):

If you notice a slight change to the look of my blog, it's because I have enabled the mobile version of Ephemera. You can view it better on your phone! Enjoy! And thank the lovely Kasmira who helpfully suggested it.

I tend to forget these technological whatsahoosits exist (I only gave up my rotary phone when I met L in 1996). Neither L nor I have a cell phone - we just use our trusty PC. And our phone still has a cord and plugs into the wall.

Thirdly, let's lead with the outside shot for a change! Woo, I'm crazy!Showing the pink trim on the inside edge of the skirt.

It is suddenly Autumn on the West Coast, sadly. Chilly mornings, rain on the way home...*sigh* I am trying to get the most wear out of a bunch of my shoes before I put them away. These sandals are too open to wear with tights (for my taste, anyway).

I last wore them, in fact, with this very same skirt, here! I loved this skirt even more today:

It totally swoops around when I walk. I think I might do it with boots and a floofy skirt underneath it for Autumn/Winter.

That's my good ol' corset top - that's been one of my top consignment finds in the last few years. I first wore it here (3 years ago). I love it over a button down; however, this poor top (last seen here) has never been worn on its own. Yet!

This is totally a mullet skirt: It's not as dramatic as some skirts, but this is a much more practical version. Unless you saw me from a distance, you probably wouldn't even notice it.

The stuff: I really liked how the two plaids went together, and how the pale yellow made all the black look more zippy.

The bits: Some of my favorites.

Blouse (Le Chateau, consignment), corset top (Le Chateau, consignment), skirt (Smoking Lily, thrifted), shoes (Jones New York, consignment), necklace and earrings (Plum), wrist-wrap (Club Monaco).