Entranced by Velvet Pants, a New Entrance, and My Spooky Desk

Okay, one more day of work and then weekend! We have a very busy weekend planned, so I'll be back on Sunday with my usual bigass post. 

I saved this outfit for a while - I wanted to wear it to my WW meeting tonight, but I also wanted to make sure that these non-stretchy velvet pants would fit. They do now. It took a couple of weeks, after my birthday party!

• Blouse - Levante, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in December 2015 under a crocheted dress
• Trousers - Tan Jay, vintage 70s, thrifted; purchased here for $8.95
• Shoes - Amalfi, thrifted; purchased here for $10.00
• Jacket (below) - I.N. Studio, thrifted

Oh, hell, yes. I have much love for these high-waisted beauties! I adore the wide leg (fitted from the waist to the top of the thigh), the thickness of the cotton/rayon velvet (very, very thick), and just the overall vibe of them. Yes!

Pair 'em with this ginormous puffy 80s silk blouse with the giganticular bow? Oh, gosh, yes.

Feelin' it.

I buttoned the coat up under the giant neck-bow for dramatic effect. The hat is vintage, the gloves are Danier Leather (studded for extra badassery).

The stuff:

First wearing of these gorgeous Amalfi t-straps. They were wonderful, even on a long day like today.

Simple bling:

With a Major Blouse and Statement Trousers, you just belt it, and don't do much else.

• Belt - Mimi Di N, thrifted
• Earrings - Glee
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

My fabulous Winesday women bought me a gift certificate for Fleuvog, so I finally bit and bought these online (I had tried them on in Vancouver back in March, here).

Well, hello, there. Let me introduce you to the Room 502 Entrance.

Stunningly purple. I feel like Prince when I wear these!

They look quite blue on the website - my lighting is bad, but they are somewhere in in the middle. A bluey-purple.

"Make a Fitting Entrance."

"Stand in the Liberty." I don't know what that means, but sure. These are $269.00 on the site (here, linking 'cause I love), but I had discounts so ended up paying $165.00. Thank you, to my wonderful women. I hope to do these shoes justice. 

And just for fun, here's my desk at work, all decorated for Hallowe'en. I've whited-out my work name/logo and such. 

Most of this stuff is mine, from various Hallowe'en, my old job (I worked at a year-round Christmas store for 11 years in my late teens/20s), and just picked up here and there.

The tombstones are styrofoam. The candelabra and the "gate" are both cast iron and weigh a ton. I kid you not, the gate weighs about 15-20 pound, easy. The black skull was from Mom and Dad from Mexico sometime in the 90s - it broke in their luggage, but I glued it back together.

All the little black spiders, rats and bats are paper - I bought them at the dollar store years ago, and reuse them every year.

The big spider web is black glitter on metal. It's bendy.

We have two of these dumb skeletons - they're both office decorations/not mine.

The bloody handprints are mine. Heh.

Dear Simona bought me this jar of flowers yesterday "just because". I love them...so of course I stuck a plastic bug in them. The Lock, Shock and Barrel figure in the bathtub on the right is from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," one of my favourite movies. It moves and rocks along - it was a gift from my former boss.

The skull with the glass eyes is actually L's, and I forget where the little white skull came from. The item on the right is a black glitter bendy tree (same as the web), with a strand of plastic pumpkins and some mini Hallowe'en ornaments.

I don't put out any candy until Hallowe'en! These two rubber spiders guard the treat bag, which is currently full of plastic eyeballs. Only the eyeballs are mine.

The spider on the left is Squeaky (because he squeaks). I like to squeak him at people.

I'll be dressing up on Monday - will you be in costume??

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Lady Garden of Delight Skirt

I loved today's outfit. I always feel good in red - it's my power colour!

I also had to really showcase this fabulous skirt, which I've decided to call the Lady Garden of Delight skirt. Thank you to Melanie for the snazzy name!

• Sweater - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in September with painty poppies 
• Skirt - no label, vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here last Friday for $19.99
• Shoes - Marc; last seen here in March with a lot of dots
• Coat (below) - Danier Leather

I stuck to a red palette as a background - the skirt is definitely the star. It's a Garden! It's a Lady Garden! It's the Lady Garden of Delight!

Over the day, the elasticized sides of the skirt (go look at the pictures of it from when I bought it to see them better) gave way, which actually gave me a lot of comfort in the waistband. We don't need no stinking elastic!

Other than that, it was lovely to wear, although the length did limit my stride length somewhat.

I totally lucked out on the fit of this - I couldn't try it on! This is why I shop with a tape measure.

Outerwear:

I look so mysterious! I'm doing one of my usual glove/scarf combos (in grey), with a real fur scarf and wool fingerless gloves. The hat is vintage and kept the rain off me while I was out and about. I worked in this, then bused to the dentist for a cleaning, then bused back to town for a haircut. And now I'm home and I'm hungry!

The stuff:

I just adore these shoes - they are pretty comfortable for a full day on my feet. I've had them since October 2013 and have worn them at least 20 times.

Big ol' bling:

I grabbed the necklace at the last minute this morning - I felt like I needed something bigass at the top of my outfit.

• Earrings - vintage 60s, vintage fair
• Necklace - Nygard, consignment

 I caught Vizzini napping on the "cuddle benches" this morning.

"Zzzz...kitty treats...shoes to chew..."

I had to get a little closer.

"Mmm...Woman, must you do this? Let me nap."

He's giving me a look. Better run!

Tan, Purple and Paisley and Cat Pictures

I totally forgot to take my stair picture this morning, so I took it when I got home. It's been really dark in the mornings, so I've been trying to remember (without coffee!) to take them just before I leave. 

Sure. That will work.

• Blouse - INC, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in August for a picnic in the park
• Skirt - Valentino (part of a suit), vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here with magenta fringe in July
• Boots - Libby Smith Bellevues, Fluevog; last seen here in December 2015 with all the colours
• Leather trenchcoat (below) - vintage 70s, thrifted

Not a terribly exciting outfit - all my outfits this week are based around keeping my hands away from my now-flaking tattoo. Do. Not. Pick.

However, this silk blouse is a dream to wear - look how the pattern on the back is so perfectly centred!

And oh, this? This is my Valentino suit skirt. 100% wool, with pockets, made in Italy. Quality.

Sure, you can totally do hot pink with caramel.

Love it! I didn't need these fuzzy angora gloves or scarf by the end of the day, but they were very welcome in the morning.

The stuff:

My wonderful Winesday women bought me a gift certificate to Fluevog for my birthday, and I spent it tonight. There might be a new pair of purple Fluevogs in my future!

Bold bling:

Yup, a big necklace. It's so 3 years ago. 

• Earrings - don't remember
• Necklace - Banana Republic, consignment

Vizzini was being Captain Underfoot while I was digging around in my closet after work.  

"You're taking my picture? How dare you, Woman!"

He is lying near the closet door (where I stand for most of my pictures), lurking and hoping to get in the closet where he can wreak some havoc.

"I deny these accusations!"

He tries to fool me that he's not interested by being all cute and such.

"Look at this magnificent tum! You should pet me."

And when I do pet him, I get Lovey Eyes.

"Your petting is adequate."

You still can't go in my closet, bud.

Winged Leopard

I'm so predictable - the first Monday after my tattoo and - what a shocker - I'm wearing this blouse again!

It's really the best thing I own for not touching the fresh ink, and also for showing the new tattoo off to my coworkers. When I have my "wings" on, I've probably had new work done.

• Blouse - Alfani, thrifted; last seen here in September...for the first Monday after my last tattoo work!
• Skirt - Lord & Taylor; first worn here in June with a fluffy sweater
• Shoes - Miista; first worn here (2nd outfit) with a purple dress earlier this month
• Leather trenchcoat (below) - vintage 70s, thrifted

I probably should have tucked the top in - that blouse-y effect isn't the best (the bottom of the blouse is elasticated).

How much do I care?

Yeah, not much. I did love wearing this wonderful fuzzy leopard skirt again, though. It's like wearing a stuffed animal.

It was chilly this morning and I hate being cold. More furry accessories!

The toque and circle scarf are woven rabbit fur - I got them on clearance at Danier Leather last year. I love them! So soft and warm.

The stuff:

Great golden shoes of goodness!

Simple bling:

I loved wearing this bracelet all day - this is the first wearing of it.

• Bracelet - J. Crew
• Earrings (mismatched) - various gifts from L

Weekend Wrap-Up: Urban Gorilla, New Ink, Autumn Camo, Muppet Blue

The weekends go so fast! I need an extra day! 

Saturday kicked off with an early pre-tattoo breakfast at Floyd's with L.

Nothing overly fancy about this outfit - I went for warmth and comfort for a 3-hour tattoo session, followed by a long nap, followed by a boisterous Winesday.

• Cardigan - Jacob, thrifted; last seen here in March with black leather
• T-shirt - Smoking Lily; no longer tracked (I sleep in this now)
• Camo pants - Gap, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in September for day-after tattoo work
• Boots - Doc Martens, consignment; last seen here in the same outfit
• Grape Ape coat (below) - Forever 21, thrifted

Observant readers will note that this is a repeat outfit, but I didn't care.

It was comfy as heck to wear for over 16 hours!

I wore the Grape Ape coat:

L is looking very dapper

The coat (and matching fingerless gloves) kept me snuggly warm when I needed it.

The stuff:

I made a bit of effort with accessories. Gawd, I love these boots.

Brassy bling:

Those earrings are old favourites, at least 9 years old.

• Cuff - Jezebel Charms
• Chain cuff - thrifted
• Earrings - Plum

Mason enthusiastically suggested we do the whole tattoo in one sitting. No thanks! I'm done with marathon tattoos that kill me afterwards. I'll take my 3 hours now and 2 hours for the colour in a couple of weeks. All bandaged up for 12-ish hours:

"What kind of animal has fur this colour?"

Speaking of fur, Anna of Anna's Island Style was surprised that my fluffy scarf the other day (here) was real fur. I also have 2 real fur hats (vintage), a fur toque and matching scarf, and another fur neckscarf, all pieces that have been purchased second hand or with gift money. I don't have issues with wearing second hand fur, and I wear plenty of leather...and fur is just leather with hair. I would be a hypocrite for forgoing one and not the other. I don't know how others feel about it, but that's where I am.

Well, enough of that, let's see what I've done to myself this time.

"I am the captain of my soul." Ta-dah!

This arm is intended to be complimentary to (but not matching/mirroring) the other arm.

It's sore today, and my arm is puffy, but I'm washing it and keeping it as immobile as I can.

Today, I headed to town to get groceries. It has been sunny off and on, and fairly mild for this time of year.

I didn't even wear a coat - just this!

• Sweater - Satellite Drive, vintage, thrifted; purchased here for $10.95
• Skirt - Animale, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in the first outfit of the year in January
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last worn here in September with purple and mixed metals

I have a t-shirt underneath the sweater to keep my fresh ink from rubbing. The sweater is angora, wool and nylon and was wonderful to wear. As I strolled past all the trees in their autumn-hued foliage, I noted how matchy I was for the season.

This wool skirt was rescued from the giveaway pile recently and added to my weekend ultra-casual wear-around-the-house collection. It's warm and comfy, not itchy at all.

The stuff:

Awesome boots!

• Earrings - 5th anniversary gift from L

I stopped in at the local consignment furniture place, Charmaine's, and found...earrings! Because that's what one always finds in furniture stores.

These are just a fun turquoise pair - the beads are real, but the other pieces are synthetic. These were $6.00.

These earrings were $20.00 but they are much higher quality.

Real crystals and etched glass in the centres. I suspect that they are not silver (no stamp anywhere), but they do have a stamp on them.

Anyone know what this brand is?

A bunch of hearts with a scrolly B.

Tonight, we've been invited to our friends' place for dinner. I'm not so sure about socializing on a Sunday night (what about "The Walking Dead"??), but I aim to be comfy for this too.

Muppet sweater to the rescue!

• Sweater - Topshop, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in June with a huge denim skirt
• Skirt - Tribal, consignment; last worn here in July for a half-day with cranes 
• Booties - Dirty Laundry, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) with purple suede a couple of weeks ago

I'm wearing this around the house now, since I don't feel like changing again. The groceries should be here soon, but I might have time for a wee nap.

This lovely big sweater is a showstopper (and also very comfy - sensing a theme this weekend?). It's also nice and loose so that I can wash my arm.

The stuff:

I haven't photographed my outerwear, but I'll be wearing something...comfy! I love these booties for walking in.

Seasonal bling:

Hallowe'en is just around the corner, and I still don't have a costume put together.

• Spider earrings - don't remember
• Spider ring - gift from Mom & Dad, c. 1986

Vizzini has been mad at us all weekend, for being out so much.

"I'm going to eat that foot if you poke me in the tum, Woman."

He wouldn't even sit still for pictures.

"I'm just going to sit here all alone. Just me and Mousie."

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Linking up to "Visible Monday" at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style!