Sparkle On - Merry Everything!

Merry Everything! Unlike 90% of my office, I was at work today. What to do for the last day? 

Did someone say, "Sparkle"? Yes, that is the correct answer.

• Dress - Max & Co.; last seen here (2nd outfit) in October (same purple tights/belt)
• Boots - BCBG Max Azria; last worn here a couple of weeks ago with a pink tiger dress
• Coat (below) - Samuel Dong, thrifted 

I dressed for practicality. I had a bunch of small shopping stops on the way home, so walking shoes were essential.

I figured it would be very quiet today - and it was. My awesome boss brought in two giant bottles of Baileys for our coffee, which made the morning zoom by. I don't think I've ever hugged so many of my coworkers. I shocked some of them (I am not a hugger), but after being at the company for nearly 6 years, I'm finally comfortable enough to hug.

There were many admirers of this shiny dress, of course. It's one of my favourites.

Outerwear:

I noticed it was raining when I went outside for my stair picture, so I actually didn't wear that consignment purple beret with my wool fingerless gloves (Parkhurst) and my thrifted fur boa.

I wore this hat instead. It's by Liz Claiborne (thrifted).

Whoops, my communicator badge has spun around there!

The stuff:

Fab boots. I lugged four large bags of purchases home and have spent the afternoon baking a cake, dyeing my hair and then making myself dinner. L is out after work for drinks, but I'm savouring my down-time.

Space-age bling:

I had to wear my Star Trek badge, and then I had to do nebulae earrings and a swirling galaxy bracelet.

• Belt - Plum
• Star Trek Voyager badge - MoPop gift shop
• Earrings - vintage fair
• Cuff - Midzo, vintage fair

My awesome quartet of Vice Presidents spoiled me this year. Two bottles of single malt scotch! Wow! I had a drink with my boss before I left early (thanks, Boss!).

Dear friends, gentle readers...May whatever you celebrate be full of joy. Merry Everything!

Sparkling On - Penultimate Glitter and Shine

One more day and then holidays! Are you ready? I certainly am, well, at least mentally if not actually physically prepared. I have two days to wrap things - that's lots of time.

I saved my most glitter for the penultimate outfit before Christmas - I wanted to wow my WW group as tonight was the last meeting of the year. Yes, they were wowed!

• Jacket - Aldo, thrifted; last worn here in August with red and white
• Sweater - Ralph Lauren, thrifted; last seen here way back in January with triple flares
• Trousers - Tan Jay, vintage 80s, thrifted; first worn here in October with a red blouse
• Shoes - Shellys London; last worn here (2nd outfit) in November with copper leather
• Coat (below) - Vassali, consignment 

I'd planned to wear a completely different jacket (this one, which I have decided I don't like and it's gone), but I didn't like how it worked and so swapped it out at the last second this morning for this fabulous brocade SHINY jacket. There is no orange in the pattern (red, gold and pink), but I liked how it went.

The velvet pants were wonderful again, but I spilled some grape jelly on them and now they need to be cleaned - I like them too much to risk cleaning them myself (my usual thing), but they have acetate pockets so nope, gonna have to dry clean them.

You can't really see them in these pictures, but I wore sparkly little sockettes with the uber-sparkly shoes!

So much sparkle!

Outerwear:

A long black velvet coat with wide-legged black velvet trousers? I smell a suit! I will have to do just the jacket and trousers as a "look". My lovely red vintage had, my Parkhurst wool fingerless gloves and my grey fur boa complete the look and keep me warm.

The stuff:

The shoes are so to die for, yes? By the end of my day, my feet hurt, though. These aren't everyday shoes. But they're awesome for the holiday season!

Gold bling:

I do love a statement necklace.

• Necklace - D'Orlan, vintage, thrifted
• Earrings - Weiss, vintage fair, thrifted, vintage 60s
• Ring - consignment

I'll be around here and there over the holidays and will do one last work outfit post of the year tomorrow night. I have priorities right now.

"I may acquiesce to a cuddle if you ask nicely."

That would be lovely.

Sparkling On - Geometrics and Putting the Shine Back

Woo, only a couple of days to go! I'm sure many of you are already on vacation and ready for Christmas to come (I still have to get a few things, and then wrap it all). 

As of Friday, I'll be off until the Tuesday after New Year's. I am pretty stoked. This calls for geometric patterns!

• Top - Cartise, consignment; last seen here in March with fuzzy yellow
• Skirt - Nygard; last worn here in January with blue and black
• Shoes - Miista; last seen here (2nd iteration of the same outfit) in November with shiny patterned tights and velvet
• Coat (below) - Hilary Radley, thrifted

I know, right? The top - and it is a TOP, not a jacket! - is so cool. All those little white strips of fabric are sewn onto a thin, stretchy mesh. People love to look at it - it's a very complex piece.

The back is just as cool.

I'm happy to be wearing this skirt again - it wasn't worn in the spring/summer wardrobe at all. I liked how the geometric patterns in it went with the top - and did you notice (most visible in the first pic) that my tights have diamond patterns too?

Outerwear:

Still cold, but not like last week. Still wearing this combo of my Danier fur toque/scarf and my vintage long wool gloves. Yup, seen it before.

The stuff:

I adore these shoes, but they are getting beaten up very fast.

Minimal bling:

An outfit with this much texture and pattern doesn't need many accessories.

• Earrings - don't remember
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

As you can see in that last picture, there are black scrapes all along the insides of my shoes. When I walk, the heels scratch the metallic leather, actually removing colour from the underneath black leather.

Tsk, look at those scratches!

How to fix this? I used Testor's enamel model paint (L and I both paint miniatures - me, not as much as I used to) in Gold.

This stuff is permanent. I have to use brush cleaner/turpentine to clean it off surfaces.

Like my finger, which is what I used to rub the paint into the surface of my shoes.

I daubed a fingertip of paint onto the shoe, then rubbed it in.

Before:

Sad! All scratched up!

After (a bit blurry, sorry).

The texture of the scratches are still there, but the black leather underneath is covered up again. This colour is a good match.

And before, the back inside of the heels.

I can't rub that off because it's the gold colour itself that has rubbed off.

And here's the after shot.

Pretty good, eh? I am happy with how my shoes turned out - they're all shiny and nice again!

Note: I do not ever recommend that you do what I do to my clothes/shoes. I am always taking the risk that I will f**k it up (which I've done before) and ruin something.

Sparkling On - Stained Glass

Keep on sparkling! This is the time to wear all those things that feel "too festive"! 

It's never a bad time to wear a fabulous dress - just layer a blouse under it! I refer to this as my stained glass dress.

• Blouse - no label, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here layered under my "eye" dress in September
• Dress - Tangerine Jill, consignment; last seen here in August while I had "Partridge Family" flashbacks
• Shoes - Half Truth Veda, Fluevog; last worn here (2nd outfit) to see Alice Cooper in concert in October
• Coat (below) - Borgeoiis, vintage 80s, thrifted

Truly a great dress. I'm so happy I bought it all those years ago. I never get tired of it.

 And it's not like I'm going to run out of colours to wear under it either! Baby blue goes great, don't you think?

Outerwear:

There was a major wind and rainstorm early this morning but it cleared up and was mostly just windy today. I kept warm with my Danier fur toque/scarf and my long wool vintage gloves.

The stuff:

I liked how this belt went over the dress. I bought it for myself this time last year, when I was shopping for L's Christmas presents.

Silver bling:

I wore the pin at the top of the blouse (it's slightly tucked under the neckline of the dress in the above pics).

• Belt - Mimi di N, thrifted
• Earrings - consignment
• Brooch - c. 2001 at the Bay
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Sparkling On - Gold Accents

Sparkle Week may be over, but I'm still sparkling on. I have a lot of things in my wardrobe that whisper, yell and shout "Festive!" so why not play with them. 'Tis the season!

Today, it's all about one punchy colour and bright, shiny (SHINY) gold accents. I like shiny.

• Jacket - Le Chateau, consignment; last seen here in September with presidential cerulean
• Blouse - Jacob, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in August with my DIY harem pants
• Skirt - Orenzo, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in September with green again
• Shoes - Fly London; last worn here in March with my old dotty skirt
• Leather trenchcoat (below) - vintage 70s, thrifted 

I love this swooshy sheer skirt, and had pulled it out to make sure I built an outfit around it for the holiday season. A bright green satin top and green shoes added just a big of colour.

This is one of my favourite blazers. It's such a nice cut and fit.

I wore an additional half-slip under this skirt (it has a lining that I hacked to a shorter length) for warmth.

Outerwear:

A very high chance of rain today - the snow is now all gone and we're back to our usual temps and rain. It did not rain. I forgot about this "set" of accessories - they are a dark brown faux fur scarf and wool gloves with faux fur cuffs. Great for this time of year. They are by Parkhurst.

The stuff:

I was sure I'd worn these shoes this season, but nope, last time was indeed in March. This is what happens when you have a lot of shoes.

Gold bling:

One of the earrings fell off at the end of the day (the back is gone) but I found it. Phew!

• Belt - thrifted
• Necklace - Ellandemm, thrifted
• Earrings - vintage fair

Triple Outfit Saturday: Snowy Brunch, Velvet Theatre and Sci-Fi Party Dress

We woke up to more snow on Saturday morning! It was a light dusting, but still coming down, so much warmth was needed for my "walking to town" outfit. 

L and I went for brunch at Floyd's, then shopped for Vizzini's Christmas presents.

• Sweater - J. Crew, thrifted; first worn here in September with camo pants 
• Skirt - TKStyle, thrifted; first worn here with red plaid in October
• Boots - Ash; last seen here (5th outfit) for a weekend grocery outing
• Coat (below) - Hilary Radley, thrifted

This was a good mix of comfy (lots of stretch) and warm (the sweater is wool, layered a cami under it).

This is such a funny shaped skirt.

I like the "fin" on the side.

I wore this exact same outerwear for each of the three outfits I wore on Saturday.

My Danier fur toque and scarf, and these long vintage cream wool gloves. This coat is getting my money's worth. I'm down to at least a dollar per wear now.

The stuff:

Not having a car anymore (we sold it in August) means that my flat boots and shoes get more wear on the weekends.

Nostalgic bling:

Droplets of water from the boots left in at the bottom

This scarf belonged to my Dad - in the early 60s he was in a dance band, and they all wore matching blazers and scarves. I can't imagine how bizarre that looked. I've owned this scarf since I was about 16 - it wasn't just jewelry I pilfered from Mom! I "borrowed" stuff from Dad too!

• Scarf - vintage 60s, Dad's
• Earrings - local

When I saw that we had snow in the morning, I phoned Mom to make sure she could still drive - we had a theatre matinee in the afternoon! Fortunately, it was fine out her way (she lives on a hill), and we made it.

My first wearing of this beautiful dark chocolate brown dress!

• Blouse - Ralph Lauren, consignment; last seen here in November with vintage 70s suede
• Dress - Mimi Bizjak, thrifted, vintage 90s; purchased here for $19.95
• Boots - Baroque Velazquez, Fluevog; last seen here (6th! outfit) in October 2015 with mad pearls and lace

It was so cold, and I couldn't wear the dress on its own to walk to and from the theatre, not to mention sitting there without a coat on. I also respect Mom's wish not to be confronted with all my tattoos when we go out. I'm cool with that.

I really loved the ruffled blouse layered under the dress.

I was nice and warm, except for the very underheated pub afterwards, where I shivered and huddled under my coat.

The play was "This Little Light", which was a modern update of "The Little Match Girl" with singing. Spoiler! She dies at the end. Mom and I were prepared for this (but thought they might have changed it), but the little girl sobbing her eyes out a row behind us was certainly not expecting it! I cried, but it was not a great play overall. Too emotionally manipulative and rather preachy.

The stuff:

I am really shocked that I haven't worn these boots in a year! They are amazing and very comfy to wear - I walked in the snow (less than an inch) to and from the theatre/pub in them. I'll have to make sure I wear them more over the next few months.

I had many admirers of them in the theatre lobby before the show started.

Gold bling:

Bits of water on my boots.

• Earrings - local
• Ring - Sarah Coventry, vintage shop

No time to rest after that outing - we've got a party to go to! Our dear friends Nick and Karen throw a marvelous Christmas party every year. I had another outfit in mind, but I was feeling like not wearing something restrictive so I changed my mind and went with this red dress.

Some of you have never seen this dress on me, but it's been loaned out to two coworkers since I last wore it.

• Dress - Lori Ann Montreal, thrifted; last seen here for my birthday in October 2010!
• Shoes - "I Know" by Irregular Choice, gift from Louise; last worn here in August with blue and magenta

Nearly all of my ink is on display - this was the first time that some of my friends have seen my new tattoos.

But the dress! I bought it at the WIN Warehouse store for $8.00 and first wore it here for December 2009 New Year's Eve, where we were first starting out with our current group of friends. It was crazy, reminding them about that night - we drank all the booze they had at this little Korean BBQ restaurant. Ah, good times.

I was pretty tired by this time after such a hectic day, but I redid my makeup and put more goop in my hair.

Bathroom selfie so you can see my fabric flower pinned at my shoulder and my Star Trek pin on my dress.

A terrible picture of my tummy, but I love pics of L and I together.

I wore these shoes (and my socks showing - so classy) to walk to the party. L wore similar practical shoes, but spent the party in his ninja socks. My love, thank you for being such an awesome guy and snappy dresser!

The stuff:

In a shocking turn for me, I didn't wear heels to the party! I decided to do these Star Wars flats and I was so happy that I did. I showed them off to all my friends, who were appropriately awed by them.

Space-age bling:

I mixed my sci-fi franchises! Star Wars and Star Trek - but I'm confident enough to say that I really don't care - I love them both. I need to go to see Rogue One this week!

• Flower pin - Le Chateau
• Star Trek magnetic pin - MoPop gift shop
• Bangle - Glee
• Leaf bracelet - thrifted
• Earrings - Jacob
• Fulvia Ring/lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

We staggered home around 3am - hey, why is everyone leaving so soon? - and crashed into bed. Vizzini woke me up with a paw in my mouth. Feed me!

"I let you sleep in till 7am, Woman."

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Linking up to "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style.