I'm not Atomic Blonde; I'm Atomic Grey

I wore this lightweight snuggly-soft Yuzhe Studios coat on my inspiration walk today, inside-out because I was in the mood for the lighter grey colour of the inside. The pockets stick out like little hip wings, and we know how flattering a look that is. And I wore my man shoes and other stuff. 

On my way home, a young woman breathlessly ran up behind me, seeking my attention. I thought:

Why, look! A fan eager to prostrate herself at my feet after my recent media triumph. And so it begins - celebrity is mine! Bwahaha! Soon I'll need to buy a hideaway in a dormant volcano and hire a team of minions.

I slowed, put on my humble face, and smiled at her with benevolence.

Then she said in a breathless confidential voice:

Excuse me, but I think you have put your coat on inside-out.

[sound of vinyl record scratching] 

"Wrong line!" was scribbled in my thought bubble.

I said, "Oh, thank you for telling me. Actually, I know it's inside-out, but I prefer it like this today." Then I thought we'd exchange laughs. But no. She said, "Oh, okay. Sorry, I'm sorry," and power-walked away, red face blazing. I felt bad. How could she have known?

Perhaps the next time I wear this inside-out I need to affix a little label on the back that says, "This inside-out is right-side-out today," to spare awkward feelings all around.

And yesterday I wore this: Jacqueline Conoir suit jacket, altered with additional repositioned buttons, Anne Klein crepe wool, lined palazzo pants courtesy of Dross Into Gold, black glitter booties, and -

The Device 

scratch-built by my partner O 

(his art is here, Etsy here).

As for the glasses, Charlise Theron wore aviator sunglassses in her role as a British spy in the period action movie Atomic Blonde, so when Nordstrom wardrobe handed me these glasses on set, BAM, I was -

No longer mere Mel - 

I was Atomic Grey! 

I decided to recreate that badass state of mind with this outfit.

There's the Yuzhe Studios coat again, right-side-out. They sent it to me a couple of years ago.

Speaking of atomic, time now to switch gears for a little spacy tripping with this psychedelic vintage '70s outfit that Suzanne, suzannecarillo.com, gave me when I was in Toronto. I almost fainted with surprise and delight. 

The outfit is seductively soft, velveteen I believe. The unstructured midi-length jacket has lapels, slits up both sides, and a single hook/eye closure at the waist. The front is meant to overlap for a fitted silhouette, but I preferred it a bit looser to enhance that tux feeling, so I pinned it closed. The slacks (love that word) zip up the back.

To top it off, I wore my blue velvety platform sandals with studded heels from Nordstorm and a satin sleeveless ruffle-front orange blouse with a super-high collar from many years ago.

I took these photos with my tripod on Granville Island.

The grand exit, tux tails flapping.

That's all for this week. I'll link something up with Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb. See you there.