Scr-e-e-e-amingly Red

I was inspired by Citizen Rosebud and all her capes lately to wear this vintage red wool cape. The days are getting longer and warmer and I won't be able to wear it much more this season. My friend took this pic OUTSIDE. (Thank you!) I'm putting this in Patti's Visible Monday. Purple and red, ouch!

Details of the outfit:

• red vintage wool cape with faux fur trim from F as in Frank vintage shop on Main Street
• thrifted D&G side-zip slacks - the stitching was melting away so I had to resew all the seams. The fabric is like a lightweight ski-pant alien poly. Ooo, love it.
• long purple gloves from a neat boutique, I forget the name, but found the same gloves at Winners a week later for half the price! Rrrr.
• another teacup case I made, details in photo below. I love the spoon in the lid but I don't use it much.  I bought that Spode cup before my mum sent me my other most beautiful cup from a great, great, great grandmother (it's in an earlier post with my babushka teacup carrier). Of course coffee tastes better in a teacup that you bring from home in a groovy case. O made the hardware for me.

And another outdoor pic because it's such a novelty! We thought that was another person in the background - it's my reflection. We laughed.

And another pic to show my pants! It's a weird pose. These pants look great with some incredibly high-heeled, black pointy shoes, but my feet said "Non! Non!" today. In this pic, the stripe on the pants looks spider-webby.

I seem to have a few thrifted D&G pieces in my closet and it got me thinking, if there was a Lemonade Guide for Used Clothing, D&G would not be highly recommended; it seems to lose its value very quickly - I have found many pieces at low, low prices. What do you think? See you again soon.

Go-go-sno boots

First:

A HUGE HUG to MIS PAPELICOS!!!

for putting me on her blog today. 

I will never shut up about your bug necklace - 

I LOOOVE it SO!!!

Today's outfit: Heavy flurrious snowflakes - time for the big guns - my go-go boots. Despite the heel, they have the most manly traction on slippery surfaces of any boots I own. And since this is probably one of the last snowfalls of the season (I hope) I had to wear my ultra-heavy winter coat and faux fur hat that makes it almost impossible to see anything.

The faux fur collar is out in force again today too, this time as outer wear. I needed an umbrella to keep my camera dry. Oh, so complicated!

Oh, those pesky lens flares - I try scrubbing and soaking and I still can't get them out!

Above is what I wore inside my coat. That's my hair - I don't think you've seen it before because I'm always wearing my beret.

Details of the outfit:

• inside-out faux fur coat - I like the pile lining outside and it seems warmer that way
• puff-sleeved, cropped cotton top from Tokyo, new (about 20 years ago)
• slate-grey, long-sleeved T-shirt under the top, Metallicus
• wool thrifted skirt made in France
• black tights, and pseudo-go-go boots from the "Loser" pile at Winners
• faux fur collar with home-made ties, as debuted in an earlier post

Below is a cartoon of me in my hat:

Happy weekend, everyone!

Blood-thirsty boucle jacket

Pink! Summer pink. I like wearing summer clothes in winter with tights and layering so much that all my clothes are jammed together in the closet now, whereas they used to be segregated by season. This is my outfit for today, which I am showing on Patti's wonderful Visible Monday!

I'm still having trouble figuring out my camera settings indoors, and since my clothes long to breathe outside, I must scout an open air location for self portraits. 

I spotted the boucle jacket at a thrift sale a couple of summers ago. I was on my way home from a long road biking ride (which involved doughnuts) and decided to swing into a groovy neighbourhood on my way back into the city. There is was, shining in its pink goodness, for five bucks, but I had to wear it home on a hot, hot, hot day, dripping with sweat. Hm. Note the BEFORE shoes above. Note the AFTER shoes below.

Hence, the big bag. And I always have a red nose in my photos because I take them when I get home from my inspiration walks. The Michael Kors jeans were passed along by a friend. And that jacket - it had all kinds of fringy bits on it, so I ripped them off one night, and tore out the shoulder pads. The process inspired the cartoon below.

Happy Visible Monday. Thanks, Patti.

"Scotty, tart me up!"

First things first:

HUGS & a Grand THANK YOU to 

Style Montreal Sud-Est 

for your ridiculously wonderful feature on me!!!!! 

You are the most generous, gorgeous, styling person!!! Your approbation has made me silly. 

I continue to look to you for inspiration!!! Merci!

I have been bizzy, bizzy these past days, and will be throughout March, but I took this photo of my outing outfit the other day as backup... (always have a Plan B, C, D...)

I have had this sweet but plain dress for a long time and I do things to it - all legal of course - to add some oomph. Today I added this:

I have had this English hand-made corset, with boning and satin, for years but didn't start wearing it until Christmas Day(!), after I sewed the gaarters (fending off weirdo word-seekers) up under the hem. Even though I have kept the laces loose, it is still a blugger to hook and unhook the metal bits on the front - once you're in this baby, you fight to get out! I added the poyles to boost the good/bad contrast. I like to flash my back in this. These heels really click so you can hear me coming! (Terri, this is the piece I was telling you about before.)

I hope all of you have a great weekend. Talking about style, I just really want to curl up in a uni-fleece-body-tube-with-a-hood today. Please don't hurt me for saying so... : )

Analogous AND complementary?

I was inspired by some green/orange combos and pink/red combos I've seen on blogs lately. Yes, I, too, sadly learned The Rule about putting analogous colours together and was warned away from complementary colour pairings, hence, the Fun Rule-Breaking Day, featuring one of my favourite vests. Here I am in: orange and red PLUS green and red PLUS blue and green. Yummy and naughty. I found a slightly brighter place to take today's pic which shows all the marvellous colours. I hope you like it! This outfit puts a spring in my step.

Details:

• vintage vest - orange and green paisley, in an alien poly fabric (which I adore), worn inside out (you can see the darts) and belted with an embroidered '70s belt because the vest is much, much too large for me 
• re-gifted silk blouse, also much too large, but I'm into that
• D&G red velvet pants, thrifted of course, and thrifted D&G shoes, love those high-waters!

Has anyone seen my yurt?

I love this dress so much it deserves its own clothing category, and when I wear it I vibrate, which leads to all kinds of wonderful conversations with interesting people. This look brings to mind several misty images: 1) Isadora Duncan dancing, 2) standing in the wind on a vast grassy plain with an endless blue sky overhead - with straw and shaggy horses somewhere too, 3) Dior (?!).

Details:

• thrifted non-dress magnificence
• Miu Miu thrifted boots
• oversized black T over the non-dress
• faux fur collar I bought for $1.99 and added really, really long red fabric ties that took FOREVER to turn right-side out again
• brown wool cape and long-sleeved T under my dress

Of course I'm feeling visible on this Monday, and, thank you again, Patti, for your wonderful forum, Visible Monday, so I can share my happiness in this dress.

Such as drama queen!!

This pose is an homage to all the women (probably safe to say not men) who embroidered this piece.

The wool cape was necessary for toastiness.

I'm Flora, Not Fauna!

Several months ago patterns were anathema to me, but having seen the error of my ways, I am making up for lost time. I hope you like this feisty floral number with its little demure front and the Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robot pattern clash at the back. I remember that at one time in the '70s almost everyone had dresses with patterns similar to this, or at least in my neck of the woods. I'm wearing the vest backwards; the front of it has gold pinstriping on the black.

Details of the outfit:

• thrifty flora dress and thrifted vest worn backwards
• black tights and thrifted stretch, wedge-heel booties
• silky dark teal blouse courtesy of O

This outfit flows wonderfully - the vesty thing flutters when I walk. I also love the silhouette. I feel like a tree. I LOOK like a tree in the first photo. I hope you like it. 

I have achieved a 200% ROI (return on investment) on this dress if I value each wearing at $1. I bought it at a vintage shop going-out-of-business sale and it was $20 for everything you could stuff into a plastic bag. Based on that calculation, this dress cost me a buck; I did everything short of haul out my vacuum seal machine to get this baby in there. It had ruffles and ribbons on it, and I would have torn them off right there in the store if needed. Thankfully, it fit and my dignity is still intact.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

When you're smiling, the whole world...

When you're smiling, the whole world...smiles with you? But what if you're smiling alone in a room? Is it like the tree falling in the woods - does it make a sound? Some say no. I say: if I'm smiling alone in a room then, YES!!, the whole world smiles too, even if they can't see me. Actually, the grins took me by surprise. I never thought I would do that in my self-portraits. When I realized what I was doing, I got all uptight again. Like Roseanne Roseannadanna (I had to look up that spelling!) says: "If it's not one thing, it's another." I had fun posing today too. I used a stepladder as a prop.

Details of the outfit:

• $10 H&M dress, very silky, feels great (hence, the smile maybe)
• Dorothy-red Hush Puppies shoes
• black tights and thrifted necklace of pretty blue flowers with rhinestones ($1)
• my ooo-la-la Gucci watch, a gift

Thanks for dropping by!

Invincible Monday!

Well, it's time for Patti's Visible Monday, but today I was feeling pretty invincible. I decided to try to overcome my fear of white coats. I've had this thrifted Armani Exchange white coat for quite a while and it was in my studio ready for a custom paint job when I decided to give it one last shot in its pristine condition and... I'm surprised I liked it! You know how some days you get a positive energy bubble around you that rubs off on everyone you meet? This was one of those days during my inspiration and style-scout walk.

I wasn't sure whether to go with black tights and black shoes or mustard tights and red shoes - I chose the black and black to ground myself and get framing with my hat and gloves, plus it makes the look a bit warmer on this chilly day, especially when I'm already chilling it with a white coat. The Chanel sunglasses were a gift, used.

Details of the outfit:

• thrifted Armani Exchange coat, $20 or so, Value Village
• knit scarf from Sears I think
• blue stretch dress from Metallicus, and lots of T-shirts under it from Metallicus (layering at 5 degrees C)
• vintage shiny black shoes with short deadly heels

That's it. I look forward to checking out all your Visible Monday looks too. Thanks, Patti, for this forum, at Not Dead Yet Style.

My Style Autoblography

When I went on my inspiration and style-scouting walk today, I ran into my rocker chick friend, Sandra Bernabei. I told her about this new blog and she said, "Oh, you're doing an autoblography?" I love that word and she said she just made it up on the spot. I'm trying to coax her into her most intense rocker gear for a photo but even today she had on a great hand-sequinned T-shirt supporting the Port Alberni fire-fighting water bombers! (Port Alberni is a small town on Vancouver Island)

Today was cold so I threw on three slips under my dress, one red, one rust, and one white, and it helped.

Details of my outfit:

• one nifty thrifted vintage dress, short sleeved with pleats, made out of excellent polyester, which I bought a few days ago
• black turtleneck under the dress for warmth
• three slips and light blue tights (you can see the rust slip peeking out in photo 2)
• thrifted D&G pony heels, score purchase a few years ago
• a necklace from waaay long ago with a little heart hanging on it.

There are three vertical rows of  ivory-coloured stitching on the front of the dress, curving from the top down to just above the pleats where they end in arrow points. The whole dress is finely made. I kept the photos slightly orange because I liked that vintage patina with this dress pattern.

This pose is how I feel in this dress: "Ta-dah," with a little tap dancing flourish to punctuate it!
O thinks this is good studio camouflage wear.

It looks like there's light coming out of the painting with this colouring and reflection.

I feel like Amelie

I love how feminine this outfit feels. Under the skirt I am wearing a multilayered, seafoam summer skirt that acts like a crinoline, and a one-piece, ruby-red lacy slip. The riot of colour under the black skirted canvas makes me feel gleefully naughty. Plus, there is a wonderful swishing sound when I walk. The jacket is light for 6C, but I wore thigh-high socks over tights and a long-sleeved shirt under my blouse.

Details of the outfit:

• thrifted skirt refashioned from a dress - I added a lining and suede closures at each side at the waist. I still have to hem the bolero I made from the top half
• black tights under high, diamond-patterned socks
• shimmery green jacket with velcro closure
• ivory silk blouse with mother-of-pearl heart-shaped buttons, from Tokyo about 20 years ago
• burgundy patent leather shoes, thrifted
• life pendant O made me

This outfit also seems to suit the B&W mode, so I included one below. I hope you like it.

I feel like Amelie in this photo, one of my favourite films. I hear that soundtrack in this outfit.

It looks like I have a straw in my mouth or an extra-long droopy cigarette. : ) 

More sun, less colour?

Sun today, and that can only mean one thing - less colour, in some respects. I did dress darker, although I added a blue brooch and some incredible vintage sunglasses that I found recently. How did I live without them before?

Details of the outfit:
Betsey Johnson coat which I impulse bought at a huge sale so I'm not allowed to feel guilty
dress with pockets by Totem
riding pant jeggings
stretch boots - low heel required because I knew I'd be walking all over the place today
sunglasses - what can I say? Neon orange, like Ms. Apfel but in a square, if I may be so bold!

I played around with the backdrop for visual interest and also because I need to inventory some more work on the hanger. The piece behind me is oil pastel and big, which I love. I also included a street view photo below because this is the kind of day that makes the rain in Vancouver bearable.

PS. I just added the Followers gadget, and I know I shouldn't be, but I'm embarrassed to have only one. Terri, at Rags Against the Machine, you are the best! and my first follower! Thank you! I still have to Follow else's blogs but I need to pinpoint my photo, which makes me anxious - it seems so permanent. Until then, I check your sites daily.

Vancouver, Hornby Street. I see this cyclist's bike around town and it always makes me smile.