Code Pink sympto-maniacal

Wearing: elastic-waist polyester pants, fleece top, and baggy sweat socks under thrifted vintage kimono-style pink-patterned maxi "Loungewear" (label name) worn as an overjacket, and thrifted Miu Miu boots. So, yes, I did get the memo on pink and menopause. THANK YOU! I thought I was losing my mind, which would not be surprising as I have not cleaned out my belfry in ages and AGES.

I'm not knocking you if you DO in fact wear elastic-waist polyester pants, but one does feel so much more alive in pickled pink maxi Loungewear. Drinks, anyone? Meet me at the manhole cover.

I was curious about this "if you're menopausal-ish you start to wear pink" rule doing the blogger circuit, so I consulted the oracle, the Oxford Medical Dictionary of Physicality and Suchlike. I happened to be wearing my 3-D glasses at the time and there, under Menopausal-ish Symptoms, cleverly invisible to the naked eye, words started to materialize between the lines. Symptom 0.33(i): Irrepressible urge to wear pink. Of course! Then Symptom 1.52(c): Haphazard wearing of 3-D glasses. Then Symptom 3.7(gg): Spouting nonsense on your way to Nirvana (did not specify Cobain variety or Buddhal place).

I wore this symptomatic outfit on my inspiration walk today, flapping flamingo-like in the bracing morning breeze. Whap, whap, whap. Outta my way - there's a menopausal-ish woman coming through!! The kimono belt is lacking, which partially explains why this gem, luxuriously lined in silky healthy-gums pink, was only $20. Considering its pinkness is a soothing balm for the menopausal-ish mind, perhaps it is considered a medical aid and I could have paid with insurance. Nah, then the flap would be at the back.

The panoply of playful bold pink and patterned outfits in posts of late are clear indications that we're dealing with a contagion, spreading, oozing insidiously beyond age boundaries! I'm afraid there is no cure but time itself. Until then, brace, brace, brace in candy floss pink, cinderella-on-crack bubblegum, and Pepto-Bismol splendour. Show me how you suffer.

That's all.

Oh, I got a haircut. Next is colouring. I mean de-colouring.
Also, under this Loungewear I am wearing a warm camisole, a thrifted brown turtleneck, my skinny jeans, my Geisha socks, and a thrifted red maxi cardigan which you've seen in a hideous outfit in an earlier post. Gaaah.

Maxi quilted floral robe-coat and 52 Pick-me-up

Yesterday:

I almost blew away yesterday - not because of what I had on but because of the wind. Fierce! In fact, I had to cut short my inspiration walk. I'm wearing my quilted Orientalesque oversized floral maxi robe-coat, overwrapped and secured with a wide man's vintage leather belt. My red beret and vintage sunglasses top it off. I'm undecided as to whether I'll downsize the robe or keep doing the overlap wrapping.

Below: Today

Spy Girl Anne's 52 Pick-me-up post prompt, Trend Salad, was on my mind before dressing this morning.  This is what I tossed together as my official "trend" items: my (thrifted) Steve Madden houndstooth stovepipe pants and (thrifted) pastel-nicotine faux fur. (I also have layering and a "cute hat" as trends. They count too. Anne said so.) That's my oversized DIY "middle-aged kitteh" T-shirt over my (thrifted) graphic turtleneck, topped by my (thrifted) fuzzy paisley top hat. (Help! I'm floundering in adjectives and parentheticals.)

I was (leaning) against my favourite white concrete (wall) in that photo (which I removed, the wall that is) and (love) the perspective with (the) Lost in Space hand. My favourite Lost in Space quote by Will Robinson: "It must be preprogrammed to swallow visitors." (The Jupiter 2 was caught in the tractor beam of a large alien spaceship.)

Okay, must work now. Bye.

P.S. My Biba brand from the previous post is busted!! Thanks for the feedback. Ah well, I still love the dress. I had hoped it might just be a poor cousin...
And why can't my spellchecker just write my whole fricking post FOR me?

Fashion is serious, seriously

The hand shape grabbing my head is: 

a) "Thing" from the Addam's Family

b) a fascinator

c) an avant-garde cell phone

d) a ghostly apparition visible only in photographs

e) half an oversized earmuff 

f) SERIOUS FASHION 

g) my inhumanly tall contortionist manservant trying to get me to spit out a mouthful of chocolates.

("No! No! You can't make me!" I scream in reply.)

The answer is of course (f). That's my own hand in a pose made famous by Miz Bagg in her How-to Guide to Posing, Part 2, 8-track Cassette, sequel to Posing 101.In fact, I am so seriously fashionable here that I sucked in my cheeks and now you can see all my wrinkles. I'm fired! Better yet, my photographer, lighting director, gaffer (just like the word), and makeup artist are fired.

The director wasn't sure she was going to cast me in this video because I'm such a lightweight when it comes to heavyduty fashion, but I bribed her with treats and flattery. What a pushover - shallow, shallow. So sad. Video guest stars are Isaac and April, excellent humans who also agree that fashion is serious.

Biba-bah-loo-bah, I love my new Biba dress. Such a label whore I am - it's only to be expected, being so ultra-fashionable. I strolled by the dress in the local thrift shop and thought, oh, cute dress, love the sparklies. I pulled in for a closer look and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the label. Biba? $12? Mine. I layered her up good and proper - where did this cold weather come from? Note the extra socks. I feel like owning a Biba dress is a rite of passage, thanks to Curtise and Vix and others.

DETAILS

thrifted BIBA dress, heh

thrifted vintage red lace slip (oooh!)

mustard tights with sparkle gold ankle socks

thrifted D&G shoes

thrifted powder blue beret

thrifted vintage R coat

polka-dot scarf, retail

magic loupe

and a few odds and ends, tool bag handbag, brocade bag, vintage wristwatch, cashmere mitts (gift)...

A few video scenes feature this dress with black tights, my frump shoes, and a green beret. I recorded my voice track for the video in a concrete stair cave. Awesome natural reverb. That space is MINE now.

Gratuitous closeup. The label is a bit plain compared to so many Biba labels I've seen. 

Please don't tell me this is a knock-off. It's UK sizing.

I'm linking this up to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style. Now I'm the owner of a Brit label I look forward even more to this fortnightly event. See you there?

Remember, Fashion IS SERIOUS. Bwa-ha-ha!!!!

Yellow Skirt Freak Show Update!! and more...

Thar She Blows! The Freakish Yellow Skirt

Steampunking her way across the seven seas

to her castle on the coast

Ruled by Mistress of Mystery

Sheila of

Ephemera

Dominatrix of sunshine and dastardly 

dungeon frolics

Hoisting sails and bunching ye hatches

What ho! Arrrg. Eyes spy ye 

brassy lass's blooming goodness

You must see this Piratical Ruler of FYS

Go!  G O  N O W!!!!

____________________________________________

I am gobsmacked by everyone's manipulations of this yellow skirt! You HAVE TO see Sheila's incredible styling. Thanks Shelley at Forest City Fashionista for your ongoing scheduling feats, and to Sarah of Misfits Vintage for the idea in the first place.

In other news...

Raining and dark. Thank goodness that dang sixties soundtrack of maddeningly mod swinging swellness wouldn't shut off. There was nothing to do but throw on this old rainbow from Value Village, my thrifted YOGA PANTS!! (only worn in emergencies such as when I feel like it), and my screaming sheep faux fur body casing. Capping it off was my rrrrred beret. I grooved my way to my doctor's appointment and sprayed my colour action indiscriminately around the waiting room. No surgical mask could protect you from my viral groove-oozation.

After discharge, I grooved over to a different coffee shop, where I was treated to a steaming cup of brew from a favourite barista I hadn't seen for a while. Her smile lights up the universe, 'tis true. And I journaled, as usual.

Wearing:
thrifted faux fur nicotine-coloured hooded coat
thrifted stretch rainbow dress
thrifted bell-bottom YOGA PANTS!
thrifted crackle leather Miu Miu boots with side zip
under T, sample sale
thrifted red wool beret
DIY mantis pendant
thrifted lucky charm beaded bag pendant
magic loupe from O

Of course these awesome boots are for Bella of The Citizen Rosebud and her Shoe Shine.

I feel ever so much better after lolling around the floor doing body contortions while running frantically back and forth trying to beat the frickin' self-timer without knocking over the whole friggin' tripod and all that stuff. Above all, it was essential that I be eloquent and elegant in ALL THINGS.

How is everyone managing out there? Of course you're looking fabulous but I hope your hearts and heads are feeling that maddeningly mod vibe as well.

Massive train engineer pants to carry big loads

Kick the can, that was a game, wasn't it? Well, these high-waisted train engineer pants with the massive dropped crotch, spacious enough for Miz Bagg's slipping brain wang, make me feel like kicking a barrel, or doing a flying chopper kick, although I wouldn't want to damage these awesome thrifted Miu Miu boots (you've seen them before). BAM-BAM! Ow.

That's the same black DIY cropped mohair sweater top I wore with my previous Meh outfit. Hard to see here but you the outline shows up a in the last black and white photo.

And my favourite red wool cape with faux fur trim. Look, I'm smiling at absolutely nothing! I wore this cape for Jean of Dross into Gold.

Rather than the Orient Express, I am clearly the engineer of a freight train; these pants are designed for hauling the big loads. The pants have that tiny blue and white stripe, which creates the moiré effect in the photo. Or maybe my hitnotizing massive butt has pinwheeled your googly eyes with its massive gorgeousness.

I am wearing:

• high-waisted train engineer dropped-crotch pants with ankle zips, thrifted (did I forget any adjectives?)
• Miu Miu boots, thrifted
• red wool cape, vintage, thrifted
• indigo beret, thrifted
• Tissot mechanical watch, vintage, gift from O
• mohair DIY cropped top, thrifted
• black under top, thrifted
• magic loupe, made for me by O

All this train action has exhausted me. Time to take a nap. Wake me up for snacks, please.

How do you carry your big loads?

Successful meh wear

This is a meh outfit. Had it not been for the positive feedback I got when I wore it out, I would not have posted these photos. Why is it that when I sometimes wear things that don't seem to sit right, I meet so many cool people? Could it be that the dampened spirit that a meh outfit causes (or reflects) makes me more approachable by blunting my invisible prickly exterior? Nah.

I won't wear this again though, no matter the response it gets; simply, it bugs me. And I certainly won't wear that red number from a previous post again. Hideous! I like the separates but not together - I HAD to wear it 'cause I knew what was good for me, Missy. It was like putting a huge flaw in a satisfying painting.

Wearing:

• Metalicus wool-blend tunic/dress
• mustard tights
• Geisha socks
• frump shoes
• brown wool cape
• red wool beret
• brown leather gloves
• black DIY cropped mohair sweater 
• magic loupe
• vintage sunglasses

Only the sunglasses, beret, and a long-sleeved under-top, not visible, were thrifted. Everything else was sample sale or discount bin.

I think I'm going through a style transition. I'm picking things out of my closet and wearing them because, why not? Sometimes I feel like I'm rolling around in a clothes pile like a slobbering dog in dirty autumn leaves and throwing on whatever sticks, which I enjoy, but maybe now that I have explored such an undefined breadth of clothing expression, I'm looking for what's next. Of course I can't imagine a life without dressing up, but I wonder how I will define that... Ah. Enough navel-gazing...

I'm linking up with freshly-New-Yorked Patti at her fabulous Visible Monday, Not Dead Yet Style. I'll see you there. Hugs, all.
Do you ever punish yourself with clothing?

Hat Attack 4

Ack ack, HAT ATTACK! Hello, Judith and fellow hat-wearers over at Style Crone.

'Tis I in an elfie shot with my lovely beret, one of my signature hats, this one in dark indigo wool, thrifted. I used to wear my berets firmly planted over my ears which I considered startling appendages best hidden. Now that I am more comfortable with berets and ears, I simply perch my beret like zat, jauntily on my head.

The simple beret is a tidy little lid that keeps your brains fresh and seals in your goodness. Plus, people in Vancouver at least always think you're from France if you wear one. (If I wore a green helmet would they think I'm from Mars? Um, that's a rhetorical question...)

This photo makes me look like an insect. But you know what they say - it's always better to look like an arthropod than a gastropod, such as a snail. My hair is slightly blue from the shampoo I use (on purpose). The platinum is barely holding on but my natural silver is proving good backup.

I'm also wearing my: patterned coat, thrifted; pink scarf, a hand-me-over gift from lovely Sharron, and; out-of-frame black tights and frump shoes. I've previously posted a very similar look here: My Familiar Outdoor Wear. This was the perfect snappy outfit for dodging the usual cast of ghouls, zombies, witches and pirates on my sojourn downtown for a mightily satisfying chin wag with Sandra (Lens is More) over a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee and sneaky eats from the counter treat bowl.

Let's embrace noble November as a very special month satisfyingly wedged between October and December and third among the Magnificent Four "ber" months. Why isn't it Januber, Februmber, Marmber, Apber, etc.? So much easier don't you think? Have you got special plans this month, I wonder? DO TELL!