Clothes from church and HADES

Just to cover all my options, I am wearing clothes from both church and HADES in this post. Each of the small morality whisperers on my shoulders, angel on one, devil on the other, have finally gone to sleep in victorious exhaustion.

This first outfit features a wool Love Moshino suit, dark tartan with men's tie detailing on the jacket pockets and collar, and a bow of men's ties on the rear (sorry, no photo). There is also a men's tie sewn into the waist of the skirt, creating a distinctly masculine dangle effect.

I blush to tell you what I paid - very, very, very low two figures - my devil was laughing loudly, especially because I was in a church when I bought it, West Vancouver United Church, their Flea Market sale. The prices were borderline unholy!

My friend Yvonne S brought this suit to my attention. I have her to thank for this incredible addition to my manly suit collection. THANK YOU!

And the scarf, it is a heavenly item by fledgling British knitwear label HADES. They sent it to me as a gift, with no obligations whatsoever, but of course, how could I not write about it? It is thick, dense and plush, utterly toasty soft made from pure lambswool, handcrafted in Hawick, Scotland. I've been wearing it a LOT!

The scarf smells like the countryside (the pleasant part). The chances of finding something like this on my thrift sale rack are slim - it's the kind of piece that's handed down and down and around and around until it simply goes POOF.

As a reminder, Hades is also the name of the Greek god of the underworld, also called Hades (or hell these days). That would be like me saying, "Hi, I'm Melanie and now I must return home to Melanie."

Hades was guarded by the Hounds of Hell (loosely interpreted, everything I write here is loose). My home is guarded by my bloated closets. Enter at your peril. You can read more about Hades here. More about my closets here.

I pumped the photo levels above so you could see the fabric better. Yes, when I am excited the waist tie elevates - because I would be jumping of course. The ties are sewn right on there as part of the original design; they were not farked by a previous buyer.

I added my own tie to this styling but took it off - no need to belabour the point of ties with a cartoon hammer on the head.

I'm also wearing a vintage British men's overcoat by Dhobi, which is "showerproof."

Below is the box from HADES. I love opening parcels from the mail.

The sunny yellow goes great with the HADES name, but even better, they included two cute hair pins with a pink HADES with a headache. Hahaha!!! These are awesome. I'm going to a dinner party tonight and these would go perfectly with my outfit.

And next, oh dear oh dear oh dear. It came from church. We're not quite sure what "it" is yet, but it is sublime.

When I wear this, I'm in a sci-fi movie. The mantis pendant is my communicator with the Mother Ship.

This piece was also pointed out to me, this time by one of the incredible volunteers at the flea market. I couldn't grab it fast enough when she marveled how it is a one-piece with stirrup-style feet. I didn't even try it on - sometimes you just know.

There is another part to this - a high-thigh-length sleeveless vest that goes on top, same fabric, no buttons or zips, but the front opening is joined together along the hem, at the hip, with an infinity knot. I didn't include it in any of those photos because I like the bodysuit part best.

I made the pendant from a Donna Karan Christmas ornament years ago. Still, a mantis pendant only goes so far, don't you think? I still felt just a touch under-dressed.

So I added a little HADES to the mix. Much better. After all, this was sinfully low-priced.

The bodysuit outfit label is Linda Lundstrom, who is a highly-respected, award-winning Canadian designer of up-market clothes. I suspect this is one of her earlier works. So soft, maybe wool and cashmere...? I'll let you know if I find out more.

You can see the stirrup feet in the photo above. If only I had a silver puffer jacket to wear on top. That would be so cool!

This last shot shows you how big the scarf is. Huge snuggle power there.

If this scarf appeals to you, check out HADES' other scarves. They also sell pullovers and Ts made of fine merino wool in a selection of colours, lots of pastels. Gorgeous. And HADES is on Instagram.

I hope you've all had a fantastic week. I'm behind on my replies to your comments but I so appreciate them and shall catch up in the next couple of days.

Go forth and feel stellar, as I always say.

I'll link up to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb. Cheers!!!

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PS. I was asked from the last post, if menopausal years are known as Wisecracking, what do we call the post-menopausal years?

I thought of the word Freebirds, having pecked or cracked through those constricting shells into full flight, along with allusions to giving the bird. But I think we can do better. Any suggestions? Let me know in your comments.