Yellow Skirt Freak Show Update!! and great walls

When you can't decide what colour or pattern to wear, of course you wear them all.

And below, just so you don't think I've gone all soft and happy and positive - the look I throw on 1) if I sense some style-rule 'tude coming my way, my withering regal glare or 2) to convince gawkers in the surrounding highrises that I know exactly what I'm doing in the alley. Bwhahaha! 

Who needs Mr. Bean when you've got me bungling around with my bag and the tripod and my alcohol spray, flappy pants, and my remote, and that stupid thing there, and, geez, what is that?, my purse, thinking all the while, DON'T LET IT TOUCH THE GROUND!! Oof, arf, ack - it's my distinctive cry.

Oh yes, everything under control here. Yes-sireedy-deedy (no meaning there, Greetje).

Wearing: hip-slung oversized palazzo pants from Used House of Vintage, top from Value Village long ago, corset belt from I-forget-where, shoes from the reject sale pile at Topshop a couple of years ago, earrings from My Sister's Closet. I tucked in the top and decided I also needed the belt.

I have lots of photos but, puh, enough of that. NEXT!!! she screamed (like that screamy Frau Farbissina in Austin Powers. You can see her true magic here). But first -

Breaking News

The Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show continues.

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Never has the 
Freakish Yellow Skirt

.

blown so much HOT AIR

She RISES to New HEIGHTS of 
Fa-byuu-luss FREAKINGNESS!!

Buoyed by elan and grace and great gobs of elegance

She breaks fresh wind

* S  a l  l y *
.

SarsaparillaSal

(click blog name to link)

with sunshine from Umbi

you will truly be AMAZED!!! (for real)

G O ! !   G O   N O W ! ! ! !

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I knew Sally was a madly-skilled sewist and stylist with a wonderful sense of humour, but this FYS project blew me away. Hahaha! You must see her post here, well, all her posts - so worth it. Soon she'll also put up a "Making of the Yellow Skirt" post as well. You'll see why.

Thanks, Sally!! And thanks also to your artistic director, photographer, the villa custodians, and of course your gifted son, Umbi. Your joyful styling made my day! The skirt is now winging its way to the USA.

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Refreshed from that interlude, are you? You must be ready for NEXT OUTFIT!!

Yes, a little off center, cut off, with a crooked horizon. Just like my life. My superb thrifted vintage jumpsuit from Used House of Vintage, which features a persnickety rear metal zip, worn with my vintage leather belt and thrifted Miu Miu boots. Earrings from My Sister's Closet. Hair from my head.

Another quickie blankie photo with a scrap piece of black fleece as a backdrop and disinfected soles.

And one more photo for the road because I have it and I like it and I risked my humility once again to take it in a new location. It seems everywhere I turn these days I run into another great wall. Oof.

That's all from here. I have been a failure at visiting everyone. I'll try to catch up.

I'll link this up to:
Patti at Visible Monday, Not Dead Yet Style
Catherine at #iwillwearwhatilike, Not Dressed as Lamb
Anne at 52 Pick-me-up: Ivory/Rejection, heh, SpyGirl.

Have a great week.
I love that yellow skirt.

News Flash: Yellow Skirt Freak Show storms New York!!

LOOK Who'S Back! Bwahahaha! It's our friend, Freakish Yellow Skirt (FYS). Hurrah! Such a jet-setter she is, having stopped in New York City for a little quality hobnobbing, R&R and...

...another heap of love, added this time by NYC artist and doyenne of style Debra Rapoport. I'm so happy that Debra has joined the FYS show to spread our message of positivity and acceptance All Around the World. Thank you!

Debra's fruitally fun additions to the waist (shoulder, heh) of the skirt are excellent extensions of her brilliant creativity.  You may also notice her artistry shining like a BEACON (yes, a beacon!) on her head. Debra is the 26th woman to style FYS.

Many thanks go to Shelley of Forest City Fashionista, an early FYS adopter and stellar FYS travel coordinator for some years, for snapping these photos during a party of arty glitterati hosted by Debra.

Debra is renowned for her hat- and jewellery-making with paper towels and other recycled materials, as well as her joie de vivre expressed in inspiring styling of thrifted clothing. Hurrah! Not surprisingly, she co-starred in the internationally-acclaimed documentary Advanced Style, released by Lina Plioplyte and Ari Seth Cohen, creator of the Advanced Style blog.

  

Debra currently does not have any active social media hubs - apart from her hyperactive hub in real life - even better. Just a quick search online will net you thousands of sources where you can read more about this fascinating New Yorker.

The skirt is still in New York, living it up. If you would like to know more about the Travelling Yellow Freak Show project or even join in, details are here. A Gallery of the 25 previous FYS stylists is here or click the sidebar.

Thanks again, Debra! And Shelley! And thank you, Suzanne, for getting FYS back on the road with a BANG.

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Edit: This post went up before I knew about Paris, but I would like to think of this cooperative project as a tiny reminder that there is a whole lot of love still in the world. I wrote that Debra's hat is a beacon - maybe it is even more so now. 

She's baaaack! The Freakish Yellow Skirt.

She's been photographed in one of the world's most prestigious European art galleries, in a manure pit, on beaches from Cuba to New Zealand, in forests, on bicycles, in chicken yards, alleys, and work sheds, and even on a terracotta horse. I speak of course of the Freakish Yellow Skirt (FYS).

Photo by Suzanne Carillo, (c) 2015

The tale started in 2012 with a rattling comment left on Bag and a Beret that launched FYS into furious flights of joy around the world as a unifying symbol of friendship and freedom in a project known as the Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show. In her travels, FYS was styled and adorned with exuberant abandon by women with a passion for FYS's message. (The full story behind the skirt is HERE.) 

In late 2014, enthusiasm for the project seemed to be waning, which was not unexpected after a few years on the road, and the skirt was summoned back to Vancouver where I gently placed her in my closet and ruminated on what to do next. She is a formidable garment, practically pulsing with the energy that has been poured into her by everyone who has worn and adorned her. She clearly did not "belong" to me anymore, nor was meant for mere storage.

A gallery exhibition? A book? These were suggestions which Shelley of Forest City Fashionista, who was working with me on the project at the time, and I discussed, but I couldn't seem to act on them. Every time I opened my closet door FYS would sigh dramatically with boredom. I toyed with the idea of sending her back on tour, almost like a Hollywood has-been, despite her persistent glow.

This summer I carted FYS to the blogger meetup in Vancouver. I needn't have; I was so caught up in the event that I didn't even pull her out for circulation. Then, when I went to bring her home from the hotel, she was MISSING!

Suzanne Carillo had run off with her!
- And had her way with FYS in the forest and her backyard while her husband looked helplessly on from a ladder to get a better view. Hahaha. (Read details on her post HERE.)

In short, Suzanne relit the fire! She has woven magic back into this wonderful skirt with her inspired breakaway. As a result, FYS is on the road again, firing on all lemony cylinders and raring to make up for lost time. None of this namby-pamby selfie crap - this FYS is used to the best and won't accept any less. One only need look through the gallery, HERE, to know what I'm talking about.

So do you think you are up to the challenge? Think you can make the Freakish Yellow Skirt sing like the previous FYS'ers have? If so, send me an email and you'll be put on the send list on a first-come/first-served basis with no geographical logic whatsoever. I would love to see what high notes you can hit with FYS! Go HERE for my email address and details on how the project works.

Thanks again, everyone, for your incredible support of this Travelling Yellow Freak Show and your patience during her sabbatical. If you are not interested in styling FYS yourself, I am happy that her positive energy can rub off on you from the photo gallery. Cheers!

Yellow Skirt Freak Show Update!!

footlights glare, the drum rrrrolls

the DIVA in the FREAKISH YELLOW SKIRT SHOW 

the rilly rilly big shew

grinds to gasps 

the awe-fullness of its magical spendour lifts the 

house of gawps, sweaty gulps, glassy-eyed stares

enraptured, captured as

================ 

S K Y E 

"burlesque bizarre"

at My Kingdom for a Hat

================ 

dewy fresh hedonism at its best

each gyration sprinkling fresh orbits

of magic & promise

Look Skyeward, the stars part

G O !   G O   N O W !!

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Thanks so much, Skye, for your absolutely fresh way with the yellow skirt, lots of tart lemon and sparkle. Everyone, you have to see it and her fantastic stitched-on addition!

And many thanks and hugs again to Shelley, Forest City Fashionista, as our skirt's outstanding stage manager. Mwah! FYS has been on the road for over a year now (can you believe it?) and the show continues...she flies across the sea...

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

AHOY!

The billowing wonder of a mainsail unfurls in full splendour -

the Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show 

hits Toronto, Canada,

enveloping the city in its golden glow

eliciting gasps of awe and amazement, of

JOY, FREAKISHNESS, and PRIDE

"Fly High Almighty Skirt" we cry!

Courtesy of Pirate of the Eternal Seas

Megan of 

The Fashionable Bureaucrat

worn at Toronto Pride Parade 2013

Go!    G O   N O W!!

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Lovely Megan has also posted photos of the embellishment she added to the FYS (freakish yellow skirt) and a closeup of all the other embellishments to date, here. Crazy quilt sail, FLY, we command thee. How much higher she goes with your additions. Thanks, Megan, and thanks to everyone for your ongoing support of the FYS. If you would like to style the FYS, be sure to email Shelley at Forest City Fashionista to be put on the flight schedule.

And now in other news...
My Checkered Past

This is for Shiny T Tuesday, Jane George's link-up at Flight Platform Living. Here's the checked outfit I wore on an inspiration walk last week, hence the sub-title, My Checkered Past, as my interpretation of the Shiny T Tuesday theme on dressing square. I think these are all the checks I own.

I'm sure you've all seen poses like this in high fashion magazines, at art openings, in swanky hotel lobbies, or  in ladies' rooms. But this is an example of how I stand every day, for example, whilst I wait for the barista to prepare my coffee or stand in the check-out line at the supermarket. Usually I carry two compact mirrors with me so I don't have to look down at all. The schtar quality I ooze out so naturally wherever I go ensures that I always have plenty of free space around me, even in the most crowded of situations.

I like the high waist and wide legs of these pants. They are made of light cotton and are slightly large, which makes them comfy summer wear. And the turned up collar is deliciously annoying.

Details

• blue-and-white-checked palazzo pants, thrifted
• blue plaid shirt with front ruffle, thrifted, Diesel
• platform sandals, thrifted

See you at Jane George's. How do you dress square? I look forward to seeing what you've got!

And I look forward to seeing how YOU style the FYS.

PS - Thanks for all your laundering tips for my rockstar pants and my Sharpied T-shirt!

[Ed: I linked this to Anne M. Bray's Spy Girl 52-Pick-me-up: Plaid, Dec 15, 2013]

Peace out AND Yellow Skirt News

That's me wondering why can't I get my photos to stay upright but I have found a solution, apart from having to stand on my head or contort into other shapes. Hurrah!! I should break into an anthem of some kind here...

So I'll have to go back into my dusty photo files sometime and right those tipped-over shots. Below is a closeup of the poorly-made shoes that I bought at super discount worn with my retail fabulously-made socks. Too bad I have a wrinkle at the ankle. Don't you love that peace T-shirt? I nabbed it yesterday as I was leaving the thrift store. Close call! 

I wore this outfit this morning to the Jazz Festival downtown. Free music? What a superb start to the day, although I hope the musicians were handsomely paid. The group that I caught at the art gallery sub-stage was clearly talented but distinctly Country & Western with lots of slide guitar action when what I was craving was soul food - waterfall sax, lots of string bass, trumpet... I'm going again tomorrow. And I think the festival continues through until next weekend. How great is that?

Details:

executive pinstriped pencil skirt, thrifted

peace T-shirt, thrifted, label called LOL Vintage

black T underneath, thrifted

black tights, retail long ago

striped socks, retail

poorly-made but awesome studded platform shoes, retail at big discount

magic loupe and 2 other magic pendants, made for me by O

I always wonder why so many people here dress like they're going hiking when they attend an occasion that requires them to walk more than one block.

I just reread my last post and laughed. Jeez I'm bossy. "Follow me on Bloglovin'" she commanded. I was ordered by Them to "claim" my blog and that's what I had to write, but put more civilly, having recovered from my tech meltdown, I have switched everyone I'm following over to Bloglovin' and if you'd like to keep following me, I'm there now too. Some of you have made the transition with so much grace that I didn't even notice. You are my role models. And thank you SO MUCH for keeping me real when you do drop in and your helpful comments too. (You're right, Val, it's an apostrophe, not an exclamation mark, but I was just seeing expletives at the time.) Also, if you have Google+, while I can enjoy your posts, sadly I can't comment at the moment as I am not a member, nor am I on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn or anything else. I have trouble remembering all my passwords as it is.

and 

YELLOW SKIRT NEWS

Friends, 

The request list for the Freakish Yellow Skirt (FYS) has become rather overwhelming, which is great news, and although I am an anarchist when it comes to style and self-expression, after emailing with Shelley of Forest City Fashionista, the most recent FYS wearer, I've decided to go ahead with coordinating FYS's globe-trekking. Shelley has most kindly offered to do a spreadsheet of people who request the skirt so that FYS is not flying pell mell to all corners of the earth and you don't feel passed over. Even with the list, I suspect the skirt will still be criss-crossing the globe as more people hear about it, so fear not: even if you miss FYS when it's on your continent you will still be able to participate in the years to come, which would be awesome! Thank you, Shelley. I could never do this on my own.

Therefore, if you would like to play with the Freakish Yellow Skirt, send Shelley an email, slong88 at hot mail dot com, letting her know your full postal address so she can do her admin magic. Also, don't forget to tell me when you get the skirt so I can put you on the official Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show page and make the announcement here. Also, it would be great if you could post the skirt to the next wearer within two weeks of receiving it - just a guideline.

Hugs and kisses to all of you for joining in this yellow skirt MADNESS!! She has got a mind of her own that yellow skirt and I love her to bits - um, hopefully not to absolute bits... It's crazy how she's touched your hearts but it's only because she's MAGIC!!! Born into harshness, resurrected into glory - Sing Anthem Now!! (See how bossy I am?) Thanks, Sarah at Misfits Vintage, for your idea in the first place!!