Hooped and louped

I was out on my inspiration walk - dum, dee-dum, dee-dum - and I swung by My Sister's Closet thrift shop, as I usually do, inexorably drawn by their famous $5 rack. And look what I found, brought to my attention by my friend Su, who happened to be volunteering that day.

Yes, a closet staple: the magnificent hoop skirt. It brings back memories of dress-ups and dreams, and I figure there's absolutely no reason to disengage from such frivolity just because I am many decades older without any baby teeth left. And for only $5, that's cheap and sigh-worthy thrills. Now the owner of two hoop skirts, I have some serious hoop shoots to tackle when the weather warms up. Can't wait.

Trying to look bad ass with a hip-slung hoop skirt is not as easy as it sounds. Heh. Under the hoop I happened to be wearing: vintage jumpsuit in dark brown/black with floral patterning, vintage wide suede tie belt, purple Mozart jacket, and my still-hanging-in-there D&G heels.

And then below, how I looked downtown carrying the skirt, tied and shoulder slung so it didn't bell out and limit arm function (although that's also a look) or shove oncoming pedestrians into traffic. Unfurling didn't happen until I got home.

Definitely, a hoop skirt is one of those things you've got to wear like you mean it, and I did, even if only over my shoulders, "Ho-hum, I always walk around like this." A few people even complimented my style. Heh. The skirt does look a bit like fairy wings, far from Björk swan-dress-worthy, but the next best thing on a budget and impromptu. Best of all, I felt Björkish.

And a bit of breaking news...

You know how I'm always wearing my magic loupe, right? Ninety percent of my all my photos feature it, and if you can't see it, it's probably tucked inside my clothing. O made it for me as a talisman and reading aid and I never leave home without it. 

If you've met me in real life, you'll have seen it in action. Often it is passed around the restaurant table as we order or in thrift shops to read labels. No one wants to fumble around for reading glasses on the fly (or admit we need them at all) when I have the magic loupe at hand. And I use it all the time for checking photo previews on my camera. 

Well, O decided to start selling them in an Etsy store. They are just like the one I wear. Knowing how much time he put into crafting mine, I thought there's no way he could make them affordable, so I was shocked when he told me they'd be $175 Canadian (that's about $130 US). He streamlined the process a bit but still...

He manually turns the stainless steel on a watchmaker's lathe, he hand polishes all the metal parts, including the screw, and he even hand turns the magnifying lens to get the size he wants. 

That's a closeup of what they look like below, C$175 (US$130). It's such a minimalist design it looks great on men and women - architects, scientists, designers, photographers, shopkeepers, anyone who needs a quick vision fix. Some people mistake me for a pro photographer because of my loupe.

AND, he started to make rings, like the ones he made me, also to sell. He has made three different designs featuring an industrial ruby and stainless steel shaped with a milling machine and manually turned on his lathe. They are hand polished, all in size 6 3/4 (17mm).

Below, Style A, with angled surfaces on the top and sides of the ring, C$490 (US$362). 

Below, Style B, C$490 (US$362). The outer band is smooth but he angled the sides.

Below, Style C, C$390 (US$288). This is his most simple design. In this photo you can really see the high polish. There is something called a mirror finish, but this is a higher level of polish called a black finish, which is often used in very high-end watchmaking. 

Every time I wear my rings I get compliments. There is so little contact between the ruby, the band, and your finger that the stone absorbs maximum light, which reflects an intense red glow. This is definitely a good luck ring that brings me lots of positive energy.

Opening Etsy was pretty scary. Heh. I hope we got it right (I helped). O's production is limited, only one or two of each ring design and four of the loupe at this point. His shop, OSK Micro-art Studio, is HERE. It would be so cool having Louped Sisters - not that I don't already, hahaha!

And back to what I wore...

Below is a variation of the outfit I wore to the big fundraising event I wrote about in my previous post.

This is a vintage '80s silky pyjama suit in neon orange with bright fuchsia dots and linebacker shoulders. I wore it with my thrifted pussy-bow Scotch and Soda blouse, D&G shoes, and the magnificent ruby-red velvet coat, which was a generous gift from Fairy Thrift Sister Su's personal stash. 

If I were to hear the line, "Hey, lady, the '80s called, they want their suit back," I would respond, "Pardon me, the 2000s called, they want their clone back." I feel so empowered in this suit, I suspect I won't need this line, but it's best to be prepared I always say. Plus, the padded-shoulder gyrations, triggered by intense '80s flashbacks, are of such magnitude that it's likely nobody could maneuver safely into earshot when I'm on the move in this splendid number.

And below, something I wore last week as well, a black lace dress bought at a sample sale, Totem brand I think. I removed its black sewn-in slip that morning and instead wore a lacy vintage bright red slip which I mitten-clipped to shorten into a swag. And those are Fluevog shag boots, Jericho, in black, bought at a consignment shop. I also have them in bright green. 

Coincidentally, this vintage graphic coat was also a generous gift from Su. Her gifts are absolute favourites in my closet. Hugs, Su!

I felt a bit odd in this outfit. It's very, hmm, tidy I suppose. Or wrapped up or ordered. Maybe it just feels slightly magaziney, which is not my usual style. But I still felt empowered, which probably had something to do with my hair being its peaky best.

Maybe this outfit is too modern-ish. I'll probably wear it again though, when I'm in a weird mood.

And a laugh, in case you've forgotten that that's what I usually look like when I'm with my friends.

Finally, I spent a lovely day with Vancouver Barbara recently, which included booze and breakfast, not necessarily at the same time, and I am happy to report that she is now on Instagram HERE. At last you'll be able to share in her amazing sewing creations and artistry. 

Of course I'll be linking up to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb. I'll see all youse guys there. 

I hope you have had a stellar week. Life is topsy turvy here, but what's new?

Dots and shoe weirdness with Sheila

First up, another photo from the AARP article (HERE), which I posted about last time. I love this combo - my Emporio Armani suit jacket, vintage pants formerly owned by Mr. Sanchez according to the monogram on the inner waistband, vintage Pierre Cardin tie from our former building manager, polka-dot blouse from Talize Delta thrift store, and brown tie boots. NEXT!

The shrubbery behind me spells out NOSH. It's a restaurant patio.

Last weekend I met up with Sheila of sheilaephemera and her partner L when they came to town to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. L better watch out - that's some embrace Sheila and I are locked in. Hahaha!

And when they come to town that can mean only one thing, well, two: booze for breakfast (lunch for them) and a pilgrimage to Fluevog's flagship shoe store. I had a tiny beer for the first time in decades, a dark one. It tasted, hm, woodsy, like mulch and moss in a dark green forest, like a musky critter in a cozy burrow, in a good way. These two are corrupting me. Thank you. Sacriligiously, they ventured into this Brown's shoe store. I can almost hear Sheila whimper with desire for those booties, but she made up for it later at Fluevog.

And we filmed a little video. When I think of these two, I can't help but think of shoes, which inspired me to think of this story. An expert and enthusiastic cast and crew cut months off our shooting schedule. L took on camera duties, at which he excelled, and method acting and props took care of the rest.

Despite the depiction of shoenivores, no shoes were harmed during the making of this video. I was harmed when I had to take home all the leftover licorice. Heh.

After we finished filming, we stumbled across a mini shoe gallery in the middle of the sidewalk. What are the odds? Nobody was watching over them. There was no signage, e.g., Scratch & Sniff, Rate My Treads or Shoe Jenga Challenge. Nothing. It wasn't like stuff had been heaved from a condo window after an angry break-up - these were artfully arranged. Weird, right? 

Also weird are those two people on the sidewalk wearing bee-keeper masks. Where's David Lynch?!

We also veered into Used House of Vintage. The 50% off sale that was on two weekends ago is mostly off now, so that put a damper on my enthusiasm. Of course we had to try on sunglasses. I try on these same sunglasses every time I go. When am I finally going to BUY them?! I love this photo of me and Sheila - Insects from Planet 9.

We had a great time together, as usual: filming, then brunch at Forage (where we had our big blogger meetup brunch), then more filming and some shopping before I had to get home. Sheila did an amazing writeup of their Vancouver adventure on her blog, HERE, with lots more photos. I always love her weekend roundups. I also posted their photo on my street style blog, HERE.

Don't forget, L has a blog too - Creative Maestrom, CD and concert reviews for the musically attuned and a Cole's Notes for the rest of us. He's a gifted writer to be sure.

I wore my drop-crotch jeans, made in Italy, with my purple Mozart jacket for our meetup and again a couple of days later. They are undeniably my new favourite pants, purchased for a bargain at My Sister's Closet. Several sizes too large, they are record-breakingly hipslung without showing rear cleavage, and I can still achieve mobility without waddling. Score!

Below, without the coat and positioned vertically. I absolutely wanted to dress like I had just rolled out of bed; I think I got an A+ on that. These pants, I can hike them belted, like I did during the meetup, or wear them hipslung slouchy, which demonstrates the style versatility thrift shopping opens up for me. In a retail store, I would never consider three sizes too big - I'd head straight for my size on the racks, when in fact the hugeness of these pants gives me far more creative freedom.

I can see from the photo above that I need some black riding boots, a helmet, crop, and an estate in England, or, black riding boots, a newsboy cap, megaphone, director's chair, and Hollywood mansion to take this look to the next level. But nunh, rumpled in the concrete studio is a look unto itself.

And below, the polka-dot blouse and Sanchez pants close up. The dots are a vivid baby blue on a brown background, but the inner collar is lime green with blue dots.

That's all for this week. I'll link to Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style when the time comes. And I've also linked up to Catherine, #iwillwearwhatilike, at Not Dressed as Lamb.

I hope you are all keeping your cool, no matter what your weather is. Finally, some sunshine is here - I can't believe it. Hugs to all.

What do you think those shoes were doing there?!

Urban camouflage, hold the Meldo

This technicolour post is your official coffee substitute. 

I love strolling through this punchy little alley - the graffiti swallows you whole - but I have avoided shooting here, partly because it's a place of business. Then this morning, struck by a bolt of optimism - and dread of the leaden concrete studio - I packed up my gear and headed out, come what may. And, ah-ha!, there was a construction crew blocking off one end, which meant the regulars were detouring and I had the space pretty much to myself. 

I'm wearing my fuchsia-burst linen jacket with a mitten-clip closure, aqua Anthro flocked pants, patterned vintage jersey top with pearl buttons, black shag booties, knit tabi socks from Japan, magic loupe and rings, big blue round sunglasses.

The light was playful; its hard fall edge reflected brilliantly onto the walls in the shadows. Isn't the artwork stunning? I'm sure there is a story behind it. 

A few locals did drop by to say hi and see what I'm doing. One woman asked me to take her photo with her camera phone - I wish I had asked for a shot of her as well. 

This is not ordinary camo-wear; this is not an ordinary street. "Where's Meldo?" Okay, Meldo sounds like the name of a moldy cheese spread. Moving right along...

Of course the shaggy boots always add extra sproing to my step. And I love the mitten clip which works famously at keeping my jacket closed while adding visual interest. 

Don't judge - you would look confused too: oatmeal cookie or peanut butter cookie? Hold the Meldo. I had the peanut butter with a cup of steaming hot coffee after these photos. One of my Top 5 cafes is just two minutes away. See the mitten clip?

On my way home after coffee, I popped into Dressew fabric store - source of the mitten clips - and was poking around their massive wig section wouldn't you know, when I heard my name called. I turned and there was Vancouver Barbara! I met her at the blogger meetup in July. She looked fantastic wearing a gorgeous grey Marcy Tilton jacket she had made, and her arms were loaded down with fabric. It was great to chat.

That's all. Oh, I'm on IG. Yeah, I'm IG-ging. I don't know how that will go. I'm just shocked that it worked at all. I put a link in the sidebar. I can't think about it now though - it will have to wait until tomorrow. O is glad that at least now I will shut up about whether or not to IG. Heh - he has no idea...

Edit: Catherine's prompt this week at #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb is pink, so I linked up with her. Thanks for the meetup!

How to do a laugh pose

And here I am laughing my head off, just like I did in the previous post where I'm wearing a swimsuit, me, the woman who never wears miniskirts, at least without leggings, and rarely shows her bare legs at all. Even toes are a revelation.

When I smile furtively for self-timer photos I feel like a massive doink. When I don't smile at all, well, we know the cruelty of gravity. What I realized is, why settle for massive when I can be mega-ultra-super-massive? Hell, yeah, baby!!! Go all the way! Enter: the dreaded laugh pose.

In that photo you might think I'm joking with the camera crew - well, yeah, I kind of am because I am the crew and I enjoy a warped sense of humour. 

Admittedly, just standing there in the stairwell with a tripod is an odd thing to do. The words narcissist documentarian, vain confidence-building, blogger anthropologist, and idiot idiot all spring to mind.

Look, more laughing! But so different with another outfit - you might not even recognize me!! Hahahaha!! Hahahaha!!! 

You must be wondering how I achieve this effortless, frolicking supermodel effect. Well, wonder no more!!

Secrets to the laugh pose revealed: 

• Um, open your mouth and show your teeth. That's all. No need to continue reading.
• Toss your head around a little, like you slept funny or you're at the beach and one of your fellow frolickers is about to throw you a giant inflatable beach ball. Hahaha! Hahaha! Everyone is so happy and rich and disconnected from reality. It's mmmarvellous.
• Scrinch up your eyes a bit so your open mouth and teeth look friendly, not like you're about to rip into a steak and fries. Of course, my wrinkles do most of the work for me. (Hide your fork and knife.)
• You may want to vocalize. It's impossible to put into words the sound I make, so I leave it to you to develop your own special sound.

Of course this technique only works when I'm in a safe, secure environment. Like my concrete stairwell. I know - I tried it outside today in the alley. So many people; you'd think I was in a city or something! 

When strangers are around during a shoot I could probably pretzelize a steel pipe with my sphincter. Check out that boot fringe action up there. Run! Onlookers make me get a serious face, like that:

Where's my fecking beach ball? Clearly I'm going to have to work on my outdoor laugh pose. 

Below I am wearing: thrifted low-rise Hilfiger capris from My Sister's Closet, shaggy green boots from Fluevog, thrifted blouse from Value Village, scarf from I forget (a popular source of clothing as the years progress), magic loupe and mechanical wristwatch from O. The Sheila stair pose got accordioned.

After I put these green clothes on they started whining for a compliment (heh) complement, as in complementary colour, so I added the hot pink scarf as a tie just before I went out the door. Whew - style disaster averted by quick thinking! Who wants to look like a leprechaun? Well, at least not on that particular day.

Is that a bug on my tripod?

Wearing: blue kimono-ish tunic made in Japan, from the meetup clothing swap via Patti (thank you!), thrifted Anthropologie pants, black fringed Fluevog boots from Timeline Boutique, clanking bracelets, magic loupe, vintage earrings bought new at I forget.

Bloglovin' is having a contest to see who can get the most followers in x amount of time. I stopped reading when I saw it was designed for people with fewer than 10,000 followers. Hahaha. I'm imagining they're throwing me a beach ball in the desert.

How's your week? How's your laugh pose? Got any secrets of the schtars you'd care to share?

Don't step on my pointy shoes

WHO ARE THEY?!! 

And what are they doing

on my blog?

Hee hee, it's Sheila of Ephemera and her partner L making SERIOUS decisions.

And that's moi, intrepid reporter who captured the action at the Fluevog shoe store - where else? - on Friday during out meetup. My friend, talented artist Nalidsa Sukprasent, took that photo of me last month and I'm using it here because: a) I didn't think to get any shots on my camera that included me, and; b) that's the same outfit I wore for our meetup: gold spangled top, stovepipe houndstooth ankle-zip pants and sexay Naturalizer granny shoes.

Sheila, L, and I kicked off our afternoon with a delicious lunch at Acme Cafe, hopped over to Community Thrift for a wee poke around, and then went on a shoe-shopping safari. Blue shoes, silver shoes, bronze shoes, pickle shoes, champagne and yacht shoes. Sheila and L came to town to celebrate their anniversay and they do. it. right. This was our third get-together and it was a blast! Someday I hope to make it over to Vancouver Island.

Edit: Sheila has written up a far more entertaining post on her trip and our meetup, HERE, with dorky fun photos. GO! Go now! 

And below is what I wore today (Sunday): my thrifted reversible maxi kimono-robe-type dealie, thrifted tie-dye, ravaged cotton long-sleeve top, thrifted Perry Ellis furry high-waisted vintage cougar pants, thrifted DIY scribbled-on Converse runners, gifted vintage neck pieces, and magic loupe, not shown here. I photographed this on the floor - I had too much work waiting to haul out my tripod, blah, blah, blah - you know what I mean? - but better than nothing...I hope. The robe billowed extravagantly and the runners made me feel bouncy.

Those are my new shoes above, $25 from my fave local thrift shop, leather, made in Italy, superb quality. I found them in the men's shoe section, but men's, women's, who cares? I wore my blue silky polka-dot head scarf with the outfit, which you can see in that tiny second photo - click to enlarge it if you feel the need. And you might be able to see my wool fringed vest as well. The scarf felt weird, especially when it started slipping down over my eyes and I didn't want to tug it back up because it would puff up my hair! One more block and I would have been in trouble. Heh. Vanity, thy name is Mel. 

I'll take this blog romp over to Patti's for Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style. Now back to work!

Sheila - Lost in Fluevogs

My Isadora Duncan spooky photo

Channelling Isadora Duncan for Anne's link-up at Spy Girl - Go with the Flow: Long, Loose, and Drapey.

While I was in this outfit I felt lithe and also like a big tropical fruit, but able to kick ass as well with these madly fringed sandal-boot contraptions. I wore the purple garb, which is a kimono-like cover-up, even though I would have preferred flinging it dramatically about my person while gasping and sighing with theatricality like a bullfighter in a chiffon showdown at a fabric shop surrounded by shoppers watching me dazedly, perhaps aghast, with their children pulled in protectively by their sides. Ole!

But looking at the first photo, the desaturated one, I felt very Izzy D. I can almost hear the Victrola playing in the background. Although a beach setting would have been much better for this vibe. 

What I'm wearing:

• filmy see-through orange maxi dress, thrifted
• reddish slip with neon-orange lace trim worn over the dress, thrifted
• green shag carpet sandal-boots, retail mega-sale
• purple leopard-spottish kimono-style jacket thingy, retail mega-sale
• black and white beaded neck pouch, thrifted
• broken wrist watch tied around my neck, vintage, new gift when I was 15?
• magic pendant and loupe, O made them for me

I cover my arms most days because I don't like sunscreen and my skin needs a break from the rays after too many years as a sun worshipper. This is probably my palest summer ever but I'm starting to warm to the idea. 

And of course my heart also belongs to Patti, Visible Monday, so I'm linking to her fantastic garden party in my previous post featuring my Warhol hair and me-as-a-product clothing. I think my hair was shiny in those photos because I didn't put any product on it and I combed it properly for the first time in months - I usually only finger-comb my hair. Also, I used a colour-revitalizing shampoo called, fetchingly, "Silver - Color Cocktail," by C:EHKO. My hair also maybe looks whiter because the contrast between my roots and the bleached hair is more noticeable now.

I'll see you at Patti's and Anne's. Keep cool. Keep warm. This hemisphere action is groovy.

An alien and a monster truck and a prairie dog

I found myself between these two, sucking up the sunshine, baby!

The chain-link fence around that lot was unlocked today so I couldn't help myself...

I wore my see-through sequined wedding-dress type thingy, thrifted. Underneath I wore the maxi white slip that came with the dress, my thrifted vintage black lacy slip, and then my thrifted boatneck T. Around my neck is magic jewellery that O made for me. And I wore mustard tights and my fringy wild green boots. Having just met a big deadline I knew these boots and sequins would be perfect for my inspiration walk.

The last time I wore this dress was in September, in my studio, with my ancient faux leather hot pants, whose fate may be similar to my blue boots...

I'll be joining Patti of Not Dead Yet Monday at her Visible Monday. So glad you're back, Patti. Looks like you had a great time in NYC. I'll see you all there. I'm frightfully behind on my commenting and shall be visiting everyone this week. 

OTHER STUFF

I was intending to post the next outfit earlier this week but felt that I couldn't break way from work long enough to stick it up, despite the fact that I had already done the writing. It's a fairly casual look for me, comfy, yet colourful.

I'm just a prairie dog...

...popping my head up for a quick check around before dipping back down to my den to toil. Such little weeny paws tippy-tapping on the keys. Oh how I sometimes miss my vintage manual typewriter, the satisfaction of the delicate end-of-line "ping" followed by the table-shaking THWAP of a mighty carriage return.

Details:

silky lime-green patterned blouse, thrifted

blue stretchy skirt, sample sale

riding pant jeggings, retail

maxi cardigan, sample sale

boots, retail long ago

magic loupe, O made it for me

Indeed, I was certainly feeling chipper during recess earlier today when I went out with O for a bite. In fact, he snapped these photos for me when we got home. The instruction for the above photo was, "Look neutral. Neutral is best." He should have said, "Look like a prairie dog." Then I cooperated for the next neutral photo.

LOOK AT MY BOOTS! Ah, yes, the process of decrepitudinization. On their first outing newly blue they had cracked within a block of home. I didn't though - I was braced for it. The gesso primer didn't help. In future I would go with regular acrylic housepaint primer, although stretchy vinyl and flocked whatever-the-hell-that-is are never good substrates at the best of times. 

When I got home the zipper teeth on one boot separated from the fabric backing half-way down so I had to the tug the boot off my foot without fully unzipping it. But I'm not done yet - I have many more liberating plans for these lovelies. My foot passengers love these vehicles. Drive on, my good woman.

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