Furry things, dingle bits, and Turnipheads

I went down to the scary storage locker where my alien pods are hibernating, pods referring of course to my clothes in their vacuum-sealed space bags. There was definitely a rustling sound, maybe even muffled giggles, as I tugged open the padlock. 

The key to survival in there is to be quick and efficient and carry a big vacuum hose. It helps that I have an Excel spreadsheet now that catalogs my clothes by description and bag number. 

One reason I went down is to pull out this ice-blue faux fur because I knew it would go magnificently with a new addition to my closet - a luxury bag from Jamin Puech Paris. It was a gift, a mini collaboration, but rest assured my opinions are my own: I LOVE IT!!

The next photo is what happens when I get excited by a new bag - I wave it about so much you can't really see it! Please kindly skip to the photo after this one for a calmer view.

This bag, Chair, is from their Tingshas line. Dingle bits, velvety softness, high-factor swingability, and satisfying planetary orbs that click open and shut. It is a truly unique piece of handbag art, which is why I was so happy to accept this collaboration. Even the packaging was exquisite.

And look, the cuffs of my thrifted Scotch & Soda blouse match the dingle bits perfectly. Spooky, right? Hahaha. And I didn't even plan it. I'm also wearing my fake stripper track pants that zip all the way down the sides and my brown cowboy-style booties.

No one comes between me and my Jamin Puech. 

Seriously, this is a fine bag and I know I'll use it often. It was very difficult choosing which bag I want - all their designs are absolutely stunning, and I don't say that lightly. Go have a look and you'll see what I mean. Thanks, Jamin Puech. 

And below is the Chair with another outfit. I like this pairing equally well, especially with the silk velvet scarf in the mix.

Now moving along. Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, lounging on the concrete steps in outdoor wear, as one does, leafing through my journal.

What am I wearing? All things from my closet, thrifted or gifted:

• black-and-white graphic print vintage coat with red lining from my friend Su
• heavyweight vintage jacquard pants 
• men's pointy brown shoes 
• silk velvet scarf
• "Soho" glasses, gift from Vint and York in NYC in the summer
• Jamin Puech Paris handbag

Just so you know, below is the kind of sketch that litters my journals. I have hundreds of them over many years, mostly featuring Turniphead (that's me), wearing the same thing I was wearing that day, and Kitty, often Royal Kitty, wearing whatever strikes my fancy. If you spot me in a downtown cafe, chances are I'll either be sketching or colouring one of these with pencil crayons.

I also wore this black-and-white pattern-mix outfit a week ago to a Uniqlo store in Burnaby, which is a 30-minute transit ride from downtown Vancouver. Uniqlo is an international fashion retailer headquartered in Japan and I went there not necessarily to shop but to hunt for a photo of me from a global print and commercial campaign I did with them earlier in the summer. And look! 

My friend Elizabeth (IG and website) accompanied me and took the photo. I was featured in the stretchy pants section. Awesome! Hahaha. 

I hadn't mentioned the campaign to anyone because I didn't know what happened to it. Then, cincinnata_demetria, whom I know from IG, wrote that she had seen me in the Amsterdam Uniqlo. What a surprise! When I asked, she kindly sent me a photo that I posted on my IG, HERE. 

That same night, people O and I know in Japan also called, surprised to have seen me in their local Uniqlo as well.

Of course I was excited and contacted Greetje of No Fear of Fashion, who lives not too far from the Amsterdam store, and she generously went down and took a bunch more photos. Huge thanks to Greetje! And to her husband Ron, who drove the getaway car. She has a funny story about that on her blog, HERE. One of the photos she sent me is below. 

That's me in the commercial above the photo too. I'm an architect. Greetje didn't even notice until she got home that I was in there and she'd captured my scene by chance. I'm not keen on the camera angle in the ad and told Greetje, DO NOT USE!!, but I'm over it now, it's life. This was an awesome shoot. 

That's about it from here. I'll finish with this photo - showing the wall who's boss. ???!!!

I'm wearing a short lurex dress with sport-style neck and cuffs. Those are Zohara tights, which they sent me over a year ago. They have a great collection. 

Nothing else to say really. I'll end with this little journal sketch.

It's a giant cat or a little tree. You decide. A windy autumn day. 

I'll link up with Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for her Visible Monday, and Catherine at Not Dressed as Lamb for her #iwillwearwhatilike. 

Thank you for visiting!!! I hope you all have a stellar week. Until next time...

Where angels go, trouble follows

I was feeling particularly Scottish, punk, rebel boarding-school girl, so this is what I wore.

This outfit also makes me think of the 1968 movie Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows, in which Stella Stevens, a young nun with gumption, and Rosalind Russel, Mother Superior, drive a busload of giggling high-school girls from St. Francis Academy to an inter-faith rally in faraway California. It was 1968, remember? This movie, which I saw on TV later, was the first time I thought nuns could be groovy.

So I've got on the "code" kilt, well below the knee, vintage (both the knees and the kilt), from Marks & Spencer. Plus, I bought it at a church, the West Vancouver United Church Flea Market. Probably the kilt/church combo made me think of that movie. The ultra-high-top runners (with rear zip, whew!) are from My Sister's Closet and the faux fur jacket is from Community Thrift.

I always liked Stella Stevens. She was in another zany TV movie called Call Her Mom, 1972. She played the housemother for a bunch of fun-loving boys at a frat house. Oh yes, highly plausible. I was very young when I saw it, but the movie inspired me to start writing my first screenplay. Hahaha. I wish I still had it! I drew Stella's face on the cover.

Another reason I loved Where Angels Go was the theme song. And I found it on YouTube!! It's a bit Gidget, but hey. It's by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. But I can picture myself bopping around home in my bib-front, two-tone purple bell bottoms and red striped top at the time.

A little sass below.

And below, what I wore today, and I wasn't even cold! My legs kept throwing off the camera's white balance. That's an expression of bliss, imagining that I have some brownies and a couple of C-notes in my lunchbag handbag. What more could a gal want?

I just noticed today that Montecristo Magazine has posted me on their Instagram account HERE. Hurray!! I'm happy how well that piece, Defying Ageist Fashion Rules: Styleactivism, has gone. You can read my post about it here. I would love to do more articles/photos like this.

Canada definitely needs more women over 50 in ALL MEDIA. Everyone needs more representation of women over 50!

I used a binoculars prop to gaze into my future. All I saw was my tripod, really badly out of focus. Heh. But I was still feeling like a beacon of positive energy having survived a dizzyingly (great word) busy couple of months.

Below is a detailed picture of the inner workings of my brain. I am very fond of this piece. It's just over 4 feet square.

That's all from here. Stay groovy!!

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

How to survive winter '70s style with a kitty

"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!" (reference to '70s TV series The Brady Bunch). These pants could have walked right out of that show. Or The Partridge Family, another TV series from the same era in which "a widowed mother and her five children make a hit record." Sounds plausible to me. These baggies remind me of the Partridge's concert tour bus, painted patchwork-quilt style. No bus for me, but I have a lunchbag handbag with trailers on it. 

CLICK "Read More" BELOW FOR MORE EXCITING NEWS!!

Exploring Femininity with Attitude

When I was a kid, I thought ballerinas were the epitome of grace and femininity. If I hurt myself, I would try to imagine ballerinas to take my mind off the pain - it never worked. I still like the image of ballerinas, such feather-light flitters, but at heart, as you know, I am more of the Martha Graham school. And ballerina-ing is a brutal sport/artform.

Below, some photos I took when I got home from wearing my tutu for photos downtown. There was no way I was going to wrestle that tutu back into its itsy-bitsy space bag in a public restroom. You can see the lurex threads next to the fuzzy yarn stripes. And the men's shoes.

One of the most moving ballet performances I have ever seen was by Editta Sherman, a photographer and dancer who lived in Carnegie Hall in New York, in a clip included in the Bill Cunningham documentary. She danced with the moon in her home studio.

I can't give you details offhand, except to say that I remember how wonderful I felt watching her. There is a silent version of her dancing posted on YouTube. A true artist, she sadly passed in November 2013.

Trying out my tough version of an off-duty non-ballerina.

Below, does this tutu make my ass look big?

Have you got a tulle skirt? Dress? A tutu? I always wanted a tutu and finally found this one at My Sister's Closet, not $5, but still a good deal. What was most fun about this tutu was the feeling that I don't have to be graceful when I'm wearing it with my man shoes and man coat and man shirt. Plus, people don't squish you out of your seat in the coffee shop when you're wearing a tutu. Heh.

Have a great week!

High-low hair, clothes to greet autumn, and big thanks

Excellent - time for another blog post, the best procrastination around! Especially when I fiddle faddle with my photos. Like this:

Autumn is officially here in this hemisphere. And I know that elsewhere, you're breathing a huge sigh of relief now that you've hit summer weather. 

I'm particularly happy to see this autumn, having not been blown up by men with big toys. Aren't you? (Oops, did I just write that?)

If you've been wanting to wear something outrageous and been too afraid, now is the time to put it on and fill yourself and the world with positive energy.

Below, a close-up. Except for this fabulous hand-made scarf by Sevya, which Sherry of Petite Over 40 gave me, these are all things you've seen before, worn in a different combination.

The coat laces up the back corset-style and dips low. Plum, purple, eggplant, aubergine. What's not to love? And that's an old striped dress/tunic and my Rip Curl pants from My Sister's Closet, where I find so many of my treasures. Finally, my magic loupe by O.

Really, the whole thing is so over-the-top that your eye starts to see it as neutral, don't you think? I definitely walk with mega-'tude when I wear this. And I swung around my toolbox hand bag from O, not shown here, like I was somewhere far more glamourous than on my way to the supermarket in search of frozen corn.

For example, in this outfit I imagine hunching over a huge glass desk in the loft of my converted monastery, writing psychedelic poetry or a pop opera called, say, Menopausoff, with a quill pen, with a purring black cat on my lap, my manuscript illuminated by a battery- or solar-powered candle. Modern concessions. Lots of treats are on hand as well, for me and kitty.

And a HAIR TRICK.

The photo below was taken by the very talented Vancouver Barbara when we went to the Rennie Collection in Chinatown for a tour of Bob Rennie's works by Ian Wallace, a renowned local photo/conceptual artist, a genre Vancouver is famous for. It's exactly the kind of intellectual art that constipated me for several decades after I studied it.

There was a faded candid Polaroid of the artist sleeping called Artist at Work. "Genius," everyone enthuses. "$$$!" the artist enthuses. Hahaha. Of course, it's the historical context of its invention that makes his work endure, as is the case with much art. [Edit: And the artist's continuing development of and passion for the work.]

And, yeah, good on him for making a self-admitted throwaway a collectors' item. How can I do that? Anyone interested in my old sweatsocks? If I call it art, will it be so? 

Uh-oh, I need my journal for some Kitty/Turnip Head sketching to cleanse myself of such thoughts. But I enjoyed revisiting my past and debriefing at The Sylvia with Barbara after the tour.

[Edit: I attended a talk by Ian Wallace at the gallery on Oct 4 and I'm so glad I did. It was wonderful seeing the passion he has for his work. Beauty in all its forms was a phrase that kept coming to mind.]

Note the short hair? Haircut by O. He's so good at it! 

Barbara's direction to me at the gallery was, go sit on the those stairs and look sad. I did, and a couple more looked really, really sad, yes, tragic even. And we of course burst out laughing between shots, oh so unladylike!

And what's that on my legs? Beige?!! I was readying my black tux pants when suddenly I thought, gaaa, too much black, and grabbed these: Missoni, perfect fit, knit, with cuffs, also from My Sister's Closet. They were perfect with this brown Pierre Cardin tie, Windsor-knotted, and my velvet blazer.

My first run-in with these pants was HERE, a post called "Clothes the Colour of Porridge."

My hair looks really short up there, right? But below is that same short cut styled into peaks. Who would have guessed? O cut it so I could wear it both pixie and foppish. I love being able to play with these divergent looks.

In other news - 

Sherry interviewed O by email and wrote an amazing post on his art and magic loupe, HERE. Her writing is truly professional and expresses his views so well. Her generous support of his art is amazing. And she's got fantastic style. I LOVE that red lipstick!

And another huge hug is in order for Sylvia of 40+ Style, who put up an Instagram post on the stainless steel/synthetic ruby ring she bought from O.  Thank you so much for including it in a movie clip on your Instagram, below.

If you want a loupe or ring like these, head over to O's Etsy shop, OSK Micro-art Studio.

OOTD featuring a new ring by @bagandaberet's husband. Be sure to check their Etsy store for details. Also featuring @antelopeshoes @stellacarakasi @cosstores . Link to pants is at 40plusstyle.com/wiw. Also don't forget free style challenge starts tomorrow. Click link in profile for details. #womenover50 #womenover40 #styleinspiration #40plusstyle #style

A post shared by Sylvia van de logt (@40plusstyle) on Sep 20, 2017 at 9:42am PDT

I'll link up with Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style (with her cast off!), and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb. I'll bring the drinks. Patti will sing.

And that's it for another week. Stay clean. Stay fed and watered. Stay happily clothed whenever possible. And most of all, stay positive. I'm doing my best here.

Three coats for the weather-challenged

Vancouver's winter so far has been nerve-wracking: warm, cold, cool, snow, SNOW?, cold, SNOW?!! How can I keep up? These three coats show how I've been dealing with the weather.

COAT 1: White fluffy vintage parka

Weather shock rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Oh yes, frolicking at the beach, laughing and laughing, and lounging/falling-off a bug-infested log with bits of who-knows-what surrounding me. I think it's moving! Oh, it's so much fun! And it started to rain. There's a hood on this coat you can't see at this angle.

Regarding the next photo, do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a "casual" patio shot at a café using a tripod and a remote control? But do I complain? Heck, no. Never! For you, taking this photo was an absolute bungle of joy. 

Japanese music legend Motoharu Sano gave O and I this zine, which was produced for his Fruits concert tour of 1996. You know what's weird? Some people weren't even born yet in 1996. Heh.

COAT 2: Neon orange men's parka
Weather shock rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
This coat is the size of a continent, and waterproof. This first shot I call "Tangerine Wraith in the Shadows - Waiting." Are you scared?  

And warmth is always assured because I can wear my entire wardrobe under this coat with no effect on the silhouette whatsoever. Handy.

The next photo I call "The Orange." Perhaps, if you're feeling poetic, "Harvest Moon" would be more suitable. Just please, not "Mutant Cheese Ball."

This last photo is entitled "Parisienne, Cone de Traffic," not to be confused with the Cone of Silence on the show Get Smart.* Of the three looks, this last one affords me the most mobility. *Late '60s U.S. TV comedy series. The Cone of Silence muffled (amplified) top secret discussions, video clip HERE, images HERE. Watch it! Watch it! Hahaha! You'd like it, Greetje. 

The under-jacket of heavyweight sweatshirt fabric is by B.C. label Dru's Design. I bought it retail years ago (not a sponsored link). I also have on my cycling pants, an oversized Eileen Fisher top, and my beret.

COAT 3: Sandra's faux fur beast
Weather shock rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Leaning against a wall is so passé. Should we not all pose like this now? At the mall? At the dentist's office? At the market? So casual. So what-the-hey. So bring-me-a-drink. So moving right along... 

Below is the Before-I-Went-Out shot of this coat, accessorized with a hat stuffed with a scarf, the ends hanging down, and a wrappy rope thing to keep the beast's mouth shut. It was FRIGGING COLD!! 

And then the After shot, when I returned home. During my walk I got warm, warmer, warmer. FRIGGING WARM!! The outdoor temperature stayed the same; I didn't. I forgot what a workout it is simply to wear this blue tonnage. 

The key is to manage one's attire with carefree aplomb in any unexpected situation, as I demonstrate below having tucked the ruination of accessories into my bag. The coolness factor of sunglasses also ensures a smooth transition in any fashion U-turn.

THE BIG FINISH
Ta-dah!! Back to the fluffy coat on mud, a slippery slope of slimy leaves and dog poop - it's all part of the fun of blogging and perhaps even life itself. I made little condom-like covers from rubber gloves for the feet of my tripod before I went out. I'm very glad I did. I'd do that for my own feet but...

That's all for this time. Make sure you check out Natalia's styling (In The Writer's Closet) of the Freakish Yellow Skirt, stylist 34!, which I wrote about in my previous post, here. FYS has now flapped off to Texas. Thanks, Natalia!

Stay warm. Or cool, as the case may be.

I'll link something here with Patti's Visible Monday@Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike@Not Dressed as Lamb. And I'll link to Judith's Hat Attack 43@Style Crone - finally I'm wearing a hat!

________________________________________________________________________

And a HUUUGE thank you to POPSUGAR for including me as one of the "10 Fashion Bloggers Over 50 Who Completely Dominate the Style Game." See? When I say, Wear your clothes falling off or humongous menswear, am I right or am I right? Hahaha! What a surprise and honour. THANK YOU. 

Life beyond the screen

Oh look - I'm a real person! With real friends! Bwahaha. Thank goodness for friends. It's one of the big reasons I keep blogging.

I met up with Sue of A Colourful Canvas before Christmas and we had lunch at Vancouver Art Gallery before hitting the streets. We both happened to be dressed in screamingly bright colours. Not really a surprise. I mean, she's not called Sue of A Bland Canvas, is she? I'm wearing my Norwegian onesie. That's the gallery behind us.

After a lot of blah, blah, blahing, laughs, and startled guffaws, we marched down to the fabric store, Dressew, where we drooled all over their fabrics, so much goodness, especially in the faux fur section. Then, we stopped at swanky fashion retailer Holt Renfrew to ogle their merchandise. Sue tried on this adorable beret/hat with a pom pom thingy on top.

I really love Sue's hot pink puffer coat - so refreshing to the eye when most people are wearing dark outerwear.

And I tried on the humongoid hat below. Of course we didn't buy either of these hats but shopping is most of the fun. Holt Renfrew has recently completed a big renovation project so it's much more spacious and deluxe. It's a good thing - Nordstrom a block away is on the offensive. I'll let them duke it out while I do my real shopping in vintage, thrift, and consignment shops, although Sue and I got lots of inspiration here for our own projects.

Our meetup was the perfect way to brace ourselves for the holidays. If it's true that laughter is the best medicine, we were both satisfyingly doped up by the end of the day. Mwah, Sue!

And then I had my first booze of the new year last week when I met up with Sandra of standard.deviations for, uh, booze - a glass of wine during happy hour - accompanied by a pile of fries smothered in too much raw garlic and salt. Slightly pitui, but I forced myself, heh. I tried ordering a shot glass of wine, but they don't sell it in that size.

It was frickin' freezing outside afterwards. This is a picture of me looped and Sandra keeping her cool. The instructions for this photo were: DON'T MOVE YOUR HEAD! [maniacal laughter] My camera was perched on the post box on self-timer for this shot in the dark. But we wildly swung our arms around - just because, hey, wonder what that will look like. Now we know.

We are in Yaletown, Vancouver's warehouse district turned trendy. I remember club-hopping at gay bars here in the early '80s because that's where all the best dancing was. When I returned here after living abroad, everything had changed. Me too, I suppose.

And Sandra again below. Check out her BEAST!! She told me about this coat earlier that week and that's what inspired me to check out the menswear section where I found the traffic cone coat I wore in the previous post. Sandra's coat is probably made of the elusive blue faux mountain mink.

These are just two of the meetups I've had recently. While I was chatting with Sandra on a street corner one morning a while ago, Vancouver Barbara tore by in her sexy little car, beeping wildly, and I flapped a big wave back. I love these chance encounters.

I look forward to more meetups this year. The friendships I've made through blogging are the best thing about it.

I'll end this post with this photo from Yaletown.

In my wine-addled state, at first I thought an alien ship had photo-bombed our shot. But no - using my magic loupe, I realized that this looked creepily like flesh! Ghost hand?! Or had my own hand become so obviously rhino-hided this season I hadn't even noticed? It couldn't be a bicycle seat, right?

Then, using my superior powers of deduction, I realized that my camera on the post box had tipped downward on self-timer for an excellent shot of my leather glove tucked under the lens to prop it up. Brilliant.

Why don't they sell shot-glass sizes of wine? Why?

There are some outfit photos on my Instagram if you're interested. HERE. That's all.
Have a great week all youse guys.