Style rules, and mending vintage leather pants the easy way

Bad ass. Elegant. Bad ass. Elegant. Elegass. Badegant?  Whatever. 

Wearing my vintage leathers - leather pants, leather jacket, leather booties - with denim jacket and tuxedo shirt. And of course my magic loupe that my partner O made me. You can buy one HERE. And a ring he made me too, which you can also buy there, unless he's sold out. Plus I'm carrying my swell, elegant, swellegant clutch. 

The word swellegant reminds me of the movie High Society with Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Louis Armstrong (remake of Philadelphia Story) and this song, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," although the word itself is in "Well, Did You Evah" by Sinatra and Crosby. I love watching this movie on a cold rainy day, with hot chocolate and popcorn or tea and chocolate digestive biscuits.

Back to the outfit. These leather pants are snug, and you know the rule about that, don't you?

Rule 573.2 (REV 22.1a): 

One must never wear one's snug leather trousers without one's jacket covering one's posterior in case one's trousers explode when one is downtown.

I know, I know I said I don't believe in style rules, but this case is a definite exception. Thankfully, my trousers did not explode. But I had reason to believe they might.

They are snug, as I said, but there are also little rips in the inner and outer seams at the knees on the left leg, suggesting there may be more seam weaknesses elsewhere. I am quite pleased with my leather repair work: I slapped two-inch long pieces of clear packing tape onto the outside of the pant legs.

When I was downtown I went shopping in all the high-end designer stores - Prada, Gucci, Dior - and I can only hope everyone in the shops was familiar with this rule:

Rule 93.115 (REV 39-81):

When one has wardrobe malfunctions, one must patch one's clothing with what one has at hand whilst heading out the door and then proceed to wear one's repair like one is a super-stellar trendsetter and rock star.

And that's what I did. Perhaps next time I go downtown I'll see more people with packing tape on their pants. Or tape on the clothing on the racks. [Don't forget, I'm Canadian and we believe that duct tape and WD-40 (oil) can fix anything.]

Wearing my leathers it seemed fitting that I would unexpectedly encounter KISS playing in the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza for the Hallowe'en Parade and Expo - well, they were in fact called Alive 'n' Kissin', I think. For a couple of songs I whooped in homage to my sustained youth, heh. There was a gaggle of kids at the foot of the stage who scrambled for candies when the band threw them into the crowd.

I admired the band's outfits, makeup, and stamina. The man on the left lifted his arms once in a while to reveal amazing bat wings! I regret not staying to catch a photo, but it was raining and umbrellas were jostling for space.

Love those boots!!

But my destination was Canada Place down by the waterfront for this:

Hahaha! The first time I saw this sign I was with Sherry of Petite Over 40. I said to her, "Sherry, there I am. Oh my god, THERE I AM! I NEED A PICTURE. I NEED A PICTURE!!" She fumbled in her bag for her phone. Of course I didn't have anything at hand. The ads were scrolling and I knew I'd come around again, so I became more level-headed:

HURRY, SHERRY! HURRY!! 

IT'S GOING TO DISAPPEAR!! QUICK!!!

Sherry scrambled and fumbled frantically in her bag as I waved my arms and jumped around her. I'm pretty sure my hair stood even higher than usual too. No pressure. Hahaha. A tourist walking by said, "Don't worry, it will come back." Sherry and I laughed.

Eventually we both got a picture, but the bright sign was almost whited out in our photos against the dark night sky, and neither of us wanted to stick around to adjust our devices for the next scroll-around.

So today I went down in daylight, rainy-day daylight. Great conditions.

I'm huuuuge, literally. I confess, this was a big rush. I stood there for a while waiting for me to scroll around, my camera pointed up at the building. Of course when you look up at something with a camera, people around you start taking photos of what you're looking at too, along the lines of, if she thinks it's good, I better get a shot too.

And a photo of me on the stairs, jackets off.

Also, Margaret Manning of Sixty and Me has posted articles based on a couple of YouTube interviews I did with her. Thanks, Margaret!

1. FASHION OVER 50 – 5 INSIDER TIPS TO BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE (MOST PEOPLE TOTALLY MISS #4!)
2. 5 WAYS MAKING VIBRANT FASHION CHOICES AFTER 60 WILL EMPOWER YOU!

They might be fun to check out. If you found my blog through Margaret, thank you, too, for joining me!

AND, a FREAKY FACT:
Your age plus your birth year equals 2018. Every time. This only happens once every 1,000 years.
Think about it. Heh.

Finally, I'm going to link with Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb.

Whew. Congratulations! You've made it this far. Keep on bein' the stellar creatures you all are. Live! Live! Live! Be strong! I'm so happy you stopped by. Although I'm sorry I ate all the powder sugar doughnuts before you got here, and the chips too. But I still have some Twizzlers left (twisty red licorice ropes).

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends, well, ALL friends for that matter.

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.

To IG or not to IG

"DRIP OF THE DAY" 

on tap at my cafe:

"Burundi: a tropical aroma with flavours of cherry, 

red apple, caramel and a syrup finish."

I declined. I am a pure bean woman, as you may recall.

But that didn't stop me from doing this...

And I ate lard today. Not a huge helping, just enough to make me wish I hadn't eaten it. It was baked into a big biscuit which I wasn't hungry for but I ordered and ate anyway. Stupidly.

I have two very different looks for you in this post - one ultra-casual in jeans worn today (my building guy didn't even recognize me this morning) and one jewellery-laden ensemble worn yesterday. Both made me feel swell. The open mouth photo is me - preparing to eat lard, like a fledgling in a nest waiting for its mama to fly back with, um, a mouthful of lard? Moving right along...

I am in training for jewellery-wearing. I'm not sure how many lessons I'll do. This stuff is heavy. It leaves dents in the back of my neck - seriously.  But if I loosen my scarf that might not happen. I wore this 100% silk thrifted maxi tunic/dress yesterday. It says XL but I altered the shoulders to fit. The man robe draped over my arm kept me warm enough. You may remember it from "my man robe" video, here.

I didn't "do" my eyebrows to be asymmetrical; they were that way for real today. And I wore my hair sort of side-parted. ("Today" is Friday and "yesterday" is Thursday in this post.)

Shoes for Sheila's Shoe Shine at Ephemera. Thrifted. Debuted in previous post.

I haven't been blog-crawling much. And I just did a quick review of a few blogs I have commented on and some of my comments are missing despite doing a double-entry. I have the sense that blogging is becoming antiquated, that I should really be Instagramming. Its platform based on quick-shotted pithiness is appealing, as is the idea of being able to Like and run. But I don't want a phone. And contrarily, the reasons that attract me to Instagram are what keep me blogging - IG excels at Show, but I also enjoy the Tell of blogging that lets me express myself more fully (like the lard bird story) and get to know everyone else much better. In the end, I'm going to do what makes me happy. But the pressure, the pressure! No Facebook, no Twitter, no Pinterest, no Tumblr, no Link On Me... I'm a step away from a museum.

Do you remember the movie The Big Chill? The Michael character played by Jeff Goldblum was a journalist for People magazine and he said: "You can't write anything longer than the average person can read during the average crap." We've become so abbreviated in social media that maybe the line should be revised: than the average person can ???...  Any ideas?

Do you do all of the social media things? How do you manage your time? Are you obsessed? (I also fear IG for that reason.) Do you in fact or fiction make money from it? Think it's possible? Use it to promote an outside business? Hope to become an icon, not that you aren't already, darling. I sometimes feel left in the dust - not that my house isn't immaculate, simply immaculate!! Thoughts? (not on my cleaning habits, but the other questions, okay, my cleaning habits too)

I hope you are all well and enjoying your changing season whatever it may be. 

I vant to be alone

I love how this photo came out. It's how I would do Garbo if she had blue hair and wore huge honking glasses. I did this shoot in a hurry today to slip into Judith's one-year anniversary(!) Hat Attack #12 at Style Crone, very last minute, and Sacramento's Share-in-Style: Denim at Mis Papelicos, co-hosted this time by Judith.

I haven't worn this hat out yet. It was purchased as a blue wig but I prefer it as a puffy hat with a scarf. The lenses on these glasses are clear - I just like them. The denim jacket you've probably seen before, very fitted, and it has little glitter bits on it. Underneath is my Jimi Hendrix T and my enormous loupe O rigged up for me. Finally, those are my cycling pants, and in the background are bunches of paintings I've cut off the stretcher frames and wrapped for storage. It's the glamorous life I tell ya.

Whew!

Twirl-o-rama dress action

I saw this dress. It saw me. BAM!! True love. I carried it home with a silly grin on my face, laundered it, then tried it on. A perfect fit.

Mis Papelicos in full bloom comes to mind when I wear this diaphanous dress with its brilliant bold plumage - the flowers, the stripes, the frills - and it twirls most excellently. 

The dress has spaghetti straps so I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt underneath. The top part is shirred and dark brown, not black, which is difficult to see in the photo. Also, the dress is fully lined with black satiny fabric. I love everything about this frock, including the fact that the yellow stripe is not near my face. 

The wind was whispery cool today and my hand flirtatiously brushed up against the fabric making it breathe and sigh all around me as I willowed down the sidewalk. Why the Earth did not stand still in my sartorial euphoria is beyond my ken.

Details

• dress, thrifted, $8, Wildlife Thrift Store (WTS)
• little-nothing fishnet tights over pink leggings, sample sales
• Miu Miu boots, thrifted, WTS
• denim jacket, thrifted, Value Village
• fingerless gloves, retail, Canadian Tire automotive store

Ironically, this colourful dress lends itself to black and white photography. The painting on the wall was previously on the floor. I think it's finished.

I broke my rule: I told myself not to post again so soon, but how could I not? Does that happen to you? You tell yourself not to post and then you put on something that feels so overwhelmingly satisfying that you just can't help yourself?

We're sailing into the weekend. I hope your week has been grand so far.

Maxi flower power recovery wear

Happy Earth Day! Three cheers for thrifting for reducing our earth-load! And many, many thanks to everyone for your comments while I have been recovering from this cold!

To aid in my recovery I wore this outfit today - maxi impact maxi with tropical flowers, a gen-u-ine Hawaiian-made muumuu that I discovered at a thrift shop about a week ago. The colours are so intense they threw off my white balance (on the camera) which made my face look a bit green in celebration of Earth Day.

You'll notice no beret, which is in part testament to my feel-good state. An ultra positive energy wave sloshed all over the sidewalk on my way downtown today, drenching innocent passersby in spring-fresh fuchsia goodness. (Gulp! That's me taking more meds...)

Here is the outfit. This dress longed for a photo out-of-doors but my studio had to do. Notice how I cleverly directed the lighting at my torso.

I wore my denim jacket because it was still slightly chilly, and my fingerless gloves. Under the dress I wore a long-sleeved blouse, a vintage baby-blue one-piece slip, and bright pink tights. I think the dark boots and the gloves in particular made this summery frock suitable for a sunny spring day.

Details of the outfit:

• muumuu, thrifted, $19 at Community Thrift Store, it has only one tag that says "Made in Hawaii"
• oversized silk shirt, hand-me-over
• Miu Miu boots, Wildlife Thrift Store
• fingerless gloves, Canadian Tire, purchased as regular gloves
• denim jacket with glittery bits, Value Village

I like that pic up there. It looks like I'm putting my right foot in doing the Hokey Pokey. The back of the dress has a full skirt created by a deep box pleat. I think that's called a princess back. Do you know? The train effect certainly made me feel like royalty.

Oh, chic alors! Too bad I can't just hover down the sidewalk so I can maintain this pose, I like it so much! I suppose I could mount myself on a skateboard and employ a dog or wayward child to pull me with a rope.

_________________________________________________

Today's walk was my second outing in a week - the first was yesterday when I was hired to shoot photos of concert pianist Corey Hamm during rehearsal of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere performance of Idee Fixe (sorry, I can't do the accent on the first "e"), composed by Jordan Nobles and conducted by Bramwell Tovey. Below are two of my favourite shots, although I also captured some good ones of Maestro Tovey and the full complement of musicians. I love photographing artists at work.

Meditations of the Artist. Pianist Corey Hamm   (c) Melanie Kobayashi 2012

Lost in the Moment. Pianist Corey Hamm with Composer Jordan Nobles    (c) Melanie Kobayashi 2012

I felt privileged to have had the chance to hear the fine-tuning of this piece with the full orchestra.

The fact that this was "work" was a huge bonus.

_______________________________________________________

I am of course including this outfit in Patti's Visible Monday. Poor Miz Bagg is bed-bound in the Arctic Circle after her pyjama party shenanigans. Thanks, Terri, that was fun! Tee hee. Do you think my facial worked?

Here I am in a little energy ball. Again, thanks, everyone, for your positive input! I could feel it coming my way and it DEFINITELY helped in my recovery. 

Opera gown dressed down

I was thwarted from wearing this outfit yesterday due to snow(!) and rain, but today, joy, the sun was shining, it was warm, and there was just enough wind to make my dress billow around fabulously! - without getting all tangled.

A beautiful long black satin dress had been hanging forlorn in my closet since the one time I wore it, to the opera, The Rake's Progress, years ago. Considering how many beautiful maxi dresss and skirts in the blogging world I've seen, I decided, why not my gown for day wear? The trick would be how to dress it down enough that I wouldn't be mistaken for Delta Dawn or Madame Bijoux.

This is what I came up with.

Details of the outfit:

• thrifted black satin gown, princess cut with full skirt, cap sleeves, and a rounded square neck. I think it was home-made because there are no labels, I'm thinking maybe sewn for someone who played in an orchestra
• long-sleeved slate-grey cotton T-shirt under a mid-thigh-length, oversized black T 
• thrifted denim jacket with bits of glitter on it, and thrifted shoes
• pendant O made me

This is me twirling.

I felt so wonderful in this dress as the wind blew the satin around my legs. Good energy all around. Wearing this outfit was a challenge - I felt like it pushed the envelope - but I'm so glad I did it. Why did I wait so long? I guess I never thought I could wear my opera dress to the coffee shop. Silly me!!

This is the sketch I did today of how I felt in this dress. It's a big tighter stylistically than usual but I felt all cozy and wrapped up and satiny.

With my mind on classical music, a friend plays in the orchestra and I recently attended an evening of new music. They played a piece called Vento d'ombra, wind of the shadow, by Salvatore Sciarrino. Wow, incredible! It reminded me a bit of the Japanese wind instrument, the shakuhachi. I've included a YouTube clip of the piece below. It sounds much better live though.

That's all. Have a great weekend, all! This post might sound all la-tee-da, but that's not me. I just like sensory explosions of all kinds.

Colour on Warp Factor 4

I love when colours clash (sometimes) - and today was one of those days!

Details of what I'm wearing:
gifted Cirque du Soleil sleeveless T
Fiorucci patterned jeans bought in Tokyo over 20 years ago
Miu Miu boots thrifted for $10 (and the next day I saw them in Vanity Fair, score!)
maxi cardigan with very useful pockets by Metallicus
ultra lucky life pendant hand-made by O for me, stainless steel

Apart from the pendant, my favourite thing here is my matryoshka teacup holder, which I made with the help of O who custom-made the brass fittings, as you can see in the photo below. Nothing like drinking my favourite coffee at my favourite coffee shop from my favourite teacup from my great great great grandmother, which my mother sent to me. Mmm. I have a couple other teacup holders that you'll see sometime here.

I'm excited to take part in Visibility Monday for the first time, although I've been following Patti's blog, Not Dead Yet Style, for quite a while. In fact, her blog was the first style blog I ever stumbled across. Thank you, Patti!

Sorry, I've had to photoshop here because I have yet to fix my lighting problem, but the colours are pretty accurate.

You can see the brass fittings in the far right photo, and O made the slits in the top for the strap to go through.