Never too much colour

This dress is originally from the bastion of fast fashion, H&M, one of their eco-recycled-garbage (ERG) collection, but I bought it pre-loved. Of course there is a real feel-good, corporate-speak name for it but I can't be bothered to check - I like ERG.

I blogged about it the first time HERE as my entry in an H&M contest, a completely different styling with an alley shoot - lots of fun. But I didn't win - my fizz was apparently too flat (or maybe too fizzy) to refill these recycled PET bottles. Judging by the women who became finalists, my contents were decidedly past their best-before date. All I can say about that is - old food can be good. 

Cases in point. Have you ever experienced the dry chewiness of an old marshmallow? Bliss. Or the ecstasy of eating a chocolate bar you'd lost in the glove compartment for over a year? (Question: Did anyone ever really put gloves in a glove compartment?) And what about grapes? Old grapes taste great in wine, although some of my old ones are just sour. Well, semi-sweet.

The bell bottoms are by Rip Curl, thrifted. The booties are thrifted too, not my first choice for this outfit but I needed a heel. Many of my shoes are in sick bay right now with heel ailments. Seriously, footwear should come with insurance or a Dr. "Bones" McCoy fix-it wand from Star Trek.

You can see all the extra stuff below: magic loupe pendant and ring by O, available HERE, handmade ghost-on-a-swing necklace by friend Monique, a hoity-toity brand leather wrist wrap (gift), leather belt with silver buckle by Josef (say it like it's French), booties, DIY T-shirt, and my favourite DIY praying mantis pendant made from an on-sale Liz Claiborne Christmas ornament. Those insects are amazing creatures. Did you know that the female often devours the male after coupling?

A woman wrote the following comment in response to an article about praying mantises in Entomology Today, which I stumbled across while doing research.

WARNING: This paragraph deals with the animal kingdom. Don't read it if you are squeamish.

I followed a female mantis that took up eye-level residence on a pepper plant last summer near my door, and she eventually mated with at least four different males, and for several days had two on her back at the same time with more males standing around expectantly. The female nibbled an eyeball of each mate, then finished the other eyeball, then eventually ate the whole head. Each male stayed attached to her for several days, ending up as discarded wings on the surface of the flowerpot a foot below after a new male took up position.

Moving right along... With a cart.

I dug this neon lemon robe and red, white, and blue hooded garment out of the alien pod vault a few days ago. Static, just hanging there, this outfit looks like almost nuthin', but in motion it flies. The robe gently laps at the legs of unsuspecting passersby with the slightest breezy provocation. I wasn't sued for it either. Or devoured.

These weakling pixels - they just can't seem to capture this neon colour. I bumped the saturation on the photo below but it didn't help much.

I got those Zara shoes out of the vault too. The dress thingy is sleeveless and has a front slit and zip. The Chanel sunglasses are also a gift. The loupe and ring, O made me. And that's a mechanical Tissot watch, which, if you've forgotten, means you have to wind it up by hand. And it has 17 jewels! It's old too. O reconditioned it and machines custom parts if it gets stuck in the past.

I posted about another outfit this week on Instagram if you're interested, HERE.

That's all for now. I had a wonderful meetup with some fellow bloggers this week, but that will have to wait.

I'll link up to Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style, hosted by Patti, and #iwillwearwhatIlike at Not Dressed as Lamb, hosted by Catherine. See you there.

I wish a company would sell old marshmallows so I don't have to age them myself. They seldom survive to old age in my home. What about marshmallow wine?

Getting fizzy wrapped in PET bottles

Oh, the sweet ecstasy of well-resurrected garbage.

This dress is comprised of PET bottles, textile waste and/or other organic materials. It debuted in H&M's first sustainable line, the Garden Collection, in 2010. I found it at the thrift shop for $5, repeating the trash-to-treasure cycle yet again, recycling at its best. I call it the garbage that keeps on giving.

The dress is so feminine it cried out for a little edge - after all, it's been around the block a time or two, despite its excellent condition, like myself, heh - so I added a black scarf choker, black tights, Steve Madden combat boots, a satin obi belt, and an essential bouquet holster from a big old belt, which also made me feel a bit like a little VW bug with a vase on my  dashboard.

Wouldn't you agree that a bouquet creates a friendlier image in a holster than a gun? "Halt or I'll kill you with kindness!" - or face-slap you with flowers, which would in fact hurt. The plastic is hard and wretched. I bit the stems, like one of those women who bites stems and makes it look sexy, and kind of gagged. Another flower defense would be to hold them like garlic or a cross, as above, to keep away vampires.

And the rear view of the garment. You can see the little sparklies on my scarf choker and the obi ties, as well as the massive kimono-inspired sleeves. I couldn't believe this dress was on the $5 rack! My hair at the back is not as grey as the front. I call the shade souris (su'-ri, French for mouse, which sounds better than rodent).

Note how I've hooked my thumb conveniently in the bouquet holster. Clearly it's a multipurpose accessory, like a pocket that doesn't hold a damned thing.

The bottom half of the necklace is from H&M and the top half chain from Tokyu Hands craft supply store in Tokyo. The flower pin  (used for modesty) was a gift made by Suzanne Carillo for the +40 Blogger Meetup last summer in Vancouver, and the earrings were thrifted.

Putting things in perspective - mulched flower in a concrete jungle.

I'll be linking this to Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday, Catherine at Not Dressed as Lamb for #iwillwearwhatilike, and Anne at SpyGirl for 52 Pick-me-up: Silver/Confusion/Clarity (my necklace).

And this last photo is my favourite of the day. The air exhaust system that vents into the alley kicked into major effect after the delivery trucks had all left, leaving me free to play in the stale air. I'm glad I wore a slip because the wind often blew the dress up to my dashboard! Too bad this dress isn't scratch 'n' sniff to freshen things up, but then it would probably smell like Coca Cola and I'd just start to fizz.

Yup, I felt like a million bucks in this outfit. Right after buying it I found out about the H&M/Bloglovin' "Breakthrough Fashion Blogger of the Year" Contest which required styling an H&M piece. The winner gets to be mentored by Man Repeller Leandra Medine for a year. I linked my Instagram photo of this outfit to the contest and this post as well.

I just looked at some of the other entries - oh, why did I do that?! Serious twenty-somethings wearing pressed neutral outfits professionally photographed, compared to my lightweight photographer, Tripod, a remote I call Dick, and my middle-aged-tween antics in piss alley.

Well, if I don't enter I definitely lose, and I must remember: comparison is the thief of joy. I had a blast doing this shoot with this stellar dress and would have done it regardless of any contest. Why? Because -

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You can't keep good garbage down!
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Recycling and feeling fabulous, how cool is that? I hope more big fashion retailers and manufacturers get on board that sustainability train and make good on their promises. Have you worn any good garbage lately? Do tell. Do they even make scratch 'n' sniff clothing?

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Thanks for joining me all you new followers! And thank you to Jessica at Warning: Curves Ahead 24 Things Women Over 30 Should Wear for linking to my post with Shelley's awesome photo here, which has turned into a too-good-to-be-true ending to her stellar visit to Vancouver, 2.5 million views and counting. Bwhahaha! Hurrah for freedom of choice !!

Shelley's post on our get-together is HERE.

My VOGOFF magazine guidelines page is almost ready. Can you believe it's taken me this long? Don't answer that! Heh.