Rockstar pants meet rockstar

These pants were beige, were beige, until yesterday. Now look what I've done.

These beggarly beasts of beigy blandness were headed straight for the trash bin barring immediate colour intervention, so I attacked them viciously with my Sharpies and acrylic paint. 

Who cares that they are now slightly crusty to the touch? Not I. 

Who cares that the earth may shake and split open and swallow them live if I try to wash them? Not I. 

Who cares that a sudden downpour would tan my legs blue? Um, yeah, that would suck.

In these photos taken by O I'm wearing flats because I was walking on boardwalks, but this morning on my inspiration walk, for the debut of these psychedelic pants, nothing but heels would do, you betcha. My legs beamed electric rays at everyone within eyeshot - we're talking hundreds of meters here. I warped into an echoing world of rockstars and strange hotels and room service with rubbery eggs and toast held upright in metal thingies. And mini bars. And chocolates, wrapped, on my pillow. Helping to create the mood was the satiny shirt that O used to wear when he played gigs in Tokyo. 

Details

• upcycled pants, thrifted, DIY
• satiny top, from O, I won't say vintage
• heels not shown, D&G, thrifted
• magic loupe, made for me by O
• airship whale and ghost-on-a-swing pendants, from friend Monique
• black leather belt, thrifted

On my way home, Sandra and I dropped by an upscale shoe store where I delivered a couple of t-shirts I'd made for the managers who'd fallen for my "I have nothing to wear" shirt they'd seen me in a week ago. I couldn't deny their pleas - they are such cool women.

Then later, at a stoplight a few blocks from the store, Sandra turned and asked me, "You know who that was, right?" "Who who was?" I had no idea what she was talking about. "That was Paul Stanley (me: blank face) - of KISS." Apparently he had been smiling at me in the store. Gaaa! I was completely oblivious. Clearly he had been HIT-NO-TIZED by my rockstar pants, sucked in by their colossal rockstar tractor beam. Or, wait, maybe it was my larval brows, aqua pools of wriggly wonder, or maybe it was my yellow eyelids! Quickly I asked Sandra if she'd like to go back and watch Mr. Stanley - after all, she is a true rock fan. But, nah. What for? I didn't even know his name when she told me anyway. So we continued down the road preferring to create our own little rock star moments than pick at the flecks of glitter in another celebrity's wake.

It's very freeing once in a while to realize there is no Celebrity Mall with special Celebrity Stores. We're just people, often with two arms, two legs, some with better teeth and manicures. And it's not who you know (unless it's someone tremendously powerful who is a nice person rather than a power-rapist-type person) but rather what we make of ourselves that counts. Blah, blah, blah, birds sing, flowers sprout. But I have to say, KISS rocks, by definition.

See you over at Patti's truly delicious rock garden, Visible Monday, at her blog Not Dead Yet Style, where we can all fantasize about KISS platform boots! Have you had any brushes with celebrities lately? Have a great weekend everyone. (I wrote this post on Saturday.)

I have a Yellow Skirt update coming up...

Fly me to the moon

I may be from Istanbul. I may be from Rio de Janeiro. I may be from Boca Raton. I may be from Kuala Lumpur. But one place I'm definitely not from is...

...the Kiwanis International Convention, as the security guard at the Vancouver Convention Centre was quick to note when Sandra and I tried to blend in with the hoards streaming into the building - he clocked us as gatecrashers at 100 paces; we'll never know how. So we took our style parkouring outside. The guard was very friendly and invited us back for Canada Day celebrations (Monday) and cake.

I'm glad we went outdoors. Check out that billow effect. Swoosh. The thing I like about hanging out at Vancouver's waterfront is the number of tourists from all over the world. Walk through ten crowds and you'll hear ten different languages. It's fantastic, almost like I'm travelling myself, ALMOST. Sandra and I even considered stopping for hideously-overpriced coffee with smiles on our faces until we decided to nip into our favourite swanky bar for a glass of wine and a snort-fest (snorts of laughter).

I had to give my jacket a helping hand as it was a bit weighty for the breeze. But Sandra's new thrifted silky smoking jacket billowed juuuust right to achieve her rock-star-the-morning-after look. She posted a photo on June 28 on her blog, Lens is More. She also posted part of what I was wearing on June 29, one of my favourite maxis ever.

Details

inside-out silk brocade kimono worn as jacket, thrifted

old white Gap T-shirt, retail, upcycled in a last-ditch revitalization effort

tights, retail

stretchy blue skirt, Metallicus, sample sale

painted boots, the zip on one is broken at mid way (you can see the buckled seam in the photo)

2 magic pendants from O

ghost-on-a-swing pendant from friend Monique of little lamp sculptures

neon sunglasses, vintage, thrifted

Canada Day is tomorrow. As you might know, Canada is a "commonwealth" country. Okay, I get the "common" part. What I want to know is where is the wealth? 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and for those of you stuck in heat waves, stay cool! I'm linking up to Patti's magnificent garden party, Visible Monday, at her blog Not Dead Yet Style. Mint juleps, anyone?

The '20s dress

Don't speak to me. I'm from another era. I'm cra-cra.*

Yup.

Uh-huh.

Time-warping between past and present. 3D-style. Close then far.

But time stands still for these shoes.

*Cra-cra, pronounced cray-cray, is an abbreviated form of the word crazy, popular among hip urban youth in the early 21st century.

Details

• swingy polka-dot blue dress with tie at the neck, thrifted, purchased the day I was stranded with only my stiff nylon car blanket covered in leaves as a coat in the rain and that guy said he liked my style
• black tights, remains from an Egyptian tomb but mysteriously made with kryptonotic elastic
• patent black leather shoes with strap, thrifted
• R coat, thrifted
• felt cloche with flower, retail, from the shop at the archeological site mentioned above
• magic loupe, handmade gift of love 
• ghost-on-a-swing pendant, friend

Unexpected deadlines means no Visible Monday for me, but I must still SEND YOU to Patti's place at Not Dead Yet Style for if you haven't been already to ogle all the other specimens of early 21st century beauty. Go, GO NOW! Quickly!

I feel groggy...

...because that's the label of my coat.

My coat is a lovely shag carpet of delight by Groggy, very good for telling wind direction and as camouflage wear when stalking small cartoon prey. When I bought it the man behind me at the checkout said it looked like a Sesame Street massacre. Bwa-ha-ha.

Then today, an afterthought was expressed on-the-moment, which seldom happens. On my morning inspiration walk, strolling through a group of upscale, edgy, twenty-something men and women, I was suddenly bombarded by compliments on my style. Approbation from young people is very uplifting, so I smiled broadly and thanked them. Then, ten steps past, still hearing them in my wake, I stopped, spun around, and struck a pose. "How's that?" I asked. They laughed, I laughed. I thanked them again for their great energy, and continued on my way. It was a Moment.

The photo above shows my tool box for cosmetic and financial emergencies, my ghost-on-a swing pendant, and the magic loupe that O made me. You've seen the playsuit before, here.

Oh spring, oh spring... how I long for thee. Today was a wonderful harbinger of warmer days to come, sunny, bright, but still nippy, and downtown was crowded with festive St. Patrick's Day parade-goers.

Details

• shag carpet green Groggy coat, thrifted, $20!
• playsuit, thrifted
• ghost-on-a-swing pendant, from friend Monique of little lamp sculptures
• ankle boots, retail long ago
• magic loupe, O made it for me
• tool box, swiped from O
• red beret, thrifted

Thanks for your feedback on helping to date the outfit in my last post. 

I hope you are having (had) a grand weekend full of pleasant surprises. I'm skipping over to Patti's at Not Dead Yet Style for some Visible Monday joy. I hope to see you there looking fabulous as usual.

A dress for drinking moonbeams

My steps are confident as I cross the moors, my way through the mist lighted by the flickering candle in my lantern. I hear rustling in the brambles behind me. What care I? I have no time to stop, much to the fortune of those who would deter me in my mission... This is my bewitching outfit. I thrifted this tatty-black maxi muslin dress a couple of weeks ago. Today I wore it with a black poly-blend shawl I haven't worn in ages and ages, and my Ghost-on-a-Swing pendant made by a friend, last seen here. If I had gone with a more colourful accessory, this outfit would not look quite so spooky, but I like it spooky.

I must stop to drink in the inverse frequencies of colour beaming from the moon and wild heather.

Details of this outfit:

• black maxi muslin dress, thrifted, Community Thrift Shop, $10
• men's black leather belt, buttery soft, thrifted, Value Village
• black boat-neck long-sleeve T under the dress, thrifted, Value Village
• hot pink tights (you can't see them but I know they're there!)
• stretch zip ankle boots, new years ago
• Ghost-on-a-Swing pendant, handmade by friend (her Etsy shop is Little Lamp)
• black shawl, I don't remember where I got it

Again, the rustling. "Identify yourself forthwith or I shall transfix you with my hypnotic beam and transmogrify you into lilies of the valley for all eternity!" Oo, scary.

And below is my journal drawing of this outfit from this morning's inspiration outing. It's not very spooky, I know, but at that particular moment I was revelling in the tattered glory of this dress and the secret pink tights underneath. I don't usually wear this kind of flouncy/frilly clothing but I enjoyed this piece. Of course, the wind made it doubly fun to wear. The great spinnaker of fabric carried me to places that I'd only dreamt of - like that coffee and muffin deal for $1.99 before 11 a.m. Sigh. Moored in reality.

I hope you are all having a great week! It's cold here.

Heathcliff, is that you?

This outfit is almost the same as in my post "I feel like Amelie," except I am feeling more sprite than sprightly. What's different outfit-wise is I'm wearing a different blouse, my red shoes, fingerless gloves, and my wonderful Ghost on a Swing pendant which contributed greatly to the Heathcliff-howling-in-the-moors mood. The darkness of the backdrop I did in a dirty photo edit to try to capture the thrill of standing in the shadows of a Gothic estate under a great rumbling sky. Sadly, there is still too much cheerfulness here.

With that expression could I be mistaken for the new governess at the gates of her lordship's manor - hopeful yet intimidated? This is "gleeful darkness." Shall I nauseate you and burst into song like Maria in the Sound of Music?: "I have confidence in sunshine..." I think a crow would have flown straight out of the backdrop and pecked my head off if I did.

Details of the outfit:

• wool/cashmere winter coat, thrifted ages ago at Second Suit, a real workhorse of a coat
• upcycled skirt made from a thrifted handmade dress purchased at a movie-clothing sale
• tuxedo shirt, Zara, thrifted, Wildlife Thrift store
• brown-and-black plaid tights
• Dorothy shoes, thrifted, Value Village
• Ghost on a Swing pendant from my friend Monique, also on Etsy. I love this!
• seafoam skirt as a petticoat, thrifted, Value Village, seen recently in another post
• knit fingerless gloves, sold as regular knit gloves at Canadian Tire automotive store but I cut off the tips of the fingers and hemmed the openings to prevent unravelling.

Oh dear, the picture up there is not a governess but a sprite from the woods, a playful temptress who lures innocents into the enchanted Dark Forest from whence they shall never return! Did you notice the cloud halo? Totally unplanned, my friends...

And I just threw this photo in there. I like the sense of dance and the old-world feeling. The cloud in this photo could be a giant feather sprouting from my beret.

Here is a closeup of my pendant, Ghost on a Swing.

Happy darkness to you. Oooo.