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?

Let your clothes choose your profession, and Hat Attack

I start out well. Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la. Lovely clean home. Lovely clean mind. Decluttering! Hurrah!

Then I degenerate into this. I'll spare you the inner dialogue; it would all be punctuation marks anyway.

I could have used a massive dose of the Dalai Lama at Glastonbury. Or maybe just Glastonbury. Or maybe just a few Glastonbury beverages - not the milk.

As it was, I made do with this: the "Coffee and a Muffin" special. The coffee was nutty. No refunds were requested. No baristas were harmed. It was a face muffin, a muffin as big as my face, almost as good as face doughnuts.

All this cleaning (which also includes more space-bagging), all this caffeine, all this muffiny goodness, it opens my mind to the universe.

So I wore this vintage barkcloth maxi the other day. You may have seen it before - but not with my lovely lava pendant paired with that other one, looking very, dare I say, fly? And bracelets. I don't wear them often because my wrists are small and the bangles clamp my hands when they dangle down. 

So here we have a Hawaiian-made dress with lava jewels and hiking boots (with fringe and platforms, an improvement on the standard fare). Do I sense a pattern here? Why, of course - I should be a vulcanologist! It's so clear now. Open your mind. Let your clothes guide you!! 

Pffft. Although I wouldn't mind investigating a black-sand beach with a lovely Mai Tai.

The sun has been wickedly strong these days and I scurry about in the shadows, and hide, very Clouseau-like, in the shade of light standards at intersections. The loud clop, clop, clop of my wooden soles and the billowing neon-yellow robe I sometimes wear instead of sunscreen, which I detest, of course enhance my sleuth appeal. Wait, now just wait a second - it's coming into focus. I should be a bumbling detective! 

Okay, I'd be good at bumbling but not detecting. And keeping up a fake accent would be tiring.

And below is what I wore today, a scarf instead of a hat for Judith's Hat Attack 24 at her blog Style Crone, where she's wearing a beauty designed by Carol Markel. My scarf has cute little drawings of dogs all over it. With the proper attention my hair stands up like little stalks growing from a head planter. In terms of cosmic profession messages, I was getting mixed signals. Rock star or...

Saint. (The halo around my head might be mistaken for a decorative plate on the wall.) 

I would suck at sainthood. Nunh. That's a pure silk maxi dress with the same jewels as my first outfit and then some. I boosted the saturation to make it more saintly. 

Explanation for this post: 

It's been so hot it's hard to type, it's hard to move, it's hard to keep a thought in my head unless it's to do with eating, drinking, taking little naps, and colouring. 

What career are your clothes telling you you should be these days? 

To my fellow Canadians, Happy Canada Day. We are 148 years old, although our flag recently just turned 50, younger than me. I'M OLDER THAN OUR National FLAG?!!! Friggin' FRIG!!

He's paid to say he's a girl

This is what it felt like:

This is what I saw:

This is what you see:

Val is close to my heart, literally; I wore her opium den on a dog harness again. This thrifted floral cotton cheongsam cried out for a liberal topping of her Muse Fondue. (See previous post for details about this magnificent diorama.)

Don't let this demure photo fool you. In the wind this kimono-style neon yellow robe billowed extravagantly into oncoming foot traffic and my toolbox handbag swung wildly at my side creating yet another pedestrian hazard.

Almost daily I am confronted downtown by clean young men wearing blue uniform jackets that say "Because I am a Girl" in their job soliciting money for a charity. They are so wide-grinning and their hair is so perfectly coiffed that they could easily be mistaken for cult members. If I'm feeling particularly cheeky I'll state the obvious, "You're not a girl." Impossibly, their grin stretches even wider and I expect a loud snap as their face splits in two. I wonder how people would react if I stood on an opposite corner, clipboard in hand, dressed in a pink uniform jacket that said "Because I am a Boy."

One time in Tokyo I mistook a couple of well-dressed Japanese Jehovah's Witnesses at my door for salespeople of beauty products. The cover of the brochure they politely held out to me featured the most startling beehive hairdos I'd ever seen. I said to them in slow English, "Hairstyles? Beauty products?" while pointing to my head and fluffing imaginary hair. They looked at each other worriedly and gestured to the sky and their chests. Once I realized what they were really selling, I said no thank you and sent them on their way. I think I heard a gasp of relief on their hasty retreat; I sighed because I had missed out on a hair miracle.

It's a tricky business, sending messaging and receiving them as intended. In the Japan case, clearly the misunderstanding was completely my own. How has your week been? Any mixed messages out your way?

Don't choke on my pith

I'm possessed by my granny shoes. But don't call the exorcist because I like it.

In action again below, in high def.

Dump trucks, grass, parkade signs, street lines, construction vests, insects, flowers, and rain - these are a few of My Favourite Things when I wear this lemon rind. The inner pith of linen, silk, and what-the-heck-is-that fabric would make you choke a smile. 

I'm an elusive creature these days, dodging out of frames and sidestepping stills. The motion picture works best at capturing my current emotional voice, although soon I suspect I'll be doing talkies too. 

Clothing

• neon yellow robe, retail sale
• linen jacket with big buttons from schmancy store (Moule), gift certificate, big sale
• vastly oversized teal silk blouse worn backwards, vintage, from friend's time-sealed treasure chest 
• sleeveless rust-coloured side-slitted dress, thrifted
• blue capri pants, same length as dress, with brown silk cuff, thrifted.
• patterned brown socks made in Italy, extravagant retail
• granny oxford shoes, thrifted
• granny bag from Singapore, gift for plant-sitting
• tool box handbag, from O
• magic loupe, from O

I've been asked about my video software. It's called VideoPad Video Editor (mine's for Windows) by the company NCH. It's easy to use - there is a tutorial - and it has many special features. I bought it after test-driving the free trial. This is not a paid endorsement (I wish!). I record the raw footage with my regular camera. 

Personally, I've needed this exploration to renew my process and stave off stagnation; what you see is my evolution from square one (thanks for your patience). I'm curious about where this will lead; I like not knowing.Would you ever consider making a little video clip for your blog? I've been very inspired by the clips and animated gifs I've seen on some of your blogs already.