A cool colour snap

Stains, tiny holes, and a frightening little rrrip as I reached behind to pull the zipper through the home stretch. Truly, pulling rear zippers and reaching for things are the biggest dangers when wearing fragile vintage pieces; I should have known better... But all these little flaws are the tangible tracks a life lived in this gorgeous maxi, which features an empire waist, a silky pink lining, and a flowing sheer shell with appliqued flowers. Probably once wore to a wedding or Sweet 16 party, I punked it up for day wear with my platform runners and diamond-encrusted meteorite pendant. For such a demure dress, she sure makes a racket with that silk-on-silk swishing.

Below is evidence that I actually wear the clothes I photograph in the garbage atelier, concrete stairwell, and parking garage. My friend Sharron, whom I've featured on my street style blog a couple of times, emailed me this photo she snapped on her phone on the sly as I was leaving the coffee shop. Thanks, Sharron. And maybe you also recognize my partner in style parkour adventures in the background. 

You can see from this photo how the dress billows so sweetly. Some clothes are made to move, others to photograph; this is definitely the former. I had so many compliments, probably a record - the positive energy swirling around these fluttering flowers is undeniable. I'm glad I finally took her for an outing.

thrifted vintage homemade maxi party dress

platform runners

carrying thrifted denim jacket

vintage sunglasses on my head

gifted toolbox hand bag from O

meteorite diamond-encrusted pendant, vintage, gift

magic loupe made by O

spare kitty head from my journal

I realized on my way home that this is the last formal day of summer in this hemisphere (written Sat), which got me thinking about how when autumn hits people suddenly start wearing clothes the colour of detritus, decay, mould, and fungus. During dark months wouldn't it make sense to wear clothes that are bright and cheerful to counteract the negative suction power of dark coldness? Or maybe people can't stand colour in winter because it would be mean, like a taunt from sunnier days. In reality, long ago we probably dressed in colours to match the seasons as camouflage so we wouldn't get knocked off by enemies or hungry beasts. Where I live now, that's not too much of a concern, but the hiding behaviour persists. I like the colours of decay too, but nothing beats the buoyancy of a full-blast colour snap.

I'm linking this outfit up to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style, her blog. (Whew, I almost forgot to activate the link.) It's the perfect garden party dress. I have pearls, white pointy shoes, and white gloves for this dress, but I like the sweet punk-ass version waaay better. Maybe I'll see you there. Thanks for stopping by Bag and a Beret, my sweets! 

Faking colours and re-runners

I'm linking to Share-in-Style: White with Mis Papelicos and Sheila for Shoe Shine at Ephemera. I linked these platform runners before (Shoe Shine #3) but I'd rather do re-runners than nothing at all. And as for white, although the dress is salmon pink, I edited it to be white, which counts. Call my lawyer.

The dress is a thrifted vintage dream, possibly a wedding dress, made by Tachi Castillo in Mexico. The undulating tide of pink is more than I am used to but the crackle nature of the stretchy poly/cotton fabric cancels out the femininity. (Curtise posted a lovely crackle-free garment today.) The beautiful lacy bits are see-through so I wore my skinny red tartan jeans under it. Of course, that's my turnip head.

And a reminder:

The VOGOFF submission deadline is only TEN days away!!

Get out your cameras. Right this minute! Or not...

Code Pink sympto-maniacal

Wearing: elastic-waist polyester pants, fleece top, and baggy sweat socks under thrifted vintage kimono-style pink-patterned maxi "Loungewear" (label name) worn as an overjacket, and thrifted Miu Miu boots. So, yes, I did get the memo on pink and menopause. THANK YOU! I thought I was losing my mind, which would not be surprising as I have not cleaned out my belfry in ages and AGES.

I'm not knocking you if you DO in fact wear elastic-waist polyester pants, but one does feel so much more alive in pickled pink maxi Loungewear. Drinks, anyone? Meet me at the manhole cover.

I was curious about this "if you're menopausal-ish you start to wear pink" rule doing the blogger circuit, so I consulted the oracle, the Oxford Medical Dictionary of Physicality and Suchlike. I happened to be wearing my 3-D glasses at the time and there, under Menopausal-ish Symptoms, cleverly invisible to the naked eye, words started to materialize between the lines. Symptom 0.33(i): Irrepressible urge to wear pink. Of course! Then Symptom 1.52(c): Haphazard wearing of 3-D glasses. Then Symptom 3.7(gg): Spouting nonsense on your way to Nirvana (did not specify Cobain variety or Buddhal place).

I wore this symptomatic outfit on my inspiration walk today, flapping flamingo-like in the bracing morning breeze. Whap, whap, whap. Outta my way - there's a menopausal-ish woman coming through!! The kimono belt is lacking, which partially explains why this gem, luxuriously lined in silky healthy-gums pink, was only $20. Considering its pinkness is a soothing balm for the menopausal-ish mind, perhaps it is considered a medical aid and I could have paid with insurance. Nah, then the flap would be at the back.

The panoply of playful bold pink and patterned outfits in posts of late are clear indications that we're dealing with a contagion, spreading, oozing insidiously beyond age boundaries! I'm afraid there is no cure but time itself. Until then, brace, brace, brace in candy floss pink, cinderella-on-crack bubblegum, and Pepto-Bismol splendour. Show me how you suffer.

That's all.

Oh, I got a haircut. Next is colouring. I mean de-colouring.
Also, under this Loungewear I am wearing a warm camisole, a thrifted brown turtleneck, my skinny jeans, my Geisha socks, and a thrifted red maxi cardigan which you've seen in a hideous outfit in an earlier post. Gaaah.

Hat Attack 4

Ack ack, HAT ATTACK! Hello, Judith and fellow hat-wearers over at Style Crone.

'Tis I in an elfie shot with my lovely beret, one of my signature hats, this one in dark indigo wool, thrifted. I used to wear my berets firmly planted over my ears which I considered startling appendages best hidden. Now that I am more comfortable with berets and ears, I simply perch my beret like zat, jauntily on my head.

The simple beret is a tidy little lid that keeps your brains fresh and seals in your goodness. Plus, people in Vancouver at least always think you're from France if you wear one. (If I wore a green helmet would they think I'm from Mars? Um, that's a rhetorical question...)

This photo makes me look like an insect. But you know what they say - it's always better to look like an arthropod than a gastropod, such as a snail. My hair is slightly blue from the shampoo I use (on purpose). The platinum is barely holding on but my natural silver is proving good backup.

I'm also wearing my: patterned coat, thrifted; pink scarf, a hand-me-over gift from lovely Sharron, and; out-of-frame black tights and frump shoes. I've previously posted a very similar look here: My Familiar Outdoor Wear. This was the perfect snappy outfit for dodging the usual cast of ghouls, zombies, witches and pirates on my sojourn downtown for a mightily satisfying chin wag with Sandra (Lens is More) over a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee and sneaky eats from the counter treat bowl.

Let's embrace noble November as a very special month satisfyingly wedged between October and December and third among the Magnificent Four "ber" months. Why isn't it Januber, Februmber, Marmber, Apber, etc.? So much easier don't you think? Have you got special plans this month, I wonder? DO TELL!

My familiar outdoor look

This is what I often look like when I go out in the mornings - patterned coat over whatever I have on underneath, bright tights, the most fabulous footwear I can find that my feet and the weather agree with, my of-the-moment favourite pink scarf, and a beret in whatever colour I am in the mood for. In this particular outfit I added the wide black elastic belt with patent leather near the buckle.

Under the coat you can just glimpse a wavy-patterned stretch tank-style dress which I wore on top of a black long-sleeved T.

This winter sheath feels fun and somewhat chic - or am I delusional? I think the dark belt with the beret is what makes this more grounded. The rang-y cat expression is compliments of my past week. I do know that when I've had the chance to slip away on my selfish/self-care inspiration walks last week I felt very swingy and bouncy in pattern and colour, yet polished and so-fist-icated with that subtle hat/belt containment. "Good morning, good morning, good morning...!" was my silly birdsong to the world. And guess what? It responded with a Good Morning back. How cool is that?! 

Details

• thrifted coat
• thrifted D&G shoes
• thrifted beret
• mustard tights, retail
• scarf, gift from Sharron
• thrifted belt
• thrifted stretch tank dress
• thrifted black T

Are you happy with your outerwear or do you see it as a necessary evil cloaking all the fabulousness you're wearing inside?

I am linking up to Patti's Visible Monday. I look forward to seeing everyone there! It's been a while since I joined the party.

PS - I put up a VOGOFF sidebar image. Feel free to grab as you like or not. Doesn't Desiree look awesome on the cover?! This is the link: http://bagandaberet.blogspot.ca/2012/12/vogoff-december-2012-issue.html

Executive look takes a detour

I am a tropical flower, blooming madly atop a stalk of pinstripes and animal shoes. My satiny petals stretch to the sky in vain in search of sunshine and nourishment.

New Fashion Rules: 

1. All political leaders must wear neon colours (and paisley) to important summit meetings to set the right tone for peace and conciliation. 
2. Male political leaders must wear mod side-zip ankle boots, in white or black, and bell bottoms.
3. Female leaders must wear go-go boots and maxi dresses. 

This is the new law.

Smiles bloomed all around me as I sashayed down my route, my corolla bobbing in herbaceous splendour. Black and white turned to technicolour in a fleeting trail of sparklets that twinkled in the gloom and wet of another rainy day.

Details

• sleeveless neon orange satin blouse with ruffles, thrifted
• neon pink satin blouse, Jacqueline Conoir, thrifted
• elastic stomacher-style orange belt with rear velcro closure, thrifted
• pinstriped executive skirt, thrifted
• D&G animal-print shoes, thrifted
• red beret, thrifted
• Betsey Johnson coat, and tights, retail

Also, I hope you all get out there, elbows cocked, wallets bulging, to gorge on Black Friday, which in North America (yes, Canada too) has become the official kick-off day for Holiday Shopping Season!!!! I dislike this day and what it stands for with intensity. Holt Renfrew, a high-end fashion retailer which I frequent for sensory inspiration, had a sign out today, "Thursday is the New Black Friday" - I just found out that there IS such a thing as Black Friday and already it's extended to Thursday. I wonder how long it will take to morph into Black Week, Black Month...

Rain seems to be the weather du jour everywhere right now. I hope you are all finding ways to cope. Maybe shopping will help. After all that venting, who knows? Maybe I'll hit a few thrift stores... I'll use my flower power to knock those shopping suckers outta my way. Okay, so I'm a Venus Fly Trap, not a benign tropical bloom after all...

AND

Bella at Citizen Rosebud has drawn up a pledge which affirms one's intent to shop second-hand first. I'm glad she said "first" because I do still have a weakness for retail from time to time. I have already been living according to this credo, but now I have a beautiful new colourful widget for my sidebar.

Must we all be sexy and wicked sick?

I am so tired of the word sexy I want to scream!! Sexy's rightful home is in the brain and so far they don't make lacy push-up brain bras, although Dear Helen Hartman has made a lovely "bullet-bra bonnet" from a bisected football. Must I wear lingerie in public (although I sometimes do that), swan about with my eyes half-closed (I do that too), and talk with a husky voice, which I only do when I'm coming down with something nasty ("Oh, Doctor, she has a bad case of wicked sick Sexy") or when I'm trying my hardest to be uber-cool and end up sounding uber-stupid, to qualify as sexy by mainstream standards?

So I surrender to sexiness. My Visible Monday outfit today at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style, as below, is not only uber-sexy, but it's also a wickedly-ill seasick ensemble of red, purple, pink, and orange.

Whose heart would not beat faster at the sight of this bright floral-patterned maxi dress with clashing pantyhose-fabric neon-pink top and hat? Of course my amour-red beret is keeping a lid on all that exploding brain sexiness - I wouldn't want it just spewing out at innocent bystanders on the sidewalk. And the wickedest sick part of today's outfit is the Heart bag, which I have had for a while but don't often use because the shape is very inconvenient and I have to carry a shopping bag to hold most of my sexy accoutrements, like pencil crayons and my reading glasses. I was going to wear something conservative, but then my overwhelmingly ill outfit compelled me to enter this forbidden Garden-of-Eden post-apple sinscape of sexiness.

Details of the outfit

• thrifted maxi dress with ruffles removed, Wildlife Thrift Store
• thrifted red beret, Community Thrift Shop
• thrifted red shoes, Hush Puppies, Value Village
• thrifted heart bag, Community Thrift Shop
• thrifted vintage neon-orange/pink sunglasses, Gastown shop

So a big Heart from Ms. Bag to everyone. Happy Visible Monday. Patti, you rock as hostess of your wonderful weekly party. This week I'm spiking the punch (more than usual). Of course I had a head schtart...hiccup.

My next post will (re)introduce you to 11 fabulous bloggers as part of my Liebster Award from Lovely Lyosha at Inside and Outside.

My bloomin' floral dress

Summer is here! Really - today is the first day that I could go on my inspiration walk without a jacket or cardigan, although tights are still comfortable at 18C (64.4F). I wore this cheongsam-style light cotton dress on May 25 and posted the sketch here. Today I opted for my dove-blue tights instead of the mustard tights in the sketch. I also think my black beret would have grounded this look better, but I didn't care - I was craving bright red on my head. I also like the analogous smack-down between the red beret and the pink top.

Details of the outfit:

• cheongsam-style cotton dress, Wildlife Thrift Store
• Dorothy shoes, Hush Puppies, Value Village
• dove-blue tights, sample sale
• red beret, Community Thrift Store
• pink top, sample sale

And below is what I wore to my artist talk at Baron Gallery last Saturday, minus the vest and the ankle boots, taken from my post of January 27. The day was rainy so I changed into my thrifted Dolce and Gabanna leopard-print shoes when I got indoors. While the severe pencil skirt and Grushenka, my magic wand, projected the image of a strict school teacher, my voice was much too twee to pull off that persona. Maybe next time, July 8...

My action painting workshop is on Saturday and I am fluttering around to prepare, so this is my last post till next week. See you soon!

Taming the blood-thirsty boucle

I've decided to be friends with my pink boucle jacket - it's time - and really, let's put the blame for the original "Blood-thirsty Boucle" moniker where it rightly belongs - with the evil seamripper! (see post here) There's also a reason for the adage "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Um, that's not really the intent of this jacket though...

I wore this fluorescent pink blouse a mere week ago, here, but then days later I thrifted this fluorescent ruffly orange number and I thought they would look traffic-stopping together! Ariane of Style Montreal Sud-Est said in a recent comment something along the lines of, Why not go all the way? Indeed! Why not? There is a point of no return and I am there; my closet may not be there, but I am. 

I thrifted this skirt, also in boucle fabric, at the same time as the acid orange blouse. I like the high belting I did with the jacket. I'm slightly short-waisted so it's always a good policy to emphasize my weakest feature by making myself even more short-waisted. I did that here too. I love how the blouses stick out at the bottom of the jacket; I call it slovenly chic. And then I added the dirty-dove-blue tights and thrifted Miu Miu boots.

Okay now, put on your sunglasses!!

BAM!! Did I scare you? (I'm always scaring you - Munsters, bright colours...) Also, I did not retouch this photo - they were THAT bright.

Details of this outfit

• Le Chateau fitted skirt and neon orange blouse, thrifted at the Wildlife Thrift Store, $8 and $6 I think. The boots and pink blouse are from there as well.
• pink boucle jacket from a random thrift sale on Commercial Drive, couple bucks
• soft black leather belt, men's department, Value Village. I bought a leather punch to put in the extra holes I needed - this is a great tool!

I had a jaunty kick to my step wearing this, flaunting all these fabulous lip-smacking brights around like a loaded flower gun during my inspiration walk. Many bystanders were struck - which means I had several very wonderful chats with strangers who were not asking for money or in altered states. It's that indefinable bubble of positivity that comes from a perfect storm of style, sun, and happy sass. 

Here's a closeup of the skirt fabric. You can see better the wonderful little lines of brilliant tangerine and blue and pink and aqua running through the checks.

Revelation:

I did not wear my beret. In fact, in several outfits that I've worn lately I have not worn my beret. It is becoming glaringly obvious to me that the more confident I become with my style, the more I feel grounded in myself independent of whatever clothes happen to be on my body. 

Since I have decided to make nice with my jacket it's only appropriate that I try to do it with my seamripper. Perhaps I carry a teensy bit of the blame? Here is "Romancing the Evil Seamripper."

And here's my impression of the day's outfit here. This time I am an onion head not a turnip head.

Hope you all had a great weekend and have many new positive adventures in the coming week.

And it's that time again - time for Patti's most awesome Monday style party, Visible Monday, over at Not Dead Yet Style. I shall surely see you there.

Blood-thirsty boucle jacket

Pink! Summer pink. I like wearing summer clothes in winter with tights and layering so much that all my clothes are jammed together in the closet now, whereas they used to be segregated by season. This is my outfit for today, which I am showing on Patti's wonderful Visible Monday!

I'm still having trouble figuring out my camera settings indoors, and since my clothes long to breathe outside, I must scout an open air location for self portraits. 

I spotted the boucle jacket at a thrift sale a couple of summers ago. I was on my way home from a long road biking ride (which involved doughnuts) and decided to swing into a groovy neighbourhood on my way back into the city. There is was, shining in its pink goodness, for five bucks, but I had to wear it home on a hot, hot, hot day, dripping with sweat. Hm. Note the BEFORE shoes above. Note the AFTER shoes below.

Hence, the big bag. And I always have a red nose in my photos because I take them when I get home from my inspiration walks. The Michael Kors jeans were passed along by a friend. And that jacket - it had all kinds of fringy bits on it, so I ripped them off one night, and tore out the shoulder pads. The process inspired the cartoon below.

Happy Visible Monday. Thanks, Patti.