My big man pants

My biggest fear with these pants was that people might try to throw garbage down them.

My big man pants - so big I don't have to unzip them to put them on. I love them. But I needed to find a way of keeping them up with minimal sewing. My solution: thrifted vintage suspenders (braces) and silver studs with a cross motif. The studs were tricky to hammer on because the waistband fabric was multilayered. To keep up the cuffs, I made black leather tabs using the suspender tabs as a pattern and whacked in more studs, four on one leg, two on the other (I ran out of studs, minor detail).

When I wore this outfit for the first time this morning, I had on heavy-duty black army boots for a Charlie Chaplin air, but I chose these lighter flats for an early evening stroll with O. He took this photo.

(ed. note: I wore this on Friday. I wore the big hat in the earlier post on Thursday.)

Details

men's big dress pants, wool, free from time-sealed treasure chest, upcycled

under-pant black jeggings, sample sale

vintage suspenders, thrifted

2 long-sleeved T-shirts, retail

sweater, thrifted, shortened and kittified

beret, thrifted

vintage sunglasses, thrifted

tool box handbag and magic loupe, from O

shoes, retail

These pants would also be ideal for an all-you-can-eat buffet because the legs would hold several days' worth of food, although getting home might be troublesome.

I'm hooking this up to Patti's fabulous Visible Monday. Finally, I'm on time for this one.

Do you have sewing shortcut secrets? How do you hoist, pinch, and tuck? Or perhaps you are skilled with needle and thread, all the better! See you at Patti's. I hope you have a wonderful week.

On another note, Miz Bagg went out with Sandra on the weekend for a photo shoot and we took some wretched photos, a few truly hideous ones, which made the outing so incredibly satisfying. It's the permission we give ourselves to fail miserably and be humiliated that makes it fun and gives us quite a laugh. If you're wondering about submitting to VOGOFF, remember, there are no mistakes. Some of the best photos are mementos of the greatest flops. Don't think too much!

Vintage wool dress for mystery

Today I wore one of my favourite odd dresses, a heavy wool garment with little gold studlettes, graduated in size, on the sleeves and front pocket, and a flared skirt. The dress was three or four sizes too big when I thrifted it, so in standard slacker fashion I simply sewed up the side seams to fit and lowered the shoulder seams at the top. Although this is a frequent go-to item for evening music recitals, I also enjoy it for daytime wear as well. There is a mysterious air about this garment which brings to mind the classic holiday-season movie Bell, Book and Candle in which Kim Novak, a witch, falls for a mortal, James Stewart.

Walking down the sidewalk I felt so deliciously witchy in the rain shadows that I was sure that if I turned around quickly, boo!, I would catch a dozen black cats (named Pyewacket) frozen in stride, amber eyes blazing. I always liked Kim Novak far better as a witch than as a mortal. I wonder if the street lights flared and burned out in a trail behind me.

Details of this ensemble:

• vintage dress, thrifted
• black tights, retail
• medium-heeled shoes (aka frump shoes), retail
• magic loupe, O made it for me
• magic pendant, O made it for me
• fingerless gloves, upcycled from Canadian Tire automotive store
• beret, thrifted
• seafoam cotton skirt underneath as a petticoat, thrifted

Below is a closeup of the dress fabric with the studs, and this is the tool-box bag I carried today, which came with a tool O ordered. Isn't it divine? I shall customize it at some point but I was content with the plain exterior today.

Happy Visible Monday! This week I'm able to make it over to Patti's place at Not Dead Yet Style. I missed you all last week... Time to catch up. Do your clothes put you in a mood or does your mood put you in your clothes?

Also, regarding my last post for Vogoff magazine, I greatly dislike ageism, and yet I defined this faux magazine's audience as women +40. Big mistake! I know so many wonderful bloggers who are under 40 and the world would not be complete without you. So if any of you want to contribute to Vogoff, I heartily welcome your suggestions.

PS

AND - I am very excited and flattered to be featured in an interview (here) posted by 

Sylvia on her amazing blog, 40+ Style (TM). 

The piece is called: 

"How to be more creative with your outfits: Style lessons from Melanie." 

Thank you! 

Sylvia is the kind of woman who could put on a scratchy potato sack and make it look cool and breezy in Singapore heat. If you haven't see Sylvia's style yet, do go have a look!