UH-OH, SHE HAS A BAD CASE OF...

BEING BAD.

       SHE IS BAD       

I'M OVER 53. I've EARNED ME THE

RIGHT TO SOME BIG BAD - 

we're talkin' 'tude.

I SPIT BAD FLOWERS. DON'T TRIP ON THEM;

MAKE A BOUQUET?

I'M WEARING CLOTHES. SOME THRIFTED, SOME GIFTS. ALL TERRIBLY, HORRIBLY BAD. 

Bad plaid. Very, very bad. Baaad.

say it like a goat

worn to the nordstrom opening, sep 19 post - 

farked tartan jacket, big bad pants.

adding to bella's linkup for plaidurday at citizen rosebud 

(edit: the link is not on anymore. oh well.)

AND

THERE'S CARROT IN MY SCARF/WRAP, MAYBE EVEN 

STUCK IN MY TEETH, SO I'M LINKING 

TO ANNE'S 52 PICK-ME-UP: CARROT/PERSEVERENCE

AT SPYGIRL

______________________________________

THIS IS A NO-GUILT POST. FEEL FREE NOT TO COMMENT. 

TOO MANY POSTS TO KEEP UP. 

Edit: I had a birthday during 2015, but not terribly, horribly recently. All I can say is I'm not a Libra. I've just been thinking about age lately.

Dumpy to punky tartan jacket

BEFORE

(If you believe in the sanctity of a traditional vintage tartan jacket, leave this post right now!)

I bought this vintage wool jacket by Skirtmaker of Canada for only $5 at My Sister's Closet a few months ago. As I walked by, it poked me and said: PUNK! Never mind that it was much too huge on me - to close it, the front flaps overlapped the pockets - I had to have it. We'll just see who's the punk here.

O took these photos. The green stripes are painter's tape which I used during the ideas phase.
Turnip Head kept jumping on O's back and laughing.

The wool fabric was beautiful, except for there being so much of it, and I loved the padded linebacker shoulders, cuffed sleeves, stiff interfacing, silky red lining, and matched seams. But as is, all this jacket was good for was taunting me. I couldn't ignore its punk pulse!

Then finally I had an idea; rather, I had a bout of bravado with scissors.

AFTER 

Much better...aaah. I ran straight to the alley. And I didn't use my camp stool this time.

Love this camera angle.

This isn't your cup of tea? Perhaps you'd like something shaken and stirred. Like my Everest-best hair.

Details: This whole outfit was probably less than $30. Bwahaha.

• origami tartan wool jacket, upcycled, thrifted for $5
• thrifted black jeans, $5
• thrifted Steve Madden army boots, I don't remember, $15?
• thrifted white GAP large T-shirt, $5
• gifted magic loupe

I've got my late-seventies/early-eighties Vivienne Westwood groove on, especially with the peaky hair, which gave a stellar performance for my shoot, even in the wind - a woman asked me how I keep it so vertical so she could tell her son. Heh. 

Probably I couldn't replicate the jacket design again if I tried. There was serious origami work going on to achieve the asymmetrical design.

Rear belt flaps as front straps, buttons near shoulders, reconfigured lapel on left, asymmetrical closure.

The original rear belt was transformed into two front straps and I sewed the pocket flaps onto the back of the jacket as embellishment. I didn't reduce the width, merely sewed two button just under the shoulder and folded and darted and hacked as needed.

I also transferred an existing buttonhole from the cut-off fabric to the end of one of the front straps (left side in photo); it was easier than making a brand new matching buttonhole, at least for me. What a slacker! 

Decorative pocket flaps.

Below the collar is down, but I think I prefer it up.  

I thought of making the profile more body-hugging, then decided, nah, I like that bag effect. And I thought of hanging chains from the hem, but, no, that would be too prosaic. But I did feel like doing the pogo.

The alley here was busy. I wanted to say, in a very ladylike voice: Excuse me, sir, can you not FRIGGIN' SEE I'M PHOTOGRAPHING MY NEW JACKET HERE!!?? Nyunh, puh.

Accidental snap when a van had the audacity to photo bomb my set.

I'm so happy I could share this with you. That's one of the great things about blogging that keeps me going.

I'm hooking this Jacket-I-Love-So-Much to Patti's Visible Monday. It didn't have much of a pulse, but it was certainly "not dead yet style". I need to see what you're wearing! 

And below, one final styling I wore today.

Breakdancing? Doh, wrong era. (photo was rotated, floor removed)

This outfit cost $15, minus the shoes: thrifted t-shirt $5, thrifted mod-ish wool maxi vintage skirt (with a new zipper) $5, jacket $5, magic loupe gift, thrifted shoes maybe $15.

Okay, that's all. It was a big post. It was a big jacket. I'm working hard at the moment and had to resort to the concrete box. Better than nothing I guess.

Have you got clothes taunting you? How do you shut them up!!?

Electric toothbrushes and fringe

I recently almost spent a ridiculous amount of money for a vintage coat online but was saved at the last minute by an email from Sheila of Ephemera. Buying it would have gone against my golden rule of thrifting: go with the flow and make sure you check out the five-dollar rack. Still, I wonder if that coat is gone. I'll just have a little peek…

But I'm more than happy with my new upcycled shaggy jacket.

I bought an oversized off-white shaggy jacket for $15 recognizing its Hideous-With-Potential Value (HWPV). I enhanced it with fabric paint, which maintains its softness, and Sharpie markers. I don't think the painting is done yet but I wore the jacket out anyway. The button at the bottom needs to be realigned to shrink the size in a cheating fashion, but in a pinch I grabbed a single suspender clip from my odds-and-ends drawer (I use them for emergencies of all sorts) to snap the front together. It worked a treat.

I wore this with my embroidered wrecked-up oversized jeans, scribbled-on Converse sneakers, Middle-Aged Kitteh DIY T-shirt, silk scarf, and magic loupe. Crowds parted on the sidewalk to let this MAT (middle-aged tweener) through. Grrr.

We disconnected our TV. There have been so few shows O and I enjoy, apart from the building's entertaining security channel, that cable was a waste of money. Suffering from withdrawal I ate two protein bars in a row to make myself feel good. Then I felt bad because they were the excruciatingly nutritious chocolate chip protein bars. 

Finding succour in chocolate has meant more quality time with my appliance – no! you dirty-minded trollops, I speak of another wand – my electric toothbrush. To clarify: for brushing teeth! In my mouth!! It boasts a separate digital smiley face counter that acquires more facial features the longer you brush. I've been wondering what it looks like if I brush for five minutes instead of the standard two but I max out at four when the paste goes watery and I start to gag. For that I am rewarded with a smirking smiley face with twitchy eyebrows, as if to say, you idiot, what did you expect? 

Did you know there are WiFi power toothbrushes now? Imagine if you're at an executive meeting and your phone tinkles: "Sweet Mel, time to brush your teeth! Healthy gums, healthy mind!" Won't happen – I'm the sole attendant at my executive meetings, in which case the only thing that would embarrass me is having a transcript of my unhealthy mind leaked to the press, kind of like what I'm doing here in this blog.

I'm linking this up to Sacramento's Share-in-Style at Mis Papelicos. 

Electric toothbrushes, yay or nay? I love mine, but not for four minutes!

She's so boxy, she must be rich

Despite the bold colours, this outfit feels very conservative. The overall shape has a boxy, priggish quality which makes me feel very sophisticated, like I'm in Paris wearing couture, like, you can tell I'm filthy rich because my outfit is so boxy. I wore my mod sunglasses to tart it up and went barelegged. It is hot! And of course I carried my flirty little toolbox handbag O gave me, former home of his Starrett height gauge.

Wearing: thrifted vintage '50ish floaty fitted sleeveless dress under a thrifted blouse, thrifted D&G heels, magic loupe from O, thrifted vintage sunglasses, vintage Tissot mechanical watch, gift from O. 

I'm heading over to Patti's at Not Dead Yet Style to get soused. After all, it's Visible Monday and we need to celebrate. See you there. Will you be the one who's shaken or stirred?

And this next bit is for Anne of SpyGirl. Her 52-Pick-me-up prompt is Fairy Tale - she has the best prompts. This is my fairy tale.

Voila! Grushenka is my magic wand.

You've seen this jacket before but I've added back and sleeve detailing. I'm extremely pleased with the way the oval patch came out on the back. I took a photo of a decrepit gas pump, printed it onto transfer paper, ironed the transfer onto white T-shirt fabric, cut it out, and then hot-glued it onto the jacket because I didn't want to puncture the fake snakeskin or deal with the jacket lining. I think this jacket upcycle is done now - it's tricky knowing when to stop. So ba-bye Armani Exchange. I like my version waaay better.

I think I'm coming down with that sewing bug that's going around...