Maxi quilted floral robe-coat and 52 Pick-me-up

Yesterday:

I almost blew away yesterday - not because of what I had on but because of the wind. Fierce! In fact, I had to cut short my inspiration walk. I'm wearing my quilted Orientalesque oversized floral maxi robe-coat, overwrapped and secured with a wide man's vintage leather belt. My red beret and vintage sunglasses top it off. I'm undecided as to whether I'll downsize the robe or keep doing the overlap wrapping.

Below: Today

Spy Girl Anne's 52 Pick-me-up post prompt, Trend Salad, was on my mind before dressing this morning.  This is what I tossed together as my official "trend" items: my (thrifted) Steve Madden houndstooth stovepipe pants and (thrifted) pastel-nicotine faux fur. (I also have layering and a "cute hat" as trends. They count too. Anne said so.) That's my oversized DIY "middle-aged kitteh" T-shirt over my (thrifted) graphic turtleneck, topped by my (thrifted) fuzzy paisley top hat. (Help! I'm floundering in adjectives and parentheticals.)

I was (leaning) against my favourite white concrete (wall) in that photo (which I removed, the wall that is) and (love) the perspective with (the) Lost in Space hand. My favourite Lost in Space quote by Will Robinson: "It must be preprogrammed to swallow visitors." (The Jupiter 2 was caught in the tractor beam of a large alien spaceship.)

Okay, must work now. Bye.

P.S. My Biba brand from the previous post is busted!! Thanks for the feedback. Ah well, I still love the dress. I had hoped it might just be a poor cousin...
And why can't my spellchecker just write my whole fricking post FOR me?

Successful meh wear

This is a meh outfit. Had it not been for the positive feedback I got when I wore it out, I would not have posted these photos. Why is it that when I sometimes wear things that don't seem to sit right, I meet so many cool people? Could it be that the dampened spirit that a meh outfit causes (or reflects) makes me more approachable by blunting my invisible prickly exterior? Nah.

I won't wear this again though, no matter the response it gets; simply, it bugs me. And I certainly won't wear that red number from a previous post again. Hideous! I like the separates but not together - I HAD to wear it 'cause I knew what was good for me, Missy. It was like putting a huge flaw in a satisfying painting.

Wearing:

• Metalicus wool-blend tunic/dress
• mustard tights
• Geisha socks
• frump shoes
• brown wool cape
• red wool beret
• brown leather gloves
• black DIY cropped mohair sweater 
• magic loupe
• vintage sunglasses

Only the sunglasses, beret, and a long-sleeved under-top, not visible, were thrifted. Everything else was sample sale or discount bin.

I think I'm going through a style transition. I'm picking things out of my closet and wearing them because, why not? Sometimes I feel like I'm rolling around in a clothes pile like a slobbering dog in dirty autumn leaves and throwing on whatever sticks, which I enjoy, but maybe now that I have explored such an undefined breadth of clothing expression, I'm looking for what's next. Of course I can't imagine a life without dressing up, but I wonder how I will define that... Ah. Enough navel-gazing...

I'm linking up with freshly-New-Yorked Patti at her fabulous Visible Monday, Not Dead Yet Style. I'll see you there. Hugs, all.
Do you ever punish yourself with clothing?

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?

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.

More sun, less colour?

Sun today, and that can only mean one thing - less colour, in some respects. I did dress darker, although I added a blue brooch and some incredible vintage sunglasses that I found recently. How did I live without them before?

Details of the outfit:
Betsey Johnson coat which I impulse bought at a huge sale so I'm not allowed to feel guilty
dress with pockets by Totem
riding pant jeggings
stretch boots - low heel required because I knew I'd be walking all over the place today
sunglasses - what can I say? Neon orange, like Ms. Apfel but in a square, if I may be so bold!

I played around with the backdrop for visual interest and also because I need to inventory some more work on the hanger. The piece behind me is oil pastel and big, which I love. I also included a street view photo below because this is the kind of day that makes the rain in Vancouver bearable.

PS. I just added the Followers gadget, and I know I shouldn't be, but I'm embarrassed to have only one. Terri, at Rags Against the Machine, you are the best! and my first follower! Thank you! I still have to Follow else's blogs but I need to pinpoint my photo, which makes me anxious - it seems so permanent. Until then, I check your sites daily.

Vancouver, Hornby Street. I see this cyclist's bike around town and it always makes me smile.

My First Post

This is frightening. I started an outfit blog before featuring DRAWINGS of my outfits but never me in them: 1) I was scairt; 2) I felt like a dork; 3) I live a Japanese lifestyle, no shoes allowed indoors, so when I DID try to take pics, I had to run back and forth to the camera without shoes, then put my shoes on real fast standing on a paper towel, then pose before the self-timer went off - lots of photos of me bent over. Not a good look! After posting a month's worth of illustrations, I took the blog down anyway. It was freaking me out.

Now I've decided to take photos where I CAN take them - in my art studio. No shoe worries and my art is like a security blanket. I'll try to mix up my backdrops a bit so you don't get bored.

I want to thank you, outfit bloggers, for your posts You have given me courage and inspiration. I LOOOVE checking you out in your fabulous looks. There is so much ugliness in the world, so your efforts are greatly appreciated!!

Details of this outfit:
vintage patterned shirt in a torture fabric (love it)
vintage gold upholstery fabric pants (what's with the torture fabrics today?)
thrifted shoes, beret, embroidered leather belt
vintage sunglasses
vintage cape - I LOVE this cape!! 

QUESTION: Am I weird or does anyone else like the feeling of odd fabrics on your skin?

This look has an old-world feel to it so I thought I'd try something black and white. If you were to see just this photo you would probably never guess I took it in 2012. Sometimes I'm blurry because I still have the problem of running back and forth to the camera.