Thick Woolly Tights

Today's outfit is a rag-tag assortment of miscellaneous pieces and I'm not very happy with it. I love the neutral colours, but don't think they look very good on me.

This was not my first choice this morning, but at the last second I changed my mind and put this on, so perhaps a bit of a mistake.


The pose reminds me of the scene in the Sound of Music, where the Von Trapp family is at the Salzburg Music Festival, though I look more like Fraulein Schweiger who took 3rd place. 

And to top it off, I only had 1 pair of those Euro tights in a beigey colour which as you know got damaged in the fall.  I knew I should've bought more than one pair in that colour!  Thus, the medieval thick woollen stockings look. 

The skirt is my usual tube-waist skirt, which from the photo, I think would look better with a shorter, more fitted top. The mock-turtle is an ancient hand-me-down - it's that weird material that is both stretchy and scratchy.  Excluding the shoes - which themselves were already on sale for boxing day and bogos to boot, the jacket was the most expensive clothing item but only $6 from a liquidator's. 


I tried it with this neckace which is from a local designer.  It came with earrings but I didn't wear them.

I'm trying a larger size of photo, so hopefully it will show more details.

Big Stripes and a Boar

I bought this big stripey vest thing on a whim and am not sure if I like it or not.

The colours are nice, but the top is a little skimpy (not sure if that is the right word).  I feel like it should have wider shoulders - or maybe I just don't have the right body shape for this garment.  Mongs @ My Thrifty Closet has a good post on body shape this week, and it might be I have something to learn.

I had the urge to wear this chunky necklace even though it didn't really go:

A former co-worker came down for lunch the other day and then talked me into going in with her on a Buy 2 Get 2 sale as she could only find 2 items she liked.  The chunky necklace was one of the items and I wanted to try it out.

And I held the top of the vest together with a pin:

Here is a picture for better detail:

This is actually a pewter Scottish Clan MacLaren pin. Their rallying cry is "Boars Rock".  Nothing to do with me though, the only Scottish in my family is MacIntosh, methinks.

Jeans Day

It was Jeans Day today, so out came the denim.  My first thought was to wear my staple Refashioned Jean Vest which I generally haul out whenever it is Jeans Day.  Instead I wore a different vest and a long midi-skirt.  It looked like this:

The skirt is really comfortable, it has pockets, a bit of stretch and I like the dark wash.  The green sweater was originally to go with a green skirt, but I wanted to wear knee-socks instead of tights so switched the skirt out at the last minute for something longer.

The vest has a cute lining on the underside of the collar:

This look is slightly outside of my comfort zone because of all the different solid colours: dark blue, green, denim blue, the beigey scarf and brown boots. I am usually a more matchy-matchy person, but I think it looks okay.

Service Excellence

When I fell the other day, my watch also broke so I took it into the repair shop.  The watch is quite old and there are only a few places in town which can repair it.  I took it to a little shop which I'd been to a few times but years ago. 

The first time, I switched out my leather strap for metal links and the little old watchmaker kept the strap and the extra links - I was super skinny and all the links would've made the watch loose and floppy.

The second time, the watch was fogging up and running a little fast.  When I got it back, the little old watchmaker had not only fixed it, but cleaned the links and polished the scratches in the crystal.

The third time, over 15 years later, having gained some weight, I went back to add the extra links.  The attendant insisted that they did not have my links, but when she went to look, there was a little wooden drawer tray with the links in it! so the watchmaker was able to add them back in.

I was very impressed.  Fast forward to last week.  I took my watch to the same place and just picked it up.  I was quite pleased that they fixed both sides, not just the one broken side.

But, when I took a look at it, the watch was not cleaned.  I mentioned it and the attendant said I never asked for it to be cleaned.  I told the story of my prior experiences and she took it away to be cleaned.

Then I asked about my leather strap and she said if it was years ago, it wouldn't have been kept and a new strap would cost me $300!  I mentioned the little wooden tray and she said no, the links would've come from somebody else's bracelet.  There are always loose links lying around.  I found that a little hard to believe.

Now I feel very disillusioned.  All these years I had such a warm fuzzy feeling for this shop.  The little old watchmaker must have passed on or sold his shop; I am quite disappointed.  Things are not like in the old days.

Today's outfit is another rainy day, keep-air-flowing-around-the-wound outfit.
You can't tell, but the sweater is a nice soft Parkhurst one which is coming back into favour.

I'm smiling but not for long - my teeth are wobbly from the fall and might need to get fixed.

Boteh - Love it or Leave it.

Paisley is one of those designs that you either love or hate.  I am on the love it side.  So when I saw this cute top in a paisley pattern at the flea market in Spain, I snapped it up.

I usually wear it with a dark brown T or tank underneath, but today being one of those miserable wet coast days that we get (all the time) I tried to brighten it up by layering it with a reddish T instead.

I think it looked okay - at least some co-workers commented on it.  Here is a closer look:

The scarf is also from Spain.  I'm doing one of those mixed prints combinations that not everyone likes, but I think the mere the morrier as they say.  Also  wearing a Dollar bracelet again.  I never knew when I bought them that they would go with so many outfits!:

Animal Prints

Today's outfit is a sweater set from way back, literally ages and ages ago - from when the kids were small.  It's a twinset which I like for these transitional not quite hot but not really cold days.  I had stopped wearing it for a while when leopard was no longer the mode.

The under-sweater has short sleeves so it's not overly hot. I doubled the animal print by adding a leopard scarf, here's a closeup:

And to complete the zoo theme, I carried a hand-me-down "snake" purse which I got from my Mom:

I think this is now one of my favourite bags for several reasons.  It is big, has lots of pockets for transit pass, keys, security card etc and is perfect for the rainy days we get here.  It is also a relatively neutral colour.

I'm linking to Patti's Visible Monday where you can see everyone else's outfits for today!

Utilitarian

Having a big bandage round my knee today, I thought it would be best to wear jeans.  And then I got to thinking about possibly tripping and falling down again - I'm a bit of a worrywart, so I dressed in what I call "ropa de guerra" or war clothes.

So today's outfit is very utilitarian: shirt, jacket and jeans.

I should've gone for even wider leg jeans as the fabric kept catching on the bandage causing it to scrape against the wound.

I wore my Spanish shortie boots again for sure-footedness, and actually walked quite slowly today with an eye on the ground.  Of course, nothing happened.

There was a huge crowd downtown though for the 4:20 event; I saw a lot more security people standing around. You could actually see a cloud of smoke from my office building.  Our office celebrated a baby and we had ice-cream instead.  Yum.

Snip Those Plastic Rings and Ties

I always cut those plastic 6-pack rings before recycling them so that they don't accidentally get caught around the neck of a bird or animal, should they for some reason not make it to the recycling plant.  Newspapers and magazines also come bundled in a plastic tie, albeit a much bigger one.

Today when out for a walk, one of those plastic ties for bundles of newspapers crossed my path.

I was walking quite quickly when all of a sudden ... face-plant!  I tripped by entangling my feet in a plastic tie.

Luckily, I broke my fall with knees and the heels of my hands before landing on my teeth and cheek! 

So I spent half of the day looking like this. As you can see, there is nothing broken and I escaped with a scraped knee, sore teeth and some bruises.

I wore the skirt I altered back in January - it fits nicely and is very comfy.  It looked to be a rainy day, so I wore my knee-high Docs also.

I also wore excellent tights that I got in Spain from a shop called Calcedonia.  They are triple-stitched and have a nice wide band across the tummy so they don't bind.

Unfortunately, the fall completely wrecked them:

I didn't bother to buy new ones, just pulled the torn ones right over the dressing.  I wonder if there is some way to salvage them?  Hmm ...

Welsh Cape

My mom has had this Welsh Cape ever since I was quite small and I've always liked it, and in fact commented on it in a previous post. When I was in Spain I noticed that she still had it and she gave it to me!

I was glad that the weather turned cold and rainy again as it gave me a chance to wear it:

Here is a close-up of the pattern, and you can check out my $1 bracelets:

Also wore my shortie Spanish Boots:

They are made for pilgrimage walks and are usually worn with a longer flouncy skirt.

My outfit today was a bit cool for the weather - especially with semi-exposed arms:

This is a very strange top that has almost every type of embellishment all concentrated in the neck area: faux fur, beading, lace and ruffles.  I think that's why I bought it!

Council Meeting

Today was another meeting day so I got to wear jeans again.  Here is the outfit:

This is in what Big J and I call the "rustic" part of the garden.  In the heat of summer, it is a cool shady refuge with green grapes hanging down.  Now though it's mostly twigs and bare vines.

I'm trying to wear more accessories and today sport bracelets from my Mom (left arm, worn with watch) and Mom-in-law (3 strands on right):

They felt a bit dressy for the jeans, but why not?

The jeans I actually thought I liked, but now that I see them in a photo, I think they need to be taken in a bit around the knee area.  They are those stretchy jeans that have a bit of lycra - they fit well first thing in the morning, but by end of day get all bagged out.

Is it a Green or White Day?

Green is a natural colour; it reminds me of nature: grass, clover, trees.  It's also a magical mystical colour: Think leprechauns, elves and jade. I've always liked green and here is my green outfit for today's everybody | everywear post.

It's a pale green turtleneck, topped by a greeny-blue cardigan (dark teal?) and tied together with a green and blue scarf.  Here is the bigger picture for eb|ew, but you still can't really tell that the stuff is green:

This one is a bit better, if you look closely, you can see that the scarf has random sequins allover it.  Those are the sparkly bits in the photo.

I think the colours would be way better with outside photos, but guess what it's doing today?  SNOWING !

Hard to imagine sitting under the grapes in the shade with a cool beverage!

Easter Egg ?!?

Did you ever make Easter Eggs when you were small?  or draw them?  I did.  And they always had those multi-coloured zig-zag stripes.

Today was one of those i-just-don't-want-to-get-up Mondays, so it was a cords day for me.  A colleague commented that I looked very Easter-y and I thought he meant my spring-like pastel coloured scarf.

But then, when I got home, it hit me, it must've been the zig-zags on my cardigan!

It is just a tiny bit lurex-y:

What do you think? Does it remind you of an Easter Egg?

A Visible Doctor's Visit

Today being Visible Monday, but also Visit the Doctor day, I wanted to wear something visible but accessible.  I wore lots of layers: several tanks, a couple of cardigans and a big fluffy scarf. It looked like this:

The skirt is the same one which I got for New Year's - I find the cut is not as straight as I like, but that's small potatoes - it's comfy.

The orangey-red/white tank is a Danskin tank from Walmart (no excuses, it was cheap and I liked the print).  I really like this tank; it's super-comfy because it is fitted but stretchy like most dancewear.

The red cardigan is from Sears from a couple of years ago.  It had been marked down repeatedly till it got to about $6.  I like it for the ruffly detail around the button front.

It's quite hard to match reds and oranges and I've always marvelled at how well these two items go together.

And finally a look at my Spanish army boots:

Don't worry, I changed shoes when I got to work.  I've been wearing these boots sooo much this year, it'll soon be time to get another pair.

Chunky Scarf

I was watching Spanish Big Brother (Gran Hermano 12+1) the other day and one of the contestants had a big chunky scarf which she put around her neck for sleeping. It was unusual because it was tighter - like a turtleneck, but the neck part only.

I tried to find a pic either of the actual item or something similar but nothing.  The closest was:

image:ezisus.blogspot.com

but it was tighter and was a complete circle - almost like a giant hairband.

My neck always gets cold too and I have to wear a scarf or a high necked top most days.  I wonder if these big chunky scarves can be refashioned from a sweater?

Today's outfit, all different pieces but very similar to yesterday's which was also in shades of blacks and browns.

This was lots of layers again.  A long sleeved t-shirt which you can't really see under the floral tank.  The tank feels very old-ladyish - perhaps because both my grandmothers wore florals a lot, but I liked the neutral colours.  Here it is closer up:

A Thrifty Monday

Today's post was going to be a Refashion post, but what with making and eating dinner etc it is now a bit late to do any sewing ... I did get some more stuff from my favourite notions store and hope to have something to post soon.

So instead, onto my thrifty outfit.  We were at Costco again on Sunday.  They have good basic clothes (think jeans, t-shirts, jackets) at relatively low prices: jeans start at $19, t-shirts at $9 and jackets around $29.  They are usually not made from cheapy materials.

There was a long-sleeved Ellen Tracy t-shirt for $9.99 in a nice neutral taupe  colour and when I got to the cash desk it was only $2.50 !!!

It being Monday and thus cold in the office, I layered the t-shirt over a polo, and wore my Apologies Mr Miyake vest under a Ports Int'l sweater.

I matched it with a Sears skirt that was another deal from last summer.  It was $40, marked down lots of times to finally $7.99 and then I got 50% off, so $4.  The skirt is one of those tube waist things which I love.  It's become my "skirt to wear instead of jeans" and I have it in lots of basic colours.

Here's the outfit:

The visible-ness of course are the Docs.  These are the super-high ones from the other day and they always attract a lot of attention for some reason. 

The sweater I like because it has an interesting pocket detail:

2 Pockets !

A Very Pink and Red Valentine's Day

I've always wanted to join the



Link-up so have succombed and wore Pink and Red today.

Here is the outfit:

It looks like I need a giant picture for the link-up so here it is:

This wasn't the original outfit I planned, but it was colder than expected so I changed to this thick, lined shirt.  It has an interesting button configuration:

And I like the sleeves, they are slightly flared:

I guess pink and red really do go together because the scarf is actually pink with a red print.  Those brown spots are not dirt in case you were wondering.  It's part of the print and is more of a dark khaki-ish colour which matches the skirt.
  

Went so far as to have matching hair accessories:

Hope you have (or had) a wonderful Valentine's Day!