style – Page 44 – Blue Collar Red Lipstick

Category: style

20
Dec
2016

80s Throwback

categories: style

Blazer, DKNY (thrifted); sweater, Club Monaco; pants, DVF (thrifted); necklace, MaxMara; shoes, Sam Edelman (thrifted); bag, MbMJ

Obvious observation #1, courtesy of my dear love, who told me: You look like it’s the 80s, and you’ve just put out a hit on somebody. Thanks, honey. I prefer “Badass Boss B*tch”.

Obvious observation #2: I cut my own bangs. I was desperate, you guys. They need to, um, settle. Still, infinitely better than the old fivehead (and cheaper than Botox, obvi).

OK, with all that out of the way, let me tell you the important stuff. Run, don’t walk, over to Club Monaco and buy yourself one of these extra fine wool-cashmere blend turtlenecks. I’m serious; go right now before they completely sell out. You know I almost never buy anything at retail, but I gladly paid $38 CDN for this (dark forest green) turtleneck, along with a black version as well. And then, after wearing this outfit for a 16 hour day (don’t ask), I ran out and bought the dark plum colorway as well (which rang up at $32, for some reason). No regrets. I will probably go back around Boxing Day to check for further reductions, and possibly acquire a back-up black one.

Let’s back up a bit. I had been looking for a thin, black turtleneck for ages, having realized it would be a great staple for my wardrobe — perfect for layering, especially under my summer dresses and my blazers. How did I know? Because time and again, I kept finding myself wishing that I had one on hand. Sadly, the thrift stores did not deliver one to my specifications (super lightweight, close fit, non-ribbed). So, reluctantly, I decided to go looking at the mall. Luckily, I started at Club Monaco … where my search ended almost immediately when I found this guy on the clearance rack ($59 plus an extra 40% off). The material (a wool-polyester-cashmere blend) is a perfect weight, and super soft; my skin is sensitive (not allergic) to wool and stiffer fibers, and I found this to be minimally scratchy when I first put it on (becoming less so as the day went on). It’s warm without being too warm, and breathes nicely.

I would advise sizing up, particularly if you’re larger on top than, say, a B cup. The sales associate told me it fit small; personally, my bigger concern was that the sweater was quite sheer in my usual size. Sizing up resolved the sheerness almost completely (enough that I can wear this on its own without worries), and I did not see an appreciable difference in fit otherwise.

19
Dec
2016

What I Wore: Christmas Party 2016

categories: Dress-up, Favourite things, Social events, style

As I mentioned in my last post, I did manage to get to the ball, ermm, office Christmas party this year, notwithstanding my eleventh hour dress disaster. And, yes, I did feel rather like a princess. Perhaps even the Belle of the ball. Definitely a Beauty, not a Beast. OK, I will stop with the theme puns now.

Dress, Nicole Miller (thrifted); shoes, Louboutin (thrifted); brooch, vintage (via eBay); earrings, vintage (via consignment); clutch, vintage (via grandma)

I am still marveling at the fact that this dress cost me less than the price of a latte. It fit like a glove, and all that it took was adjusting the clasp on the back of the halter. The threads holding the clasp in place had come loose, so when I went to fix it (no tailor this time!) I simply moved it back an inch on either side so the straps would be more snug. The dress was otherwise in impeccable condition, and made out of a double layer of natural silk (non-shiny) that had a good weight and beautiful flow. It seemed to glide and fall away perfectly, and was absolutely THE most comfortable evening dress I have ever worn — no shape-wear required. I was left wondering if it was cut on the bias or something (vaguely recalling some of my fashion history reading), because it seemed incredible that a dress that is so lightweight and body-con would ever look this good with practically no effort on my part. I don’t know the answer, but it’s a wonderful mystery all the same.

art deco "emeralds" — art deco “emeralds”

I paired it with my vintage Art Deco-inspired brooch, which seemed like a perfect complement to the V-neckline. I’m not a fan of halter necklines, precisely because they can be tricky to accessorize, but I think I found a good solution since the brooch also helped preserve some modesty. (I used it to hold the bottom of the halter together so it would not gape.) Amazingly, I found the waterfall-like earrings, sporting a similar Art Deco vibe, the day before the party at Swish boutique. I have gotten to know the owner, Angela, a little bit over the last few months, and in addition to having the best stories (seriously, just ask her!), she is a whizz at helping a person find unique and perfect accessories like these earrings. I finished off the outfit with my grandmother’s vintage sequin-encrusted clutch, which was one of my favourite (and forbidden) dress-up accessories as a child and is one of my treasured possessions now as an adult.

I also want to talk about my Louboutins. I know some of you were unconvinced when I bought them, and I get it; I wasn’t sure how useful they would be either. They were my first choice for this outfit simply because they are my only pair of shoes tall enough for the length of this dress. Even so, I brought a back-up pair of (lower) heels with me, just in case the Loubs proved unwearable. And you know what? I feel like I owe my apologies to Mr. Louboutin for doubting his creation. I ended up wearing them all night, for over 7 hours in total (most of which were spent on my feet). I even danced in them, briefly. (Long dress plus high heels plus holiday libations are not a good combo on a dance floor, so I wisely decided to go back to socializing.) After a few minutes of getting used to walking in them — the placement of the heel seems different to me than in other shoes — they were not uncomfortable until about the 5 hour mark, which is a pretty good run for most heeled shoes in my experience. By the end of the night, I was definitely happy to take them off, but I think overall, they held up well. I doubt I will wear them for anything except extra fancy occasions like this one, but I’m happy that I will actually get some mileage out of them after all.

Can we take a moment and appreciate the decor at the party? It’s like you’re waiting for the dancing crockery to come out any minute, right? Disney doesn’t have anything on us.

madame x got nothing on me ;) — madame x got nothing on me either 😉

15
Dec
2016

Best Laid Plans

categories: Dress-up, Social events, style, Trials and Tribulations

Sometimes, I feel like my borderline-obsessive planning is simply an invitation to the universe to mess with me. Does anyone else feel like that, or shall I go ahead and add the label “paranoid” to my bio? Actually, don’t answer that. All I’ve got to say is that, at times, despite my best efforts, things simply don’t work out the way I expect. This year, in particular, has felt like an extended exercise in things-not-working-out-as-planned, so I suppose I should not have been surprised by yet another curveball late in the game.

Thankfully, this one was of the inconsequential variety … which is not to say that I didn’t sulk about it for a day or two. Much like my three-year old, I have a lot to learn about going with the flow, I guess.

This all started with my office Christmas party. For newer readers, by way of background: every year, my firm hosts an extra fancy Christmas party at an extra fancy hotel. There is a different theme every year, but the dress code is always “black tie(ish)”. (I did a post on my past Christmas party outfits a couple of years ago, where you can see my past efforts, successes and failures both.) For the past two years, I have been on the organizing “committee” (really, there are two of us), so I’ve been putting extra thought and effort into my outfit. People don’t typically “dress to the theme” at these parties, but I like to give a subtle nod to it if I can. For this year’s theme, we chose Beauty and the Beast. Red roses, naturally, formed a big part of the décor. In the circumstances, it seemed fortuitous when I found a dark red velvet dress (with rosebud-like folds on the off-the-shoulder straps) during one of my thrifting stops earlier in the fall. I generally only wear fancy cocktail dresses at my office Christmas party, and where else but at this particular Christmas party, would a dress of this description be so wonderfully fitting? In short, it was fate.

As it happened, I also found the perfect accessories for this dress shortly thereafter: a necklace from the antique mall, and sky-high Louboutins from Value Village. It was going to be the perfect outfit … all for under $100.

Take a look:

Dress, vintage (thrifted); necklace, vintage (antique mall); shoes, Christian Louboutin (thrifted)

It would have been so great, wouldn’t it? Sigh. If you remember the intro, you will have figured out that this was not the outfit I actually wore to the Christmas party. Why? Because sometimes the best laid plans get derailed by an errant hot iron.

See, the dress was vintage and while in generally amazing shape, it had a small tear in the fabric near the back zipper. Since the fabric was velvet, I decided to play it safe and take it to the tailor rather than attempt the repair myself. Velvet is tricky, after all. Oh, the irony. The tailor was able to repair the tear just fine … then proceeded to iron over her handiwork for some unknown reason. If you know anything about velvet, you probably know what happens when you apply a hot iron to it. The tailor should have known; moreover, the care label attached to the dress clearly stated DO NOT IRON.

Had the damage been done in some more unobtrusive spot, I might have taken my chances with it. As it was, I couldn’t wear it. Not at my fancy Christmas party, and probably nowhere else – save maybe a future Halloween party. I was so, so bummed out – mainly because this was a vintage dress I could never replace, and an occasion I could not duplicate. So, even though the tailor (who was very apologetic) offered me compensation, it did not bring me much cheer.

Of course, in the end, I rallied – found another dress, went to the ball, no fairy godmother required. I was still sad about the ruined dress, however; I hated the idea of getting rid of it, or keeping it in some dark corner of my closet, unworn. It seemed like such a waste of a beautiful thing. I don’t know why it bothered me so much; in an age of fast fashion and disposable everything, I suppose my feelings about that dress could seem odd and anachronistic. Still, it felt like we had unfinished business, the dress and I … and that’s why I decided to write this post, and take photos of the outfit that never was. And you know what? I feel better now. So long, beautiful dress.