Blue Collar Red Lipstick

13
Dec
2016

Put a Bow On It

Blazer, H&M (thrifted); top, Rebecca Taylor (thrifted); pants, DVF (thrifted); shoes, Sam Edelman (thrifted); bag, Mulberry (via eBay)

I haven’t bought any H&M pieces in years, but when I spotted this burgundy/plum coloured blazer at the thrift store, I decided to take a $5 gamble. The colour is right in my wardrobe wheelhouse, and the cut was comfortably flattering; ponte can usually be counted on for that. The blazer looked to be unworn, so I figured I would get at least a dozen or more wears out of it before it might start to show wear. I knew it would work with a lot of things in my closet, so I was excited to start mixing and matching.

First up, my (also thrifted) Rebecca Taylor blouse — mostly grey, with some pinkish undertones. I added a fuchsia bag for an extra pop of colour, and loved the result.

Most of my brooches are vintage, but I couldn’t resist getting a couple from the BR clearance rack last month. They were just a bit different than other things I’d seen. This bow one is delicate but still statement-making; a little bit retro, a little bit modern. I think it was the perfect finishing touch to the outfit.

12
Dec
2016

Fresh As a Daisy

categories: Uncategorized

Skirt, J. Crew (via consignment); sweater, J. Crew (thrifted); shoes, Stuart Weitzman (via consignment); bag, MbMJ

I was definitely not feeling fresh when I wore this outfit — the winter cold snap has brought with it, well, colds for everyone at the house. Even though the kids are getting ever more self-sufficient, it’s still tough to be on “parent duty” when you’re under the weather; come Monday, you’re more exhausted than on Friday evening. Oh well, I tried … to get an outfit together, that is. My inspiration was the new enamel daisy pin I recently got at Swish. I thought its whimsical vibe would pair nicely with this J. Crew sweater, particularly the collar. The pencil skirt got added to the mix to “adult” things up.

If you couldn’t tell that I wasn’t feeling all that hot from my wan visage, then my accessories would have given away the truth. I didn’t even really try; just threw together all the burgundy things, and called it a day. The end result was unintentionally preppy, but I liked it — not quite my usual style, but nicely adjacent.

11
Dec
2016

Swinging Style

categories: Uncategorized

Dress, Anthropologie (thrifted); coat, J. Crew (swap); necklace, Stella & Dot (thrifted); boots, Hush Puppies (thrifted); bag, MbMJ

I encore-ed this dress a few weeks ago because it’s my favourite kind of weekend wear — easy and cute. I threw a colourful coat on top, because when you’re going all out, you have to go ALLLLL the way. The coat is more blue-leaning in real life, but photographs quite purple, so can split the difference and call it blurple. Or not. It sounds kinda terrible, now that I think about it.

I was also very excited to take my newly thrifted Hush Puppies boots out for a spin, but ended up regretting my elan by the end of the night. Admittedly, I did quite a bit of walking that day (we took the kids to see the Festival of Trees at the Shaw conference centre), which is perhaps unfair to a new pair of shoes (these looked brand new), but the result was not good at all. They were fine for the first hour or so, and then things went downhill rapidly; they were painful by the second hour, and downright excruciating after that. So much so that I ended up re-donating them the very next day. It was a huge disappointment, and one of my few complete thrifting misfires this year. Wah, wah.

At least the rest of the outfit gave me no troubles. You can count on a swing dress to be comfortable in all circumstances. And thank goodness for that!

[A new chapter of A Temporary Engagement is up today — check it out here.]