YYZ: Noël, Noël

Please go here to see/read (in French, hélas!) about the Christmas windows chez Printemps, à Paris.  Even if you don’t read French, the photos of the Russian-inspired Chanel and Dior dolls are worth a visit.

Swoon.

YYZ: Bed of Roses

[Okay, so that's a peony, not a rose, at my neck.]

It would seem that some of my students have discovered YYZ-LHR.
So, Ladies, if you are not so bored that you’ve fallen asleep, welcome to a silly hobby of mine and my very best friend of some 30+ years.  I am sure you girls will not be visiting us often, particularly since
a) this blog is not that interesting,
b) you see me pretty well every day and so you already know what I wear on a daily basis!
If you want to know what my friend wears, you’ll have to wait for her to get back to posting.
Hint, hint. Ahem.

Last night I watched the last episode of Mad Men and am feeling Joan-y. (Yay! Joan’s back!) So, today a twist on 60s: a shift dress with some colourful tights to lighten things up a bit.

Dress: Club Monaco
Peony Hairband (worn at my neck), Footless Tights & Cuff: H&M
Shoes: Le Chateau

YYZ: Red & Yellow &….

Possibly my favourite work-appropriate dress today.
(Sadly, none of the pleating or structure that makes the dress special shows up on camera.)
Some bright colours to add some juice on a sunny day.
A poppy for remembrance.

Dress: Femme de Carriere
Belt: Ardene
Bangles & Pumps: Le Chateau
Footless Tights: Nordstrom

Also:
Happy 40th Birthday, PB!

YYZ: Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting

This morning we had a group activity with our Advisees (a group of 10 girls, from Grades 9-12, whom I see every day of their high school careers).  We were competing (okay, the girls were competing, I was cheering) against other groups of Advisees in games of dodgeball.  We had to choose a team colour, which was then used to determine our team theme. Of course, when asked to choose a colour, I immediately shrieked, “BLACK!!!!”
I didn’t even give my poor girls a chance to contribute. I am such a bad example.  Also, very bossy.
Our colour-related theme?  Ninjas!

My girls won the competition and the costume prize:  they were the only group all in their colour and they even tried to be Ninja-esque in their costume choices.  I was so proud!

Dress: FCUK
Tights: Hue
Cuff: H&M
Necklace: Gift from Mum
Shoes: 9 West

Not exactly an ode to colour, am I? Still, today was one of those days when getting dressed in anything other than sweats was a major hurdle, so it helped to be able to wear this dress, which is basically a sack.

I will try to do better tomorrow.

YYZ: Blue

While out looking for accessories for my second Hallowe’en costume, I got into a spot of spendiness in a local vintage shop. One purchase was sheer madness and too expensive (even though the proprietor knocked $25 off the price) and I regret it already.  You’ll see it eventually, as I am going to need some help/advice on how to actually wear it without looking like a total dork.
But, I had some very good luck in the $5 bin!

One of my scores was this 196os, Pucci-esque tunic. It would have looked great with high boots and tights and a hip-slung belt, but for the fact that it was way too big. So, on Sunday, I treated myself to some time in the sewing room and, abraca-pocus, pocus-cadabra (that’s for you, YVR!), I magicked it into a skirt, instead. The bonus feature? The tunic was lined in a fabulous, sort of starched sheer silk, so my new skirt is, too!

Sadly, it is not very flattering on, and after wearing it all day, I have decided that I need to take it apart and re-jig it a bit. Ah, well, the pattern and the colour make me happy on this warm (18 degrees!), sunny day.

Turtleneck: Winners
(I really hate it– must find a new one.)
Skirt: Vintage — $5!
Belt: Betsey Johnson
Tights: Secret
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Silver Cuffs: Gifts from Mum and MIL

I think it is appropriate that I wear something re-purposed today, as we have our inaugural sewing club meeting today after school!

YYZ: What’s New, Pussycat?

Whoops! Not ready for my close-up = scary/funny photo!

When I got up this morning, I knew it was G-Day: the day our new kitten, Gordon, would be coming home to live with us.
We decided to get him for the following reasons (in no particular order):

• I met him on my birthday.
• The day I met him was the 10-week anniversary of the day we lost our beloved Z.
• He is the same colour as O, but long-haired like Z = it’s a sign, right?
• I am a Crazy Cat Lady.
• M is the male version of the above.

Gordon could not come home with us right away, though, as he had a little respiratory infection and we could not risk exposing O, with his compromised immune system, to any illness. So he had to stay at the vet for another week and a half, taking some meds and getting over his infection.
I visited every day.

Which gave me ample time to fall in love with his sister, Peggy. Whom we had no intention of adopting, even though the thought of separating the two loving and very bonded siblings made me cry.

Today, when I called to confirm pick-up for Gordon, the receptionist, M (who knows what a sucker I am) convinced me inside of 38 seconds that we should take Peggy, too.  A quick call home to M confirmed it: we both loved Peggy, too, and there was the suddenly-persuasive argument that having both kitties would “take the pressure off O,” who would otherwise find that his tail was Plaything #1.  This way, kittens can play with each other and O can boss them both around.

Yeah, yeah, it’s a post about what I wore: I dressed to match all three cats:

Dress: FCUK
Boots: Paralelo by GVD
Necklace: Paris, many years ago– can’t remember the artist’s name

Did I mention that my mum will be adopting Gordon and Peggy’s sister, Starla?

YYZ: Black Magic Woman

Today’s outfit sort of evolved this morning from an idea I had last night, the execution of which made me look a bit too much like KD Lang in her cowpunk phase.

Time was ticking.
Clothes were piling up all over the bedroom (sorry, Honey!).
Ironing was out of the question (see point at top of this list).
I was wracking my brain….

Thus, another Dress Code Violation:

(I am also violating my promise to myself to wear more colour…)

Cardigan: Anonymous Clothing Co.
Cami: Smart Set
LEGGINGS: H&M
Belt: Jessica Simpson
Boots: Paralelo by GVD
Silver Cuffs: Gifts from Mum and MIL
Necklace: Metal Pointu’s (gift from Grama on a trip to Paris)

Photography Assistant is far too dear to crop out!

 

Photography Assistant helps out and makes the outfit look purrrrr-fect!

This is, easily, the most comfortable thing I have worn in AGES!
Get ready to see a lot more of this outfit!

I am hoping for a little Black Magic to help me avoid detection by the Dress Code Police!

YYZ: A Glimpse of Stocking

As far as I’m concerned, Anything Goes when it comes to finding accessible-yet-attractive storage for all the bits and bobs that come with being clothing-obsessed.

I am always interested to know how other ladies manage to keep all their gear corralled, especially when those ladies, like me, live in old houses. As you know, old houses are not noted for their storage capacity, though they make up for that lack in lovely window frames, baseboards, door hardware, floors…  Still, all that character can seem cold comfort when one is faced with trying to find a place to store, oh, I don’t know, the product of one’s addiction to tights….

Luckily, I have saved from the Goodwill inherited my mother’s vintage suitcases. These lovelies travelled with my mum’s family overseas when they moved to live on a Canadian Forces base in France in the 1950s (my grandfather was in the Air Force). Then they transported the family’s stuff home again. They also served as our family luggage for many years during my childhood. Two of the cases have been put to work in my sewing room, and these two are where I keep my (many, many) tights.

Leave us a comment to tell us how you store your stuff!

YYZ: The Good Ol’ Hockey Game

LHR and I (and some of you blog readers!) grew up in small-town Canada, in a time before the word “mullet” had been invented to describe this kind of haircut.
(I think “mullet” is an American word, maybe? Or maybe it’s just a recent term.)
In our time and place, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the hairstyle in question was rampant.  We had a name for it, one that stemmed from the main group of men and boys who wore it:

We called it “Hockey Hair.”

I think the idea was that one could have short hair for greater comfort and ease under one’s helmet, while maintaining what I am sure the aficionados of this particularly tragically misguided style imagined was a flowing mane, streaming out behind them as they soared over the ice and beat the living daylights out of each other in manly fashion, all in pursuit of the glory of The Game.
It’s all very Canadian, eh?

This outfit is my fashion nod to my small town roots.
It is my tribute to Hockey Hair:  ”business in the front, party in the back.”

Dress & Bauble Bracelets: H&M
Tights: Kandinsky
Shoes: Le Chateau

YYZ: Come Monday

Trousers seemed like a good way to go. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me before now to wear these items together…

Weird flare on belt buckle. Likely just a spot on the lens, not an indication of paranormal activity.

 

Don’t you love it when you find a new outfit in among the stuff you already own?

I appear to have only one eye... Whoops!

Cardigan: Costa Blanca
Silk Top: Jacob
Belt: Brave Beltworks, gift from my mum
Trousers: Theory
Silver Cuffs: Gifts from my mum and my MIL (from Mexico!)
Earrings: Bought as one of two pair –LHR chose one pair as a gift, and I kept the other pair! Everybody wins!
Shoes: 9 West

And what better way to start the week than with a little music for the Parrot Heads?