Titleless

Blazer? Thrifted Silk tank? Thrifted Necklace? Random boutique 

Shorts? old as hills H&M Shoes? DvF

Julie was right when she pointed out that naming posts is the worst. Maybe the first year of blogging I had good titles (debatable...) but after that it just dove into bad puns and obvious choices.
The worst is when I wear a suit because all I can ever think of is Barney Stinson saying 'Suit Up!'. And that's not suitable... See what I did there? I made you groan.
But seriously, I thought I would have a few months off of thinking of what to name my posts when I wear a suit but I don't. Because I discovered how awesome short suits are! It is now officially my mission to find red shorts so I can recreate this outfit for the summer. It is also my mission to think of better blog titles. Or to get a high school student looking for their mandatory volunteer hours to think of some. Or just accept that sometimes blog titles are awful... and that is going to have to be OK.

Asterisk

Top? c/o Jacob (here on sale) Shorts? Very old AE Bag and sunglasses? Thrifted 

Sandals? c/o Fibi and Clo (here) Earrings? Bebe Bracelets? Vintage and thrifted

I've been struggling to write again lately. Ugh. Again... Which is irritating because I can usually write about nothing or anything. 

These last few weeks have been rough for various reasons, certainly not just for me, but for many in the community as well. I don't always write about the weighty stuff, sometimes because it can be easier to carry on and deal without lingering on the negativity but mostly because it often isn't my story to tell. So I write about fluffy stuff, like how I tell my nieces that these earrings are actually dinner plates and how they do me a favour and laugh, every time. Or I just stare at the computer screen, type two sentences, delete them and continue to stare until I type two more sentences that I can also delete half an hour later.  

It's just that after every fashion post I publish, I've been mentally adding a giant asterisk.

*It's just fashion.

I love fashion an absurd amount and it brings me great joy. But I am well aware that it's the cherry on top, and there are many things that matter so much more. Fashion and blogging are an escape for me but the fact that I have the resources and the possibility to even blog about fashion, cats and about my dinner plate earrings, is a huge blessing. 

I don't think it's a bad thing to enjoy fashion at all. But it's also OK to acknowledge that fashion is a footnote in my life. Maybe a footnote that takes up a lot of the page, but a footnote nonetheless...

A Lesson Worth Repeating

I know. I say it all the time. Don't look at the size number on the tag (still one of my favourite posts...) when you are thrifting. Clothes at the thrift store come from different stores, countries and decades and guess what? A size label means something different in every different store, country and decade...
This little tip could not have been more obviously demonstrated than last week when I went thrifting, hit the jackpot (let's skip over the part where I stood in the aisles for forever trying to make my decisions...) and ended up with these two beauties. An Andy Thê Anh sample bustier and a 1980's snakeskin printed dress...

Cute right? Look real close.

That's right, the vintage dress is a petite, size 15/16 and the bustier is marked as a size 4.
At 5'11, I don't believe I am petite and I don't think I am a size 4 or a size 15/16 either.
The bustier is a sample, but I love it because it is beautifully constructed (check out the elastic panels in the back!) and designed and made in Canada. I have no clue whether the sizes were meant for an international market or whether the sample sizes were skewed, I just know that I don't normally fit a 4 in designer (or any really...) clothing.
To be honest, the dress is a little on the bigger side but because of the fluid fabric, it still drapes in a flattering manner. The 80's loved excessive material, hence the long hem, gathered waist and the batwing sleeves... on a 'petite'design. I will still likely shorten the dress to get rid of some of the fabric and I am hoping this time I will measure twice and cut once. And while it needs a new hem to be the more flattering on me, it's not like I am swimming in this dress either. We all know I just like a short hem.

So these were my finds last week. A size 4 and a size 15/16, both fitting into my closet rotation (closet explosion actually...) with little effort... 

*******giant kisses to Melanie from Modify Your Closet who I saw before my thrift trip and who gave me a coupon for 30% off my whole purchase at Value Village! -xx-

Lovely Mistakes

Skirt? c/o eShakti  Shoes? L.A.M.B. (similar but more walkable here and here...) 

Sweater? BCBG (old and worn backwards) Necklace? Vintage Clutch? My Oma's

Of course, I make an off hand comment about not wanting to see chevron again for a very long time and then I look down mid day sometime this weekend and realize I have a chevron skirt on. In my defense, I see this skirt more as having a diamond pattern, not a chevron pattern; it's all about the interpretation...
I guess the interpretation of this skirt was a little up in the air when I ordered it as well. I have to be honest and say that while I actually ended up loving this skirt, it was not exactly what I ordered. eShakti offers the possibility of customizing their products and when they offered me a customized item, I chose to add a few inches to the length of this skirt and remove the black ribbon trim around the hem.  I got the extra length... and I still got the trim as well. The hem is also wavy (note: second last picture) because it is a full circle skirt and the pattern makers obviously didn't take into account that the cross grain on a full circle skirt will often drop a few inches. And I like the trim, I even like the wavy hem and the skirt is super flattering (if we are going on the number of real life compliments... #humblebrag, #ughiusedahashtaginapost) but it's not how it is supposed to be. Especially the wavy hem (a big production mistake) is not one you would expect from a company that sells a plethora of full skirts.
So that's my honest review. Not exactly what I ordered and expected but a pretty accident none-the-less... Especially on a windy day...