Out for Dinner

Do I look unusually florid here? I'm either tanning during my morning scoots to the train station or I need to learn color balance in PS. Or paint that wall.

wait, I figured it out:

Pro!

 Kimono shirt shell: Forever 21 (thrifted)

Jeans: 7 for all Mankind (gift from brother)

Platforms: Candie's (thrifted)

Necklace: family crest (inherited)

Damascene bracelet: eBay

Stepped out for dinner with a dear friend I hadn't seen since I moved back up. Finally wore the shirt shell I thrifted last year when I was visiting for one of Favourite Joe's shows. There's a lot of yellow and bright teal in it, so I was unable to figure out an underlayer until I bought this goldenrod tank top I posted about last month.

This whole 'color' thing is opening up all sorts of new frontiers!

Good to see this outfit looks nice and not over-the-top "HI DID I MENTION MY ANCESTORS CAME FROM JAPAN"

A weekend of San Franthriftco

I recently visited the Bay Area for the weekend. Thrifting was involved, so I'll report back on what I did there. :D

Here is my first successful capsule wardrobe:

Citizens of Humanity sweatshirt (thrifted)

7 for all Mankind jeans (gift from brother)

ANAC mesh top (eBay)

OCCO Paris teal top (free)

Nancy Giallombardo denim skirt (thrifted)

Fitzwell Laura sandals (6pm.com)

I also had my trusty New Balance sneakers. Everything went with everything else! First time I've been able to do that. (My usual method of outfit selection is 'waaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh I wanna wear thisandthisandthisandthis') I also figured since I'd be thrifting during my time up there, that I could add stuff if I wanted.

I actually went up to visit my favorite Joe (srsly. I have met no other Joes I like better.) for his band's show and EP launch. The band is called The Hangover Brigade, they have a folk rock sound, and they are immensely talented and fantastic. (Which is good, because it'd be really awkward if I thought they sounded terrible.)

You can listen to the entire EP on CDbaby (they are also sold on iTunes, Amazon, and other large vendors) and you really should. I had the first track stuck in my head for 48 hours after the show, and that's an endorsement.

The Hangover Brigade's last show!

Here's their cover of No Diggity, that they played as an encore:


Before the show, we drove into the city and walked up and down Haight St. looking for gig-type clothes and accessories for Joe. The only thing more fun than thrift shopping for me is thrift shopping for someone else. Even competing with the pre-Halloween crowd, we had great luck!

Here's what we found:

Exhibit A: grey 5 button vest from Goodwill

Exhibit B: Fuzzy black J's Awake shoes from Wasteland. The soles are red!

Exhibit C: Marshall Collins flatcap from Goorin Bros. Not thrifted, just awesome. I'm pretty sure flatcaps were put on this earth for men with van dyke beards.

We also found these low grey Alfani boots and the following day Joe found the sweet Olympique Marseille track jacket at one of my favorite thrift shops. Soccer's his favorite sport, so extra win. It was in great condition, with a plastic tag loop still inside. I think it was new! I found another picture of it online:

Happily, Joe dug my style suggestions, and the things I thought he could rock he totally rocked. I thought he looked great, he thought he looked great, happy shopping vibes all around.

The items are all multipurpose and can be used for music gigs, work, or everyday. There was a coat with tails briefly tried on at a Steampunk shop because when it comes down to it, I think everybody should wear Regency style clothes, but maybe for another time.

And because I had a few hours to kill during soundcheck before the show started, I tootled back to the Goodwill down the street and went shopping for myself this time. >.>

Whee! My haul from two thrift shops that weekend:

I've been looking for mustard skinny jeans or jeggings for a long time to wear with sweater dresses & boots in the winter. I'm slowly taking steps into the world of color. Thanks to style blogs, I know colors I'd never wear near my face because of my complexion can be worn on my lower half.

These jeans are by Margaret M, and still had the tag attached. I found out it's a Canadian brand that makes their products domestically. Any northerners heard of the brand?

The wide leather belt is by Pellemelle, and thanks to alert readers, I know 'pelle' is Italian for leather. :D Italian leather, it says on the inside, and made in the US.

The grey and black checked vest is from TRF, which I think is a collection within Zara. It's size L, but it has criss-crossing straps in the back that let me cinch it in to the correct width.

The Forever 21 Japanese print shirt shell was a go back behind the counter that I pointed to excitedly as we were checking out. Instant sell! I'm not sure how I feel about the red lace, but the print and the long square fire hazard sleeves absolutely do it for me.

Check out the luster on these fake pearls! I don't often have luck thrifting jewelry, but I thought I hit it big with these. I want to wear the blue pearls with the lace-feather-ribbons flower pin with my dark blue OzzOn dress.

Lastly, these Candie's green and brown platform boots fill another hole in my wardrobe- casual sturdy boots in the brown color palette. My thrifted Doc Martens chafe my Achilles tendon something fierce, so onto eBay they go.

I put so many holes through my October budget that it's curled up in a corner somewhere licking its wounds, but I regret nothing. Sometimes I've thrifted things and gone 'aww crap, that wasn't a good idea' but this time, all items feel like practical fits within my existing wardrobe. Vest, wide belt, shirt shell, boots, jeans... this is basically Couturgatory right here in one thrifted heap. What's your latest treasure or your latest 'aww crap' purchase?

Back in Mostly Black

We had a burst of weather that was surprisingly San Francisco-y, but I was determined to wear a short skirt:

Why live in Southern CA if I can't wear the things I couldn't wear in all my years in SF? :D Well, I guess the much better Japanese food is a good argument, too. (the ramen in SF sucks)

Japanese print skirt: ecoté (Urban Outfitters) size 6 on eBay

Over the knee boots: Ros Hommerson (6pm.com, gift from Dad)
Cardigan: Candie's (thrifted)
Fan necklace: Joan Rivers (thrifted)

I love this Japanese-style print skirt. I bought it several years ago for on super sale, and I still haven't figured out what to wear it with besides all black or a plain teal shirt. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Wide shoe review (review and link not sponsored)

The over the knee Topic boots are WW width from Ros Hommerson, but they come in regular width and wide calf as well. I often have problems with my feet floating in extra wide shoes, because while mine are wide along the x axis at the toes, they're not on the y axis (up and down). Add small ankles and bony heels, and you get shoes that fit at the sides of the feet but that are too roomy everywhere else.

These aren't too bad. They're too big at the instep and ankle, but up at the toes they are fitted enough that my foot isn't floating free.  A set of heel gel inserts to boost my heels a little made the fit much better.

And of course, they are massively marked down and they can fold down or go over the knee. Love.

Personal stuff:

Style or Die! challenge: Jolt blazer & 52 Pick-me-up: Trend Salad

  I could have timed this better, but I really wanted to participate in Spygirl's 52 Pick-me-up challenge this week: Trend Salad. Wear as many trends as you can in one outfit! It's open for several days; feel free to try it or check it out!

  So you all get sort of a twofer: pile on trends outfit, and the Jolt blazer over said outfit.

  I searched through some clickbait sites for trends, which yielded contradictory and confusing results, and came up with three I could do: punk, animal print, and pink coat. Let's toss in lace because that's still in since Chanel revived it, right? Oh, and layers. That's a Thing.

I feel kinda 80s

Pink leather coat: Vera pelle (thrifted)

Long moto vest: twentyone (thrifted)

Blue leopard bustier: Olé Olé (eBay)

Denim miniskirt: h&g (thrifted)

Fingerless lace gloves: River Island (old)

Bandage leggings: none (eBay)

OMG clown shoes: Candie's (thrifted)

  There's a lot going on here, but I wanted a punk outfit that was reasonably warm on its own. Yes, that's a blue leopard fake bustier. It doesn't actually compress or anything, as it's smocked in back. It has built in pads, is made of stretchy material, and is super comfortable. I have an awful lot of shirts that look like corsets for someone who has zero interest in squashing her organs.

  My fake 80s punk band is still named Subtle Blue Leopard.

  It's raining today, so my new-to-me pink leather coat by Vera pelle was perfect. It has a detachable hood! It's pink! I felt it was a bit of a risk when I bought it half-off at the thrift store, but I like it more and more. I also like that the black moto/biker vest zips up to keep the look from getting too busy when I put on the coat.

Yarr. Thar be bling here.

  I also tried the Jolt blazer over the thing for a disgruntled teen in part of school uniform look. Unfortunately my 'disgruntled' look came out more 'incredulous.' Did I mention I was once a theatre major? I was bad at it.

Feeling really 80s, now

  Thing is, I think the blazer wants a bright shirt to layer under it, and I don't own any plain ones in bright colors. It's a hole in my wardrobe I'm trying to rectify. In the meantime, I realize looking at the photos the blazer doesn't hit me at the best spot in the waist. I'm v-shaped, so it's best if I get things that narrow all the way through the natural waist, like my Guess blazer. This will be a donate.

Hella Cheapspensive

  This is my entry for the How I Wear My series, November edition! It's a monthly event run by Adrienne of The Rich Life (on a budget) and Jill of Everything Just So and you should check it out, because November is jeans! I am also linking up to Judith of Style Crone's Hat Attack!, a monthly linkup dedicated to that fabulous head accessory.

  I was out for August (I own literally nothing neon) and for September (the closest I had to animal print was a duck) but jeans, jeans I can do.

Navy fedora: Stacy Adams

Faux leather trim scarf: Nordstrom (online here)

Embroidered butterfly top: Karen Millen (eBay)

Hoodie: Sanctuary clothing (thrifted)

Jeans: Denim for Immortality (thrifted)

Rhinestone locket: Express (v. old)

It was windy that day

  My favorite San Francisco thrifting game is "Is this brand expensive, or hella cheap?"

  You can usually tell by construction, detailing, or material quality if something is a nicer brand or a throwaway item. And either way, I go with buying what I like over pre-thrift price. Usually it's quality of material that sells me, though I do have a favorite burnout shirt that had several small holes in it already when I thrifted it, and has continued dissolving as I have continued patching it, until one day I will have a magical garment constructed entirely from my own sewing thread.

  But sometimes, there's that intersection of lowest-bidder fabric and pre-worn soft expensive stuff that you can feel slowly disintegrating from the roughness of your plebeian fingers, and you can't quite tell which one it is. Cheap brands copy naming conventions of expensive brands, just as people name their children after the children of people with more money, so the names are going to sound the same. And that's where the game comes in. Feel free to play with your friends, especially if at least one smartphone is present* so you can look brands up. Winner should buy something the loser has to wear.

  So it was with these jeans. There were crystals on them, for one. The material was thin and stretchy. And with signage like this:

  You have to figure this would either be some expensive jeans, or something you'd see on the reality show Unstable Loud People You Feel Superior To. The crystals were subtle for well, being crystals on your ass, and I needed jeans because I shrank out of half my clothes this summer, so I bought 'em. My hunch was on fancy instead of trashy jeans.

  Check out this button! It looks like Perseus' shield! It's copper and has the head of Medusa preserved in it and everything.

  Yes, it turned out they were fancy pants. They also turned out to be extremely comfortable! And that is How I Like My: Jeans.

* This spellchecker knows 'smartphone' but not 'thrifted.' How's that for bourgeois?

Take a bow... or six

  This simple-looking outfit took some thinking. Also, it was sunny today! I was so happy.

  This is my third styling of these trousers for Anne Bray of Spy Girl's triple play challenge. I realized when trying to think of a third that I always wear these trousers for Asian or Asian-ish outfits.

Japanese | AZN goth-punk | urh??

  I wanted to come up with something different, and it was tricky. If I'm not wearing my zero-point clothes (jeans and a graphic tee) I'm wearing something sort of costumey in either AZN punk/goth, fairy princess, or Ye Olde theme. I tried something vintage* and cute, but I think I came out more Tomb Raider than perky 80s throwback.

* Evidently the official definition of vintage means things 20 years or older. Which means 1993 is now vintage. What is this I don't even.

These bows! I find them irresistible.

  Have I mentioned the sun was shining today? In the triple photo above you can see the contrast between everyday weather here and sunny weather. Whee! So, so happy. I'm makeup free for a while because a handful of days after summer session ended my entire face was covered in lumps. While inconvenient, they mean my immune system is on the mend.
  You've probably heard of people getting sick the first or second day of a long overdue vacation. That's because your body can't stay on Red Alert forever, so your immune system gets exhausted. When you finally rest, it starts to recharge.

  I tried pairing it (the outfit, not my immune system) with my new-for-me cropped blazer by Isaac Mizrahi for Target. I was on the lookout for something this length since Michelle suggested it would suit my Japanese print dress. The thrift shops of San Francisco came through again! (For $2.25. Craaazy.) ... but these shoulder pads have got to go. I'm V-shaped with a short neck as is, I don't need extra help. Also someone told me I look like a ninja today, so my attempt at a non-AZN/punk outfit may have failed.
  Actually it really failed. I felt so RRGH I AM BACK in the sun today that I thought the perfect accessory to this outfit was a Southern saber. (I did not take the sword with me on my daily errands.) I haven't practiced this weapon for a long time, but when you are feeling HAHA YEAH I AM ME AGAIN in the sun, there's no substitute for a sword the size of your shin.

 I felt like an adventuring archaeologist or other video game heroine. I wish I could go through more parts of my life feeling that way. Then I visited a dear friend and ate a pound of mac & cheese and fried chicken. Today was a good day. Much love, everyone. I wish you all good days in which you feel like the heroes, rather than the villains, of your own life stories.
  Links, as always, are not profit, just a secret hope someone will buy the same clothes as I have and then TWINSIES.

Black crop tank: unknown (etsy store Bombshellshocked)

Red undertank: Express best-loved bra cami (Express dot com)

Black shrug blazer: Isaac Mizrahi for Target (thrifted, same jacket size 4 on eBay)

Trousers: Nike dri-fit (very old)

Platform shoes: Candie's (thrifted)

Quoth the raven, "Never worn."

  I never wore this shirt.

  I thought it would go well with my well-loved Nike dri-fit pants for Spy Girl's triple play challenge. I wore them with a kimono in my last post and I went for a goth/punk look here. One more outfit featuring these trousers to come this week! (Fortunately I have laundry night tonight so the outfit procession can continue unhindered.)

  I think the problem is the three holes in the midsection. Sexy and subtle enough in my mind when I bought it, but it made the shirt totally inappropriate for work and too risqué for daywear. So, the club. Except I don't like most dance music, loud noises, or strangers, and I have to go to bed early for work/class. And it's constantly foggy and blustery where I live so I have no need of extra ventilation holes. (Sunny today, though! Whee!) So yeah, never worn.
  Fortunately I no longer think a lot of stuff I thought mattered matters, so casual daywear it is. The midriff is coming out! I paired it with my old visual kei blazer.

I got distracted by sight of the fog rolling in

  Ever have something you love and love and then it just falls out of rotation? So it was with this blazer years ago. It has a lot of unique details, I got tons of compliments on it, and I just haven't worn it in years. Both items have been teetering on the edge of the donate/sell bag for a while.

  This fused glass necklace reminded me of cherry blossoms. Bought it when my friend Cathy and I were in Paris several years ago. Would still love to go back.
  I am a little blah right now because I'm still filling my energy meter from that insane summer session. I know in a few days I'm going to spend some time just being mean. Does that happen to you? When I've been utterly wrecked for a long time and start coming back, I spend a few days just being pissed off and mean. I warned my roommate and friends already. Mostly it comes out as angrily judging people wearing stuff like skin-colored jeggings as pants (WHY) without any of my normal devil's advocate and acceptance of others inner monologue.
  I imagine myself as the Fashion Police, rolling up on my segway and being all, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but your terrible fashion choices violate the terms of the Geneva Convention. Please put these on." *hands a pair of trousers* And she'd be all, "Up yours, pig!" and take off running. And I'd be like, "Well that was uncalled for. And my insurance doesn't cover pursuit of war criminals. Time for my tea break."

Tank top: anac (eBay)

Trousers: Nike dri-fit (very old)

Platform shoes: Candie's (thrifted)

Blazer: Punk Rave (eBay, Little Chili's Lolita Shop)

Fused glass necklace: unknown (Paris)

Plum, on the balcony, with the candlestick

  I don't think this one turned out.

  I've had this LUX blazer (thrifted) for a while, and I was going for another Ye Olde look because the cut reminded me a bit of a waistcoat, and maybe a bit of a bodice, with its wide collar opening. Also it has pockets. Important!

  I like the color and the material, but the fit is funny. It is very tight under the chest (so tight it's pulling the buttons askew, haha) and loose from there down.

  I went with the Bow & Arrow shirt I wore in my very first blog post, for its pearl buttons. I would like to try a slightly foofy shirt or one that buttons all the way up plus a cravat, but I own neither. I added a box of stuff* I'm on the lookout for at the bottom of my gadgets, like a reminder to myself.

* I can't title it "wishlist" because then I'd have to put "unicorn"

  I'm entertained by the ends of my shirt ties hanging out the back. It's like my jacket is pooping. Because I'm twelve.

  Overall, I think the pinstripes on my trousers are not very visible, and the 3/4 cuffs on the blazer look like I'm going to a board meeting rather than adventuring with brass goggle adorned rabble-rousers. A longer bustle/hobble skirt might go well with the blazer too, but alas, something I also don't have.

  I did take out my purse, though. I don't often use purses, but this is one of those items I always have people telling me is cute. It even came with a long crossbody strap thoughtfully tucked inside!

  Your thoughts, dear readers? Should I alter the buttons and store it back in my closet for some more months until I find some things it goes with? Do you ever get things you want to style but find you don't have the right items to go with it (closet orphans)? If so, what do you do?

Plum blazer: LUX (thrifted)

Pearl button shirt: Bow & Arrow (thrifted)

Pinstripe trousers: Banana Republic (thrifted)

Platform shoes: Candie's (thrifted)
Denim purse: Giudit (thrifted)

Necklace: H&M (Paris, very old)