Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Three-Fer Catch-Up: Work Fit in Blue, Black and White Bomber; Ice Cube in Adidas; and More Mixed Blues

Hello, my friends, and apologies for the absence - I did warn you that last night's concert would be a doozy! 

So, let's get caught up. This is my Tuesday work outfit.
One new-to-me item here, and one re-wear from when I first purchased.

  • Jacket - George Georgiou, vintage80, consignment, Powell River; first worn here (2nd outfit) in February with sneaky Adidas
  • Top - Vince Camuto, thrifted; purchased here for $7.50
  • Pants - Akris Punto, consignment; last seen here in September 2023 with flamingos
  • Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here with a coat-dress in March

The re-wear is this black and white bomber jacket - it's light cotton, so a spring/summer item.
I tested it out in February then stashed it away. 

I loved getting in a wearing of these trousers again.
They are by Akris, the same company as that 80s dress you all liked (this one). 

I like this pattern mix. 
I felt very profesh in the office. 

Without the bomber jacket, which I took off after hoofing it up the stairs in the morning (many flights).
The blue top is new-to-me, and I really liked it. It's very long, so there was a lot to tuck in.

Incognito.
Pockets! 

The stuff: 
I love these shoes - such a gorgeous colour. I didn't walk much in them! 

Bold bling: 
I knew this cuff would also fit my spring/summer accessory collection. 

  • Blue/white cuff - consignment
  • Black/white cuff - vintage fair
  • Silver/kyanite ring - consignment
  • Silver/sodalite ring - Scotland, 1996
  • Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
  • Earrings - local

I raced home after work (took the bus), fed Vizzini and got changed - L and I went to see Ice Cube (rapper, about him here, link 'cause I love) at the Arena! 
L was dubious about this look, but I fit right in with all the other Adidas-loving folks in the crowd, and got a few looks and a gush from one attendee.

  • Jacket - Stella McCartney X Adidas, thrifted; purchased here for $13.47
  • T-shirt - Iggy Pop tour shirt, 2023, not tracked
  • Track pants - Adidas, consignment; purchased here in Vancouver for $38.99
  • Sneakers - L'intervalle, consignment; last worn here a couple of weeks ago to a movie

Rear view of the trousers. I had to actually change my underwear from black to nude - these pants are completely see-through! 
Good thing I took a picture...and looked at it! I loved wearing these - they were comfy and excellent during the concert and walking to and from the venue.

I used all the pockets (four!) in my new-to-me Stella McCartney X Adidas windbreaker to stash my ID, phone and keys instead of carrying a purse. 
This doesn't look great as is - I only wore it zipped up on the walk home due to the cold. Be assured, I tied it around my hips the rest of the time! I'm cool, really! 

The stuff: 
Comfy sneakers - my poor feet were exhausted after a day at work in heels, followed by walking, standing (we stood for much of the concert) and more walking. 

  • Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
  • Studded cuff - vintage 90s
  • Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
  • Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
  • Silver earrings - Frances Jewelers, 10th anniversary gift from L

I didn't use my phone for the tickets as it refused to download them, and my email is spotty, so we had printed tickets. This made me snicker. 
I think the Kelowna Rockets are going to win this hockey game. 

I admired this Victorian house on our stroll through the Fernwood/North Park neighbourhood.
That's a very lush lilac bush.

We stood in line to get in...and went through a metal detector and bag search...then found the merch line. 
We stood in it for at least 30 minutes. I admired the outfit of the woman with the patchwork pants and zebra toque.

I got this shirt - I like the classic Cube. 
I remember him and NWA from the 80s - I used to hate rap back then. Oh, I was so foolish! 

L got this one. 
"Straight Into Canada" is a riff off "Straight Outta Compton."

It has the tour dates on the back, which L likes. There we are, Victoria! 
Most of these are smaller towns - no Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary or Toronto! And Enoch, Alberta gets him twice? I have never even heard of Enoch. 

A view inside the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - I remember the original Memorial Arena from my childhood and youth. This is much nicer. 
It's mostly a hockey arena, hence the concrete and plastic seats. We had a good view of the show from here. 

Our in-between-acts DJ/crowd warm-up guy was Young Legend. 
He spun a lot of classic rap, which was well received by the crowd. 

The opening act was Merkules (link here), a Canadian rapper who's made it big-ish. 
He was well-spoken and full of gratitude - he even brought his mom and dad up on stage, and called his wife while we all shouted "Hi, Kristina!" at her. 

During a song dedicated to...someone (it was very loud, hard to hear words at times)...and we all put our phones on. 
I did too! I have a phone! I can do that! 

Folks in the crowd flashing the W "West Coast" (as in the west coast rapper communities of the US, especially California).
Sure! I did that too! 

There were big inflated hands on either side of the stage doing the W. 
That's Mr. Cube in the middle. 

The video screens were entertaining. 
Sometimes we had old pictures of Ice Cube or what were obviously videos. I enjoyed cuts of him looking imposing or tough from all of his movies. 

He did a few NWA songs. 
People were so scared of NWA back then. 

The crowd went wild. 
It was a sold-out show of 8,000 people - the biggest show I've been to in a long time.

My partner in crime, L.
Rock on, my love!

Overall it was a good show, but not GREAT, you know? L and I left before the encore to avoid the crowds, and got home after 11pm.

Today/Wednesday required a lot of coffee! 
It was pouring rain in the morning - I'd planned to wear heels again (NOPE) and re-wear the Stella McCartney X Adidas jacket from the night before, but I'd had a drink spilled on me by a tipsy person in the row behind us, and it was sticky. 

  • Cardigan - Kenzo, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in March for Winesday
  • Top - Rag and Bone, thrifted; last worn here in June 2023 with PANK bookends
  • Skirt - Monari, thrifted; first seen here in August 2023 with a mix of blue and grey
  • Shoes - "I Know" Star Wars for Irregular Choice, gift from Louise; last worn here in November 2023 with a spacey blue dress
  • Sleeveless coat (below) - Only, thrifted; last seen here on the weekend

So I quickly swapped in this warm cardigan. 
And grabbed a pair of flat shoes. 

The office was empty but colleague Viz admired my fix. 
"You're really into blue this week," he observed. 

I have been...for work! 
Zipped up and pocketed hands. 

I took the cardigan off after doing my stairs. 
It's too cold to wear it like this, but it's a good look. 

Hooray! Let's go to work! 
After getting 5-ish hours of sleep!

How I really felt. Five more minutes...
I have my hair tucked into my beret here so that it would stay dry on my walk to work. It was dry on my walk home. 

Accoutrements: 
This leopard scarf has been with me for years - I paid $1.95 for it at WIN. 

  • Beret - consignment
  • Scarf - thrifted
  • Gloves - Danier Leather

The stuff: 
I love these shoes - it's Leia! Han Solo is on the other shoe. 

Silver bling: 
All comforting friends. 

  • Filigree cuff - St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop, London
  • Heart crystal cuff - Juicy Couture, consignment
  • Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
  • Silver/kyanite ring - consignment
  • Silver/onyx necklace - Mexican, consignment, Powell River

And here's a picture of my flowers from the office/my boss. 
It was Administrative Professionals Day. They smell heavenly. 

Monday, April 22, 2024

One and Done Monday in 80s Blue, Plus Katie Pruit Concert in Pink and Adidas

This week is a busy one - we have concerts to go to both Monday and Tuesday! 

But first, work.
Another "One and Done" outfit - this dress is not staying in my closet. 

  • Dress - Albert Nipon, vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here for $9.00
  • Shoes - Sam Edelman, thrifted; purchased here for $24.00
  • Coat (below) - L'Atiste, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here earlier this month

Don't get me wrong - it's lovely - but it's not my style these days. It's also too big on me.
I felt a little "grandma" in this, despite my best efforts to punk it up with black accessories. 

Boxy, long, oversized. The top-stitched pleating on the bodice and hips is very intricate, and the skirt billowed nicely.
Someone's going to love this heart-printed cerulean blue dress......but it won't be me. 

I'm still glad I gave it a shot.
Into the wash it goes (I sweated a bit in it, but it's polyester - good ol' 80s poly!). 

Incognito! In my most 80s coat.
Oh, that's far too excited for a Monday morning. 

There we go.
Resting Monday Face. 

The stuff: 
It was also the debut of the suede shoes - they were lovely, no pain, no rubbing. Hooray! 

Black bling: 
These accessories make almost any outfit badass. Almost.

  • Belt - gift from Ruth
  • Leather studded cuff - vintage 90s
  • Fang bangle - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Sidney
  • Silver/obsidian ring - consignment
  • Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
  • Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
  • Chain ring - Mexican, consignment
  • Earrings - thrifted

I'd done some outfit planning on the weekend, once L and I remembered we had concerts to go to. We actually just bought the tickets a few days ago to see Katie Pruitt on her "Mantras" tour - thanks to Casey for the head's up. If you're not familiar with her, she's in a singer-songwriter, a la Brandi Carlile. L reviewed her album here (5 stars!), and you can listen to that full album here (YouTube links 'cause I love), or just listen to my favourite song of the last year, "It's Always Been You" (here). Unfortunately, she didn't play that particular song, but I was happy with the mix of her two albums.

I was happy to style up a couple more new-to-me items for my nightclub outfit. 
Finally getting to this cropped Adidas hoodie - it's not just something you can just throw on! That's some challenging proportions there. 

  • Hoodie - Adidas, consignment; purchased here for $30.00
  • Mesh top - Concept, consignment; purchased here for $25.00
  • Trousers - Joie, consignment; first worn here (2nd outfit) to hang out in the park earlier this month
  • Sneakers - Converse, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in the same outfit as the pants

Here's how I looked walking to and from Capital Ballroom, and in the dark for the evening. 
"Hang on, this is a school night."


I loved wearing the hoodie - the inside of it is fleece.
"Better leave me extra food."


I loved this athleisure vibe. 

Without the hoodie, since the top is also new-to-me. 
I never took it off - it was freezing in the club! 

The stuff: 
Comfy shoes for walking to town and back (at 11pm). 

Swear bling: 
F#@! - that's me and crowds. 

  • Belt - gift from Ruth
  • Purse - Rebecca Minkoff, consignment
  • Swear rings - Wendy Brandes
  • Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
  • Silver earrings - gift from Petra

We met up with Casey and Nick, after L and I got to the club and grabbed some seats in the back.
We had a view over the bar of the main stage. 

This is Jack van Cleaf, the opening act (link here, 'cause I love). 
He was pretty solid, although he didn't sell CDs (only vinyl pre-order, roll my eyes). 

However, at least he had merch - L bought one of his t-shirts. 
So I took a picture of them. Thanks, Jack! 

Katie Pruitt was amazing - what a voice! But no merch, not a single tee! No cassettes (snort, don't laugh, they're back), no vinyl, no stickers, no posters, nothing! 
But I'm still so glad we were able to catch that show.

And now, of to bed! I have a full day of work before...another concert, and this one's a doozy.