Second-hand Kenzo & Tom Ford

OUTFIT ENTIRELY THRIFTED/SECOND-HAND (Ok, tights were new):
Kenzo skirt: a euro at an Annecy vide grenier
Etienne Aigner boots: Ebay
Bally bag: consignment shop swap
J. Crew wool blazer: thrifted in Canada
Black sweater: thrifted in Canada
Vintage scarf: gift
Vintage Cadoro necklaces: bought online
Tom Ford sunglasses: consignment shop swap.

I don't really think of myself as a label slut - ie: I don't buy items for the sake of their being "by" someone - and I quite abhor the idea of picking up a lower-tier collection of a designer at a mass market retailer like H&M or Target - though if that's other people's bag, go for it. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate good quality labels, and labels with a neat history or story. And having lived in France for over a year, I've found many a French designer to love.

I've been a Kenzo fan ever since my twis sis thrifted a gorg red floral velvet jacket in Toronto a few years ago. Vintage Kenzo pieces have great colour and texture. Take this lined, wool a-line mustard yellow Kenzo skirt I found at a summer vide grenier for A EURO. LOVE! I never thought the yellow and black bumblebee look would work, but I'm groovin on this outfit (snapped outside the grocery store - yes, us ladies of leisure live exciting lives!).

Then last week, when I took more bling to my consignment shop, I spied these Tom Ford sunglasses. I know Tom Ford more for the fab flick he directed, A Single Man, than for his fashions and famed business sense. But I loved the way these looked on me. They were rather beat up - scratched on the lenses and the frames - so the owner knocked 20 euros off. Since I had sold a few items in her shop recently, I essentially got them for free rather than pocketing the cash I made.

I've mentioned Cadoro jewellery before, but haven't explained my obsession with it. Cadoro was a high-end jewellery company founded in the 1950s in Manhattan. It's known for its handmade haute hippie pieces made out of unusual materials. The jewellery is quite collectible now as the company ceased to exist in the 1980s. Cadoro pieces are so arty that some can be found in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.

I'm now a happy Cadoro addict (some of their tassel necklaces rock). I found these two yellow corded necklaces with sliding gold bits online. They're really more summer pieces but as you can see I've managed to work them into my fall look. I have many more Cadoro pieces to share with you! I've stopped buying them but have a nice little collection - my first really meaningful vintage jewellery collection (which explains why there's been a mass exodus of my lower tier vintage costume jewellery to the consignment shop). Guess that means I'm a grown-up now!

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Latest greatest second-hand accessory

Thrifted Thierry Mugler blazer: four euros, Annecy thrift shop
Bally bag: 25 euros, consignment shop
Turtleneck: thrifted in Canada
Levis: new/retail (of so worth it).

Nope. It's not my Baby Bjorn carrier for Adam. I love buying the little guy used clothing, but I tend towards new stuff for the big-ticket baby items.

Spotlight today is on my (slightly fuzzy) used leather and brocade bag by Bally, acquired at my local consignment shop for a mere 25 euros.

EVERYTHING SECOND-HAND except for brolly:
1990s Capezio granny boots: Ebay
Distressed jeans: Annecy second-hand depot
Wool sweater: a euro, Annecy vide grenier
J. Crew wool blazer: thrifted in Canada
Huge crepe and chenille Anne Klein scarf: 10 buck sale in Canada.

As you may know, in the midst of my post-pregnancy style crises, I've been consigning half of my wardrobe at my local shop. What this means: when I go into the shop to drop off another stash and pick up my cheque, I sometimes, but not always, walk out with something. I've gotten rid of many a vintage bag via this method, which no longer suit my life, so I didn't feel the least bit guilty snapping up a bag that does.

Vintage Etienne Aigner granny boots: Ebay
Turtlenck: new/retail bought years ago
1970s velvet patchwork blazer: thrifted in Canada
Levis: new/retail.

The bag ticks all the boxes, satisfying my need for space with my ongoing obsession for fabric and brocade. Plus I like that I can indulge in a bit of pattern mixing when I wear it. Of course, Bally, a Swiss maker, does lovely high-quality bags that aren't cheap. Since all my outfits are looking the same these days, I'm putting special emphasis on quality accessories that I love.

I'm wearing my "new" vintage Etienne Aigner granny booties found on Ebay, which, judging by the square toe (I can't believe I'm doing a square toe!), must be 1990s, what do you think? These days I'm groovin' on the Victorian-steampunk look and the blazer and booties sort of fit the bill.

Lanvin necklace, 10 euro at Annecy brocante market
Ray Ban shades: Annecy brocante market.

I've had this 1970s velvet patchwork blazer for years and don't think I've ever featured it here. I found it for a few bucks at a Canadian thrift shop, and I just love it. Now that I've put on a few pounds, I fill it out much better than I used to when I was a skinny-Minny. Just look at those mammoth buttons!

How much do I love it? So much so that when I recently found the matching long a-line skirt on Ebay (maker: Marks and Spencer - mine doesn't have a tag), I almost bought it - wouldn't I have looked crazy with the entire ensemble on? But the 27-inch waist, my pre-preggo waist size, deterred me. Sigh. I ended up consoling myself with a vintage velvet Laura Ashley skirt, with a more realistic waist size, which will rock with the Etienne Aigner granny boots and jibe with my growing Victorian-esque style aesthetic.

Adam, meanwhile, continues to rock the second-hand orange look.

Hairbrushes are so fascinating.:)

Linking up, after a long absence, to the stylish gals over at Patti's Visible Monday.

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Show and Tell: odds n ends you haven't seen

Aside from showing you what I look like with a goofy grin and a tree spouting out of my head, I've dedicated this post to all the thrifty stuff I haven't shown you - and that I had better feature before the pics get really out-of-date or before I can't wear certain pieces anymore. Like this long black wool-cashmere French-made double-breasted coat I thrifted at the one thrift shop in Annecy - I can hardly do up the buttons now so I will soon be moving onto my vintage swing coats, yay!

The lush teal and sparkly handmade mohair sweater I have underneath is one of the few pieces I've owned since my teens - my Mom bought it for me in the tiny and lovely town of Perth, Ontario, Canada, and I haul it out every year for Christmas. Bag, boots, and maternity skirt: all thrifted, while new hat and gloves were purchased for less than $5 at dollar store or end-of-the-line places.

In fact, the thrift shop in Annecy where those boots, French designer handbag and coat were bought is becoming my own personal haven for leather accessories. Check out these hardly-worn patent leather lace-ups by Benetton, snatched up for 8 Euros!

Or this super cute 1970s brownish-rust leather clutch with long chain handle, 3 Euros.

It went perfectly with this 1970s rust knit dress, thrifted in Toronto before I moved away and snapped on me over a month ago, when my bump was only just emerging. Worn with my thrifted Kenneth Cole Reaction booties, a cheapie cashmere-blend cardi from the local market and a cheapie boho scarf from the "Fete" day in Annecy in December. I feel semi-guilty about these new, cheapie purchases as the sweater will fall apart in no time, but I loved the scarf so much I bought the same one in a different colour - the excess!

I know: this bag thing is getting out of control. But could you resist this classic style brown leather purse, only slightly beat up, by Swiss maker Bally, 8 Euros?

This pretty 1990s velvet and silk scarf priced at 3 Euros was actually given to me by the ladies at the shop. While shopping there one rainy day in the fall, a customer stole my brand new and very large umbrella I had left by the door in the umbrella pot (they're in every shop in France). I told the lady at the cash and she gave me an old umbrella dug out of the back room so I could get home. When I returned the umbrella with thanks, I bought croissants and other goodies from the boulangerie near us. So they gave me this scarf, which I was going to buy anyway. Swell, huh?

This tapestry change purse, bought earlier in the fall, has a slight granny-feel to it, but its inner bohemian-ness shone out too much for me to resist, especially for a couple Euros.

At the monthly antique market in Annecy a few months ago, I found this gorg brass ring with humungous pink glass centre (which, come to think of it, is similar in colour to the Edwardian-style piece I showed you in my last post). I thought it was pretty unique, semi-rustic yet sculptural, and I'm drawn to contradictions like that.

I think that's it for my bibs and bobs! Jeepers it's too late for this preggo - I started a French class today and I am super pumped, so maybe being a student again has kept me going today! Nightie night!

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Green Bally Bag & Green Beret

The gloriously sunny days and 12 degree C temps that have had me going on two-to-three-hour walks these past few weeks left us yesterday, and, though still warm, the greyness has set in. I bought a few dresses last week on Etsy so no Cyber Monday for me. Friday I was busy running around looking for Birthday fixings for the hubby. Who knew that balloons and birthday streamers are impossible to find in Annecy? I had to improvise with a Christmas garland and a home-made Happy Birthday banner - and I am so not showing you the pics but hubby was definitely touched by my DIY project!

Thought I'd show you another way I've worn my $10 cashmere dress bought at the market in Annecy this fall (see post below). This pic was snapped about a month ago, when my hair was super long and I had to hide it under a beret. I'm standing on a walkway that leads up to the Chateau overlooking Annecy. Poor hubby has to park his car in the carpark here as there are no other spots available. Good thing for us as we get our exercise walking up that steep hill!

I feel like a bit of a 1920s girl here - maybe because the vest makes the outfit a bit shapeless.

Aside from the dress and the tights, the entire outfit is thrifted:

Navy wool trench, thrifted in Toronto, Canada.
Blue leather gloves: bought in a charity shop in St. Annes, UK.
Blue suede Italian boots: my absolute fave, found for $14.99 in a Toronto thrift shop.
Amazing plastic colour block necklace: $2.99 at a Toronto, Canada thrift shop!
Vintage Kangol angora beret: gift from a fellow vintage pal.
Orange Benetton wool vest: thrifted for a few Euros in an Annecy thrift shop.

I am super thrilled with this green leather purse I found at the local thrift shop. It was only a few Euros and it's by Bally, a Swiss maker whose bags go for several hundred Euros. It's in mint condition and unlike anything else I have.

It is been a really long time since I've participated in Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style. I am happy to do so again. I am off to go wander in the rain and later work up the nerve to call a French school to see about French lessons (talking on the phone, in French, can be very intimidating when your language skills are not that advanced). The French don't really seem to let the rain hinder them - cafes and patios are still open, and throngs of people tend to be milling about (except on Monday, when many stores are closed). So I will have a quiet walk in the rain. Have a great day.

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