Bionic woman & Danskin memories

Last week: 38 weeks

Thanks for all your comments last post re: The Reader Changeover - I think I've managed to change everything that needs to be changed. You can find me on Google + and Bloglovin. Assuming the techno dumb-bunny in me hasn't hopelessley muddled things, it looks as though I've managed to successfully transfer all the blogs I follow to Bloglovin ... but if it looks like I've neglected to follow you there or on Google +, give me a little nudge, ok? Any omissions on my part are not deliberate but rather the product of confusion!

As you can see, da bump is really coming along. I'm getting increasingly tired and uncomfortable, but natch, I'm happy to see baby growing the way he should be. Needless to say, we're getting really jazzed about meeting him!

It's also somewhat gratifying to know that one of my pre-preggo dresses left over from my Skinny Toronto Days serviced me well last week.

The label is Bionic, made by Mark Foreman of Toronto, and his wrap dresses remind me a wee bit of the Karina Dresses that so many of us admire and wear in the blogosphere as they're made with amazing microfibre fabrics in beautiful patterns. Though I've bought Bionic new, on sale (they range from $150-200 CAD if memory serves), I found this wrap during a Toronto Goodwill rummage for about $6.99 CAD.

I decided to jazz mine up with my H&M leggings worn the way I used to wear leggings when I was dancing - over my feet, with the ballet slippers overtop. It was a little trick of elongating the leg even more. :) My gams, which have puffed out the last few weeks with water, need all the elongating they can get!

Excuse the overexposed shot but I had to brighten it up a little. Plus bump looks pretty good when shown against the dark of the piano! I'm wearing Kenneth Cole Reaction ballet flats, found at the Two Dollar Sale in Toronto.

Here's a close-up of the makeshift vintage necklace I'm wearing, which I love but don't wear much. I attached the vintage Coro pendant I found in a thrift shop to a set of fake pearls I thrifted way back in university days - in fact they may have been the first costume bling I ever bought second-hand. That's the extent of my handy-dandyness, I'm afraid.

Me in my skinny Toronto days a few years back, sporting the same dress with a 1970s gold belt, vintage bling, and 1980s shades with thrifted white heels and a fake tan. I was a working girl back then and a shopping columnist to boot so I always dressed up to go to work. Funny how radically things change, eh? Glad I could adapt this dress for a more casual look that suits my lifestyle. Hopefully I'll one day be able to tie the belt all the way around to the front, as I did here, instead of tying it at the back as I now do!

Read More

I am like the lilacs

My take on Spring: thrifted over-dyed '90s grunge dress accessorized with deep lilac and plummy tones
Entirely thrifted outfit (except for tights)
(End of 37 weeks).

A 20-minute power shop in the local thrift shop before our OB appointment Friday yielded this amazing 1990s dress that I practically lunged at when I saw its deep purply hues.

Not only does it remind me of the over-dyed dresses I used to buy in the 1990s, but it is also the perfect complement to the deep-coloured lilacs that have sprouted all over Annecy.

Bought at the market today and now reposing in front of our huge living room windows.

I am sentimentally attached to lilacs. Some may find their smell cloying, but their sweet scent reminds me of growing up in the country, where two huge lilac bushes decorated our front and back yards. My sis and I would cut a bunch of branches and place the biggest bouquet possible in an oversize rose bowl right in front of an open window. The breeze would blow in, and the room would fill with the most heady of perfumes.

A welcome respite from my black leggings, this dress is perfect in so many ways, and not just because of the wonderful colours and simple style. The corset drawstring detail in the back, a popular '90s motif, means I can wear the dress now and then cinch it tighter post-baby (presumably when my 27-inch waist will return). :)

With the exception of the tights, the outfit is entirely thrifted:

Dress, 5 Euros at Annecy thrift shop
Chiffon made-in-Italy scarf, 1.50 Euros and found during the same power shop as the dress
Gap Limited Edition denim jacket, found at a UK charity shop a year ago
Plummy-blue Italian-made suede boots, $14.99 CAD in Toronto 
Deep pink straw purse, thrifted long ago in Toronto for a few bucks
Gold-plated Edwardian style necklace with pink glass, 50% off in a Toronto Value Village
Art deco style ring with pink glass, 5 Euros at Annecy brocante market.

The ring and pendant kinda match the lovely tree we took a pic of yesterday along the canal.

I love it when nature inspires an outfit, don't you?

I don't think this picture does justice to the reality I saw on the cobblestone streets after the market today. All those little bits you see between the mossy crevices are multi-hued sparkles that someone must have sprinkled there while partying the night before.

On that note, I'm linking up to all the sparkly style gems at Patti's Visible Monday.

Read More

Wrap me in knit dresses, new and old

Taken about a month ago:
1980s knit dress, Etsy; thrifted leather booties from store in France; vintage Sarah Coventry pendant.

It's been a busy few weeks; hubby's had close to a month off, with the exception of a few days, so we've been doing a lot of running around, not to mention plenty of nesting. Yesterday after lunch with fellow expat pals at a local Chinese buffet (it reminded us of home - we're all getting a little sick of the melted cheese and potatoes that comprise the local resto fare), we bought an all-terrain stroller (necessary in Annecy's old town and for jaunts around the lake) and saved 500 Euros, good thrifty shoppers that we are!

At 23 weeks, I'm entering my six month of pregnancy - wow, so hard to fathom, even now. I am living in large tights and knit dresses as I'm finding them the most comfortable for my slowly-expanding girth. My strategy is to find frocks I can wear during and post-pregnancy. I found the funky (acrylic) knit dress above on Etsy, and I love the colours. It's a bit large, so I figure I can wear it for a quite a while.

Yesterday: new fitted knit dress, very apres-ski methinks!

This fitted knit frock, on the other hand, was purchased new for 50% off last week. Sales in France happen only twice a year, in mid-January and June, and when they start, there's heaps of stock and everything sells out quickly. I sure wouldn't have paid 59 Euros for an acrylic dress (mind, it feels like wool), but for 29 and change, I snapped up this baby, the last one on the rack.

I've been living in it all week as it feels great on, but also to get a bang out of my buck before I outgrow it. It's a size small and I have a feeling that the high waistband may be too much before long (though it's proving to be quite flattering at the mo).

I'm wearing it with a fur collar from the local thrift shop; gloves, boots and toque purchased new; and a sterling puffy heart pendant I've had since the 1990s.

Here's the bump view. The little guy is doing a lot of moving these days, which is such a lovely feeling. Forgot to snap a back view, which is too bad as there's a different and equally funky pattern on the upper part of the dress.

Next up: this 1970s cowl-neck dress I recently bought on Etsy. Like the others, it's acrylic, but it feels like the softest of jerseys. And can you see what comprises the pattern? Iguanas! Love!

I'm wearing the fabulous belt that came with it higher than my actual waist level, for comfort's sake. The sparkly cross earrings are also carryovers from the early 1990s, when I worked in a jewellery shop.

Sans belt, I look like I have no waist, which is pretty much true these days. No matter. I won't be able to comfortably wear the belt for long, so I may as well accept it. If the iguanas don't mind, I don't either.

I went to my third French class today and struggled - really struggled - through the grammar parts. They put me in level three, which I think may be too advanced for me so I may try the level down tomorrow. I'm all for being challenged - indeed, that's preferable - but I was at sea today. Everyone knew their verb tenses but 'lil (or not so little) 'ole me! So I'm off to hit the books. Too bad all the verbs I was made to memorize in high school (which I now see wasn't the worst strategy - how else can you learn them?) have slipped away ....

Read More

Grunge-y Dresses; $10 Jackets

I so regret getting rid of a sumptuous deep blue patterned velvet 1990s dress, long and with a drop waist, that I had back in the day, that when I saw this short 90s velvet dress on mega sale on Etsy, I just had to snap it up. Not sure why I'm so grooving on the 90s now, but I'm not micro-analyzing it. It's such a sweet little frock, and it will be cute for the holidays too.

I'm sporting it with a new haircut (from a month ago); a huge Anne Klein scarf that I picked up on mega sale at a consignment shop in Toronto (it's a thick black crepe but has this red velvety squiggle pattern throughout); a fabulous vintage jacket by James Bay, a Canadian maker about which I can find very little, thrifted for a glorious $10 in my fave neighborhood thrift shop in Toronto, Stretch Thrift; and stretchy cloth and leather gloves thrifted in the UK, I think. The bag was handmade in Montreal, bought new, as were the Guess? booties.

I'm wearing the same scarf, pre-hair cut and with a slightly blurry face, with this grungy little dress/tunic I picked up with a gal pal in a consignment shop in a little village not far from here. I never thought I'd ever wear something like this, but it appealed to me at the time and still does. It was quite a but warmer when this pic was snapped, so I'm wearing a Parasuco cropped denim jacket, found at the same $10 sale as the consignment shop scarf. The lace-up booties are a fave pair, and oh so 90s, picked up at a downtown vintage shop just a few months before I left Toronto for about $35. Not a Grunge Queen thrifty price but I loved them too much to leave them there, and I've worn them so much I've already had to replace the soles.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Read More