Steampunk chic

Plumbing problems this past weekend necessitated, among other things, a rather urgent trip to the **laverie automatique**, so, in keeping with the semi-industrial feel of a laundromat, I channeled my inner steampunk goddess with some recently acquired goodies from a charity shop I recently discovered.

The place: Vestiare St. Martin, a donation-based community venture that helps disadvantaged people. It's literally a ten-minute walk from where I live.

Like the sign says, the store is open only 2.5 hours a day.

Judging by the line up just before opening time, this place is a hit with the locals.

I can see why: most items average between .30-.50 cents! Case in point: this leather messenger handbag, made in France by luxury handbag maker Texier. It was .50 cents! Granted, it stunk of cigarette smoke, but a wash with wood soap in the washer (when the washer worked, and no, I'm not crazy; it didn't destroy the leather!), along with a detox in a bag filled with coffee grains, seems to have taken most of the smell away. (If any one else has suggestions for getting smell out of leather, please let me know. Right now I have some vanilla extract-soaked cotton balls inside to soak up the odor).

I picked up these semi-baggy boyfriend jeans at the same place for .30 cents! These are unreal prices for me. The pants are short but I think they work. I used to wear such tight, wide-legged jeans. The look turns me off now; it's so not applicable here! Now these are my new fave jeans.

I found this velvet vest at the Bazaar Sans Frontieres a few weeks ago for a buck - not their usual pricing but there was a table outside that day and everything on it was one Euro. I don't normally do vests but I had a bunch in the 1990s, and for some reason, that whole '90s look is really appealing to me these days. This baby had a hippie-Victorian feel to it.

I thought this compass necklace, bought a few years ago when I was doing the long-distance thing with my now hubby, was the perfect piece of bling to really tie up the steampunk look. I rarely wear it but it always makes me smile - it actually works too (in case I get lost)!

The cashmere sweater was a gift and you've already seen my fave lace-up booties, bought last Fall in a Toronto vintage shop for about $35. I thought this graffiti wall around the corner from the laundromat was the perfect backdrop for this outfit.