Failure all around

I broke my unspoken vows. As an Oregonian, I violated the sacred rule that all Oregonians unconsciously abide by. In my last post I - gulp - invited people to move to Oregon. I'm not supposed to do that. It's not allowed. We want to keep Oregon quiet and uncrowded. So just ignore what I said, okay?

I mean, we weren't even upset that the national news only made a slight mention of the resignation of our governor after four (non-consecutive) terms. And they haven't made a big deal about the investigation of his fiancee (Cylvia with a C) for influence peddling. Whew! We wouldn't want everyone to know about that. We're just honest folk out here in Oregon. Our new governor, Kate Brown, is so honest that she admits to being both married and bisexual. That sounds like an admission of adultery, too, but that's between her and her husband, and I think she'll be a fine governor.

Anyhoo, the other failures this week involved footwear. I guess I should have invoked St. Hubbins because I had not one, but two shoe malfunctions this week.

I was wearing my red "alligator" Dexter loafers (seen here and here), and the heel caps starting chipping away - on both shoes.

Then this happened

They're not that old to be requiring the care of Jim the Shoe Doctor. It's a tough blow, alright.

Then the next day I was wearing my boots from JCP when this happened

What are the odds? These boots are pretty old anyway, and I think I can treat them at home with some strong glue, botox and reruns of The Avengers.

Geesh, Mercury is barely out of retrograde, and the Old Mother Hubbard constellation must be in quincunx to the crap nebula. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Val

I think I blue it

Here's the outfit.

 

Simple, functional office wear. Lightweight cotton jacket – Marketplace: Handwork of India; top – JCP; gray slacks – Lee; jewelry – Etsy.

 

Here are the shoes.

I (heart) Comfort, cloth, formerly black.

 

Here's the story.

I forgot I had these shoes. I bought them eight years ago when we first moved here and I started my office job. I needed to get some new clothes, cheap and quick, so I bought these in black.

When I found them again a couple of weeks ago I was thinking how I'd like to have a pair of blue shoes, suede or otherwise. Then the shoe fairy threw these in my face as if to say, "Use your imagination, sweetheart. You won't miss them if it doesn't work."

So I bought blue fabric paint and painted them. After taping off the faux leather trim and the soles, I decided that I'd leave the side panel black. I can always change it later.

Unfortunately, the tape pulled off some of the faux leather so I need to fix that – maybe I can make it look like faux blue leopard (as opposed to real blue leopard). Anyway, they're fixable.

 

Now here's where I really blue it. I decided to dye this jacket (photographed last summer), and I wanted a kind of denim color.

This is what I got.

 

The color is supposed to be Royal Blue. It's more like Five-day-old Bruise Blue. I was leery about using the washing machine, so I did it in our utility sink, and I probably didn't leave it in long enough because I got tired of standing in the garage stirring blue liquid with a bamboo cane. Wouldn't you?

The result is not unusable, especially if I swap the buttons. I could also add some layered ruffles to the collar and cuffs. 

But – I – do – not – like – the – color.

So, more dye? A vat of watered down fabric paint? Altered couture to the point of making it unrecognizable? What do you think?

Val

The Doc Marten Dilemma

Did you see Patti's post about wanting to buy Doc Marten's but holding back? I said I wanted some, too, and asked what we're waiting for. So now I guess I'm some kind of shoe pusher, because I think Patti is about to buy her dream 1460s. And she published a picture of us with our skirts in the air.

All very tasteful, of course.

 

From Patti's post - not sure where she got it.

Well, here's my story. I saw these Doc Marten Evans at a very well stocked local shoe store.

Source

I didn't buy them that day, and when I went back with a hankering in my heart, I didn't see them. I ended up buying some red Dexter loafers (seen here) and some cherry Tom's wedges (seen in this post and here).

As I was leaving the store I saw the Docs - they had been moved to another place! Damn! But I'd just bought two other pairs of shoes, and one of them was a cherry color, so I thought I was cool.

I've also done some additional shopping - everything in this outfit is new within the last few weeks - the Tom's wedges, the skirt (resale), the top and scarf (JCP on sale), and the jacket (thrifted).

Here are some close-ups of the jacket, which is very sleek and trim. I assume it's wool, but most of the tags are gone. I'm not sure how much I love it, but I'll see how it goes.

Harve Benard, by Benard Holzman. The color is deep purple, like the picture above

Anyway, since I've been buying a lot lately - even though everything was either on sale, resale, or thrifted - I sort of feel guilty about running out to buy some Docs just because Patti said I could.

And with our weather right now I'd just as soon stay home.

So for now, my Doc dreams on are hold. If I do buy some I want to try them on and buy local, so I'll wait until I can visit Shoe-A-Holic again and see if they still have some of those dotted Evans - but maybe in blue instead!

Linking up with Tres Chic Style Bits at Searching the Inner Me.

And I'll be heading over to Patti's for Visible Monday. I can't wait to see if she bought her Docs!

Have you got a dream purchase you're holding back on?

Val

If at first you don’t succeed, Redoux

This is the tale of two black skirts, neither of which is pictured in this post.

 

The first one is a beautiful wool midi skirt I bought at the thrift store for about $8 - Talbot's brand, side button opening, fully lined, like new. But I can't show it to you. I was little optimistic when I tried it on. The first (and only) time I wore it to work I couldn't breathe! I thought about moving the buttons to give me more room, but that would ruin the line of the skirt, and even then it would never be truly comfortable on my post-Christmas girth.

So I took it to a local resale place - The Redoux Parlour. I'm adding the link because their website is very clever!

The Redoux Parlour is owned by Laura Lee Laroux – again, clever, huh? She's a fashion designer. The shop sells clothes by her and some other local designers, as well as resale items. And they do alterations. And they even have a sewing class.

Besides the skirt, I took some other clothes down to trade a couple of weeks ago, plus a top to be altered. I found a different black midi skirt that fits better, and I got this beautiful shirt by Jones New York.

This shirt is so well made. As Sheila would say, it's got good seaming. And the patterns are put together perfectly symmetrically. 

The fabric feels lovely, and although it's 100 percent cotton, it's barely been kissed by an iron. It fits like a glove, and it only cost $10, which I paid for with the things I traded.

skirt - Christopher & Banks; belt - thrifted; boots - JCP

The belt, skirt and boots have been seen before on my old blog, lots of times. The necklace was a Christmas present from my stepdaughter.

I'll show you my new-to-me black skirt (that I can breathe in) very soon. 

And in a couple of days I'll be linking up with Tres Chic Style Bits at Searching the Inner Me, and of course Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

Have you found some good treasures lately?

Val