Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cherry ice cream smile

Last night I was having difficulty sleeping because it was so hot and humid. I also couldn't turn off my brain and for some unknown reason I started thinking about when I was in Junior High in 1983-85 and my home town got an Eaton Centre. A new MALL!

My friends and I went to check out the NEW MALL and do what 13 year olds do, which thankfully I can't remember, and see what fabulous new stores were in the mall that we wouldn't be shopping in because we didn't have any money.

It was then that I discovered my new love - Le Chateau. Le Chateau had such unique and edgy clothing! So different from the clothes I'd been getting at Sears. Specifically I fell in love with a pair of teal, balloony pants with suspenders and a mustard yellow blouse that was HUGE. (It was the 80s - everything was huge.)

I wore the hell out of the pants - in fact my Grade 7 and Grade 8 photos were taken in them. I loved the blouse which I wore with a brooch at the neck and with my yellow eyeshadow - until someone made fun of me. Being 14, of course I let that bother me. And that led to my changing my way of dressing to conform with the masses. The preppy years. Layering a sweater over an oxford shirt over a polo shirt over a turtleneck. Bass Weejuns penny loafers. Pegged jeans.

And that's about when I fell asleep.

The point of this ramble is that it wasn't until recently that I have felt comfortable enough to "be myself" when deciding what to wear. Sounds corny but it's mostly true.


That being said, look! I totally copied Sheila and bought the same skirt as her.

Cardigan: Pretty Things Boutique (last worn here)
Shirt: Smart Set
Belt: Lut Boutique
Skirt: Club Monaco
Shoes: Anna Sui for Hush Puppies (last worn here)

I was at the mall the other night to pick up a package and I found myself making a beeline to Club Monaco where I found this skirt on extreme markdown.

Sheila wore her's so fabulously that I couldn't resist.



I seem to always where these shoes with my polka dot cardigan. They seem like a natural fit.

12 comments:

  1. I had my coma years too. From early 20s through to... Hmm, about last year! I always liked vintage clothes and was relatively quirky in style as a teenager and student, but somehow that all got away from me, and I became... Invisible, anonymous. Bad move!
    I love your style, and am delighted you found the confidence to wear what you love. That skirt is a beauty ( I need to check out Sheila, if you are pinching her ideas!) and the shoes, oh the shoes! Stripes and polka dots, a perfect combination! xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. We were practically dressed out of the rag bag as kids, so whenever I earned money as a teen, I promptly spent it trying to look like everyone else. Late 70s, early 80s, preppy pastel button downs as far as the eye could see. Every time I see a Lands End department, I'm transported back to high school :P

    I'm kinda longing for your blouse. I love the sheer panels. And it would look great with all my preppy pencil skirts...lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember that Vancouver's Pacific Centre had a Le Chateau, and I was so stoked (lol) when we got one in Victoria, around the same time. I dressed weird in high school, but more conservatively when I was in my 20s. It wasn't until I lost weight 5+ years ago that I started dressing like the "me" in high school again.

    It's not the same skirt - mine isn't tiered - but it's close! Love it and love how you styled it. I am mad for that cincher belt (you know I love them).

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haha, my story is very similar to yours. Only replace Le Chateau with Hot Topic and the 90s. I wore the hell out of some baggy pants with bondage straps. I got made fun of for wearing red eyeliner. But lots of yay for rediscovering being different. I think it's much more fun, no?

    Love the new skirt! Hope you get as much mileage from yours as Sheila did. It's a great unique basic. Oh those shoes make me swoon. Curse you, Anna Sui, for making the cutest things ever.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love those shoes with that incredible skirt! I'm like you - I didn't start to dress "me" until I figured out who that was, and even then I found and lost myself several times through the years.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love those shoes. They look so demure from the front and then wow in the back. Love the whole outfit.
    My mother made most of my clothes when we were growing up, so I did not have much choice on what to wear. I did conform to what others wore. It wasn't until the late 60's when I started dressing a bit crazier--hippie style, but that was conforming too, we just did not know it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was always really "dressed up" in high school, so I stood out, and then when I moved from a small town to a larger city, I started to experiment with different looks, and discovered thrift stores, and Le Chateau (from which I purchased my first black leather skirt!). I've become more "me" in my outfits in the last ten years, and I'm happier because of it. I wish I had those shoes...sigh

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful cardigan and shoes! Kisses

    ReplyDelete
  9. lovely outfit - quite Victoriana, I think, if that's the right word? though I am sure the Victorians did NOT have such good shoes.

    And ah, the powers of others that make you feel small, or inhibited to wear things. I can remember some jeers at a school disco where I had a fusion outfit of red cowboy shirt, white judo trousers and 70's wooden stack heels, completed with gelled short hair. Their loss.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love your cardigan, and those fun shoes! You have such a fun, unique shoe collection :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Megan, I would love to see those Grade 7 and 8 photos! Finally being comfortable to be yourself again in choosing what to wear doesn't sound corny at all, and the authenticity which you rock the hell out of your personal style these days is seriously great. In this outfit, It is awesome how you've paired the graphic stripes and dots with sheer, lace, and gathers.

    There was a NEW MALL (Eaton Centre! With Le Chateau!) in my history too - except it was in the city 40 min. away from my one-stoplight small town. Being essentially feral due to isolation (or so it felt), there was not a chance in hell of my "passing" as one of the masses. I did not know how to even start to try, and so went the other way.

    Though I have a certain affection for that long-ago decade, I blame those giant '80's clothes for it taking 'til now to figure out what actually fits me!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fab outfit!! My style is new to me as well, a couple of years ago I finally found the courage to wear more dresses and skirts cause until then I had only been dreaming of it :) Im quite the shy person so it was a big deal for me. I used to dress to blend inn, but not anymore :p

    ReplyDelete