Why was it a short week? We did a road trip and took Monday off.

That meant one less office outfit, so I had to really not half-ass it. Only full-ass effort for you, Gentle Reader.

Enough blathering! To the grail! *claps coconuts*1

Dragon Froth

I took the easy route for Tuesday’s office outfit, as I’d been off for 5 whole days. I can’t be expected to be super-duper creative! Unreasonable!

Layer up the short-sleeved top with a white shirt2 - I don’t even have to try it on to know it will work. Easy-peasy!

Add this flowy skirt, which is a staple in my wardrobe, but you could really swap in any skirt or swooshy trouser. It’s all interchangeable and ripe for creative new combos.

Overall, this was a solid effort. It hit all my words: artsy, joyful…and it’s the SHIRT that provides the badass, in a shocking turn of events! Whoa! How did that happen?

It’s giving Authority and contrast with the sporty vibe of the top (the striped arms/neckline). How cool. I didn’t even know I was doing that!

Branded items: Sneakers are by Findlay. Smoking Lily fly scarf. Monet vintage brooch. Twisty earrings are by Biko.

Retail Review: I only purchased one item in this entire outfit retail, and that’s the amber ring, which I bought from a costume shop in 1995 for FIVE BUCKS. I think I’ve worn it a bajillion times - I’ve even had to file the edges of the band, as they’re so worn they got sharp and were cutting me3.

And all the rest is secondhand! Go, me! I pat myself on the back like a silly English kn-iggit!

If you ever have any questions about any of my stuff, just ask. I love yakking about it.

Shapes and Heels

The starting point for Wednesday’s office fit was the heeled Converse sneakers that I picked up in Powell River last weekend. Something this bold needs to be shown off! I should pair it with neutrals!

Um, yeah, that’s how I do neutrals. WHAT.

Circles/stones. Stripes. Windowpane plaid. Black, white and shades of blue.

So, the shoes felt HIGH. Not just the platform, but the pitch4 of the heel. That is a little higher than my feet are used to, and the bones felt that old familiar ache. I spent decades wearing pointy-toed very high heels and doing Stoopid Things in them5, and I’ve been weaning myself off them for a few years, gradually letting go of pairs I no longer reach for.

Do I really want this high of a heel in my closet now? No…BUT (there’s always a but).

They are SO fun. I put sport insoles in them and bounced around. And I’m TALL (I am 5’4”) with that extra 3 inches. They gave me a lot of joy while I stomped around the office, and that alone gives them a reprieve.

Branded items: Converse heeled sneakers. A Babaton PVC hat. Alexis Bittar vintage silver/Lucite cuff. Lakeland Art Metal Works steel cuff (1970s). Wendy Brandes rings (Fulvia Ring is a blue aquamarine; the other is lapis lazuli).

Who knew new? Ring a ding ding, it’s all preloved, bought consignment, and thrifted. Except! for the Wendy Brandes rings, which I bought from her, the designer. If you’re gonna retail, do it ethically, puh-leez!

Mom-Day Kenzo

The weather fucked me around on Thursday, as I had to dress for All The Weathers (sun, rain, wind, thundershowers). My plans for sandals went out the window and I did a full pivot to…

BOOTS!

Yes, thank you, August for this bout of cooler temps, as I’ve been missing my boot collection.

But this was the perfect opportunity to get to this 100% cotton dress (including the lining) for its seasonal wearing. Mom’s seen it a bunch of times, but too bad. We had a lovely day6, thanks for asking.

That it’s cotton is both a good thing (yay, cotton!) and a bad thing. It’s like crisp sheets and it clings to other fabrics, so I need to wear it when I can get away with as few layers as possible, and no/minimal jacket over it. I’ve ranted about Velvet Rage, but Cotton Rage is also a thing!

Branded items: The leather boots are Jose Saenz. That’s a 90s Ted Lapidus purse. Fendi “guitar buckle” belt.

Anything New? Nope! Neither retail nor new-to-me - this is all secondhand, all pre-loved and all worn many times!

Mom had a surprise for me: she found two vests hiding in her closet!

The one on the left is veering a little Christmas for my taste, but now I kinda have to challenge myself to wear it, don’t I? At least once!

I love the second one…except for the woven fabric on the back - I would prefer black, but I can hide it under a jacket. I’m picturing this with my teal suit, which makes me grin like a silly fool.

Mad Pants

I spent some time on Thursday night putting together two outfits for Friday: one for the office and one for going to see “Monty Python’s Spamalot” musical at the Royal Theatre that night with Yvonne and Randall.

I knew I would need to play around and experiment with these wacky pants, and figure out what to put with them so that they don’t swamp me.

Well, what’s a maximalist to do? Add more pattern! I started with the leopard top, and added the olive green to help the outfit calm the fuck down.

It’s okay, everyone! We have a real neutral!7 No need for alarm!

Dabs of green, pops of yellow and some soothing gold all worked their magic.

Branded items: The ballet flats are Karl Lagerfeld. The earrings are by Martha Sturdy, and the necklace/chain are Robert Larin.

Anything New? No! It’s 100% secondhand, preloved, thrifted, consignment, vintage fair and gifted (the olivine ring was Mom’s and the necklace was a vintage mall gift from Logan).

Alert the media! You too can look this whackadoo with only preloved items!

Queen at the Royal

I dashed home after work on Friday to change into my queenly garb for a night at the Royal chortling at very silly Monty Python jokes. Logan joined Yvonne, Randall and I for dinner at Zambri’s before the show, and snagged us a table at Clive’s Lounge afterwards for the debrief.8

This silk dress is tissue-thin and not suitable for cold weather, so it’s one of my “dressy” gowns that I’d been saving for a festive wearing opportunity. I had to be ready on Friday night for All The Weather, mostly wind, chilly evening temps and potential hot/cold-running AC at the theatre.

What do we do? LAYERS!

I considered bigass boots, but my feet were still tired from those honking heeled sneakers earlier in the week, and I worried my calves would sweat9, so pivoted over to these lined linen trousers paired with my Adidas Superstars.

Then I needed a topper (pockets would be a bonus) that would match the textile weight of the silk and linen. Boom! We do like blue (but is it your favourite colour? no, RED!).

Idiotic Man-terlude: At Zambri’s while Randall was at the table.

Random man touches my arm.10 “Hey, Princess!”

Me (WITHERING GLARE11): “I’m a QUEEN. Move along!” (waved him off imperiously)

Randall: Do you know that guy?

Me: Nope, just some asshole who thinks I need his validation of my appearance. #notallmen. #alwaysmen.12

Fuckfuckfuck! That totally threw me off my game. It rattled me like a set of coconuts!

Branded items: The Adidas Superstar sneakers were a special International Women’s Day edition many years ago. The crystal belt is Zara. The steel cuff is stamped “Moda Malta.” Fulvia Ring (aquamarine) by Wendy Brandes.

What’s New, Pussycat? I bought the crystal tiara in early 2020, and the Fulvia Ring directly from my blog buddy Wendy ages ago. The rest is secondhand, including the shoes which I thrifted several years ago.

Brunch Elmo

If it’s Saturday, we brunch. And here’s another dress that just hasn’t gotten an outing this season, mostly because it’s very light (a silky rayon) so needs to be worn when it’s really hot, and because it’s short.

Ten Five Two13 years ago, I’d have been, “Fuck all this ageist BS around short skirts, bring ‘em on!” Now? Eeeeee…if I don’t want to look at my thighs, I’m gonna assume no one else does either. It’s more about my own comfort level, though, and less than about What Others Think14. Don’t you worry - if I feel like being Thighs Out, I will.

ELMOOOOOOO! It was chilly in the shade, and windy at times, so I tossed on my red Elmo faux fur, and wore it louchely, hanging off one or both shoulders. It was snuggly and comforting and people loved it. I was the swankiest Muppet in the grocery store.

Branded items: Leather boots are 80s Bandolino. The leather purse is Julia Sanchez for Vendome.

New or Pre-Loved? It’s all secondhand, baby!

A Wee Shop

Logan wanted a browse in Ditch Records after brunch, so I had a 20-minute shop at the big WIN Warehouse thrift store.

Notes:

• I’ll always buy packaged tights for a fraction of retail!

• I’m annoyed at myself for not taking a better look at the plaid skirt’s tags. It’s UK size 12, which is more like a Can/US 8. Too fucking tight, argle bargle!

• Soothing myself in satin pajamas, NWT? Signs point to YES.

I feel like I talked myself into both the skirt and the pajamas, which…are silky and look great, but also feel like cold plastic.

Grrr. How am I still not learning to look and not buy? Clearly, I’m filling some sort of mental hole that’s full of bones and poky things that bite…with big shiny teeth!! Rar! (Totally NOT a rabbit, why would you think that?).

These Are My People

Every day is a gift. Never say no to seeing friends!

Damn, what fine people these are. I am so very lucky.

And These Are My Cats

Little monkey-boys! I just want to crush them with hugs!

Whoa! Over already? You made it! Good job!

This is where I express my gratitude for y’all being here, including all you noobs, my regular peeps, my longtime friends and blog-readers, and yes, you, random stranger! If you picked up what I’m putting down, I’d appreciate a heart/like, a restack, mention, and of course, comments are always welcome. THANK YOU.

Now, get out of here. Go live your life.

Cheers,

Sheila

Stuff About Me

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

6

Birds for my buddy :

So while last week, it was all about leading up to a weekend party…

…this week is a few days of office-wear followed by a weekend wearing the same stuff over and over, as I am a minimalist packer. I know, right? Moi? A minimalist?

Do tell!

Weird Adidas

Well, hey there, let’s maximalize this, shall we? Boom!

My goal was to wear the dress which requires either an under- or over-layer. Since the dress reads as dark green, I matched it to the green leaves in the jacket’s pattern2.

The jacket’s a keeper, but the dress will be moved along eventually - not right now, as it’s good for the office all year round, but when I feel ready. I don’t want to make any rash decisions, but I feel like my inner Eye of Ruthlessness3 is now tagging my clothes and accessories as “to be let go.”

It’s a long deadline, no rush (but under 2 years! eee!). I’ve already been removing things here and there that I just look at and I feel the YUP sign flip to NOPE.

Oh, what am I yammering on about…duh. I have a goal to reduce my entire closet by 50% by the time I retire mid-2028. GOALS, y’all.

Anyway, this type of dress is great with layers and very office-appropriate, but I’m not gonna need that when I’m not going to an office, am I?

Branded items: The shoes are Sol Sana. The bigass necklace is Banana Republic, and the spiral earrings are by Justine Clenquet.

What’s New, Pussycat? I bought the shoes locally from Footloose Shoes in 2018. Everything else is pre-loved!

I rarely shop retail, but shoes are where I often dip my toes in. It’s hard to find good shoes secondhand, although I do well in consignment stores4.

If you ever have any questions about my stuff, where I found it or its history, just ask. I love talking about it!

Optic B&W

I deployed optical obfuscation in my outfit on Tuesday. A dazzling kaleidoscope of a cardigan in mesh. A wool skirt shaped like an insect carapace with folds and pleats.

I’d worn neither the cardigan nor the booties yet this season, so let’s mash ‘em together. After all, they are both B&W patterns so they’ll go together. That’s like a law or something.

More black and white, you say?

I ended up feeling favourable and benevolent about the cardigan, which is by one of my favourite designers (JPG). It’s soft and light as a feather.

So, why don’t I wear it more? Because I fold it instead of hanging it, and it gets lost on the shelf(it’s very small when folded).

Duh, Sheila, maybe you should hang it? What? I’m supposed to learn these things? What if I just rediscover it over and over instead5.

Branded items: The “pony hair” boots are by Matisse. There’s that Soul Flower crystal/silver ring again. The clip-on earrings are stamped “Western Germany”!

One Hundred! Percent! Pre-Loved! My former boss Cindy bought me the Soul Flower ring for taking her shopping (it was $10). The rest is thrifted/vintage fair/consignment.

Grandma’s Copper

I am utterly full of gratitude, “good golly, me??” and grinning my ass off from seeing the results of the interview/conversation I had with of The Literary Jewelry Box (link ‘cause I love).

I’ll wait, go read.

The Literary Jewelry Box

My Grandmother’s Earrings Carry the Marks of Her Life—and Now, Mine

It’s story time…

Read more

15 days ago · 5 likes · 4 comments · Tara Donaldson

Right? I got all teary! But of course, I had to wear the jewelry in question on the day she published, particularly the earrings, the ones with Grandma’s wear pattern.

It can be a challenge when you have a few BIG accessories, or a collection of jewelry. How does one showcase it and still look fabulous? Are those even mutually-exclusive? Pshaw, I think not.

Black is the easy answer, plus I wanted to wear this ginormous copper belt and that requires a certain silhouette: fit and flare. I looked at all my A-shaped skirts and landed on this crinkly tiered iridescent beauty. The cross colours are turquoise and orange, very nice with all the copper.

Yes, I do buy clothes that work with my jewelry collections. Boom, just blew your mind, didn’t I?

Any excuse to wear these fabulous boots, which I’ve done with the skirt and scarf before. I tend to repeat sections of outfits rather than entire looks. I get a nice little boost from wearing my favourite things, and I still get to scratch the creative itch by making it different.6

Branded items: The boots are by Donald J. Pliner, and the silk scarf is Banana Republic. The copper belt and the rounded cuff are both by Renoir; the enameled cuff and earrings are both Matisse by Renoir (all their enameled collections are stamped Matisse).

BINGO! I did it! Another 100% pre-loved look, from top to toe. It was all in-person consignment over an 18+ year span, except for the noted jewelry that I was gifted or inherited from my Grandma J.

On a side note, I was told that the original owner of the belt wore it for square dancing. Can’t you just perfectly picture it? Do-si-do!

Bonus: I found a picture of me from the era when my Grandma J gave me her copper set - this is the worn-backwards black cardigan I paired with the copper to my Creative Writing workshop. FANCEH.

This was a mall cardigan, from…I want to say Reitmans? I bought it in the late 80s and wore it well into the 90s, until the buttons all fell off and it was all pilled.

A Wee Shop

I had to skip Mom-Day on Thursday and stay home and wait for the building systems upgrade people to put our crown moulding back up. I didn’t know when it would be done, so I had to be up really early (my usual time, 6:40am, ugh). So much sitting around, but at least I was able to dig into my old boxed photos and diaries7.

I also had to run an errand which necessitated me going all the way to Turnabout8, so once the crew was done, I threw on some easy things for a hot day and just went.

It was hot and I didn’t really care about going all out. This is minimal effort.

My judgy inner voice was highly critical of this outfit, but I told it to STFU.

I had two goals: to buy Vero her birthday gift card at Turnabout (the core Winesday group all chip in and for our birthdays we get our $100 gift card of choice), and to pick up snackage for Cat and Ross for the upcoming weekend9.

Branded items: The shoes are by Los Cabos. Fossil purse.

How’d I do? I bought the sandals at local shop The Cobbler last month, but everything else was secondhand.

And what did I find on my wee shop? Besides the gift card and snacks - both missions accomplished! - I did find a few things.

I didn’t want to spend all day shopping, but I do like to have a look, why deny it? Instead of my usual go-through-everything method, I deployed my “15-minute shop” mindset. We’re just going to touch textile and otherwise only get the things that leap out and/or make me gasp10.

This was semi-successful; I should have passed on the sandals, but SIGH, whatever, how about we wear them first and then go back to self-recriminations?

Notes:

• I found these leather-lined sandals with a back heel zip at Good Things Consignment Vintage (I also bought some kitchen utensils, not shown, for $5 each). They’re super comfortable, and I love the blue-tinged snakeskin. I bought them for the colour, the comfort and the price.

• Ah, the White Shirt With Character I was looking for! I spotted this little bit of batshit awesome at House of Savoy. Those are pockets hanging down in the front, and check out the cool back abstract design. Motivated to style this. Style came first on this - so, a win!

• An “upgrade” to the existing Adidas jacket I bought a while back that is blue, red and baby blue and GOES WITH NOTHING11. Gonna sell that one and keep this one. Bonus points: It was dirt cheap in the menswear department of Turnabout, and it’s labeled “Fred” on the label with a felt pen. Dead Old Guy clothes! Aw, Fred, I hope I do your jacket justice.

• And finally, yes, they were a lot of money (but it’s my money, I earned it and I owe no one a fucking explanation), but I sucked in my breath when I saw them, and they were super fun to play with in the fitting room. I know I have said that paper-bag waists are Not Me, but here I am buying another one12. I’m excited to play with these13!

Would you have bought any of these items? What’s your favourite? To the comments, my pretties! Fly!

Road Trip!

If you’ve been with me for longer than a year, you know we travel to the bustling metropolis of Powell River, BC14, a couple times a year to visit Logan’s family. It’s a long, LONG trip15. We stop and see my family on the way home16.

I’ve been making the round trip with Logan since the late 90s, and we have it down to a science now. Friday is the drive up/ferry/hotel check-in, and dinner out, often with a friend. Saturday, I go shopping at the excellent secondhand shops in “downtown” PR, while Logan hangs out with his mom and other assorted family, followed by a big dinner in the evening. We go home on the first ferry on Sunday and arrive home that evening.

Things have changed over the years, and visits ebb and flow. I used to shop with Louise back in the 00s, we used to do bigger dinners/see more people, and Logan’s brother was working out of town this time. It’s a tough trip to plan for, emotional to be soaking in it, and a somewhat guilty relief when we come home, but family doesn’t live forever. Gotta keep doing it…

Putting Karma in the Family Bank!

I am a minimalist packer, in that I don’t take much with me. Both Logan and I bring a half-empty backpack each, and that’s it.

I wear a variation of the same thing every trip: a skirt, comfy shoes, and t-shirts I can sleep in. The additional layers vary: a coat and accoutrements in winter, and a few light layers in summer, plus a hat. I sleep in the t-shirts. I used to bring a fancier top or dress for dinner, but now I don’t bother. I’m always the dressiest person I see the entire weekend!

Here’s a gallery17 of what I wore/packed.

Branded items: Adidas track jacket, Chiqle acid-wash vest, Acqua & Limone skirt. The leather purse is Michael Kors. The sequined shoes are Converse. Tees are (top to bottom): SPRZNY X Andy Warhol, The Beaches’ 2020 “The Professionals” Tour merch, Elton John tour merch. Juicy Couture crystal studded cuff, and that Soul Flower ring again. Silk Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier scarf.

Retail Purchases: I bought the Beaches shirt new at the concert, and the filigree cuff in 2010 at the St. Paul’s Cathedral gift shop, but everything else is pre-loved/secondhand or gifted (the S pendant).

It is no secret that I adore Logan, and one of the things I most appreciate is that he does his own direct emotional family labour and spends all of Saturday with his mom/family18 and leaves me to go shopping.

Shopping Finds

Notes:

• I am not sure how long I will keep the Converse sneakers - they did not speak to me, but they are the right colour. Are they silly? Will I look silly in them? Do I care? DO I?

• The bag is the best purchase. The perfect shade of turquoise. Made in Canada Roots! Gorgeous pebbled leather. Loads of pocketry.

• Another lace + design top, following my Lalabobo delight. Will this evoke the same feeling? Probably not, but it HAS A DRAGON IT IT OMG. Yesyesyes.

• A dull-coloured vest that will be good for layering. Practical. Yawn. I need a nap. Feeling so sleeeeeeepy…

Catch-and-Release

Y’all know this is something I am trying to practice. Sheila, you do not have to own everything you see that you like. Take a fucking picture.

Thoughts on my purchases? Let’s hear it!

These Are My People

It’s been a people-filled weekend.

My beloved, my family. , that’s Grandma J’s daughter Lois in the green-grey top. She loved your article, as did her daughter.

And These Are My Cats

They quickly accepted their new Human Overlords, Ross and Cat, who visited and kept them company while we were gone.

They were all blasé when we got home, but that quickly evolved into “hug me!” eyes and snuggles. Aw, it’s nice to be missed.

Woot! There we are, you made it! Thanks so much for reading all the way, and I hope something here made you smile, resonated or gave you pause for thought. I would love to hear from you, whether it’s mashing that heart, restacking or dropping me a comment…but even if you don’t, I’m still appreciative of your presence. Thank you.

Next week…Musical theatre is in the cards, plus I have all these new-to-me pieces to style up! Stay tuned!

Stuff About Me

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

PS-If you aren’t acquainted with Loverboy1…

In Victoria we get lovely hot days well into October. But enough of this weather chit-chat! Bring on the clothes!

Club Lalabobo

On Monday, we Lalabobo!

Okay, I am seriously in LURVE with this batshit crazy top. It was easy to style, and I can think of so many other ways to play with it - I will definitely be rewearing it again before too long.

Add it to the list of Strange Tops, along with my sequined popcorn, Kenzo Eiffel Tower, Water Buffalo sweater…to name but a few!

I do like a Strange Top. They add a lot of pizzazz to an outfit!

Branded items: Those are the Powerhouse Jyoti boots by John Fluevog. Your eyes do not deceive you, that’s a vintage 70s Halston silk scarf (from France, so classy). The leather/steel cuff is by local company Rimanchik. The lapis lazuli ring is by Wendy Brandes, the earrings are Betsey Johnson, and the necklace is FAC (Fifth Avenue Collection).

What’s new, pussycat?2 I bought the boots years ago on clearance. The cuff was from a local shoe store that sells local accessories. Wendy Brandes’ ring has been with me for 13ish years, bought from her personally.

If you ever have questions about anything I’m wearing, please drop me a comment! I love sharing what I’ve learned about my secondhand pieces.

Office Pirate

Goth, pirate, poet…wave a bit of ruffled paisley at me and I’m like a cat spotting a moth. Rapt. You have my attention.

I’m at the point in my seasonal closet (Apr-Sept, inclusive) where I’m starting to really point my eye at the backwards hangers3, and also start rewearing some of my favourite pieces.

Once I started really leaning into those piratical vibes, I narrowed my focus and looked for ruffles, silk, paisley, velvet. These things all make me happy.

The backward hanger AND favourite piece is my indigo purple velour skirt. It’s stretchy with a wide elastic threaded through the waistband, and it’s a delightfully thick plush. It’s soothing to wear. Petpetpet.

Tuesday’s office day included my weekly meeting with my boss, and the usual interactions with my colleagues. I realized around noon that I missed a button right in the middle of my stomach. This is why I wear camisoles.

Branded items: The shoes are the Big Presence Desmond by John Fluevog. This is the Perry Ellis vintage silk scarf’s debut. The gold/amethyst ring was my dad’s and is from Francis Jewellers c. 1965.

Any Cheeky Retail? Nope, it’s all preloved! Go, me!

Big Dress

First Friday aka Wednesday4 loomed, and I plucked at this dress, a thrift store find this past January. It’s gorgeous quality and I want to make it work for everyday situations, so I wore it to the office.

Layering a light sweater under it felt right - it’s a very “tatts out” dress with its low back, and although I don’t mind showing my tattoos in the office5, I also don’t want to get chilled. I’m a delicate fucking flower!

This is such a girly shape and reminds me so much of Past Sheila (I’ve always rocked a fit-and-flare). These days, I prefer it “toughed up” but I’m mercurial and apt to change my mind and go all pink and gold if I want to!

Branded items: Those pink metallic leather wooden last6 platform sandals (that’s a lot of adjectives!) are by Wonders. That’s a John Fluevog scarf. The belt is Banana Republic, as Emily brilliantly deduced. The broken bracelet is a vintage D’Orlans. The metal rose earrings are by Betsey Johnson and I found the vintage 80s gold-tone Givenchy necklace at a vintage fair 10+ years ago for FIVE BUCKS7.

Bought new or not: I bought the sandals at local shop Footloose on deep discount in 2017. The scarf is from the Fluevog store. All the rest is new to meeeeee!

I’m sad about the bracelet, but it’s not real gold, just costume, and not worth a costly repair. I have considered that it could be reused as a clasp on a jacket or coat (waist or collar), or broken up and sewn onto something. I’m just not sure if I’m the one to do that…8

Mom-Day!

Ah-hoy-hoy! Thursday morning went far too quickly9 and I ended up being nearly an hour late to get to Mom’s for our weekly adventure. This threw our subsequent walk at Elk Lake and lunch afterward into disarray. It’s chaos, I tell you!

I did enjoy the luxury of putting together my “oot and aboot”10 outfit from scratch, in the moment. So fun!

Clutch your pearls, kittens, those are 59-year-old thighs you’re glimpsing through the Weird Adidas tulle. SCANDALOUS.

I wanted to wear this shirt again because it’s always good to play around with a new thing a few times in close succession after purchase. You know, otherwise you’re risking “Well, I wore it once and it was FINE, so now I don’t have to think about it again for a while until I turn those hangers back around, or maybe even next year.”

That was me in the days of a Big Closet - well, technically I still HAVE a Big Closet and this is all aspirational - before I reduce it down to to a more manageable size and slide into retirement with a fully-armed-and-operational-battlestation11 functional and EXCITING wardrobe that’s only stuff I love.

No filler!

Well, that’s the goal. We’re never really DONE with our wardrobes…they are ephemeral12.

Oh, good, you can see the white stripes on the skirt there. Otherwise, how would you know it’s Weird Adidas?

Branded items: The shoes are by Homers, and the leather/suede purse is by Aimee Kestenberg.

New or No? The only thing bought new here were the shoes, many years ago. Everything else was pre-loved or a gift…or a gift AND pre-loved, like the big amber blob necklace and the amber blob bracelet, both prezzies from Logan.

I felt very chic and also very FASHUN with the sheer tulle and my swanky thousand-dollar shirt13, and I had a marvelous day with my Mom. If you like west coast greenery, enjoy.

Office Pajamas

Fridays in August are dead in my office, so are a prime time to play around with a “more casual-but-still-put-together” look, as one of my colleagues commented. This represents a shift away from my former funky-but-always-profesh office wear of the past.

The first time I wore the silk top, I felt I needed to give it its due and style it the way it was “meant” to be styled, you know, add the shoulder-pads, put cufflinks in, wear it with a skirt, etc. etc. And so I did.

But this time, I wanted to see if I could make it work for me instead of vice versa. Let’s see if I can wear it open, almost like a blazer, and with casual pants.

I appreciated the louche casualness of this vibe, although the bigass flappy cuffs didn’t like being rolled up and frequently said, “Hey! Let’s play in the sink!” It did feel good to fold them up high and then give a roll to make them stay put - like I’m a stylist or something. *flips hair*

Branded items: The shoes are by Chloe and the hat is Babaton (it’s fake leather). The long gold-tone chain on the right it Monet.

Secondhand SCHTAR: It’s all secondhand, every bit, even the shoes! Woo! Hand me that medal right fucking now!

And that was the work-week - now it’s party-time!

Snakes Alive

Saturday we slithered into town for brunch. I had high hopes that it would suddenly be cool enough to wear tweed and faux fur - oh, my friends, how foolish that hope was. As soon as I stepped outside, I realized it was way too fucking hot for faux fur.

Perhaps I’ll revisit this outfit when the weather turns in 5-6 weeks, maybe with boots. Anyway, I rolled with this, and then decided to really pile on the theme.

IT’S SNAKES, DID YOU GET IT?

I do not care if snakes are trendy or not - I’ve owned and worn snaky jewelry since I was 17 (so just a few years, she guffawed). Fuckit, pile it on!

I just keep adding more whenever I find a piece I like14, so 42 years later, I have a nice little collection of vintage snake jewelry, and some sweet serpent-y accessories.

Branded items: The shoes are Lucky Brand. The leather purse is Margot New York, and the leather belt is by Notes du Nord. Whiting & Davis made the snake coil bracelet, and the leather chain cuff is by Jenny Bird.

Retail review: I bought the sandals new at the Bay 5+ years ago, and the mesh top is a sample from Dots. The silver snake ring was retail in 1985, which hardly counts.

I liked my snaky theme so much, I nearly wore it all again that evening…

Suede Mermaid and the Long Bomber

I said “nearly”!

As Saturday afternoon wore on…and I woke up from a two-hour nap, my feelings changed. It started with the shoes - I put this new-to-me suede dress on and knew I’d have to pick something that would work well with the flared hem.

Remember when I bought the dress, that time I met up with ? I’d held off on wearing it due to the hot weather, but with the hazy skies and cool breezes, I realized that not only would it be cool enough, but I’d need to wear a top piece.

Enter…the long bomber, aka The World’s Longest Bomber Jacket.

My friends oohed and aahed over the whole ensemble, with Caro proclaiming it “the best dress ever, babes!”

It was utterly comfy for an evening of chilling with 25+ of my favourite people.

Branded Items: The sandals are by Via Spiga. That’s the purse that proves the myth: you CAN find Coach purses in the thrift shop. Alexis Bittar Lucite and sterling bangle. Smoky topaz/silver ring is by Anneli Neumann.

How much pre-loved? Woo! 100% pre-loved/used/thrifted/consignment/secondhand, and 100% awesome!

But wait!

Bird interlude!

, Great Horned Owl alert! She was perched on the roof!

Rosanna’s pictures were probably better than mine, but eh, whatever.

These Are My People

There was much love for our friend group at the party.

I’m so grateful for my people.

And These Are My Cats

They go between being utter monkeys and total snuggleboys.

Let’s wrap it up, shall we? Looking back, that was a fun week, even without a theme.

Looking forward, this will be a short work-week for us, followed by a special adventure filled with scenery and (mostly) fun times. Stay tuned!

Friends/Readers/Subscribers: Did you have a favourite? Thoughts? Please drop me a comment (I always answer), or give me a heart/like or restack! Thanks again for being here!

Cheers,

Sheila

Stuff About Me

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

THE END. Thanks for being here!

But the carrot dangling at the end of the week was the pool party! Despite feeling that everything led up to that, I did attempt to slow down and smell the roses and enjoy the week.

So we have a discombobulated few days, punctuated with a dentist appointment, a visit and shopping trip with Mom, and THEN…the caftan adventure commences. Oh, did I mention the bonus Star Wars detour?

Ready? Go, go go!

Family Monday

Due to the BC Day long weekend1, we had Monday off. I joined my brother Dave and his youngest daughter, Sydney, plus Mom, for lunch. It was lovely to see them all!

I smartly reviewed my last few outfits with this dress - the bonus of having pictures that go all the way back to my original purchase - and recalled that I quite like it worn open over pants.

The belt was a royal pain in the arse to thread through the belt-loops. The things we do for fashion!

Branded items: Those shoes are the Prepare Guide by John Fluevog, as is the belt. The leather purse is a Club Monaco. The large enamel bracelet is by Lauren G. Adams. The earrings are Stella & Dot.

What’s New Review: As noted, I bought the dress new in Italy. Logan bought me the shoes many years ago, and I found the belt on deep discount two-ish years ago.

The crystal bracelet and both rings belonged to my mom, and are all from the 60s or 70s. The dome brooch is 1960s and was my Gram S’s (Mom’s mum), and has matching earrings.

If you ever have any questions about any of my stuff, just ask - I love blathering on about it.

Green Velvet

Instead of going straight to work in my pre-caffeinated daze on Tuesday morning, I had to wait around for three hours while the fire system was tested in our condo. Fortunately, I’d planned my outfit the night before, anticipating the need for self-soothing (velvet).

Gotta wear that New Thing right away!

This top is a winner - I look at it and I think of all the stuff it’s going to be worn with.

Jacket required. The office is chilly all year round.

Yeah, I’m still in weekend mode.

Branded items: “I Know” Han and Leia shoes are Irregular Choice X Star Wars.

Thrifted or Gifted? My mother-in-law bought me these shoes in 2016 (they were expensive!), and everything else is secondhand.

Bonus Star Wars/Shoe Content!

I was nine years old when I saw Star Wars, and like a million other kids, I was hooked. Empire Strikes Back came out when I was 12, and I was deep into ROMANCE by then2, so of course my Han & Leia ‘shipping was in full force (pun intended) with this very shy lovelorn girl3.

My dear mother-in-law treated me like a daughter for 30 years4, and loved to buy me things. “You see something you really want, you tell me and I’ll buy it for ya, Sheila!” When I saw these at now-long-gone She She Shoes, my jaw dropped. They are a true treasure.5

You may have noticed that my book adaptation of Empire is well-worn - as the only way to see the movie back then was…at the theatre…I relied on the version published from the screenplay. This is why page 179 doesn’t have the famous “I know” response: Harrison Ford ad-libbed it! Anyway, my copy is rather dog-eared from rereading The Scene. Swoon! I dreamed of meeting my own Han Solo!

And I did! Would you like to meet him?

Star Wars for-evah!

Dental Colours

Wednesday was another scrambly day, as I had to leave the office at 2:30 for a dentist appointment. I always dress up for my dental folks - they are a colourful bunch and always give me a head-to-toe fit check.

“I wore this for you!” I even pointed out the little butterflies on my socks.

I freaking love these pants - they are bright, they have cargo pockets, AND large side pockets. They swoosh when I walk. YES.

I felt happy and utterly me in all this colour, and yet I still felt badass.

Branded items: The shoes are the Classy Bach by John Fluevog. Silk scarf is Alexander McQueen. The silicone square cuff is by Materia Designs.

New or New-to-me? The shoes were bought new on clearance last year. The earrings belonged to my mom’s mum, my Gram S, and they match the dome brooch I wore with the dress/white jeans above.

I love shocking people when I drop the silicone bangle, or toss it against a wall. SQUISH. It’s very fun to wear.

Mom-Day in Bronze Pleats

Thursday was a long day - Mom wanted to go shoe shopping6, so I had to be up early to get out to her house at a decent time to go where she wanted (DSW and Staples office supply), have lunch and then get back home. It takes up the whole day…and while I do not regret it, it’s still exhausting7. Doesn’t feel like a day off.

I did not dress appropriately for the day’s weather, which was fucking hot, but I’d rather be a bit sweaty and look good. “You did it to yourself, just you…you and no one else…”8

The shiny skirt is ultra-flowy and swirled around me, but is not so long or voluminous that I can’t lug boxes of shoes around or put an office chair together from a flat-pack with an allen-key9.

What’s the antithesis of a swooshy silk-blend skirt? A Public Enemy t-shirt! This is merch from the final Rifflandia music festival last September.

Woo! Let’s hear it for rewearing! This is the 20th time I’ve worn this skirt in nearly 6 years, which is a VERY high rate for me (big closet, fewer repeats). I never thought a bronze pleated skirt would be so fun to play with, but here we are at two bucks per outfit.

Branded items: The men’s shoes are the Catalyst Shapers by John Fluevog. The leather purse is Aimee Kestenberg. The smaller studded belt is Madewell, and the chain/leather bracelet is Jenny Bird. The necklace with the crystal is Fifth Avenue Collection, the gold/silver cuff is JLA, and the earrings are by Chan Luu.

Pre-loved, gifted or new? YES! The only thing I bought for myself was the silver snake ring, when I was 17 years old (just yesterday! kidding, it was 1985). The shoes were retail, but a gift from Logan. The snake ring, Celtic S pendant and the snake brooch were all gifts from Mom & Dad, 30-40 years ago. My former coworker Ruth gave me the grommet belt from her closet. Everything else is pre-loved - bought either in a thrift shop or in a consignment store.

Mom was flush with retail victory and very happy with me. Read all about it!

Flowy Leopard

Friday’s office outfit was decided based on, “I want to wear this/these again,” and seeing what would go with this swooshy pleated leopard skirt and these butter yellow shoes. Turns out…each other!

I like having an “interesting”10 white top as a lazy efficient pairing with some of my wackier, hard-to-match patterns, but this one isn’t really ringing my bell. I’ll just make a mental note deep in my brain to look for a secondhand white top. No rush, this one’s good enough for now.

You can catch a glimpse of my blue socks above, but I threw them off in a fit of pique11 due to them making a break for my toes after 5 steps. Fuck that shit, Fluevog socks, you’re gone! That’s three pairs (blue, pink and green) that I’m moving along. Someone will want them!

Branded items: The shoes are the Sea Maidens Kelpies by John Fluevog. The silk scarf really wants to be a Louis Vuitton/Stephen Sprouse collab from back in the day, but is actually a “street souvenir” likely purchased in Italy. That Juicy Couture crystal cuff again; the amber glass bracelet is by R&G Co. and is from the 1920s. The bigass aquamarine ring is the Fulvia Ring by Wendy Brandes. The 3-way convertible necklace was worn on the 2nd setting and is by Stella & Dot.

Retail Review: I bought myself the shoes with gift cards when they went on sale. I also bought the Fulvia Ring directly from Wendy. Everything else is secondhand, thrift or consignment.

I kind half-assed this outfit, meh. Didn’t care! Friday! Want the day to be over!

Fort Shopping

Logan made plans with some friends, so our Saturday brunch routine was disrupted. Instead, I found myself with an entire day…with nothing to do! How ever shall I spend my time.

Well, duh, do you KNOW me? I went shopping, ostensibly to pick up some goodies for the POOL PARTY that night, but also because I haven’t had a browse in the Fort Street secondhand shops for a few months.

I picked this dress for my early afternoon adventure12 because it has sleeves (no sunblock needed!), enormous pockets, and is basically BADASS personified.

I enjoyed a leisurely stroll down one side into town, picked up a bunch of yummy food and snackage for Winesday that night, and enjoyed having the luxury of time for a wee browse.

Branded items: The sandals are leather and are by Doc Martens.

New? NOOOO! Not a single thing in this outfit was bought retail. Mom bought her ring in 1977 (holy smokes, that’s 50 years ago…oh fuuuuuck…I feel old…).

Anyway! Woo! 100% secondhand, thrifted, gifted, pre-loved.

Where’s my medal?

Oh yeah, shoppies! What did I buy?

I did retain my “catch and release” ‘tude from my last trip, but I was also feeling like naaaaah…I already have too many pictures and this post is already taking a lot of time.

Notes:

• In the never-ending quest for a Good White Shirt, I found this lovely 100% cotton shirt at Luna. It feels squicky, like the cotton has been highly polished. I may have to just embrace the perma-wrinkled ruffles, and part of me wants to trim the sewn edge off, and letting them get raggedy. Very punk, very goth!

• I can’t resist a cool jacket, and while I like tweeds, they photograph poorly (hence the lack of tweed in my closet). The lack of closures/fasteners on the jacket may cause me to pitch it across the room at some point, but we shall see. Bought this at Hidden Treasures, the new thrift shop next to Botched.

• La la bo bo! I am just over the moon for this pineapple lace top. Seriously, it makes me giggle, squee with glee and show it off to anyone who looks at it. The roses! The leopard in the Lalabobo 9513 hat! It’s the coolest, weirdest, most awesome thing. Don’t you want ALL your clothes to feel like that?

• A gold sparkly lobster brooch? Take my money! Start the car! I found both the Lalabobo and the lobster at the Velvet Crease.

• Slightly regretting the sequined top that I grabbed off the sale rack at Botched. I like the colour and duh, of course, I love the sequins, but they are a bit scratchy and the overall quality isn’t that great. Sigh. Sheila, take your own advice.

Have feelings? Tell me in the comments!

Pool Party!

I am eternally grateful that Marian and I shared an office at my old corporate job nearly 20 years ago. Not only is she an amazing friend, but she hosts our annual Winesday Pool Party every August!

I’d had my Saturday night pool party outfit ready since I found this caftan at the Women In Need (WIN) thrift shop a few weeks back. I usually wear a caftan - or some other Mrs. Roper-esque dress or gown - because when else are you going to wear it?

I kept my leggings on, and had my bathing suit on for these pictures14.

After my dip in the pool, I changed into a black Adidas sweatshirt, which I layered under the caftan. It got chilly once it was dark, and I was very glad of the extra thick layer and the silk.

Branded items: The sandals are by Sorel, and that Ed Hardy bag was a Powell River find.

Tally up: I bought the sandals new at locally-owned shoe store The Cobbler 6ish years ago. All of the rest (including my vintage swimsuit!) was secondhand. None of the copper is marked, but it’s probably Bell Trading Co.

These Are My People

So much fun with my blood fam and my Chosen Family.

I’m so thankful to have all of these people in my life.

And These Are My Cats

A friend asked me recently what the worst thing was that these kittens have gotten up to.

• Destroying toilet paper/paper towels.

• Ripping one of the living room curtains15.

• Pulling bulbs out of the strings of lights I have up.

And then I got stuck.

They don’t scratch us, they barely meow, and even when they puke (all cats puke), they do it on tile instead of the carpet.

WHAT GOOD BOYS!

Welp, here we are. You made it, and I feel like I should give YOU a medal! Thanks so much to the new subscribers (for…subscribing! Yay!), to the faithful readers (you know who you are), and to my real-life people (hey!) who keep up with my mischief here.

Cheers,

Sheila

Stuff About Me

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

THE END. Thanks for being here!

So what we have here is a bunch of office fits, Mom-Day, and my weekend, which consisted of a meet-up with a blog reader and a hangout at Ye Olde Pandemic Parke for the BC Day long weekend.

Buckle up, buttercup!

Floral Ballet

I had this outfit waiting in the wings from last week’s Poet theme - I’d fully intended on wearing it that week, but then I ended up with extra outfits (I usually plan 4-6 at a time and then fine-tune the night before), so when I started poking around my closet on Sunday, thinking about my week ahead, I realized this would be the perfect Monday outfit.

Oooooohhhhh…FLOWERS. Ballet tulle! I’m on the same wavelength as and her recent post:

An Unquenchable Thirst for Color

Ballgowns and Ballet Looks For Modern Life

If we’re going to be here on Substack writing essays about clothes, I’d love to know more about the substance behind your style, the earliest influences that still inform the way you get dressed toda…

Read more

a month ago · 35 likes · 41 comments

Um, have you seen my collection of tulle skirts? (I have seven!2) My inner Summer Goth loves the pink tulle with all the black.

The day was overcast and foggy in the morning - welcome to the coast! - so all these layers were fine for my walks to/from the office. I was filled with low-key joy all day from the swoosh, textures and colour.

The shoes kept this from being overly twee or precious. That’s a lot of pink and roses.

Branded items: The leather shoes are by Seychelles. The mulberry silk scarf is by John Fluevog. My Juicy Couture heart crystal bracelet makes another appearance, as does the crystal Soul Flower ring. The early 60s crystal necklace is by Sherman.

Pre-Loved Review: The Fluevog scarf was cheeky retail. The filigree cuff was from our 2010 trip to London, bought in the basement gift shop at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Everything else was secondhand.

Questions about anything? I’m not here to sell to you, but I love sharing knowledge. Just ask!

Chartreuse Again

Tuesday’s office fit was not one I preplanned; instead, it’s a repeat of an outfit I wore two years ago. I mean, how likely is it to get a perfect match of a tricky colour like chartreuse when you’re buying secondhand? Not bloody likely!

I bought these separately! Unbelievable! The Fashion Gawds smiled upon me!

Of course, I have to wear them together. They’re an excellent backdrop for some of my copper collection - I like the two colours together. Add a little turquoise and now we’re cookin’ with gas!

This felt like pajamas, and I was definitely vibing with the 1920s feel once I put my long scarf on.

It wafted around behind me as I walked home in the sun. Take me to beach! Fan me with palm fronds!

Branded items: Leather shoes are the Misty Vogettes by John Fluevog. Krizia silk scarf. Matisse by Renoir copper leaves brooch. The squared enamel copper cuff and the enameled earrings are also Matisse by Renoir. The squash blossom cuff, necklace, brooch and maaaaayyyyybe the rings, are all Bell Trading Co.

Retail reckoning: Only the shoes were bought retail. Most of the copper jewelry was acquired at vintage fairs, but I also find it in thrift shops and consignment shops (always check the cases!).

High-Low

My vintage Halston Ultrasuede dress had not been worn yet this season - only two months to go! - and the tan colour taunts me. It’s not my favourite neutral3, but c’mon, it’s HALSTON, as if I’m going to let it out of my clutches.

Anyhoo, Wednesday’s work outfit. Tah-dah!

My favourite way to wear it is full-on Veronica Corningstone from Anchorman as a duster or coat over a more casual outfit. I was a smart cookie and reviewed that time I wore it for 6 days straight for inspo:

I knew I wanted to wear it for work with pants, so reached for my classy Stella4 trousers, and the creamy leather of the loafers pulled the tan into the party. This all took some trying on the night before, including the jewelry. It’s a little creative playtime before bed, what a treat.

And I slept like a log!

Coincidence? I think NOT.

I delighted in sharing my outfit with my coworkers: I’ve got Halston, Stella, Chloe, Lanvin…and then…Le Chateau. High street, low street, know what I mean, jelly-bean?

Branded items: The shoes are Chloe, and the silk scarf is vintage Lanvin (, sorry, last time I’ll tag you). The big/little link chain is Monet. Both the enamel pendant and the “keyhole” pendant are by Canadian 1970s Brutalist Robert Larin.

What Was Retail? Only the silver/crystal ring, which I bought on holiday in Florence ages ago with the birthday money from my Winesday Women. Everything else was secondhand or a gift (the earrings) or on “permanent loan” from Mom (heh heh, the round earrings, which I’ve had since the 80s).

HEY, WAIT A SECOND, that means it’s 100% re-worn, non-retail, secondhand, gifted, and thrifted. Alert the media! Or at least !

Mom-Day Clash

I had three starting points for Thursday’s ensemble: this skirt (not yet worn this season), windy/sunny weather and wearing things Mom will enjoy.

This is how most of the world saw me - you can just see a peek of my green leather backpack there. Isn’t pink and green a great combo?

If it’s all right for the Clash, it’s A-OK for me.

I’m breaking my “band tee” rule that it has to be a band I’ve seen. I also have a Blondie tee, but otherwise I have seen every band whose shirt I wear. This is a good way for me to limit purchasing them! I’m very fussy about the designs too.

I felt good in this - it has badassery, joy and yet still feels creative and unexpected. Mom liked it, especially the gigantic pockets in the skirt. Mission accomplished5.

Branded items: The vintage 80s leather boots are by Bandolino. The green belt is by John Fluevog. The usual suspects (Lakeland Art Metal Works steel cuff, Alexis Bittar silver/Lucite bracelet).

Pre-loved or purchased? I bought the belt on deep discount at the Fluevog store a couple of years ago, but otherwise it’s all thrifted (the boots, the leather backpack, the cuff, the green stone ring), gifted (the Celtic S, Mom’s necklace) or bought secondhand (the Bittar bracelet, the aventurine and malachite rings and the silver pass-through chain earrings).

And there is nothing new here at all - the newest-to-me item is the backpack.

Fuck Friday

My camera’s memory card does not like it when the month changes, and it ate all my Friday/July pictures before I could upload them. It was a good outfit6! But not good enough to recreate and re-shoot. Fuck that.

Deep breath.

MOVING ON.

Reader Meet-Up

I’ve been blogging MUCH longer than I’ve been Substacking, so there are folks who have “known” me for well over a decade; I’ve been meeting up with fans for ages. “Judith from Ottawa” reached out a few weeks ago to see if I’d be up for a coffee with her and her bestie Leslie (who lives in town) on Saturday morning.

Well, yeah, of course I will!

These two ladies were an absolute hoot, and we got along like a house on fire, chatting and laughing for an hour and a half, before I had to mosey over to John’s Place to meet up with Logan and Nick for brunch. I could not convince them to join us. Oh, come on, we’re totally regular humans!

What to wear? I did another variation of my band tee formula, with the vest (for pockets). It also poured rain until 9:30am, and then cleared up and got insanely windy. Uh, August? WTF?

The scarf was handy when it got windy.

I was feeling the need to turtle in my head, and “touch textile,” so I browsed in the WIN thrift store for a couple of hours, followed by a thorough look-through at Csino’s/Cheers Vintage Collective7.

Branded items: The boots are the Official Mittwoch by John Fluevog. The vintage 70s leather purse is Julia Sanchez for Vendome. Lucite/steel ring is Calvin Klein.

Pre-Loved tally: I bought the boots new, and the glass tile is one of several that I bought in Venice in 2014 for my girlfriends - this one belonged to our dear Karen, who died in 2020.

Catch…and Release

I saw several beautiful things, and a few that I really wanted. But I’m getting better at just admiring and letting go.

Notes:

• Vintage slips wear like iron and are fully washable. They keep your clothes smooth, add warmth when it’s cold and protect your clothes when you sweat. You can also wear them as skirts/dresses, but don’t be afraid to really WEAR them.

• Can’t go wrong with a mesh shirt, and this one is a good colour mix.

• I considered buying the beaded clutch to resell it, but at $19.95, that would be a bit too high. If it was $10, had a long strap and wasn’t so slouchy, I might have bit. It would have retailed for over $100 - I used to haunt the local Club Monaco at the mall, waiting for their big sales.

• I was SO READY to style the carwash skirt! it had two layers of strips, and I was imagining how I would wear it…and then it didn’t fit. Ah well, I don’t really like navy blue anyway. Fuckit!

No regrets!

Sunday in the Park

My lovely massive friend group does a big gathering whenever there’s a long weekend - we’ve been doing this for 10-12 years, I think? During the pandemic, we resorted to meeting outside instead of at restaurants/patios, and christened “our” corner of Beacon Hill Park as Ye Olde Pandemic Parke8.

We’ve kept it up in the warmer months - it’s lovely to see folks walking, biking or pulling up and joining us in the great outdoors, surrounded by trees, other folks enjoying the wide grassy space. It’s a lovely way to hang out9.

Before we headed park-ward on Sunday afternoon, I had an interview that morning with of…

The Literary Jewelry Box

A fashion and culture newsletter about jewelry as meaning, style and sentiment.

By Tara Donaldson

Link ‘cause I love! SO EXCITING!

I’m a fan of Tara’s writing and I’m always interested in reading what a fellow jewelry lover has to say. I like Tara’s focus on how we carry, pass on and build stories around our favourite pieces. Do check her out and Subscribe10 so you don’t miss my interview, which of course I will be shouting about when it’s out!

Anyway, this is what I had on, although Tara only saw me from the chest up on camera. I did layer on gobs of silver jewelry to impress her (armour! I’m really shy! Stop laughing, I am!).

Nothing groundbreaking here, and yes, this YET ANOTHER variant of the band tee fit formula. Instead of a jacket, I wore a vest. Again! Isn’t your mind BLOWN?

My “I have cred with the youngs” tee is from local band Teenage Art Scene, bought at their gig in the spring. Also known as “That band whose tees I liked.”

I did a half-arsed job of rolling the waistband of the skirt and then disguising it with the belt. Do not care, la la la.

Branded items: Shoes are by L’intervalle. The belt is leather 90s by Mudd.

What’s new, pussycat? Whoa-oh-oh-oh-ohhhh! Nothing whatsoever is new…oh wait, I lied, I bought that studded cuff new back in the 90s. Does that count? All the rest is secondhand.

These Are My People

An excellent week of seeing my people.

We were still missing several of us at the park hangout, but my cup is full. All is right with the world.

And These Are My Cats

Little monkeys…

I feel grateful every day that they ended up with us.

And there we go, that’s that, mattress man!11 Sending all of you the best good vibes, gratitude, peace and smiles.

Cheers,

Sheila

Stuff About Me

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

THE END. Thanks for being here!

Woo, here we are again, funny how time just GOES, you know? This week I was still thinking about ’s question regarding the evolution of my style from last week:

Meeting up with my ol’ writing buddy Troy this week took me back 25+ years to the late 90s, when I first met Logan. That was a very different time, and I was a very different person in many ways, most of which I will not enumerate here.

But I was once a poet.

I have delighted in wordplay from my very earliest years, with my first poem in grade 2 (age 7, 1973) being a rhyme-fest1.

So, what does that mean sartorially, because let’s not kid ourselves, most of my art now is in the outfits? Is that a question? I don’t know, but I like the idea of revisiting some of my fashion from the era when I first met Troy and this also covers some of that “Style Evolution” stuff y’all are clamouring for. Let's take a look at…the Early Logan Era2.

And so…Gird your loins, verily and forsooth! Let us go forth! (It’s a long one - you might want to pee first).

The Tulle of a Poet

What do poets wear? Clearly romantic textiles, like tulle, velvet, brocade, silks, plus swooshy silhouettes, big sleeves and anything else that fits into that very vague “Poet” box.

Gotta wear that new $5.49 Value Village tulle skirt right away because what if I don’t like it? *snort*

I had a quiet Monday in the office, and plucked at the sweater and wished I’d worn a blazer or jacket instead. Did not like the droopy open knit, and concluded that I prefer structure.

Branded items: Leather shoes are by MJUS. The 70s silk scarf is Halston. Crystal heart cuff is Juicy Couture. There’s Wendy Brandes’ lapis lazuli ring again. Anneli Neuman made the smoky topaz/silver ring. The big necklace is Stella & Dot.

How’d I do with new? 100% of my clothing/shoes are secondhand. Only the lapis ring was bought new, 15ish years ago.

If you ever have any questions about any of my things, just ask. I love talking about my stuff.

1997

And now…DRUM ROLL…let’s jump in the Wayback Machine shall we?

My “Logan Era” began when we met in May 1995. I was dating one of his friends, and was introduced to all of the wonderful guys who are still my nearest and dearest: Logan, Nick and Casey. Logan and I got married less than two years later, and we took a lot of pictures of our “going out outfits” with actual cameras and film.

I don’t have pictures from my day-to-day fits of the era, because I was working in a year-round Christmas store when we met and I had to wear a red polo3 and khakis to work.

I fell in love with this beautiful cream silk blouse that a coworker was returning to the Club Monaco store in the mall. Instead, I bought it off her, and it was one of the most expensive things I’d ever purchased (I want to say $50? that was a lot in ‘97!). The skirt is a short stretchy tube skirt, and I had them in black, purple and red.

Of course I am wearing nylons, I am a classy lady! We ALL wore nylons4.

Below, this is probably late 1997, and is one of my Swans outfits. Swans Pub was our group’s regular Friday night hangout for close to 10 years. We had our regular spot at the bar, our beers were waiting for us when we arrived, we knew everyone. If you wanted to hang with us, we’d be there. Sometimes we sang! I knew all the lyrics to “Barrett’s Privateers.”

Those gloves still reside in my closet5, and that is my Grandma J’s jet/crystal necklace possibly being worn for the first time after she died. It is still regularly featured in my outfits 29 years later…I think Grandma would like that.

The top was a cheap polyester mall brand that buttoned up the back (why???), as was the elastic-waist bias-cut satin black skirt (from maybe Suzy Shier, LA Express or Fairweather before I worked there). I wore the same black pumps almost every week - I only had a few pairs of shoes back then. I scoured the sales racks at Eaton’s for shoes!

I remember some joker at Swans asking me why I was so dressed up in this outfit. I’m sure my answer was something along the lines of, “Why wouldn’t I be?” with a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-my-mouth smile and steely glare, while I was thinking “PLEASEFUCKOFF.”

Style Steps: I’ve always liked dressing up! Special events mean special effort for my outfits. Also: a floral top plus a solid bottom, you can’t go wrong. I’d still wear either outfit, although I’ll paste in my red swooshy Marni skirt for the red mini.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give him credit: ever since we met, Logan has encouraged me to be glamourous, to put myself out there, and not worry what people will think, and I’m ever-grateful for his support.6 It’s really a rare thing. I might have gotten there on my own, but his pushes helped. Thank you, my love.

“Your Sleeves Are Clouds”

I told my coworker Martin that his comment was so good I’d be using it on both my blog and my Substack. My sleeves ARE like clouds! Very poetic, and very apt for this week.

The top has more floofy little bits on the body of it, which holds the somewhat shapeless dress away from my body, because on Tuesday, my friends? Fucking HOT. Okay, now I get it.

I Ubered to Book Club where we sat on a patio enjoying cool breezes near the harbour - BIRD INTERLUDE, where’s at?7 - and cabbed home. There was no walking in those shoes.

Branded items: The shoes are the Zoomies Ishshoes by John Fluevog. The silk ribbon-weave scarf is 1980s vintage Lanvin (, that’s for you).

What’s New, Pussycat? Only the shoes were bought new, back in 2018, by my lovely husband for our anniversary. I’ve worn them 29 times!

1997-98

This is my 30th birthday party in October 1997, celebrating The Death of My Twenties8, and everyone had to wear black. The crepe paper was thumbtacked to the ceiling in the shape of a spider-web, and all the food was black or orange, including jello shooters, made with vermouth, which turned out to be a Very Bad Idea9.

I wore a vintage handmade dress that I found at Value Village back in the day - I’ve shopped at vintage stores since I “discovered” them when I was 17 in 1985. It sat my closet mostly unworn for a couple of decades, although I dressed up in it for shits & giggles10 during the pandemic (July 2020):

I can’t see or remember which jewelry I’m wearing in the first picture, but it’s probably my Grandma J’s aurora borealis crystal parure11 by Sherman, here in its original box from the Hudson’s Bay Company:

I only wore that dress one other time, in February 2014 for the Victoria Film Festival Gala opening night…and I did wear Grandma’s set then.

I’m slowly letting go of my vintage clothes like this dress/hat - I am not at a place in my life where they resonate for me the same way they did when I was in my 30s and 40s.

1999ish

All week, I’ve been showing my friends/colleagues these pictures on my phone. This one always gets a reaction. WHOA! I wore this to a local Wine Festival where I got SOZZLED.

In addition to Logan’s lion pendant, and my Mom’s gold belt, I still have that long duster vest - another early VV find! It last had an outing in February 2025 when I loaned it to Yvonne for a Victoria Film Festival Gala:

Hmmm…Maybe I should put that vest back in rotation?? It’s still living in with my ultra-old (as in, been with me for-evah!) vintage in my coat closet, but it’s such a classic cool piece.

Style Steps: Accessories and non-fitted garments can be worn again and again, just by varying up the outfit “background.” Plain black dress? Add special jewelry! Plain skirt/turtleneck? Add a vintage vest! Special bonus points if any of your pieces came from your family or someone special. These kinds of things form the bones of your wardrobe - I still tend to gravitate towards clothes that show off my favourite jewelry collections.

Losing a big chunk of my family in a year was extremely tough, particularly when I was newly married and embarking on a change of jobs/going back to school12. And although I don’t like talking about my weight/body, my mental state is reflected in my physical shape13.

Swooshy Silk Skirt

I met up with my old pal Troy on Wednesday night for dinner, we’ve known each other since the very first days of the Early Logan Era, when I won the Victoria Writers’ Society poetry contest. I joined the group, and used to host poetry workshops…which Troy attended. We last got together just before the pandemic hit, and lost touch for 6 years14.

We picked up like no time had passed, talked about life, reminisced about writing (he’s a successful children’s book author). I warned told him about my Substack writing…which is not the same as poetry, which requires going to the Deep Dark Well of the Soul. I don’t visit there (much) these days…the darkness will come again and then I’ll delve into it, but let’s not push it for now.

I’m enjoying life! I wish to see the good things. I know life will fuck things up "(Life says, “FUCK YOU!”) eventually, so NO RUSH, poetry.

Branded items: Smoking Lily bug scarf. Sneakers are by Findlay. The other shoes are the Summertime Moonbeams by John Fluevog. Francis Jewelers amethyst ring (1965, my dad’s). Givenchy necklace.

How’d I do with new? Woo! 100% secondhand for this outfit, aside from that amber ring that I bought around 1996. My bestie Janet gave me the bug scarf at my wedding shower - how’s that for synchronicity? - so yes, I got it that same night as the picture up there of me in the red miniskirt.

2000

This was a time of excess for me: I was in school full-time, in the 4th and final year of my degree. I was working both retail (evenings and weekends) and office work, as a temp admin three days a week. I partied every Friday at Swans!

And of course, I’m dressed up: a flocked velvet polyester purple dress (from Le Chateau, I think), my long velvet gloves, and my Jones New York leather pumps, and my vintage 80s Le Chateau top hat (which I still have). These were my go-to shoes for EVERY fancy outfit for many years. I love the long squared-off toe.

2001

Why, yes, I did pluck my eyebrows thin, why do you ask?

An easy going-out formula: dress + accessories. This is a Fairweather handkerchief hem dress, worn with a SHRUG, which I hung onto well into the Blog Years. Same shoes as above.

Style Steps: By this time I had graduated and gotten an office job. My body was changing, and I wasn’t happy about it. I withdrew, started falling into that well inside my head, and wrote a LOT of (very good) poetry in this time. My daily outfits were whatever fit and felt okay, but I had many morning meltdowns.

I owned a ton of clothes from when I worked at Fairweather (an upscale Canadian chain that ruled from the 80s into the late 90s/early 00s - I was there at the end), but they were starting to not fit. I bought dresses because they were forgiving, and often would buy a new outfit whenever there was an event. I had no personal style, just clothes that belonged to a former version of me…but I had a lot of good accessories!

Mom-Day Chartreuse

This is my last unworn blouse of the season, so I’ve been eyeing that backward hanger, and while catching up on my Substack subscriptions on Thursday, I came across Noelia’s excellent post:

Nothing to Wear

3 Colour Combinations I'm Loving This Summer (and Beyond).

What is summer without a bit (or a lot) of colour…

Read more

a month ago · 57 likes · 28 comments · Noelia Santana

And of course, I ADORE chartreuse and wear it with everything - even brown. I poked around my brown skirt section and came away with this taupe twisty netting column.

After a smokin’ hot Wednesday, I was fearful of a blaring inferno for Mom-Day. I have to factor sun coverage, comfort for the long journey, and the temps. It was everything, from oven heat of 27, to a chilly 17 with gusts of wind, thunder and lightning and the ubiquitous rainrainrain.

I actually had a couple of compliments while I waited at the bus stop! Shocking!

Branded items: That’s a vintage Coach bag I found in the thrift store for under $10. The silk scarf is by Vera (the ladybug logo means it’s older). The sandals are Via Spiga. Smoky topaz/silver ring is by Swedish silversmith Anneli Neuman.

Retail tally: The bug pendant is the only thing I bought new - it was $10 at Heart’s Content in Fan Tan Alley - over 15 years ago.

I had a lovely day with Mom: you can enjoy oodles of pictures on Ye Olde Blogge.

2001

I have good memories of this outfit, worn to a house party. I remember walking in and someone snarkily saying, “I didn’t know this was a dress-up party!”

To which I replied, “Yes, too bad you didn’t get the memo. So disrespectful to the host!” He slunk away. Muahahaha!

I never half-ass a party outfit.

I adored that crushed blue velvet tank dress, another purchase with my staff discount from Fairweather. Gloves (again), but these are full-length black stretch satin - it won’t shock you to know I still have these too! I let go of this choker more than 20 years ago (it was cheap).

2002

By the early 00s, I had been through a couple of really bad jobs - scary bosses, horrid work conditions (rats, sewage) - and I became deeply depressed and felt unworthy and undeserving of happiness. Depression is a liar, but it has claws. I hated my clothes, hated my body, hated myself.

I haven’t always been the cute little gothy ball of sunshine I am today.

I bought Logan’s fun things as gifts: a vintage velvet and moire smoking jacket, a Middle Eastern vest in brocade, and encouraged him to buy this Fez. He still has all of them!

Style Steps: I was spiraling, and feeling like I had no way out. I wanted to wear pretty clothes, but nothing in the mall stores fit - there was no online shopping and there were very few larger size options out there.

My day-to-day clothes were uninspired and bland, mostly bought from retail clearance racks and local boutiques. Secondhand options were few, although I did look and occasionally buy consignment.

Summer Velvet

Poets wear velvet right? It seems like a poetic textile, soft to the touch, inspiring “little cat paws” flights of TS Eliot-eque fancy.

I need no excuse to wear these swooshy and bold velvet trousers, and they felt just right for a Friday in the office on a semi-hot day.

It’s hard to see details on a black top, but this poly-lined silk top has a hi-lo profile (mullet back) and the front is pleated with big button-like openings, threaded with wide grosgrain ribbon. It’s 1000% better than a plain black tee.

Velvet in the summer might seem like too much, but these trousers are long, wide and swooshy and totally aerate my legs when I walk. Plus, in the summer…no Velvet Rage! No layers? No Velvet Rage!15

Branded items: Shoes are by Call It Spring. The neon leather purse is Fossil. The first scarf John Fluevog ever produced (it’s mulberry silk, very slinky). Madewell belt. J. Crew necklace and Kate Spade earrings (which have gone to Limbo, meh, didn’t wear them much).

Preloved count: Only the scarf was bought new (Fluevog is my kryptonite). Everything else was secondhand. That’s a nice way to end the week.

2003-4

Well, here we go, on the cusp of change. A couple of years later, I was still bouncing around jobs, but was about to land a five-year stint at a big company where I worked in corporate leasing. I had some cute clothes (I rediscovered Dots, a sample outlet store that carries larger sizes), enjoyed some success with my actual poetry,16 and started working through all my mental crap.

There aren’t very many pictures of me during this time - they’re mostly party outfits. I didn’t want to be photographed unless I controlled the pose.

2005

Rinse, repeat. The years go by, there are parties, routines, work makes me feel confident. Hey, I’m smart! I’m good at this! My coworkers and clients love me!

I joined a Book Club, where I met my amazing core group of friends who became my Winesday Women - and they changed my life. I’d never had very many close friends growing up, and I had certainly never had a GROUP of women who wanted to hang with ME.

Style Steps: I had a small but serviceable wardrobe for work, and a bunch of party clothes. My closet was FULL of things that didn’t fit that I’d owned for years. Things that whispered to me, wormed their way into my brain, said nasty things. I skipped events because I stayed home, crying in my closet.

But I was coming out of it.

I won’t be sharing them here, but I had artistic nude photos done around this time as well (I won the session at a charity auction; don’t worry, my friend was there, it was a famous local photographer, all on the up-and-up), and framed the two best for Logan17. They helped me see myself objectively in my body…as beautiful, maybe for the first time in my life.

I started to accept myself. This is who I am, a woman who wants to be SEEN, to dress in beautiful clothes, to express myself the way I did when I was a teenager. And I could be those things at a different size. I was finally able to let go of some of the shame I held.

I was ready for change.

Punk Poet

For Saturday brunch, I wore my L7 merch shirt from September 2024’s Rifflandia18 - I’m so grateful that I got to see them live, and I was gutted when I read that bassist Jennifer Finch recently died19. She was the same age as I am now (I’m a couple of months from 59), so that hits home, you know?

Punk, grunge, metal, whatever you label it, it’s poetry, meant to shock, to hit like a punch to the gut. “Shitlist” is intended to be screamed in fury (most poetry works better spoken out loud).

“The thick snot of a poet flowing,” as MF Doom rapped in the Gorillaz’ “November Has Come.” YESSSSS…

Give me snot green! Give me shitkicker boots! Wrap me in chains and serpents and fear my wrath!

This skirt feels like I’ve had it forever, but this is only its 3rd wearing - however, I do love it with this jacket and these purple boots, and it’s great with a graphic tee. I thought I would chuck it into Limbo, but it’s a keeper.

This whole outfit is a re-wear - shout-out to for her inspo! Let’s RE-WEAR our favourite things!

I’ve worn purple and lime/neon green together many times, this jacket with these boots (a match made in closet heaven), even my L7 tee with the jacket and boots together (and my OTHER lime/chartreuse skirt). Will I wear them all again?

Signs point to YES.

Branded items: Boots are the Original Samedi by John Fluevog. Suede purse is Dooney & Burke. The leather belt with snake buckle is by Notes du Nord. Crystal cuff is Loren Hope. The bigass gold-plated silver cross is modern Lalique.

New? Who? The boots were bought new, as was the band merch tee. Everything else was secondhand.

I had a 15-minute shop at the WIN (Women In Need) thrift shop after lunch, running my hands along the tops of garments, grabbing low on blouses and skirts, feeling for “real” textiles and materials, like cotton, silk, wool, leather and cashmere.

Only one thing made the cut, this gorgeous cotton maxi-skirt.

Notes:

• Bias cut = SWOOSH. Pretty sure this is from India, possibly as part of a traditional outfit with a saree or blouse overtop of it.

• Drawstring waist and it’s ginormously long, so I’ll just roll the waistband.

• Lined in plain orange cotton, no finishing on the inside seams, and not a single tag, so I suspect it was handmade.

• It was tagged at $9.95 but I got 30% off for being a “WINsider” - woo! $6.96 was my price. You couldn’t even buy a meter of this fabric for that.

2005

[Trigger warning: I am going to talk about my weight loss]

In 9 months, between August 2005 and May 2006, I lost 50 pounds.

I firmly believe that I could not have lost weight if I had not already reached a place of body acceptance.

I approached it with the goal of getting healthy and to view the weight loss as a happy side-effect of building better habits. I also had my Winesday Women who encouraged me and lifted me up along the way.

Everyone always wants to know: How did you do it? I joined a Weight Watchers group at my office - I liked the Points system and the group meetings, and I started making small changes, short-circuiting my unhelpful habits, doing more long-range meal planning. The WW program always emphasized behavioural change (it was where I first heard about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), and once I reached my “goal weight,” I worked for them as a Leader for 9 years, until 201920.

At 25 lbs down, I spent $200 at the mall and bought a bunch of basics (a couple of skirts, a couple of cardis/jackets, and even a khaki shirtdress21) so that I didn’t look like I was swimming in my work clothes. I spent more a couple of months later - and bought a bunch of suits (I love suits) that I wore for years.

2006

Losing 50 lbs sounds great, until you realize that NOTHING fits anymore. Not your underwear, not your bras, none of your regular clothes. Even some of my shoes became too big.

But when you have to replace everything but your socks…you can’t just keep buying mall stuff, so I turned to thrift stores and local consignment stores. Being a smaller size (I went from a 22 to a 4) meant I could wear anything!

Style steps: I experimented like crazy with my new shape - I shopped constantly, every weekend - and amassed a bunch of clothes. It was the “kid in a candy store” mentality - I wanted it all! And because it didn’t cost as much as retail, I felt the freedom to try things. None of it was ever recorded as no one I knew had a phone - even a digital camera was a novelty that Logan and I had only recently purchased.

I was inspired by Glamour magazine22, what I saw at the mall, and this crazy thing that happened: the Blog Explosion. I devoured OOTD blogs, and delighted in all the normal people wearing cool outfits.

And then one day at work in 2008, my colleague Ruth said something to me that changed my worldview forever.

“Your outfits are just as good as those bloggers’. Why don’t YOU start a blog?”

And so, Gentle Readers…I DID23.

These Are My People

As always, I’m ever grateful for the presence of my dear family, blood and otherwise in my life.

My awesome husband gets a showcase this week, showing off his pirate socks, vintage ‘Vogs and a 50s tie (one of the first things I ever bought for him, back in the 90s). I found his guitar-print-embellished blazer for $5.00 at Upcycle Consignment a few years ago. He’s a stylin’ dude!

And These Are My Cats

Such good boys.

And here we are, my friends, a week in the BAG.

I was focused around meeting up with Troy again this week, and steeled myself to go through these old photographs and let myself remember the highs and lows of the late 90s/early 00s. Woo…I’m exhausted.

I wore poetry-inspired clothing, and remembered…I once was a poet.

But as I wore my poet inspired outfits, and thought and pondered my style from 25+ years ago…I realized something.

Poetry isn’t something you take off, like a dress, or a pair of shoes, or Grandma’s necklace. It’s something that comes from that well deep inside…that place I know is always there. And…

I have always been a poet.

Stuff About Me

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

THE END. Thanks for being here!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

ONE HUNDRED.

That’s this newsletter, missive, post, whatever you want to call my weekly ramblings. Number One Hundred. Seems like a lot, doesn’t it? But then I check Ye Olde Blogge and I have 4,712 posts. So, there’s that. I recognize that I’m an anomaly.

100.

It’s still a big number and represents between 300-500 outfits, and nearly two years of constant writing for you, my Gentle Reader. It represents my own commitment to writing more about my feelings about my clothes vs. picture dump with scant commentary (chez blog, although I do get rawther effusive there too). It’s me jumping into my second social media site (stop laughing1), navigating it and engaging and getting to know so many lovely people here. It’s sharing my own ethos and outfits, hoping to inspire and be inspired right back. One hundred times.

So.

I put the call out in last week’s newsletter: Ask me anything! And here’s what we have:

• politely requested, “Tell me about how you store and organize everything please.” I responded/published a Note, and flogged my blog because, not to sound snotty, she said, sounding totally snotty, I write a blog post about this every 6 months when I swap my closet over. Been doing it for years. I even have shitty videos now, if you want to burst the bubble of what I sound like IRL2.

• piped up with, “I would like to hear more about your style evolution.”

• seconded the motion and “would DEVOUR that post!!

Yeah, I haven’t answered that. YET. It’ll be massive. I’m almost 59, that’s a lot of years of evolution! This will involve digging into some boxes in the closet and going through a few photo albums, as well as figuring out how to structure it. I mean, chronologically, duh, but I don’t want to bore y’all with a massive “here’s me growing up” scroll. No one wants that. Anyway, stay tuned on that, okay? Maybe I’ll aim for my birthday in October.

• asked: “How do you maintain enthusiasm for blogging and planning outfits? I go into a slump, but you never seem to falter!” Yes, I’m just the little Energizer bunny of this, aren’t I? I replied with my daily/weekly routine (that’s the secret: routine. Were you hoping for magic beans? Sorry.).

• wondered, “if you could only wear one brand/designer for the rest of eternity, who would you choose ??” I also responded to this via Notes. Ten points if you anticipated my answer!

I didn’t get any other questions, which is good, because none of these were easy! Jeepers, you guys are tough!

Enough navel-gazing and self-lurve!

This week was quiet for me overall, punctuated by another meet-up with a fellow Substacker, of The Pastel Minimalist. So cool!

Now, let’s look at the clothes…

Stripes, Luke and Yoda

I really need to change up my habit of “slightly muted” outfits for Monday, as I feel like I’m not putting my colourfullest foot forward as the lead image here.

Nahhhhhh…can’t be bothered. I need my Mondays to be a little more low-key. See? Totes SEDATE.

I did some playing around in my closet on the weekend, just to see how I could style this shirt. It is fabulous with my big flowy skirts, but I am on a mission to wear all of my clothes in my closet every season, so things like this skirt need to actually get their time in the sun.

Otherwise, what’s the point in owning them?

I wore the sleeves down for sun coverage while walking to and from work, and flipped the cuffs and shoved them up for the office. It was comfortable, felt nice. Nothing ground-breaking.

I tucked the shirt front in and let the back hang down long. I liked the cocoon-ish shape, but really, I’ve had oversized shirts before (they were massive c. 1985-1986), and I could style it in a heartbeat3.

I selected this skirt because I hadn’t yet worn it.

Branded items: Bucket hat is by Babaton. Seat-belt belt is by Buckle Down. The shoes are Irregular Choice’s “Star Wars” line from 2016-8ish. The wood/steel brooch is by Finnish maker Aarikka. Alexis Bittar Lucite/sterling bracelet. Soul Flower ring (again). Chan Luu earrings.

Noting what’s new: I bought the shoes retail at long-closed She She Shoes after a REALLY bad work day in 2018. Other than that, it’s all secondhand.

You’re always welcome to ask questions about any of my stuff!

I Met Maria!

Life is always a bit of a blur, but I recall seeing pop up in Notes and enjoying her writing (and if I like your writing, I subscribe!4). And then one day…I recognized the view. Hang on here…could it be…? Another person from Victoria?5

I left a comment, we connected and found out we actually live only a few blocks away from each other. Of course, we had to meet up!

The Pastel Minimalist6 meets the Colourful Maximalist!

Being said maximalist, there’s a wee bit of pressure to live up to the hype, you know? I can’t just throw on my house clothes!

I built my Tuesday office outfit around the new Fluevog shoes, which are totally mermaid-coded. They were good, although walking to work, then home after, and then to meet up Maria, was…not a great idea. Despite my wee nylon footies, I had a couple of water blisters on the heels. It was a hot day…I got sweaty. Ugh.

Branded items: Leather purse is old Club Monaco. Silk scarf is Yves Saint Laurent and from the 80s. The shoes are the Sea Maidens Kelpies by John Fluevog. The silver/aquamarine Fulvia Ring is by Wendy Brandes.

Retail round-up: The shoes were bought new (with gift cards - only about $45 of my own money), as was the Fulvia ring. Everything else is pre-loved!

But enough about the clothes (I liked the outfit, happy with it), here’s the pics from our meet-up.

You know you’re having a good time when you totally whiff on taking pictures - it didn’t occur to me to snap a few of Perlita (I am not a dog person, but she was SO SWEET, although…an enthusiastic communicator, ha ha!).

Did we talk about Substack? A little - mostly about how to avoid the creepers and curate the Notes feed so it’s full of happy things like art, fashion, cats/dogs and rocks. We chatted about our lives and basically got to know each other better.

More than an hour passed just like that *snap*.

Brooch McGyver

I’d had a play-sesh on the weekend, and lined up a bunch of fits for the week, so prepped this one the night before (I select all the accessories, make sure I have a camisole/wee shorts, etc. all ready to go), but I had forgotten one thing.

This tunic is full dress-length! Well, shiiiit, you can’t even see my skirt! I usually wear it with pants or - when I’m feeling a high level of dontgiveafuckitude - colourful tights only7. Otherwise, that’s just a big block of black.

Blah.

Although I knew that the skirt would show when I walked8, I looked down and thought, “Huh, I really should figure out some way of showing my skirt,” and my mind said loudly, “Elastic band and a brooch!” I was totally channeling ! Put a brooch on it!

The skirt has lovely texture - it’s a knit, with honeycomb shapes in tan, black and silver thread, with a black/white striped waistband which you can’t see here. It’s getting a little ball-y and snagged, so maybe I can eke out a few more wearings, but it’s not going to be a forever piece.

Due to the weird weather - warm, muggy, but chilly winds - I layered a camisole, wee shorts and went bare-legged. You can glimpse my grey socks in the boots (KLASSY), through the transparent technical fabric.

The boots fall into the category of Things I Will Shed When I Retire. As they age, the glues used to bond the nylon material are yellowing…sigh.

Branded items: The boots are by United Nude. You’ll recognize my old favourites: the Alexis Bittar carved Lucite/silver bracelet, the Lakeland Art Metal Works cuff, and the Soul Flower silver/crystal ring.

Secondhand Success: This is a 100% consignment, thrifted and gifted9 outfit.

Ring the klaxons! Sound the bells!

Rainy Goth

If it’s Thursday, it’s Mom-Day, which I take as an opportunity to wear whatever I feel like in the moment, as opposed to a pre-planned outfit.

I let the weather drive my choices: sunny, warm, cloudy, rainy, windy and thunder and lightning. OKAY. That’s complicated.

That means shoes first - I don’t care if these butter yellow Docs get soaking wet, plus I can walk many kilometers in them. Tagging who wanted to see them. Here they are!

I hadn’t yet worn this skirt this season (the telltale backward hanger!). It’s that perfect blend of watery colours that go with a ton in my closet, and it works all year round. Very “soft goth”!

Mom’s seen this skirt five times in three years - she enjoys seeing how I change up my clothes (she reads my blog10).

The skies opened up on the way home, and I was forced to deploy the Movie Star Wrap. My hair stayed dry while I dashed for buses.

Branded items: The boots are Doc Martens, bought at the Cobbler yonks ago. Leather purse is old Fossil, found in Powell River. The silk scarf is Alexander McQueen. The gold brooch (which I wore at my waist) is by Monet.

So much secondhand: Only the boots were bought retail…from a brick-and-mortar small, locally-owned and operated business! Woo!

Totally Teal

I landed on my Friday fit after finishing my daily writing the evening before. I’d pitched the patterned top into Limbo but it had been whispering to me, “Sheila, I’m your precioussssss…take me baaaaaack…I looked so good with that pink shirt11…give me another chance…”

Well, I wasn’t gonna say NO! I loved the pink and teal combo and bounced around the office at twice my normal speed (already fast!) to get everything done in half the time, so I could leave early to be home for the fire alarm install.

Works without the jacket (and my tattoos, which I always factor in). And then… buttoned up and changing the vibe entirely. Much more badass.

I ended up with a free afternoon when the install went way quicker than expected, so I strolled down to the Oak Bay Junction for evening snackage. I popped into Pocket Consignment to say hi to Annie and her awesome staff, and have a nice thorough browse.

I tried on a few things (only the wackiest!) but mostly played catch-and-release, savouring the quiet, the sun beaming in through the skylight, and marveling at the wonderful selection. I did end up with a lovely pair of silver and (probably) brass Mexican stamped earrings for $32.00.

Branded items: The sneakers are Converse. The big gold-tone cuff is by D’Orlans. Silver/aquamarine Fulvia Ring is Wendy Brandes. The pink crystal necklace is Sherman. Customizable earrings by Martha Sturdy.

Retail Ratio: Two (the jacket and pants) out of five main items (plus crop-top, shirt, shoes) were retail, bought at Dots, so that’s 60% secondhand. It’s 90% for the jewelry - only the Fulvia Ring was bought new, direct from the designer.

Nobody’s Baby

Saturday brunch, time to play around in my closet and build something that feels like me. I read somewhere (tell me if it was you!) that graphic tees are in again and after I recovered from the belly laugh12, I realized I haven’t worn my band tee “formula” for a while.

T-shirt + interesting skirt + funky shoes (, funky shoe alert!) + cool jacket.

In this case, instead of a jacket, the long vest is a converted menswear blazer that’s been embellished with rows of metal tubes on the pockets and on the lapels. It has four pockets!

I’ve heard that being matchy is deeply uncool. Well, tough beans. People love matchy! Why wouldn’t I give them what they love? Call me an uncool fool.

I carried this purse as a shoutout to (again!) and her recent article on trends - I love looking at trends and then seeing what I already have in my closet (often a lot, as everything comes around again). If I feel like participating, I can always keep my eyes open when I’m browsing the thrift shop - why buy new crap when there’s all that good quality vintage out there?

it's critical.

2026 summer trend autopsy

Summer is whimsy…

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2 months ago · 182 likes · 14 comments · Emilee Russell

I already had two on Emilee’s list:

• Magazine clutch? Tick - thrifted one for under $7 last year (mine is a May 2011 cover from German Vogue13).

• Firkin (faux Birkin) in jelly…well, YEAH, I kinda have that too, or at least something in a similar jelly fabrication. My bag is a rip-off of the Margiela Hermes originals produced in a larger size for a special exhibit:

From 1997 to 1999, Hermès held a traveling exhibition in Japan, called ‘Hermès Exhibition in the Wonderland’. Visitors were able to buy the second version of the transparent Kelly and, in 1998, an Orange Vinyl Kelly, too. Seeing these bags outside of Japan is extremely rare. These 40-centimeter versions of the bag are scrawled with the phrase ‘Souvenir de l’Exposition 199X’ (depending on the year it was issued). The underside reads ‘Un Voyage au Pays de Merveilles’, which translates to ‘A Trip to Wonderland’.

Source (a link ‘cause I love!). These bags were probably sold on the street as tourist souvenirs.

I thrifted this in Vancouver three years ago for $15.48. Mic. Drop.

Branded items: Smoking Lily late 90s handmade silkscreened fly scarf. Shoes are the Vogettes Pina by John Fluevog. The single rose earring is Betsey Johnson. Skeleton cat pin is by Whatserface.

Pre-loved review: The cat pin was bought retail (but made in Vancouver), and the shoes were new. I bought myself the snake ring in 1986. Band merch (the t-shirt) is also bought new at the 2025 show when Sheer Mag opened for Amyl and the Sniffers - a fucking awesome show!

Blue Silk Shop

Logan and buddy Casey went to Vancouver on Sunday for the Folk Festival - I gave it a hard pass (unknown venue, thousands of people and no seating). It ratchets up my anxiety just thinking about it!14

I made my own plans, a shopping expedition to soothe my brain and have some “me” time - my friend and neighbour Emma joined me and we had a lovely day browsing in a few stores downtown and looking for treasures.

I’m done with the dress - it didn’t make me feel badass, artsy or joyful - so off it goes to Limbo for resale. I wore it three times, so my cost-per-wear was a very reasonable $5.

Branded items: The leather purse is by Soruka. The sandals are Doc Martens. Wore both of my Wendy Brandes blue stone rings: the Fulvia Ring (aquamarine) and the lapis lazuli ring. The earrings are by local maker Winnie Tam.

How’d I do with new? Aside from the jewelry, it’s all 100% secondhand! Woo!

Catch and Release Shopping

In line with my 2-year goal of reducing my wardrobe overall by 50% by the time I retire, I’m also slowing down my shopping, and really working hard to only buy things that I really love. I’m looking for that sharp intake of breath, that feeling in my gut.

So, I’ve decided to be less of a hunter, and more of a recorder when I’m shopping.

Things I might have just gone ahead and bought without hesitation instead get photographed and put back.

Released:

Leopard medallion on black vintage hat: We stopped in at this recently-opened charity/thrift store (we saw a few signs about a cat/pet rescue) and had a quick browse through the space that used to be Vanity Fair Antique Mall (RIP!). They had a large vintage hat collection…but I’ve learned my lesson there many years ago. I have a few fancy hats and rarely wear them. I do not need this hat. But I really like the leopard!

Satin vintage 90s hipster cargo skirt: I spotted this at the relocated/renamed Rich Rags, now Edited., a curated consignment shop. It was a good price, and…it’s…fine. Emma encouraged me (we’re both enablers), but I just wasn’t feeling the love for it. It was not an upgrade and didn’t inspire me at all.

Having bolstered ourselves with a flaky pastry and a frosty beverage, we moseyed over to Value Village for a browse.

Caught:

• Leather sling/backpack: Not a single label or tag on this rich green bag, but the leather (verified in the construction deep inside) is still supple and buttery, even though this style hasn’t been in vogue for 25 years (I know this because my mom has one she’s still using15). It has masses of pockets (and every one goes right to the bottom - they are HUGE), and for $10 bucks? I want to love it and hug it and call it George.

• Not another fucking tulle skirt?! Fine, SUE ME. It’s got blue (and orange/red/pink) and I don’t have one with blue. As I said to Emma, my heart beats faster for tulle, but even if this doesn’t work for me, I can easily resell this for more.

• The best tie on the rack: Another one for Logan. He loves it - such a groovy pattern for my groovy guy.

Well, that was fun! What’s your favourite purchase I’ve made this week?

Have thoughts? To the comments, my pretties!

These Are My People

Aw, heart full of love!

These Are My Cats

They just make me smile. KITTIES!

And now here we are, just you and me at the end.

Thanks for being here - I really do mean it every single time. I’m honoured that you spent the time to zip past all the stoopid clothes to get to the cats be here, in this little oasis of outfits and silliness. Hello to the noobs! I hope I didn’t scare you off. Gratitude for all the lovely Substackians who press that little heart (pleaseplease), and big heart-eyes if you restack or leave me a comment (I always answer!).

That was a fun week, meeting Maria and…well, that was the highlight for me!

Next week is going to be a quiet one as well but the temps are rising…

What does it all mean? Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Sheila

10

Enjoy pictures of gardens, cloudy skies and my lunch:

11

This one:

13

Here it is:

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

Hello! Here we are, just you and me and some funky outfits.

I’ve had a shoppy couple of weeks, so getting all those purchases into outfits has been on my mind. I’m also looking at those backwards hangers as I pass the half-way mark of my spring/summer season. Gotta wear it all!

I had a couple of events this week to plan around: Wear Your Rainbow to Work Day, a colleague’s retirement, fire alarm installation and mid-week shenanigans as I saw “Kinky Boots” onstage with some of my favourite people1.2

I also have a special Flashback for you, so this is an extra-long one (sorry/not sorry) and there’s a really Weird outfit at the end. Click through if you’re reading in email (it’s okay, it won’t hurt a bit).

Riveting! Let’s go!

I’m livin’ the dream.

Not a Rainbow

Well, shiiiiiit…Wear Your Rainbow to Work Day was on Monday? Dang! I totally failed that, didn’t I? I even wear the rainbow skirt that I always wear!

However, I fit right in with my colleagues, who all came to show me their outfits (it’s like they know me). And there’s always another day to wear that rainbow skirt3.

I picked up this dress up on the weekend for $56 on consignment. I layered fishnet tights and a camisole under it - I almost always have another layer closer to my skin, to protect my “good” clothes, as the temperatures swing back towards Sweaty.

I waffled between accessorizing with my amber or my copper collection, which also looks excellent with the dress.

Branded items: The shoes are by Chie Mihara, and that is it.

Most of my closet is secondhand, but I always like to do a quick review.

Pre-loved? Everything but the shoes, which I bought at local Footloose Shoes in 2018 on final clearance.

All of the amber/silver jewelry was bought secondhand, most of it on consignment. Some was $$ (the necklace was over $100) and some was cheapy-cheap (the earrings were a thrift store find). I found the skinny bracelet in Powell River.

THAT’S a Rainbow

Right? Had I clued in, this is what I would have worn for Rainbow Day.

Anyway, whatever, one of my colleagues had a retirement shindig on Tuesday after work, and I knew I’d be seeing loads of my coworkers and some clients, and hell, did you know?

People love colour!

I had compliments galore, including from random strangers out on the street.

I had a busy day work-wise, ducked out early (heh, shhhhh) to go pick up my [Delayed Gratification] Fluevogs from the store, and then hoofed it over to the Strath for the retirement celebrations.

Sometimes I looked like this, which I fondly think of as Rainbow Pirate. YAARRRRR.

This skirt occupies a special place in my closet - I really don’t wear it that much (it lacks badassery), and I know that it’s one I will let go when I retire.

Or maybe not! I don’t have to decide now.

(But I do think about these things, and it’s bittersweet, you know?)

Branded items: The boots are the F-Trip Etta; both they and the mulberry silk scarf are by John Fluevog. The steel/Lucite ring is Calvin Klein.

What’s New, Pussycat?4 Just the boots and the scarf. Everything else is secondhand, ranging from a twoonie5 (the yellow cuff and the earrings) to pricy (the carved bangle, the skirt, both in the $50 range). It’s all at least 2 years old. I’ve had the cuff and earrings for around 10-12 years.

I picked up my other pair of Fluevogs after work from the store. These are they!

They’re the Sea Maiden Kelpies (best name ever!) and they are currently on sale for $199.99 (this is a link ‘cause I love - it’s for informational porpoises only, I get NOTHING). They are comfy out of the box for me - the blue part of the heel is softer leather and bit puffy, which feels amazing, and keeps the heel from slipping, as does the silver strap over the vamp. There’s a bit of elastic there, so once I got that to the right tightness for me, I can slip them on and off easy.

One of my personal rules is “Always Be Upgrading” - so, say you’re gonna buy something, make it a better version of a piece you already own and let your lesser piece go. It’s also a good test to see if it’s worth spending the money: ask yourself, “Is this better than what I already own? Is this an upgrade?”

I have another pair of patent leather yellow ballet flats (my Karl Lagerfelds, totally worn to death, covered in scuffs and tiny rips). These are higher quality, superior design and have more personality than a boringass ballet flat6.

Clearly an upgrade.

Office Cloggin’

I treated y’all to my Wednesday special event outfit “test-drive” and vote (results below!) last week, but what you didn’t know is that made my outfit do double duty for both the office and an evening at the theatre.

Did you know? It’s Re-Wear It July! Get on the re-wear train, kittens! says so!

Semi-Sustainable

11 Things I Bought & Loved In 2026

I’m going to do something that I always found incredibly annoying as a merchant and that is comp myself YoY. But instead of running the same tired promo, I’m comping my second most-liked post about the things I’ve bought and loved as we hit 2026’s midpoint. And surprise! Most of these are secondhand…

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2 months ago · 49 likes · 32 comments · Tina Boetto

All the cool kids do it!

Here’s the Work version:

I’ve layered the CDG tunic thingy with skirts almost every time I’ve worn it. I climb up and down ladders at work, carry big boxes, wheel carts around, crawl under desks and tables and also hoof it up and down many flights of stairs - I never know where my day will take me, but my job7 is not all sitting in a chair (although I do a fair bit of that too).

I also wanted to show off the clogs and waggle my feet at my VPs, since one of the $200 gift cards I’d used to buy these was from my generous management team. Isn’t that the most funneroo part of gift money? showing the givers what you got?

Branded items: Robin Ruth bag. Clogs are the Drie VogClog by John Fluevog. The silk scarf is Valentino! Leather/chain bracelet is a Jenny Bird piece. The long necklace is marked Nine West. That Soul Flower silver/crystal ring. Earrings are by Chan Luu.

How’d I do with new? Only the shoes are new (and I bought all but $40ish with gift cards).

I hated that bag on my second use of it. I never reach for it, and it’s difficult to access when wearing it (and no outer pockets, grrrr, guess how I feel about that), and it didn’t hold my clogs, travel coffee mug or my lunch tuppies8. Get into Limbo, you fucker!

Kinky Boots

Full of Bag Annoyance, I bussed home after work on Wednesday, redid my face (having managed to get coffee grounds in my eyebrows…howwwww?) and changed into…

The Play version:

Big Reveal! 73% of you voted for the LA Malibu silver and black boots. Of course you did - they are FABULOUS.

But the key words in the poll were: If you didn’t have to factor in walking or standing…

I did have to factor those in; I had to actually dress for REAL LIFE.

I walked to the theatre, inched my fringy self down the steepest aisle in town, and stood around like a slack-jawed gawker checking out the fashion and footwear in Victoria’s beautiful and venerable Royal Theatre9.

The evening had turned cold and windy, so even though I expected ye olde thee-ah-tah to be roasting hot (as it usually is), I decided at the last minute to add a coat.

Do not be silly, I did not walk to town in my boots. That would be a massive Act of Shoepidity, especially since my dear friend Vero broke the top of her foot in a pair of heels two years ago. My feet will no longer do a net heel of more than 3”.

Would I rather not spend my night at Emergency waiting for a foot x-ray? YES! This is a case of DO NOT risk it for a biscuit. No no no.

You must check out this post from my pal :

Good For Your Age

Let’s Debunk Some Foot Products!

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2 months ago · 55 likes · 59 comments · Cheryl Wischhover and Good For Your Age

* as always, I link ‘cause I love. Cheryl is just a cool person I hit it off with here years ago. I liked this article, and I think you will too.

Be good to your feet, my friends! Age comes for us all…(yes, even you).

Branded items: The leather purse is Steve Madden. These boots are the Prepare Hi Adventure, by John Fluevog.

Retail review: I bought these boots online (a VERY rare thing for me) before Victoria had a Fluevog store, when the price dropped to $199.99 from $525.00 and they still had my size, back in January 2016. I already had a shoe version of the last/sole/heel (in mustard yellow suede, kinda miss them!10), so I knew what my size would be.

Anyhoo, everything else is pre-loved, secondhand, thrifted, consignment, and/or vintage fair.

Go, me!

Just For You - Malibu Flashback

For the 73% of you who were “no contest” gaga over the silver and black boots, a present for you. This is a series of pictures (aka a Flashback) of all the times I’ve previously worn them.

Gird your loins! Thar be pictures…

This is the day I bought them (they were half off the original price of $80011), being a poser in our Vancouver hotel room before Logan and I went out for dinner. I didn’t actually wear these, just pranced around in them.

That was March 2013 and I am 45 there. I didn’t really like being blonde, but it was an interesting preview for now/thirteen years later and embracing my white/lavender era - I was not ready then.

It’s weird not seeing my arm tattoos!

Two months later, in May 2013 for pal Alison’s birthday.

I still have that steel cuff, and only recently let go of the aluminum spike necklace. I refer to this as “chicken hair.”

A week later - surprise, I’m back to red - for Caro and Ron’s party.

The dress is in my Limbo pile - I think I sold the green dress in my last closet sale.

I only ever wore this pink vintage dress the one time, for Logan’s birthday party in in June 2015. I still have the fascinator, the earrings, the belt and there’s my steel cuff again.

I used to go buy a new/new-to-me outfit whenever a party was in my future. I don’t do that anymore - I have so many awesome clothes I could wear already!

If you’re noticing that my hairstyle changes a lot, you can glimpse a bit of my shaved side ‘do below, which I sported along with a swoopy swirl of red/blonde on top of my head back in March 2015.

I was starting to get bored with my hair, as I’d been red for about a decade before going briefly blonde, and was experimenting as I neared the big 5-0, and started to grapple with aging and other mental/emotional things.

Anyway, I wore this for a party…? Things are rather hazy - these were my drinkin’ days12. I was probably overdressed, but I haven’t cared about that for over 25 years. *snort*

Here’s me and Logan, looking swanky as fuck, getting ready to head out to Vero’s birthday party in September 2015. My hair’s purple here, still with the blonde swoop in front. I’m also wearing a red net/feather fascinator there that you can’t see as the camera cut it off.

The dress I’m wearing was a handmade brocade frock found at Flavour Upstairs, where I also found the olive leather purse (which I still have). The blue rabbit fur bolero is by Bebe, picked up at a long-closed vintage shop for $25 - the owner claimed it had been worn to “the British House of Lords.” Surrrre.

Here’s the same dress - and fascinator (which I also still have) - worn again in November 2015 for an Urbanite event at the Art Gallery with my former artner, Elaine13.

If I recall, I walked several blocks there and back, as well as being on my feet for 3 hours! Oh, those were the Very High Heels Days!

Fuckin’ A, I look hot in this outfit, another one of Logan’s legendary birthday parties, in June 2016. I’m fully in my Purple Phase and am growing my hair out after years of short hair/pixie/shaved business. Arm tattoos are underway14!

I loved having purple hair, but it was high upkeep15, especially when my roots were coming in white.

Two and a half years later…December 2018, I wore the boots for a Christmas party at my former colleague Terry’s house, followed by Nick and Karen’s annual holiday shindig.

I’m in my turquoise spectacles era, and yes, I’m wearing teal lipstick, as one does for fancy parties!

This was the end of a year growing out my darker purple locks by dyeing lavender over until it was light enough not to show roots, and then letting my natural white colour come in behind that. I did a few non-permanent lavender rinses here and there.

And then I hated it and went back to dyeing it lavender…and pink…and blue…and silver.

And this is the last time I wore my beloved LA Malibus, during the pandemic for a Saturday Happy Hour Zoom call with our dear friends, in March 2021.

I haven’t really changed up my vibe a lot since then (those are my old “house” glasses, they don’t count). I like having longer hair as I get older, because fuck ageism (she cackled).

I have worn the boots ten times which works out to $40 per outfit - so I don’t feel so bad that they aren’t really in rotation anymore.

But you never know! I might pull them out for a party and sit on the couch for an hour! But I will be ensuring that they aren’t languishing in my closet anymore - they’re going to be incorporated into my “closet room” décor. They need to be on display!

Office Pajamas

Did I have a theme this week? I had to check. Nope, but sometimes one emerges, and it seems to be heels/shoes. I guess that makes sense, as I’ve been soaking in Kinky Boots for days.

I’ve found myself reaching for my heels, eking out the last few years of wearing them before I reluctantly let go of them when I retire.

I have always been a heels girl - I got my first pair when I was 12! I staggered around like a baby bird, squeezed my feet into the wrong size16, wore them for hours, danced, walked. I wrapped every toe in bandaids, made heel-cups of bandaids! The blisters, the corns, the weirdass baby toe mutations.

I know all the reasons why I shouldn’t wear heels17, but my heart says YESuntilyoucan’t, and for me that is the best reason of all.

As for my Friday office outfit, it was built for this very pajama-vibing silk top, which I styled as it was intended to be worn, done up with the cuffs links.

When I got home, I swapped my heels for my bigass ugly sneakers, so that I could walk to the pub with my lovely husband.

Branded items: The boots are the Powerhouse Jyoti and the sneakers are the Soul Speed Duesy, both by John Fluevog. The metal roses earrings are Betsey Johnson.

Wot’s bought new? The shoes: the boots were on deep discount/season clearance a few years ago; Logan bought me the sneakers in 2024 even though he hates them, whattaguy. I bought the silver snake ring from the museum gift shop I volunteered at in 1986.

Weirdest Adidas

I rolled out another dress for Saturday’s brunch and grocery shop outfit, but it’s a doozy.

I tend to wear more of my massive dress collection in the latter half of my spring/summer wardrobe. Fewer layers, less to think about, et cetera. To say this is one of my more unusual dresses would be an understatement.

It IS the Weirdest Adidas!

This dress really put me on the path of “weird” sportswear, and opened a whole styling world of creativity where I could have nods to hip-hop and sporty wear but still be fully ME. I’ve worn it with cropped plaid trousers, the black Adidas tulle skirt, various tops over it, a sweater under it, red tights, boots, sandals, dress shoes, sneakers and gold bling.

Casual or sporty has really never been my vibe, are not my “Style Words,” and in fact, I used to be very prescriptive about “workout wear is only for working out!” - I am a Rules Monkey!

But opening my heart, mind and closet to something that was this far outside my comfort zone has been transformational for my personal style.

Experimenting with it helped me find my SWAGGER, which…I didn’t really have before. Oh, I’ve had strut, pose, swank, and slink…but not swag. It tapped into another aspect of BADASS and JOY18 in clothes for me: the ability to play with another way of asserting authority in my clothes.

It expanded my vocabulary.

Wearing something so odd, outré, and out there takes a level of confidence, a lack of fuckitude and determination to FEEL SOMETHING when I get dressed.

I didn’t get to that overnight. I’m a work in progress…and have been deliberately doing this for nearly 20 years of writing, shopping, experimenting and taking pictures of myself in clothes.

Branded items: LeSportSac vintage London-themed purse. Rubber/leather sandals are by Doc Martens. F#@! rings are one of the last pairs Wendy Brandes ever sold.

Secondhand tally: Everything is preloved or a gift (the spider ring), except for the Swear Rings. I bought the sterling silver ring set directly from Wendy in 2018; as they were one of three saved sets for loaning for photoshoots, she kindly gave me a regular customer discount19, charging $125USD compared to the original $380.

And this is the last outfit of the week! My feet were really happy not to be in Hard Shoes.

Did you have a favourite? Tell me in the comments!

These Are My People

Here’s to many more hilarious and joyful outings!

And Here are My Cats

Such fabulous felines.

And here we are, you made it! Wanna a medal? You deserve one!

Looking back, yeah, I’m happy with all of this, it was fun, lots of bangers. I had that shoe thing going on, some of introspection and self-examination, good job, Sheila, keep that up, and then oh, yes, that was a good brunch fit, liked that one.

I tell ya, once they are worn, they are gone from my brain. Good thing I started recording them all back in 2008…

And speaking of commemorative events (were we??), next week will be my 100th Substack newsletter! Woo!

THANK YOU all for being along on the ride! Appreciation and gratitude for the noobs, the ‘Stack-o-verse stalwarts, and the longtime blog readers who are happily reading along in their emails (I see you).

Writing is kind of like shouting into the void - a lot of bluster and not much reaction - so if you enjoyed this, please do give me a heart, a restack or a recommend, and of course, I respond to comments.

Enough blathering!

Cheers,

Sheila

10

Here’s a picture of me in 2013, just after Logan bought them for me in Vancouver:

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

This was a wonky week, with the stat holiday (that would be Canada Day) midway through. Not that I’m complaining, although woo, that one-off on Friday was a challenge. And how do we handle challenges? With colour!

I was trying to be a bit more profesh last week, but I realized that my office doesn’t care, so what am I worrying about? I am still dressier than oodles of folks, so pffft, this week I resolved to bring out the C-O-L-O-U-R with a rainbow of fits.

Just in case you missed it.

Or just keep scrolling…

Tiger and Butterflies

I got a big happy feeling from hanging Pride flags and rainbow banners all over my desk and office area on Monday1. I blended right in with this amazing blazer.

I’ll just let you soak in this for a bit. Butterflies, roses and tiger stripes! Whaaaaat!

I decided to debut my little white cotton tank top from last week’s thrift expedition, and wore it over the waistband of my trousers. White and white, this outfit doesn’t need much more, as the SCHTAR of the Scene is the blazer.

But of course, I am ME and added orange to the whole shebang.

Despite the grey day outside, I carried my own sunshine in this splendiferous pattern. It even got sunny later! You’re welcome.

Branded items: The eelskin belt is vintage 80s Yves Saint Laurent. Shoes are the Groovy Aubrey by John Fluevog. The orange Lucite/steel ring is marked CK for Calvin Klein. Earrings are by Betsey Johnson.

Secondhand Report: Aside from the shoes, this is all preloved, and most of it is thrifted.

That belt was purely ornamental, did you spy it? It just spun around my waist all day, but I wanted that horizontal break.

BELTS JUST FOR SHOW. It’s the next new thing.

Turquoise Blues

I’m convinced that there are certain universal colours that look good on pretty much everyone, and rich royal cobalt blue is one of them2.

I will always look at this colour. Gimme gimme gimme that blue that your eyeballs fall into. I started the outfit with this blue kimono/haori/jacket/topper, clearly I don’t know what to call it. That Blue Thing!

I was feeling lazy - TWO days off in my future! - so I just layered TBT3 over this multicoloured dress. When in doubt, find a matching colour.

Which is not an issue with this dress!

It’s three different prints, and those are indeed separate pieces of fabric. And oh, my friends, the colours, so many colours for more outfit inspiration - and as you can see I went HOG WILD and added creamsicle orange tights, and chunks of turquoise.

I really wanted that particular scarf due to the bugs on it, as I’d just read ’s excellent post on menswear:

it's critical.

menswear...do we care?

I wasn’t going to talk about the recent menswear collections. Why? Because I never really have—at least not in any long-form newsletter…

Read more

2 months ago · 13 likes · 7 comments · Emilee Russell

I really enjoyed the Thom Browne section - for the bugs! I have a big collection of creepy-crawly accoutrements.

Branded items: The silk scarf is by local makers Smoking Lily. Shoes are the Prepare Guide by John Fluevog. The brass/pearl/crystal/turquoise cuff is by Myka. The ear-balls are by Sziska.

What’s New, Pussycat? The shoes were new when Logan bought them for me in 2012, but that’s it, all the rest is pre-loved.

As I rubbed the dent this massive necklace was making in the back of my neck, and deciding to move it into my Limbo area for resale, my coworker happened to admire this chunky-monkey turquoise beauty…so…It’s yours now, Angie!

I would rather it go to someone who loves it - it was a gift from Logan many Christmases ago and I NEVER put it on. No regrets! It’s a hug to her from me every time she wears it.

Mom-Day Damp

Would stoopid pigeons dump on me again? Nope, but it rained all day while I was out, so damp things still came from above. Fuuuuuuuck…

Well, it was Thursday, and I was going to Mom’s, no debate there. It was supposed to be warm and the forecast was for 4 mm of rain (that’s the width of a pen), so I was all blasé and, “What’s a little rain, it’s liquid sunshine!”

I’d had two cups of coffee and was feeling good!

I layered up: socks, tights, a vintage half-slip, and a camisole.

A few bold pieces in the same colours as the dress.

Pink, yellow (SKULLS) and green.

And you know? It was just rain, and Mom and I had a lovely day4. I was happy that I’d worn all this colour when it was so gloomy. Happy July!

Bird Interlude: Before I forget, this is for , my Substack pal and fellow birder. Enjoy a young Great Horned Owl begging for food from her mum (and ruffling her very wet feathers)5.

Branded items: Bond Girl green suede boots are Anna Sui X John Fluevog, as is the matchy green belt. The leather purse is my trusty Michael Kors. The silk skull scarf is Alexander McQueen.

Pre-Loved? I bought the boots and belt new - everything else was new-to-me.

If you haven’t notice my penchant for Fluevog shoes, it’s been a decades-long love affair6. They are truly “Unique Soles for Unique Souls,” although that felt more aspirational when I got my first pair in the mid-00s.

Having “out there” shoes was an important step in my evolution into the badass you see today.

These are the Drie VogClog (link here7), currently on sale for $299.99 - I paid $239.99, as they had a few with “slight factory defects”: the toe box is not made as tall as it’s supposed to be. Wayne8 and I puzzled over it, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with them, so SHRUG, oh well, cheaper for me! And this is why I like going into the store, finding little special things like that.

They’re leather and suede, metal studs, and wooden/rubber soles, with an adjustable strap across the vamp. After clomping around the store, I bit. I also bought another pair, but they didn’t have my size9, so it’s on the way from the Kitsilano store. Delayed gratification!

I bought these (and the upcoming pair) with saved-up gift cards, which I request for for all major celebratory events (birthday, Christmas) from all the people who like to buy me presents: Logan, my girlfriends and my bosses at work. I had $400.00 saved up and patiently waited from April (our trip to Vancouver) to now, till Fluevog had a sale - now THAT’s some delayed gratification. I don’t even browse online for the new styles, but I do pick up their wee paper zine when I’m in the store. I also pop in whenever I’m in the ‘hood and check out new shoes in person!

Boxy Pink

“It’s very boxy.”

Yes, that’s right.

Well observed.

The voices are loud…

A fitted blazer would just snatch that waist, and make that perfect hourglass shape. Which is my natural shape, lucky me, I’ve always fit women’s clothes well. But who says I have to be an hourglass?

Fuck that, I can wear a bigass boxy blazer if I want to.

The oversized “Stop Making Sense” vibe of this jacket reminded me of wearing my dad’s olive green corduroy blazer back in 1986. An oversized blazer makes me feel like the delicate fucking flower that I am (sez me).

See? I can be fitted if I feel like it. This is all very “audience approved.” More feminine.

Key words there: If I feel like it. My choice.

And I chose to be BADASS on that very dead Friday in the office. Dial up the rock and roll to 11. I walked with swagger.

(Yes, I did swish my skirt at my colleagues).

Branded items: Sequined sneakers are Converse. The silk scarf is vintage 90s Ed Hardy (yay) by Christian Audigier (boo)10. Canadian-made leather belt is by Silpada Designs. Steel cuff is vintage 70s from Lakeland Art Metal Works. The silver studded Lucite magnetic bangle is old Alexis Bittar. That crystal Soul Flower ring again.

New Review: Well, I have to tag , both to point out my stellar brooch cluster, and because this is a 100% preloved outfit.

Alert the media! Ring the klaxons!

Cheez Curls

Saturday dawned windy BUT a hint of sun was in the sky, so I risked it for a biscuit11 and wore this very summery concoction for brunch with Logan at John’s Place.

I had many exclamations of LURVE from random strangers and lovely folks in stores, because having worked in retail, I often engage with fellow Store People. A big HELLO to Mitra of Upcycle Collective12, who had the most fabulous Weird Adidas pants I’ve ever seen (purple/olive camo? giant pockets? so freakin’ cool).

People just love colour and pattern and boldness! This is a gen-yoo-wine double-knit polyester 70s dress, so suitable only for a hot day with cold flashes.

I usually wear a top under it or a blouse tied over it - this shirt pairing is nothing new. Love it! Wear it! Repeat it in July! (tagging AGAIN, what an annoying little gnat I am, tee hee).

But really, repeat it anyway. If it works, it works!

I enjoyed a bit of “me time” after brunch, browsing and shopping. I like being around people, but not always talking to them.

Branded items: Street Level made that woven bag. Those are my Drie VogClogs, just purchased with gift cards mere days earlier.

Pre-Loved Assessment: Aside from the shoes, it’s all secondhand or gifted (the spider ring). I got the necklace in the late 90s after my grandmother died - I restrung it myself after it broke.

Full confession13, I did go into a couple of stores and I did buy a few things.

Notes:

• It took me a few minutes to figure out that this 100% shirt is by Toteme, a name I’ve seen bandied about in the Fashion Substack-o-verse. Holy shit, are people actually buying this stuff RETAIL? I blinked HARD at the $1,000+ price tags on their site. Yikes, made my eyes water. And yeah, it really was $35.00, on consignment.

• I liked the colours of this Masai dress, and explained the whole Jammy Dress thing to Mitra. This hangs well, and I think it will layer nicely. Also, POCKETS. Also consignment.

• Dots is where I found this poly cropped top with the ruched draw-string front, and they sell sales samples - these are things shown to buyers for boutiques, and may never have been produced for retail. I think this has good layering potential.

Got a fave? Tell me!

These Are My People

My heart is full.

And These Are My Cats

Lucky, lucky me.

And there we go, that week just flew by! I hope you enjoyed my rainbow of colour - I think purple is the only colour in the Pride flag that I missed, but my hair kind of counts?

Sure! And if any of this *waves hands airily* inspired you to wear more colour, please give me a heart or tell me about it!

This is the part where I thank all the new subscribers (hello!), the folks who’ve been here for a while (heart!), and those long-time stalwarts who’ve given me their support for nearly 20 years. Mwah! You’re all AMAZING.

Next week is a bit of a hodge-podge of after-work things going on…will I have a theme? Maybe not?? But I am planning on showing you some Kinky Boots, so stay tuned!

Are we done?

Yes.

NEXT!

Cheers,

Sheila

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

Hey, hey, hey! Amazing how these just keep coming! After last week’s exploration of All Things Goth, I felt like I needed to rein it in a bit and profesh-up my office fits.

I mean, I always want a healthy dose of badassery in my outfits, but at heart, I am a rules-monkey so dressing professionally for whatever job I’m doing is something I’m down with1. I’ve been veering into slightly more casual office outfits, as part of my long slow slide into retirement (2 years and yes, I’m fucking counting), but I still need to set a good example for the others.

But what I wear to work is not just “office-coded” or some rigid idea of professionalism. Muahahahahaaaaa…you’ve been warned.

I switched into casual as the weekend neared - stay tuned to see who I met from Substack!2

Ready? Let’s go, girls.

Drapey Mondrian

Top, bottom, shoes, add a jacket or topper for sun coverage/pockets, that’s my office formula. And then throw lots of jewelry at it. LOTS. More than you might be comfortable with, heh heh.

I think I’m actually rather restrained here - nary a brooch in sight! What would say? I kid, I’m in awe of Tina.

I built the outfit around the skirt which is maxi to the max, and also has this amazing stained glass/Piet Mondrian vibe about it. The colours are separate pieces of fabric, the black lines are grosgrain wide ribbon, AND the back carries the pattern around. It’s not just sold black (barf) or the same as the front. Quality!

I’d intended on wearing the above outfit all day in the office, but after an hour I was FUH-REEZING from the AC.

Not your average office worker! But it’s all totally profesh.

Coulda used a pocket or three.

Office Wear Report Card: Star in the Teams Meeting! A+!

Branded items: The shoes are Vogettes Pina by John Fluevog3. The lapis lazuli ring is by Wendy Brandes (she only made two!), and the silver/crystal ring is by Soul Flower.

Retail report: I bought the shoes new when they went on sale a couple of years ago, and Wendy herself sold me the lapis ring, also yonks ago. Otherwise, it’s all secondhand.

The rest of the silver is mostly Mexican. If you have any questions, just ask (I always reply4).

Leopard Suit

Nothing’s easier than a suit, and I wear this one at least twice a year. It’s memorable, but every few months is perfect in rotation. I have worn the pieces separately, but it’s much more impactful together.

Tuesday is always a busy day in my office, so I like to wear something special for my colleagues. As I said to a VP, “If I get hit by a car, I want Logan to sue the pants off them, because how could you miss me?”

This was really too hot for the outside temps, but I SUFFER for fashion! I lounged around in this fit at Book Club that evening - I also selected the outfit to entertain my lovely literary friends.

Office Wear Report Card: Suit Maven Slays! A+!

Why, yes, I AM giving myself good grades. I fucking rule!

Branded items: The belt is from now-gone local shop Leatherworld. Lion buckle is off a striped cloth belt (I cut it off, tee hee). The convertible heel loafers are by Chloe. Mixed metal bracelet is Jenny Bird. The necklace is Fifth Avenue Collection, sold at Saks. The smoky topaz ring is by Swedish silversmith Anneli Neumann.

Cheeky retail: The belt, and the suit, but I bought the belt locally (it was made here in Victoria), and the suit is a sample from Dots, a locally-owned and operated store that sells off samples from (mostly) European brands.

Pop Art

Speaking of cheeky, Wednesday’s outfit played with office tropes: the shirt and tie, the dress pants.

And then the KAPOW of the bigass Lichtenstein-esque sequined mouth on the zipper cardi. Not your average cardi!

I’ve worn this cardigan many times - all the colours in it go with various pieces in my wardrobe. The mix-and-matchability quotient is high!

Office Wear Report Card: She Runs The Place. A+!

Branded items: Sandals-shoe-booties are by Sorel. The tie is vintage 80s Le Chateau. Earrings by Tania Gleave. Rings by Wendy Brandes.

Retail round-up: I bought the shoes at local shop The Cobbler, where I’ve been buying shoes since I was a teen in the 80s (I also got my butter-yellow Docs there). I selected the red earrings from a few other shades and happily paid the artist’s partner in their Granville Island studio (many years ago). And Wendy Brandes and I go way back - I have owned these rings for 10+ years.

That’s a pretty high percentage of retail, but shoes are often the hardest things to find secondhand (and some people are icked by it). When I do dabble in retail, I do local, ideally owned/operated by someone who lives here.

And…

I bought a pair of shoes at the Cobbler on Wednesday! I had culled a pair or two thrashed sandals in the last year and have been wanting some low-commitment summer shoes. Ideally, leather, nicely made.

Well, these are not that.

They are 100% synthetic but…they fit me perfectly and the colours are DIVINE. They were only $40 and, for the usually very intermittent opportunities when ultra-light footwear is needed in Victoria, that felt about right.

Mom-Day Splat

The weather turned and it got gloomy and about 10 degrees cooler on Thursday, so I had to set aside the outfit I’d planned5, and freestyled it, leading to the best question ever…

What do I want to wear?

I started with the top…patterns are always the trickiest, aren’t they? It’s firmly in a browny-rust mix, with touches of blue, yellow and green. I know I’m gonna wear a skirt, and well, twist my rubber tulle arm, how about the taupe one?

I’ve worn this top and skirt combo before with turquoise shoes/accents, and knew it would also be a good backdrop for wearing some of my jewelry collection. Any excuse to wear the warm tones of 1970s Brutalist copper.

I was prepared to spend an hour-plus on the bus each way, hang with Mom, make lunch and finish our jigsaw puzzle.

I was NOT ready for a pigeon to unload the second I got off the bus. I thought it was rain! Gah! I grabbed some napkins from the CircleK, and dabbed at my scarf, my jacket, my hand, my skirt, my boots…even my purse.

Dammit, bird! I’m an ally! I have Merlin!

Rest assured, a few shots of Folex and light soap and water, and the jacket was as good as new.6

Anyway, this can only mean XXXTREME good fortune coming my way. We’ll see how the weekend goes!

Branded items: Arcadia leather purse. Boots are by 1883 Lucchese. The copper link bracelets, necklace and earrings are all Renoir (the enameled earrings are a sub-line called Matisse). The turquoise/copper brooch and small ring are Bell Trading Co. The Hand Party is by Raphael of Canada.

Crank the Klaxons! It’s a 100% pre-loved outfit! None of it was acquired new.

Gold star!

Substack Meet

OMG, the immense pressure of meeting another Fashion Person in real life! reached out to me recently to ask about local shops in her aunt’s ‘hood while she was visiting Victoria, and of course I offered to meet up and show her around myself on Friday after work.

You might have caught my note here (that’s where all the pictures are).

I say “of course,” but I realize many people would say, “HELL NO, I am not meeting some weirdo from the Internet, they could be anyone!” but I have a long history of meeting up with my blog readers7.

I always meet in a public place, pass along their contact information to Logan, you know, basic safety precautions…but you also just need to trust that the people who comment and put themselves out there are who they say they are. I’ve interacted with Terra enough to feel totally at ease with meeting her.8

I pondered what to wear to meet up with a Substacker. Hmmm…what am I known for? Fluevogs for sure, and also vintage designer, a little sporty casual, perhaps?

Office Wear Report Card: Sheila likes to do her own thing, but always has fun with what she wears to work. A++++++!

I pointed out everything to Terra like a kid showing off her room, ha ha, right down to the jewelry. I think she appreciated it, and I’m sure I rambled endlessly in long meandering tangents9, as I am wont to do.

I was on my best behaviour and I only lightly peppered my conversation with salty language, and I even engaged with people in stores! Go, me! Oh, while I remember, hello to Annabelle at Cherry Pick Vintage!10

I dragged Terra around downtown, showing her my favourite stores, having quick looks-through (most close early even on Fridays, as Victoria is known for “rolling up the sidewalks at 6pm”).

Branded items: Givenchy scarf. Catalyst Shapers men’s shoes are by John Fluevog. That gold/amethyst ring by Francis Jewellers again. The pink crystal necklace and earrings are vintage 1950s Sherman.

New Review: The shoes are the only new/retail item, and they were bought for me by Logan this past year for our anniversary shoe exchange.

Terra and I popped into Vintage After Death, where my hand hit soft, soft suede while pawing at the textiles on the dress rack. I donned it over my clothes11 to see if it would fit (it did!) and dropped into one of my Patented Poses. The dress was marked down to $67.00 and is from Kitsch Boutique, a store/brand that no longer exists; the inner lining is stamped “Dormeuil England,” which I believe is the actual brand. It has POCKETS!

We had dinner at my favourite Zambri’s, and the time just flew by! I felt like we’d known each other for years. So fun! Thanks, Terra!

Brunch and Browse

This is the outfit I had planned to wear for Mom-Day on Thursday - it was waiting in the wings patiently for a day that wasn’t raining and cold. I wore it out for brunch on Saturday with a bunch of friends, even though it was overcast. Fuckit, I want to wear this!

I built the outfit around my new sandals, and figured that a light-wear Saturday would be perfect to test them: I had a ride to town courtesy of Logan, brunch and then a 3-4 hour shop with a short stroll to the bus home. They were good, although standing/shopping on concrete floors is tough on the feet (the big WIN Store is literally a warehouse, nothing fancy about it).

WIN doesn’t have fitting rooms, so I stripped down to my camisole12, and tried stuff on over that. I had wee sporty shorts under the skirt so that I could pull on pants as needed.

Branded items: Michael Kors leather purse. Silk Marc Rozier scarf. Los Cabos sandals. Jenny Bird leather/chain bracelet.

What’s new, precious? It’s all secondhand except for the shoes that I bought locally a few days ago.

What I Found: I spent almost exactly $100, including cashing in some frequent shopper points for $5.00 off.

Notes:

• The pajama set is fun - I’ve been on the lookout for a silk set forever, but they are hard to find in good condition. I won’t be wearing this publicly - it’s around-the-house clothes only.

• Golden Bee seems to be a brand that’s been around for ages, and many of the garments online have been labeled “silk” without any supporting labels. My topper has a very faded label that reads “100% rayon” so be careful if you’re searching.

• Oh, this Alfred Sung blouse is a BEAUTY, easily the gem of what I found in terms of quality. 100% silk, gorgeous details. It’s meant to be a blouse (she has lost her shoulderpads), but I might wear it as a topper. The cuffs are meant for cufflinks, which is exciting as it means I get to raid Logan’s collection.

• The pink woven blazer is from Jack Victor and new comparables are in the $998.00 range (I know, JAW DROP), and was originally sold at Landmark Clothiers in Kelowna, BC. It fits Logan perfectly, but I want it for myself (it has seven - SEVEN - pockets, are you fucking kidding me?) and the external ones haven’t even been opened. It’s GORG.

• Me and a caftan, right? I literally put back a pretty poly one once I saw this 100% silk India-made woven paisley creation. It is well-worn, with lots of loose threads - I suspect it has been washed a few times and then not ironed/steamed. A little bit of cosmetic trimming, snip-snips and pressing and I’ll be a BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY in this for the August Winesday Pool Party.

• A good small top! I narrowed my focus and checked all white tops in the store (in about 10 different places13) and this one was the best. It’s a useful layering top in 100% cotton, and doesn’t have any wear and tear.

I’m excited to style these up and see how they integrate with my existing wardrobe.

What’s your favourite? What would you like to see styled?

These Are My People

Wow, what a lucky person I am to have all these fabulous people in my life!

And These Are My Cats

They fill me with happiness!

And there we are, another week in the bag. For a not-very-busy week, it ended up being rather full of good times - I’m certainly not complaining.

Dressing for the weather is often a losing battle, especially in the tail end of spring/early summer, as it fluctuates between smokin’ hot and brrr, fucking cold. As I successfully GOT DRESSED, I’m counting it all as a win! Eh, I was profesh enough.

Put a bow on the week, stick it in a drawer and forget about it.

Now that we’ve dealt with that, a moment of gratitude for YOU, dear readers. Whether you are new to me (I hope it was all you feared), a regular or a real-life friend, I appreciate you being here.

Next week! What’s happening next week? Well, we have a Wednesday Canada Day holiday, which is disconcerting, so that will be something to navigate, but otherwise, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Are we good? Yeah, we’re good.

Cheers,

Sheila

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

One of the benefits of blogging/writing about my style, is that I notice trends (MY trends, of course; yours may vary). I’ve been leaning into goth-y tendencies lately, so hey, let’s explore that, shall we?

What does it mean that I’m looking at black more in June? Was I ever a Goth?1 Am I some kind of poser?2 Can you be a Summer Goth, or is that all bullshit, made-up crap?3

Buckle up, let’s find out!

This week was mostly just worky-work, going to the office, no special events…until Saturday night, which was WINESDAY, the most beloved of regular events in my social calendar. Yay, I get to see my women!

Goth Crinkle

But first, work. Monday came as it always does: not enough sleep and as I had to be in the office half an hour earlier, seriously under-caffeinated.

I styled up this early 00s thrifted blouse, tying it in the front (it’s vast and wide, huge tracts of land), and did not like it. It’s synthetic, the pattern is too large and hard to see - it’s dragonfly wings - and aside from just how I FELT in it4, I really don’t like it in the pictures.

But whatever - waves airily - it was $7 to a good charity, and I’ll just move it along to one of my friends or colleagues. It has to look good on someone, right?

So, what makes this goth? (Do we capitalize? (do we care?))

The blouse kinda felt badass (the dragonflies! it’s sheer!) when I bought it and of course it could be my not-a-pro asstastic styling…maybe if I left the wrist ties dangling down as I moan dramatically on my chaise longue while I write longhand poetry about death, crows and rain5. And DESPAIR.

Or I could just say fuckit.

The skirt is a dark grey-green and it’s just a big mass of angsty crinkles, isn’t it? It’s doing all the heavy lifting. Poor skirt, I done you wrong with this fit.

Verdict: Only vaguely goth-y. Could use a corseted frock coat.

Branded items: Shoes are by Sol Sana. Earrings are Chan Luu.

Cheeky retail: The round sparkly pin was bought c. 1999 at Eaton’s. The lace cuff was handmade and bought from a shop selling locally-made stuff in 2018, I think? The filigree cuff is from the St. Paul’s Cathedral gift shop in London in 2010. That snake ring again (bought in 1986). The rest is secondhand!

Watery Goth

I find comfort in dresses, great swaths of fabric wrapped around me like a hug. The best dresses have pockets and go with oodles of things. We call those…Jammy Dresses. They come in all sizes and shapes, and this one is pea-shaped.

She is the princess who tossed and turned, then said fuck it and threw herself into the ocean where she was embraced by kelp and sea lettuces and cucumbers6, a veritable watery salad of blues and turquoise and greens with the sun streaking through as she looked up from the watery depths.

She rose.

She turned the waves into boots of the bluest sea-glass and laced them with seaweed, and strode into the world, carrying the ocean on her back. The green turned to grass, leaves, apples, peas…moths and bees fluttered to her, a beetle marched up her hand.

This was my Tuesday office outfit, styled up as a recovery from the bad vibes of that horrendous blouse from Monday7. Jammy comfort, soothing happy colours, badass boots just in case I need to stomp around dramatically.

Now, is it goth or is it just batshit crazy?

It kinda makes me giggle8, especially when I add the DRAMA of the Movie Star Wrap, with this most wonderful vintage Yves Saint Laurent scarf. In my defense, it was really windy.

Verdict: Goth’s a state of mind, darlings. I’m a watery tart in need of a lake and a sword. FETCH.

Branded items: Silk scarf is 80s YSL. The boot are the Original Sabado by John Fluevog. Scarab ring is by Heidi Daus. Snake front & back earrings are Betsey Johnson. The enameled cuff is Lauren G. Adams (it comes in different colours).

Pre-Loved or…? I saved up gift cards to buy the boots. Otherwise, it’s all secondhand, oh yeah!

Peplum Goth

For Wednesday’s office lewk, I fussed around with this new-to-me top the night before, until I finally landed on something I liked. I had another outfit made with it (a skirt version with red accents) for last week, but ditched it because it made me nervous and felt a little out of my comfort zone…but now I have to wear it, don’t I?9

Anyway, this felt more office-appropriate (the other outfit involved sheer) and I was able to assess this top for wearability. It’s very voluminous - that’s not all boobbage in there, I swear!

I landed on creating a peplum with a belt, as it just eats me up (gobble gobble) if I wear it straight up and down. I could fit both cats in there.

When in doubt, denim, so count on seeing this with one of my blue denim mermaid skirts, my white denim skirt, that sort of thing. Maybe a turtleneck under it for the Fall Vampire Season?

I predict that I’ll change up the “pops of” to red, blue, yellow, teal, orange…pretty much anything I have in shoes, layering pieces and jewelry10.

Now, the big question! Is it goth?

Verdict: Summer goth to a tee! A giant black lace shawl would be awesome, but I did wear my Craig Morrison Bug Bag11 with this, so I have street cred.

Branded items: The reversible belt is Ralph Lauren. The shoes are 2003-4 vintage Freedom Suki by John Fluevog (more on those in a sec). 1970s snake coil cuff is Whiting & Davis. Gold/amethyst ring is Frances Jewellers.

Whoop! Whoop! 100% pre-loved in this one, folks!

And…the shoes!

I’ve featured them before (because I re-wear everything), but I never tired of bragging about them.

Isn’t the shape cool? I love that kitten heel, the raised heel cup, the stitching (which I coloured black), and the uber-pointy toe.

Such a show-off…[scoffs]

Mom Goth

As I got ready to spend hours on the bus to go visit my mom12, I flipped through a bunch of my dresses on Thursday, moving some along to Limbo and really LOOKING at which ones are my favourites.

202013: This silk beauty was jammed into a rack of about 300 dresses in the basement of the Patch. The pattern caught my eye, as did the long sleeves and the gorgeous hand-feel of the textile.

When I can rattle off a list of fabulous details, you know it’s a keeper.

• 100% silk

• 100% silk LINING

• Floopy pirate cuffs (!!!)

• Reversed/mirrored fabric on each section

• Barely touches me

I’ve worn this with blue shoes, blue sandals, white shoes, OTK boots - it’s an easy Jammy Dress that does all the work when I want to feel good.

But is it goth?

Not reeeeeallllly? The dark colour mix is enlivened by the little pops of white, and the silver chains give whiffs of badass.

Verdict: It’s Mom-approved, and can you get any less goth than that? But like I said, it’s a state of mind. I am goth; ergo, my outfit is goth.

Branded items: Vintage 70s Halston silk scarf. Danier Leather crossbody purse. Geox leather sandals.

New-to-me review:

Light the beacons!

This is another 100% pure secondhand/preloved outfit.

Along with the dress, I also thrifted the purse, scarf and shoes (they were new/unworn!).

Goth Daisies

My silly cat photobombed my pictures on Friday morning, so eh, enjoy an uncropped view of my closet door, and my Rowenta Master Valet steamer. It’s 8ish? years old, and the best features are the pant clips - I clip all my shirts to this as the shoulders on it are too fucking big for women’s clothes, prolly made for a man, gawdammit - and the pull-down screen for tension as you steam, so you can do creases and push at thicker textiles to get those deep ditches out. I use it every day!

But this is no ad (pfft…I don’t do those), I’m just sharing knowledge and experience. Also my sexy cat. Like I was going to crop him out!

This is the Gothiest Goth fit of the week - EASILY - due to the vampire cosplay going on below the waistline, sunshine. Moire-textured taffeta in perma-box-pleats are their own section in the orchestra. SWOOSH! You could hear me coming.

In addition to my tried-and-true deployment of a graphic tee/band tee to badass up a Fancy Skirt, I added my joyful daisy bomber jacket for sun coverage.

This is totally the kind of skirt I would set aside to wear in the dark months when I indulge my love of horror, black and creepy stuff, but this is a good step towards making my wardrobe year-round. This was not overly hot to wear, unlike the nylon bag of a jacket, which induced buckets of sweat.

Verdict: Even vampires like a touch of sunshine. Summer Goth!

Branded items: Kenzo silk scarf. Patent leather shoes are Karl Lagerfeld, about 8 years old. That gold Francis Jewellers ring from the 60s.

Pre-loved assessment: I bought the shoes new on deep clearance at the Bay department store, but everything else is secondhand or a gift.

As always, if you have any questions about any of this *waves*, you’re always welcome to ask.

Pop Goth

I had various reactions to Saturday’s all-day fit (worn from 11am until nearly 2am):

• “Tell my fortune!”14

• “Are those the owners of the diner?”15

• “Ooh, you’re so bright!”16

Proof that I actually wear this stuff in the wild - that’s me at Winesday in pal Vero’s backyard, about to spend the next 3 hours miserably swatting away mosquitos. FUCKING BUGS GET AWAY FROM ME.

*ahem*

Look, see my big skirt! I was all about the billowy/swooshy silhouette for our usual Saturday morning (Logan plays Ulti, I join him/other(s) for brunch, we grocery shop for the week).

It always boggles people when I tell them the skirt is H&M - it’s from their “A Tribute to Marimekko” collection from 2008, and the skirt is 70% cotton, 30% silk. SILK! You would never see that nowadays.

As you can see, the skirt has POCKETSSS. It’s also a size 4 with a teeny waist, and even at my own personal teeniest, I’ve never done it up - I leave it half-way unzipped and tuck the waistband inside and throw a belt over it. Fuck it, I want this skirt to fit, so I’m gonna make it happen!

There’s nothing new here - these are all old favourites that I’ve had for years, all pieces that my friends had seen before.

But is it goth? Well, there’s a bunch of black and I was quoting Shakespeare in a gloomy way, so yeah, it TOTALLY is. Soft goth, Summer goth…whatever you want to try, it can be goth.

Verdict: Neon and brights plus black equals goth. Fashion math!

Branded items: Shell brooch is stamped JJ. Shoes are the Groovy Aubrey by John Fluevog. Suede/leather bag is by Aimee Kestenberg. Silk scarf is Marc Rozier (of France, so CLASSY). Mixed earrings are by Martha Sturdy. The fishbone necklace is Roberto for RLM.

Secondhand scope: I bought the shoes new several years ago. Every other piece was pre-loved, or a gift. Mom’s olivine/coral ring was from Hawaii, c. 1976; the opal ring is from 1983ish, bought locally for me at Francis Jewellers for my sweet 16.

Ah, Winesday was the perfect way to cap off the week, like reward for all the hard work leading up to it.

These Are My People

I’m grateful to have so many colourful people in my life.

And These Are My Cats

Sending you all purrs and soft fur.

Well, here we are! You made it! And for that, I am ever so grateful for your presence. The interwebz and Substack are a Big Place, and knowing that you chose to spend a few minutes with me is just…everything.

THANK YOU. I see you all (new people, hiiiii!).

So, how’d I do this week? Sufficiently gothy enough for you, or am I Not Goth At All? Do tell! I’d love to hear from you in the comments (I always answer).

Next week is relatively quiet, but I’m still going to work and still need office outfits, as much as I would like to be goth every day…

Enough rambling? Yeahhhhh…

Cheers,

Sheila

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

Welcome back, buckaroos! Deeeeep breath…post-staycation, it was time to go back to the office, after my lovely week-plus of being off. The only way is THROUGH, so let’s dive right in and wear all that new stuff I found at the various thrift and consignment stores the previous week. Will X make the cut? Will I move Y into Limbo for resell? Will I ball Z up in a fury and pitch it out a window? (Not likely, but I’m kind of a wild card…it COULD happen).

This was a quiet week overall, aside from a dreaded dental appointment, and a Sunday visit with Logan’s mom1.

Let’s get dressed!

Knife Pleats

I had a play sesh in my closet on Sunday, pulling top-bottom-shoes, plus whatever extra clothing pieces were appropriate, creating an outfit for every new-to-me piece from last week’s vacation shopping bonanza:

I found so many good things, and I wore a bunch of the pre-loved jewelry already, so I was raring to style all the clothing bits! I also did a tiny bout of hand-sewing, moving a button here, a button there, and pulling together the seam at the bottom of a hidden zip. Little fixes like that don’t take long, but they make a big difference2.

I launched myself back into the office on Monday by wearing neon and teal leopards, and this ginormous knife-pleated black skirt. The skirt is the New Thing - and I won’t keep you on tenterhooks: I’m not keeping it.

I’m tempted! It’s very thick (“OOOOH,” said my coworker) and heavy, and gives good swoosh. I was concerned that the wrap front would whoosh open as I walked, but it stayed put. Excellent.

However, as I noted when I found it, I have a kajillion black skirts, and this is Not Good Enough3 to earn a stay with me.

I wore cardi-on, cardi-off until June-uary4 finally convinced me that I needed it on all the time.

I am TICKLED PINK when someone links to me, and did that day, mentioning my Movie-Star Wrap…which I did NOT deploy this particular morning, opting for warmth at my neck.

But it was pouring out on the way home, so SCARF AHOY!

Branded items: Shoes are the Classy Bach by John Fluevog. Silk scarf is Krizia. The necklace is Givenchy from the 80s (a $5 vintage fair score 10+ years ago). The earrings are by Martha Sturdy.

As always, my sunnies are prescription, so no variation. I’ve had these for about 5-6 years, so it’s about time the trend cycle caught up with me and my Bigass Sunglasses. *wink*

Ruffled Armour

My every-six-months periodontist appointment rolled around far too quickly on Tuesday, and I dressed accordingly, garbing myself in ARMOUR. Ruffles, not-quite-jeans and some lavender. That’s the ticket.

I enjoyed the blouse, the new-to-me item - it’s a win…for now.

I went off “hard” blouses (non-stretchy pieces with buttons and cuffs) for a while, but I’ve been hearing the siren call lately. They’re not really practical, as I still have hot flashes (fucking hot flashes, you would think I’d be through them after 19 years!), and I’ll be retiring in a couple of years.

Not gonna need all those office blouses then, willya, Sheila?

The weather continues to be erratic, with rain, wind, chilly temps. Leather Weather! I pulled out this lovely purple leather jacket that is so soft. The zips like to eat the lining, so I don’t use the pockets much.

Branded items: Mulberry silk scarf is by John Fluevog. The belt is by B-Lo the Belt. Shoes are by Call It Spring. The steel cuff with purple stones is by Moda and is from Malta (it’s vintage 70s). Wendy Brandes made the Fulvia Ring and the lapis lazuli ring.

What’s new, pussycat?5 The scarf, the starburst brooch (c. 1999) and the two rings were all purchased new.

My mouth was sore (many needles for freezing) and the happy pill wreaked its havoc on me for a couple of days, but at least I have all my teeth? I have dental HISTORY, which I’ve gotten into before, but naaaaaaaaahhhhh, not now.

Patchwork Fit

I had thought of saving this outfit for Friday when there would be more folks in the office (bigger audience!), but I knew I’d need the “WOWSERS” lift. I woke up groggy on Wednesday with a sore mouth, and was glad I’d made the effort.

It’s always worth it! No one ever says, “Gee, I wish I hadn’t planned my outfit ahead of time.” Also, wear that new thing NOW.

Of course, the patchwork in the day’s title is the vest, which just SCREAMS “Fran Fine”!6 But it’s also the mixed eras in my outfit (ooh, aren’t I clever?).

The vest is mid-90s (I was there, we loved a vest). The cotton blouse is a reproduction of a 100+ years-old design. The skirt/shoes are contemporary, but still both from 5-7 years ago.

My leather blazer is from that Leather Era of the very early 00s, the Buffy Era!7

Even my jewelry is a mix of decades.

Branded items: The shoes are the Super Fine Cardinals by John Fluevog.

Pre-Loved Check: The shoes were a new purchase, one of Logan’s/my Fluevog Anniversary reciprocal gifts, and I suppose Mom bought the earrings (for herself) and the necklace (for me) new back in the 1970s and for either my birthday or for Christmas when I was in high school. My dad bought himself the gold/amethyst ring, from local jewelry-makers Francis Jewellers8, around 1965. I bought the crap-quality amber ring myself for $5.00 around 1996, when Logan and I both raided this little vintage shop downtown one afternoon.

Oh, that’s a lot of memories! I’m so glad that I kept some of my older pieces - they aren’t always great quality (the ring is!) but they’re worth everything for the history.

Mom-Day Caftan Top

I wore this gorgeous new-to-me 100% cotton embroidered top for Mom on Thursday, because it is SO up her alley, and I actually did consider giving it to her.

But as I explained while she eyed it covetously, as we lounged in the shade on her back deck, it’s not made for someone who has disability issues9. It doesn’t have any give or stretch (the classic cotton trade-off!), it has to be donned over the head, and it zips up one side, requiring some twisty acrobatics.

The quality is superb, and it was a bar-GOON at $10.00 in the Beacon Ave Thrift Shop last week. I only paid $19.95 for the jeans too (1-2 years ago), and $40.00 for the sandals off-season at the Velvet Crease two summers ago. A cheap outfit always feels good, doesn’t it?

I puzzled over what to wear as my extra layer and ended up with my old favourite “Lewis” Vuitton knock-off scarf, thrifted many years ago for $1.95 at the big WIN store.

While I deeply admire this beautiful caftan-shirt, it didn’t really fit my vibe. Maybe if it was a full-size caftan? I find it hard to let go of pieces that are objectively good quality, but I know I need to move this along.

Let it go, Sheila. It is not badass, it’s only vaguely artsy, and it gives me pleasure but not JOY.

Branded items: The London-themed tube-shaped bag is vintage Le SportSac, found in a thrift store in Sidney a couple of years ago. Scarf is a vintage tourist knock off of the Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton collaboration with Stephen Sprouse. Shoes are Via Spiga. Soul Flower silver/crystal ring.

100% pre-loved!

Everything in this outfit was bought by me secondhand, or was a gift (the Soul Flower ring and the silver/obsidian ring from Mom and Dad, c. 1986).

Snaky Pirate

You might have noticed: I love a theme. I have a few favourites that have led to semi-collecting for most of my life - bugs and creepy-crawlies, skulls, cats. Things that catch my attention when I see ‘em.

Friday’s outfit had a bonus theme of SNAKES. See if you can spot them all (there are four!).

Oh, and pirate - I like clothes with swagger! Long frock coats, ruffled cuffs and big sleeeeves, velvets, brocades. It probably comes from Duran Duran videos and the British New Wave that hit when I was in high school, 1983-85. Once a pirate, always a pirate!

Yar, me hearties! I could’ve worn my pirate hat with this (of COURSE I own a pirate hat). I have few fucks to give, but I’m not quite at that level yet.

I built this outfit to showcase the newly-thrifted white mesh t-shirt found in Sidney last week, bought with a bunch of stuff that I didn’t bother to try on. I could not get the t-shirt to work even after extensive try-ons and combinations of layers - it’s just not me! It’s a look I like on others10, so I know someone will eventually give it a home.

Anyway, all that to say that’s how I landed on this outfit - I just subbed in a tried-and-true mesh top and then threw a bunch of jewelry at it.

Branded items: Vera scarf. Lucky Brand leather sandals. Alexis Bittar Lucite and silver cuff.

Retail round-up: I bought the sandals new on deep clearance many years ago. The snake ring is the first piece of “good” jewelry I bought for myself, in 1986.

Goth Mermaid

Saturday was HOT - temps shot up to the high-to-mid 20s - so my plan of wearing a different fit melted into a puddle. Must wear something cool!

asked me last week about Doc Martens - I have two pairs of their ankle-high boots and totally thrashed another pair that I wore till they nearly fell apart. But I also have a pair of Docs sandals, found a few years ago on consignment at Upcycle, one of my favourite little locally-owned and -operated downtown reused boutiques.

So I knew I’d be basing my outfit around them, but I didn’t want to wear anything heavy or overly synthetic. But I do need layers (always!), so when my eyes alit on this pink leopard mesh tee in my “small things” drawer, as I pawed about looking for something to put under this long black dress, my mind went:

DING DING DING.

It gives me a bit of sun coverage, hides ye olde ugly bra straps11 and adds some colour and badassery to the outfit.

I sunblocked my arms just for incidental sun, but I could also cover them with my scarf. I slipped one arm through it and swung it off to the side while I grocery shopped post-brunch at John’s Place. Note that in the first picture, it’s positioned like a cape - that mode was for walking around so that the scarf could billow out behind me12.

It’s important for me to have movement, flow and swoosh! It makes me happy!

Branded items: The giant silk scarf is VALENTINO. Leather sandals are by Doc Martens. Shell brooch is marked J.J. Gold-tone/pink stone bracelet is vintage D’Olans. Martha Sturdy pearl spiral earrings.

What’s pre-loved? It’s 100% secondhand, plus a gifted item (the Pearl Factory pearl ring, bought for me by Mom in 1985).

Late Dinner

And finally, that mother-in-law dinner thing on Sunday night, just as I was wanting to put a bow on this (always long and rambling) missive. It was SO fucking hot - how hot was it??13 - that I did a net-new fit on the fly. I don’t like wearing ANY synthetics when it’s stoopid-hot.

Cotton, cotton, and my only nod to FASHUN was my “Substack-approved” pirate sash. Oh, was that a thing last year? I…DGAF14 - if I like something, I’m gonna keep doing it.

Branded items: The purse is Aldo, 10+ years old. Silk scarf by Alexander McQueen (swoon). Suede shoes are by Homers. The two rings are by Ms. Wendy Brandes herself.

Bought new: I picked up the purse on deep clearance at the Aldo store in the mall c. 2016. I bought the shoes locally from one of the 3-4 local shops where I stalk Good Shoes till they go on sale. The rings were a direct purchase from the maker.

Note to self: Don’t wear these shoes barefoot again! I had blisters on both swampyass sweaty feet from walking to town. We Ubered home!

These Are My People

My heart is full of love and gratitude.

These Are My Cats

Sending you all purrs and head-bonks.

And there we are, folks! Another week in the bag. Let’s check in with our mission and see how we did with uh…what was it?…oh, yeah, wearing the new-to-me stuff.

I managed to wear four new pieces this week, and was going well until Friday when all that good intention went out the window when it got so stinkin’ hot out. Ah, well, I shall cut myself some slack and let it goooooooo.

This is the part where I thank you for being here.

THANK YOU.

Thank you to the new subscribers (I see you!), those of you joined me on the Substack ride, and my dear Ephemera readers and friends. Without your likes/hearts, comments and restacks (or whatever you feel like doing, tagging, etc.), I’m just writing and getting dressed in a void. Y’all rock in the best possible way!

There, done?

Done.

Cheers,

Sheila

Hello, my friends! Welcome to my little corner of the fashion discourse. Consider me your Gen X fairy gawdsister - I have a closet full of wacky clothes, a decades-curated jewelry collection and all the funneroo shoes, and most of it is pre-loved. I do not dress like other people, and that’s the way I like it! Take up space, be seen and wear all the colour!

Circular fashion is my ultimate aim - I only shop in-person, locally, 95% secondhand (I have a Fluevog thing). I sell - again, in-person only - clothes that didn’t quite make the grade to other fashiony folks, and the money I earn from my sales is my budget for shopping.

I’ve been at this wardrobe journaling thing since I started my blog, Ephemera [insert service announcement below]*, way back in 2008 - every outfit and purchase have been recorded there, along with major (and minor) bits of my life. Here on Substack (since 2024), I share a week’s round-up with you Gentle Readers, and blather on about whatever’s on my mind. Doesn’t that sound divine?

*Hello, I’m Sheila of the blog Ephemera. I like to swear (clutching pearls and fainting couches sold separately), I link ‘cause I love (no affiliates), and I do not use AI - I’ll make my own fucking typos, thank you!

Hey! Thanks for coming back! Good to see you, how’ve you been? Excellent! Settle in for a curated look at what I wore this week, and where I wore it. This is is the only non-holiday-based vacation time that I take all year that isn’t family-based1, so it’s time to be treasured with my loved ones (human and feline). I also had some shopping splurges!

Ready for some fun fits? Let’s go!

Hot Block Print

My vacation daze2 are usually spent reading, playing board games or writing, but there are certain obligations in maintaining life…like grocery shopping.

And going for burritos! Which is what we did on…[thinks, checks blog]…Monday!

So why not dress up for groceries and burritos? Where else am I gonna wear a fabulous dress like this?

I wear minimal make-up when I’m off (and never around the house), and didn’t even bother doing my hair. Fuck it! No one cares! I did pat a lot of silver sparkles around my eyes because a day off requires glitter.

Branded items: Dooney & Burke purse was found at Pocket (consignment). The silk Vera scarf is vintage (the ladybug is key). The shoes are Fly London. Silver/crystal ring is by Soul Flower.

Pre-Loved Reckoning: Ooh, what a way to start the week! 100% secondhand, my friends! Vintage fair, gifts, thrift shop, consignment, vintage shopping finds.

If you ever have questions about any of my stuff, please ask. No gatekeeping, but note that most of it is already old when I acquire it.

Swoosh in Sidney

For Logan’s actual birthday on Wednesday, he chose a trip to Sidney to browse around in the thrift, vintage and consignment shops. We had a late lunch and then returned home, several hours later.

It was windy, potentially hot, but maybe chilly, so I layered wee shorts under my lined silk skirt, and just wore a plain black cami as my top. I have a drawer full of these camisoles, in a rainbow of colours, so good for layering.

Knowing I’d be up to my elbows rummaging in true thrift shops (masses of crappage, with a few gems) and shoving clothing around on racks, I kept it simple.