Mid Season Madness - bare legs, thick tights and a skirt

Well, I have to say, so far November has been very fickle.  One day it is warm, the next day cold, then very hot, then cold.  One day I have bare legs, the next I am wearing thick tights again.  

One warm day, I wore a previously un-worn and un-blogged-about vintage St Michael white polyester dress with green dots from the Butterflies Hospice Shop.  It began life with an ugly off-centre front pleat and was "extra long".  Thus it languished in the "sewing to do" pile residing on the back of the couch for some time.  Then it was banished back to the wardrobe.  One damp late October afternoon I got out my trusty Husky and sewed up the pleat and took a few centimetres off the hem.  The results....

green spotty dress ($4) and blue stretchy bracelet ($2) Dunedin Butterflies Hospice Shop
Blue hush puppies ($10) and blue bangles ($1 each) Mosgiel Butterflies Hospice Shop

The day I wore the dress I teamed it up with blue accessories: blue bangles and blue mary-jane hush puppies from the Mosgiel Butterflies Hospice Shop and a stretchy blue bracelet from the Dunedin shop.  

Having done quite well in "Buy Nothing New October" I did make a retail purchase in early November - a much coveted giant pearl necklace from the store Lovisa.  I have wanted one of these for months and months.  I once saw one at the Salvation Army store in Princes Street but it was part of a "lucky customer" prize draw and suffice to say, I was not the right customer that day.  However, the first wearing of the giant pearl necklace is here:

Purple midi skirt reincarnated from evening dress Toffs $2
Homemade cotton top
Giant pearl necklace from Lovisa $17
Red cardigan from Butterflies $4
Black shoes from SaveMart $7
Tights - retail 

Clearly the late afternoon searing sun was in my eyes and also the raging southerly wind scooting up the harbour, but you get the idea - thick tights, long skirt (previously an evening dress from the $2 section of Toffs) a home-made top and a midi-sleeved cardigan. 

Readers I have to tell you a story about this skirt:

I first encountered this skirt at Toffs, in the priced section (i.e. not the $2 section).  I think it was $44 or something like that.  Whatever it was, it was a price I could not justify.  It has an underskirt made out of heavy taffeta satin material.  The top layer is embroidered with gold thread.  I longed for this skirt.  Every time I went to Toffs I looked at it.  I held it against me and twirled around.  I thought long and hard about what I had last bought that cost so much money.  One day I went to Toffs and it was gone.  I did not mourn it as that was probably a day I scored a heap of stuff from the $2 section and said to myself, "Oh well, it was not meant to be, so move on."

Then, one work day when I was naughtily on Facebook, I got a message from Restore proclaiming "Half price sale today and tomorrow."  Right, I said to myself, I am going today.  Well, sometimes I go into Restore and I get information overload - there is so much stuff - kitchenware, wicker basket and cane and wood, metal wear and kitsch stuff, hundreds of books, and records, old electrical appliances and a selection of clothes.  Sometimes I go into restore and a beam of light just falls on an item as I walk in.  On that day, the magical beam of light fell on this skirt.  Yes, dear Readers, this skirt was in Restore, in exactly the same condition I had last seen it and sporting a tag which stated $7.  It was meant to be, and at $3.50 it was a very special purchase.  

Has anything like that ever happened to you?
I think it is second hand karma.  Share the love everyone keep buying second hand and don't forget to donate back to the community.