Category: clothes

On aging.

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 05/02/2011

I noticed the other day that if I lean my arm on my bent leg it squeezes the veins and makes my hand look scary/old. I was trying to pretend that it’s from lifting weights but even my imagination is limited.

Pretty, eh? Pretty SCARY. I am almost 40. And no, if you wondered, that’s not the hand that was injured. Although, at this point, they do look remarkably similar. Not a scar in sight.

The last couple days I have been hacking and slashing at tshirts. I own a shit-ton of tshirts and I wish I liked them more but I’ve finally admitted that I don’t. The best ones, the ones with a cool silkscreen on the front, are always tight and binding and they ride up on my gut and drive me crazy.  I was saying to Shannon how much I wished that all those shirt printing guys did them on tank tops so he suggested I cut a couple tshirts up and see what happens.

So this is what happens:

Yes. I suck at self portraits.

It’s a Threadless shirt, I think I got it for $5. And I love the print (“I’ve wanted this for so long”) and I love it even more now.  I used an existing tank top I like for a pattern and literally just laid it on top and snipped around the edges. And then I let down the hem, which adds about half an inch, and voila! I think I’ve done this to 6 shits so far.

Ooh, and if you’re in Toronto, City of Craft is having their third annual Love and Rummage Trunk Show at The Workroom tomorrow. It’s also the last day of a 4 day sale on fabrics, so I’m checking that out too. (I’m at a birthday party in the late morning and will try to get to the wr by 2pm. And I mean it when I say let’s have coffee if you go and you know me and all that jazz). I’ll be wearing my snakeskin leggings.

Hilarious.

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 04/12/2010

This is mostly for Ashley who thought snakeskin leggings would be hilarious. She’s absolutely correct, of course, they really are quite amusing. They’re also very comfy, walking in them is indescribably awesome. It was funny, I tweeted about them the other day and almost immediately got an @ message from the manufacturer telling me that there was free shipping (!!!) on them if I ordered more online.

Twitter. I do like it very much.

Also in the picture, my new boots.  I don’t own one single pair of high heeled platform shoes, but if I did, I’d wear them with these leggings. Being almost 5’10″, I’ve always been somewhat scared of high heels-not just of walking in them, which I can’t do even at all, but also of towering over people in a comical way. I do always try them on at Winner’s and that’s how I scratch that itch.

Not in the picture, a denim skirt and variety of clothes above my waist.

I’m making taco lasagne for dinner tonight.

Hilariously awful

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 10/11/2010

I cleaned our oven today. Talk about the world’s grossest job. The brown goop that came out of it was so gross, omg. I guiltily used almost an entire roll of paper towels-I just couldn’t bring myself to use a damp rag that would need rinsing after each swipe. Ugh. Anyway, this horrible task led me to need a trip out of the house. I’d been feeling Eaton Centric for a few weeks, so that’s where I wound up.

Didn’t buy much, just a non-branded sweater on sale from Bench. It’s ok. The fun was at Winner’s, the one at College Park. It’s not a particularly swanky location, not like the Bay-Bloor one, so when I saw these shoes I almost choked on my free Halls.

Ugly, right? I though, oh they must be by Gwen Stefanie or something, but the name is Roger Vivier and apparently he’s a big deal because I flipped them over and saw this:

holyflamingshitballs

Srsly. That’s $599.99 for what may be the fugliest shoes at Winner’s. I know someone will think, oh but they’re Roger Vivier (and again, whoever the eff that is) but that doesn’t cancel out the ugly.

All wore out.

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 21/10/2010

When Shannon and I went out for dinner a couple weeks ago I realized I had pretty much nothing in the nice department to wear. No dressy shoes or boots either. It was difficult to get ready, but I managed. Somehow.

So why is it that all shoes seem to disintegrate at the same time? I mean, srsly, how does that happen? And it happened to Ari too this year!

Evidence #1  Gladiator boots.

To be entirely fair I got these (for free!) (from Janine!) when I worked at Stainless Studios so that makes them at least 16 years old. You can tell. They look toughballs.

They’ve been replaced countless times but I have never been able to bring myself to actually letting them go. I wore them today: they’re still comfortable. I like how the screws are getting worn out to. I plan to replace them with a pair of Palladium boots, but I still won’t throw them out.

Evidence #2 Rolling high heels.

These are about as old as the boots (also from Janine!) and have been my extremely comfortable go-to shoes forever. Now that I look at them, they’re sure not the prettiest shoes, but they’re practical. Then the heels exploded and I can’t wear them. But I would!

Those shoes have been to lots of fun parties and weddings.

Evidence #3 Chuck Taylor One Stars.

These guys have been replaced by 2 pairs of Vans and one pair of fancier Converse but I keep going back to them. They’re so comfy and gross and cute and I love them. I even almost bought a new pair last time I was at Target but talked myself out of them because these are still wearable. Almost.

I swear they don’t stink, none of them. I have lots of problems but stinky feet ain’t one of them.

Done!

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 17/06/2010

I decided to go with no sleeves-after knitting half of one-because it’s a hot summer already and this sweater will only fit for about 5 more minutes.

I just need to weave in about 800 ends and it will be ready for wrapping paper. Next baby gets this sweater.  Or this dress. And obviously it better be a girl baby.

But just a bit

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 07/05/2010

I went to Niagara Falls, NY on Thursday. My mom took me cross border shopping, it was great. Got some alsome scores at my beloved Target (I mean, 100 antihistamines for just over $4? Heck yes!) and we had lunch at a sweet restaurant called “Mom’s”. See? For Mother’s Day? Haha, right? The joke was on us, the food was terrible.

Oh. Yes, I got a Liberty of London basket thing. And zebra stripe shoes. And crazy flavour changing gum that’s totally mental.

Then we drove past what has to be the biggest concentration of no-tell motels in the world. This one’s my very favourite:

Love it. Love that it’s just a bit of Paris. Not too much. I mean, come on, how much Paris do you really need?

Went to see IronMan 2 tonight, it was good. I fell asleep for a little bit, but not all of it. A good sign.

And my knee’s a mess. I actually went to the dr today to have him look at it. There’s nerve damage that’s worrisome. But there’s nothing to be done anyway. And even if I did want painkillers, it turns out he’s no longer allowed to prescribe them. Sigh.

It’s not yet, but almost

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 04/05/2010

Even though I have another week until  I turn 38 (THIRTY-FUCKING-EIGHT-ZOMG!!!?!1) I’ve gotten lots of birthday love so far. Not just the most incredible (and apparently jealous making in some) car in the world, but a stunning necklace from Ashley. And some beautiful lamp work beads that  I need to figure out what to do with. Then a giant pack of Threadless shirts came in the mail today, 3 for me.

That brings my collection of  Threadless shirts up to an even 87, I think.

I suck at self-portraits. I can’t smile and take a picture at the same time, it’s just too hard.

Thursday I am off to St. Catharines to see my parents and do a little cross-border shopping. Target, you’ve been warned!

Gymrat

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 26/04/2010

I’m still going to the gym three times a week. More or less. Or less. And according to Shannon I’m not pushing myself hard enough and that’s why I’m not getting any skinnier. I wonder how that can be, considering the sweat that happens and the sore legs/arms/body in general. I think I must need a personal trainer to push me in the right direction.

I am getting better at running. Maybe I do like it?

Well, I do like my new gym clothes. I hate yoga pants, all droopy and floppy, they are no good at all for running or cycling.

PSA

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 23/02/2010

When I worked at Value Village my parents were dismayed to find out that the store does not wash anything before it’s put out on the floor for sale.

“How come it all smells the same, then?” Asked my dad. Because when your stink mixes with thousands of different people’s stink, it all becomes one general stink. And the air ‘fresheners’ that are strategically placed throughout the store also have an effect on the smell.

When I say that it was the worst job I have ever had, I am not kidding. I worked in production, pricing clothing, first womens, then mens and kids. I was on my feet for the entire shift (yeah, I know, boo hoo, but at first it really was a whole lot of boo hoo, I’d come home and cry my feet hurt so bad) and each person that works there is expected to fulfill their quota, each shirt, pair of pants, sheet, china lamb is counted and accounted for. Tallied. Yes, people pad (fudge, aka stealing) their tally sheets, especially after being threatened with losing their job. I was constantly being told that I was in line for a managerial position, just learn this, do that, do all this extra work and it will be yours…some day. I quit well before some day ever came.

Anyway, part of pricing clothing is deciding if it the pair of jeans is even worth putting a price tag on and hanging it out to sell. What makes something unsellable, you ask? Stains. Rips. Crotch rot (lots of that, hoo boy!). Bally sweaters. Hand altered anything. Deodorant streaks. Stink. Mold. You get the idea. In summer time when people are busy donating sweaters that no one wants to buy because it’s 120 in the shade, you can be even pickier on each sweater that comes down the line.

So what’s the deal at the Value Village that is (almost) right next door to me? I really have to wonder. I know pricing techniques have changed since I was employed there (we had to staple the tags onto the garment and then hand write the price in grease pencil and they have those plastic hanger tags now) and maybe that has something to do with it, but for real, the clothes there are horrific. I can honestly say that I have never, EVER found anything even remotely worth buying and wearing. Even the time I went before we went cob house building so I could get grotty work pants, I came home empty handed. Both pairs that I found that would fit me had someone’s left over yeast infection inside. No thanks.

Today I took a few pictures just to show that I’m not just talking out of my ass.

#1 Sheet with glorious white ‘mystery’ stain. It’s so obvious, it’s right at the fold of fabric that is on top of the hanger. How could the person pricing this MISS THIS STAIN?!?!

beware the white stain.

So you can see, it’s not a small stain either. It’s a lot of stain.

I just shivered and felt a little like puking.

#2 Jeans with hole.

Jeans. Ripped.

and how much are they charging for ripped jeans these days?

wow

Plus tax, people. To be fair, these were Diesel jeans. But they were also Diesel jeans from at least 10 years ago. If I’d gotten these on my line when I worked at VV I would have ragged them off. Or, if we were desperate for jeans, I might have put them out for 99 cents.  No, I take that back. I would have ragged them off.

#3 World’s prettiest dress. This dress is home made. It’s easy to tell, the seams are 2″ wide and all the edges are just pinked. It’s really badly made and it’s an extremely ugly pattern. Even the fabric isn’t worth salvaging for anything, it’s cheap and (not really) cheerful.

little miss sunshine

It’s so gruesome that not even a hipster, desperate for attention and validation would buy it. Can you guess the price on it? I know, you’re thinking “free” right? Well, you’re close:

zomg.

That’s right. It’s also $7.99, same as the ripped jeans! Maybe that pricer’s pricing doo-dad was stuck on that number? Again, this is the type of dress I would have priced for 99 cents and it still wouldn’t sell. Just for the tally.

#3 and #4 Filthy jeans. All I did was walk down one aisle of womens jeans and these were blatantly just hanging there for anyone (like management!) to see. This is a common ailment of jeans and pants, the hems all ripped, dirty and stepped on. I’d have ragged these off without a second glance.

Ack. Blegh.

And I didn’t even have to look for any of these in the store, they were all out in the open. Not smashed into a rack, not covertly folded to hide the problem. And it certainly isn’t like there’s a lack of jeans in this particular store, there’s rows of them, all jammed in. Imagine what I couldn’t see.

And so? If you find problems like this at your local Value Village (or equivalent type store), you really ought to point them out to the manager on duty, and preferably to the Production Manager. That is the person in charge of the people who do the pricing. I’ve done this before, at this very store, but I guess they don’t care because it’s in a pretty ghetto area of Toronto.

All I ask is that you remember, before you wear it,  to WASH EVERYTHING YOU BUY SECONDHAND. Especially anything that will come in direct contact with your skin. And happy hunting!

Skating into the new year

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 29/12/2009

I refuse to ice skate. It’s totally different from roller skating and I just don’t do it. And thanks to Drew Barrymore, I begged for roller skates for xmas-and got them! I don’t know if I love these more than the Kindle, but it’s a close draw.  And considering I haven’t really skated in about 30 years (apart from one birthday party with Ryan O’B and Karrick and Tony 15 years ago) and I am finding it quite amazing how quickly it comes back to me.

I think they need pink laces and pom poms or dice.

It’s hard to take a picture of one’s feet without the picture coming out all twonky.

The superb news is that there is a free skate here, in Toronto, once a week in the North Market, across from St. Lawrence Market. With that and my quilting class on Thursdays, I will be a busy bee starting 2010.

I also finally finished Shannon’s final xmas gift-the other thing he asked for-a handknit hat. It’s done in blue variegated chunky alpaca yarn and it’s pretty plush. I might make a pompom for it, if he wants one!