Balanced Proportions
A slouchy sweater calls for skinny jeans; skinny jeans are a natural fit for OTK boots. And so, and outfit is born. No (real) planning required. I couldn’t wait to wear this Eileen Fisher metallic sweater, because its heavenly soft and the colour is flattering for my complexion. Was not disappointed – it looked and felt great. I am fully surrendering to my EF love, by the way, even if the brand is associated with the “ladies of a certain age” demographic. Life’s too short: wear all the comfortable (well-made) clothes.
[Thrifting tip: keep an eye to clothing outside your typical size range. I found this sweater on the XL rack (it’s actually a size 1X), but it can pass as intentionally “oversized”. Lots of designer brands fit other than TTS, so don’t be immediately deterred by the size label.]
Boss Lady
I was super pumped to thrift this Boss jacket; this sort of coat-blazer hybrid is my jam right now – a nice alternative to the traditional office-appropriate toppers. I love the silhouette created by the dropped shoulders. This was also an excuse to bring out a clutch of brooches after a long hiatus. The outfit is otherwise minimalist enough that the bling doesn’t read as “too extra”. A little bit of “extra” is acceptable.
Business Casual with a Twist
I don’t wear booties at work typically; combining these Arnold Churgin booties with the Zara vest blazer resulted in a look that represents a “twist” on my usual work look whilst still keeping within the bounds of business-casual. It was outside my comfort zone, but only a little – enough to still make me feel confident wearing it.
Other than the necklace in this last outfit (which is an ancient BR piece I was gifted many years ago), everything else in all 3 outfits was thrifted. I think this is pretty representative of my current wardrobe, which is probably close to 90% thrifted. More and more often, I find myself able to say that I am wearing, head to toe, a secondhand outfit. I am happy with that progress which – not gonna lie – goes a long way to easing the guilt associated with my (clothes) consumption. In the past, I haven’t gone so far as to “ban” myself from retail purchases entirely, though I have naturally drifted away from them, but I am debating making that an actual goal for the year.
I think what’s holding me back is a lingering feeling of FOMO. I say “lingering” because a lot of my previous retail FOMO** has been extinguished over the past couple of years thanks to thrifting – with patience and a bit of luck, you can find almost anything your heart desires on the secondhand market. There are the odd exceptions – and, of course, you can’t be guaranteed to find things “on demand” as you would in a retail setting – hence my hesitation. I hate breaking self-imposed rules, so I don’t want to set myself up for failure. If any of you guys have tried a retail (or other) shopping ban, tell me all about it.
** Thrift FOMO is no joke, though, and I’ve got it in spades.
How I’ve missed you! I have been missing this wardrobe inspiration. I love all of these outfits, especially the middle one. I even have similar enough pieces to recreate the final outfit. I may just do so for a work meeting I have on Saturday. Thank you!
Rock it! And thanks for reading 🙂
I love all these outfits! And the new haircut is a winner, really suits you I think. I, too, have found that a large (growing) percentage of my wardrobe is thrifted — so fun! Thrifting is more “thrill of the chase” than retail shopping, don’t you think? I’ve found several EF pieces recently and funny enough, none of them were in my “size”–whatever that is!!
It’s definitely about the treasure hunt and the unexpected find. Some people love it (me!!) but it’s not for everyone. I can understand wanting to walk in and find precisely what you need, in the size you need. Thrifting is a lottery – for better or worse.
I LOVE your business casual with a twist outfit! I don’t usually break out the booties for work either since my office is pretty conservative and I worry they’ll seem like “too much,” but your outfit has me determined to make them work.
I think lots of people in biz cas offices wears booties, so this is an Adina comfort zone thing for sure. Booties are, in my mind, outdoor shoes, you know? I am used to wearing indoor shoes at the office and my brain just can’t get over that distinction, haha!
I haven’t done a total “ban” on regular retail shopping since my first year of thrifting for the same reasons you shared – namely I don’t want to break self-imposed rules. The goal of gradually increasing the percentage thrifted in my wardrobe is enough to keep me from making hasty retail purchases without checking secondhand sources first. Also a friend pointed out to me that it doesn’t hurt to model that you don’t have to be a 100% thrifter to be a thrifter. You don’t have to do it perfectly, and she said this is a good message that will encourage more people to thrift (if they know the occasional conscientious retail purchase is fine) which is our ultimate aim… to slay the fast fashion beast. Ya know. 😉
I’m sure you have either read or know of fellow Canadian Cait Flanders, with her minimalism blog, and her brand new book that revolves around her first yearlong shopping ban? Some differences between your scenario and hers that jump out to me are 1) Cait discusses starting the ban more so for psychological reasons, to break out of old patterns and attain radical life change, and 2) she describes herself as someone whose sartorial preferences are naturally very low-key and minimal. Not quite sure where I was going with this and how to logically conclude this thought, haha! It’s just when you mentioned a shopping ban, Cait immediately came to my mind.
By the way, love love these outfits! In the past I saw the majority of your outfits as aspirational for me (e.g. pencil skirt and heels). But between your cute booties, blazer coat, and the entire first getup, it’s like your outfits are speaking to my soul nowadays 😀
I have heard of Cait – I used to read her blog when it was more PF focused. Minimalism as a lifestyle is not really my thing (have you seen my closet and my library? Hah!) But yes to your last point – I think it’s different for someone who’s not into fashion/clothes to do a shopping ban. It’s not impacting something that’s a form of self-expression. I could give up buying new music for a year, for example, because as much as I enjoy listening to music, I could happily deal with my existing collection for 12 months. It’s not a perfect analogy but you get my point. I would be fascinated to read the shopping ban experience of a self-identified fashionista. I would want to learn All The Tips!
Really love the Boss jacket! It looks awesome!
Thanks! It’s a keeper, for sure.