Month: October 2018

Goodbye, Fall

Despite my best intentions, my Instagram feed is not particularly aspirational. No beautifully lit photos of everyday objects elevated by charming mise-en-scene, no editorial looks set off against gorgeous backdrops, no cohesive colour stories. I admire anyone who can consistently pull that off; it seems exhausting. But every once in a blue moon, for a very brief moment, my feed briefly resembles something close to that ideal.

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Last weekend, we took advantage of a relatively warm Saturday to take the kids to the local corn maze. There were hay bales, a pumpkin patch, and a small petting zoo. The kids had a blast, I had some delicious kettle popcorn, and the photos all came out with a certain autumnal vibe.

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The next day, we celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family. My outfit was planned around maximum comfort, but it turned out rather stylish – if I do say so myself – and kept to the weekend’s inadvertent colour scheme.

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Someone on IG said this looked like an outfit from the Outlander season set in the 50s, and while I’ve never watched that show, I kinda like the sound of that. I don’t typically go for a retro vibe, but I think this is just a classic sort of look that doesn’t go out of style.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend.

And then, on Monday, it snowed.

The end.

Oops, I Did It Again (Retail Edition)

The last time I paid full retail price for a piece of clothing was in December 2016. It was at Club Monaco, where I fell in love with a lace-collared sweater dress. I wore it half a dozen times, most recently in November 2017 at my grandmother’s funeral; I haven’t been able to bring myself to wear again since then, but it’s still hanging in my archive closet, waiting for another chance.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because I did it again. I bought a new sweater … at full retail price.

Since December 2016, the vast majority of my clothing purchases – I would estimate at least 90% – has been secondhand. I have bought some things at retail, but they have been accessories for the most part and always on sale. It has been a surprisingly easy shift in my shopping habits, thanks to the fantastic thrift and resale market in Edmonton. I rarely go to the mall, I don’t pop into outlets to browse, I don’t window shop online. [Well, sometimes I do; the Anthropologie accessories and home goods sale page is my Kryptonite.] I stopped following most popular fashion bloggers; the personal style IG accounts I do follow focus mostly on thrifting and/or sustainable fashion. Insulating myself from temptation, I rarely miss retail shopping.

Every so often, though, it still gets me.

A few weeks ago at the office, I bumped into a co-worker who was wearing the most fabulous sweater. We were headed in different directions, so I had less than 30 seconds’ glimpse of that sweater, but it was enough. I was obsessed. It looked soft, draped beautifully, and was a wonderfully rich, saturated toffee colour. My co-worker looked impossibly chic, even though the outfit itself was super simple – said sweater and a pair of black trousers.

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Now, I have a lot of nice sweaters myself, and there is no shortage of high quality knits at the thrift store. That same week, I found a wonderful, 2-ply cashmere turtleneck that fits and feels like a dream, all for less than $10. But my co-worker’s sweater haunted me, and it was all because of the colour. Darker than mustard, not quite brown. Perfect for fall, and for my wardrobe colour palette. Seemingly impossible to replicate.

I tried. I looked for a similar shade in all the thrift stores on my regular rotation. No luck. I started to surreptitiously look for it online, telling myself that it was only so I could satisfy my curiosity. Still no luck.

A week later, I broke down and asked a mutual friend to get the details on The Sweater for me. It turned out to be Aritzia. In retrospect, it seemed obvious that it would be Aritzia – very much a go-to brand for professional office basics around here – so I must have been struck dumb by love or something to not have thought of it before. Anyway, the sweater was $138 plus tax … which is at least $125 more than what I typically spend on sweaters these days. It’s also about how much I spend in an average month on clothes – and believe me when I say that I buy A LOT more than one item. I had a predicament on my hands, albeit one of a very “first world problem” variety.

I had already spent my “fun money” for the month, and didn’t want to dip into our “miscellaneous spending” pool for more. I didn’t want to “borrow” against my next month’s fun money because cutting back on other (future) personal indulgences is something Present Adina doesn’t want to force Future Adina to do. My birthday was long past, and Christmas not close enough. There was only one option left: my PayPal slush fund.

I use PayPal whenever I sell clothes online, and as I haven’t been doing much eBay shopping lately, the balance has been steadily accumulating. I have been sitting on it, with a vague plan to save it for some extra special purchase. I didn’t have a specific idea about what that purchase might be, and as the amount grew, I found it increasingly hard to spend any of it because I couldn’t think of anything special enough to justify it.

Was this sweater special enough?

On one hand, not really. It’s a mall brand, and there is nothing out of the ordinary about it, quality- or style-wise. The colour might be unusual, but hardly unique.

On the other hand, it might be special. It could be the kind of piece that brings me joy every time I wear it. Lately, I have found greater joy in simple, basic pieces that look and fit just right, as compared to flashy, look-at-me pieces. That plain, black cashmere turtleneck? It’s perfect; it goes with everything and it makes me feel good every time I wear it. I might have paid less than $10 for it, but if I had to, I would pay $100. I have learned a lot about myself (and my style) over the past couple of years, and I have much greater confidence now in knowing what pieces are going to work best with my aesthetic, and how much they are worth to me.

Could I find this sweater for less – either on sale or on the resale market? Quite possibly.

In the end, though, I decided that it was worth the risk as a special piece, as well as the extra cost, for the certainty of having it right away. I even paid to have it shipped to my house (an extra $8, which is what that black turtleneck cost me, sigh) because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle – and temptation – of going to the mall.

So, was it worth it? Time will tell. I sure do hope so.

This isn’t a story with a moral, per se, but if there is a small insight to glean from it, it’s this: as much as I might try to infuse some measure of objectivity or “science” in my clothes purchasing process – with a goal to reduce waste and make optimal decisions – there is an ineradicable element of emotion at its core. And that’s OK. Clothing is one of my means of self-expression, and it’s really more of an art than a science. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

What I Wore: September 29-October 5, 2018

New Favourites

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Self-explanatory: am wearing some new favourite things. The dress is from a new-to-me Canadian brand called Ayrtight. I got it at my favourite consignment store (My Favourite Aunt’s, or MFA for short) on sale for around $45. It’s a linen rayon blend, which feels nice and drapes well. This is a size Large, which makes it perfectly slouchy on me. The armholes are slightly too big as a result, but I plan to wear this layered under or over other pieces, so this isn’t a concern for me. It has pockets. It’s very, very cool.

Also cool? This Eileen Fisher linen jacket. On its own, it’s definitely a piece that can read as “matronly”. It’s a size Small, but fits large, so I initially planned to give it to my mom. (Hey, she’s a more conservative dresser than me, okay?) But it turned out to be too small for her in the shoulders, so I grabbed it back and decided to make it work. And you know what? I freaking love it. The silvery grey colour is a fantastic neutral, and paired with edgier pieces, it looks fab. If you follow me on Insta, you will be seeing a LOT more of this jacket, because I’m planning to wear it with EVERYthing.

More New Favourites

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I’ve harped on and on about the importance of learning to recognize quality in clothing; it makes a huge difference to one’s success as a thrifter. No matter how brand-aware you are, you will still run into new or unfamiliar labels in your thrifting adventures; if you know how to spot quality, you won’t miss out on the hidden gems. Case in point: this skirt. The floaty material drew my eye immediately (even though it was jammed on a crowded rack); touching it confirmed my suspicions of quality. The material was cotton, but a cotton made for angels or something. I checked the label, but the brand name was unfamiliar to me: Antipast, made in Japan. I was in a rush, so I tried it on without Googling the brand. I’ve been really into exploring the witchy side of the Artist persona, and I thought this skirt had possibilities in that respect, so I bought it. It was only $6.50, after all. Later, at home, I looked up the brand. I found a similar skirt on the Gravity Pope website listed for … are you ready for this? $4665CAD.

Anyway, the skirt’s witchy promise came true with this outfit. Everything else is also thrifted, and cost less than $50 in total. They’re all basic items I could wear a million different ways, so I love how they’re transformed by this one new piece.

And Even More New Stuff

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I have a post coming up on this Aritzia sweater. Suffice it to say: I went against my MO to buy it, but I think it was worth it. I don’t think these pictures do it justice; it looks luxe AF in real life, and the colour is to die for. Even my mom was impressed and she is generally pretty skeptical of my sartorial choices (see above).

This outfit was inspired by a runway look from the Chloe 2011 S/S collection. That’s how long I held on to that memory, you guys. Nailing a feminine vibe that’s elegant without being too dainty or too girly is not easy, but this inspo nailed it for me, and I have spent years trying to recreate it. I think this outfit gets close:

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Let’s also take a moment and admire these earrings:

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And Some Old Stuff

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Well, sorta. Most of the outfit is old stuff, except the vest which is new (to me). I “borrowed” it from my friend Jenn (Life Preloved); she thrifted it thinking it was a men’s vest, only to realize later that it’s not. (Either that, or it’s cut for a very diminutive man.) I’m really into the three-piece/borrowed from the boys look right now, so I wanted to see if I could make it work, and she kindly offered to let me try. And … I kinda love it?! Yeah, it’s a keeper, I think.

Some upcoming changes at the office will mean that my casual Fridays are about to get a little less casual – as in, we might be required to “pay” for the privilege of wearing jeans, and any denim will have to be of the classy kind; think: dark wash, no distressing, no patches. Since I’m not crazy about wearing jeans to the office anyway, I am planning to switch up my Friday outfit formula (keeping in mind that the office dress code is still business-casual). This was a test outfit, and I quite like it. Next on the agenda: wearing a dress on Friday. Oooh!