NYE Belle

One of the things I accomplished this holiday season was binge-watching the entire first season of The Witcher in 2 nights. I know, you’re impressed. But seriously, it’s highly entertaining and I say that as someone who doesn’t even enjoy the fantasy genre as a rule. One of the great things about the show is all the fashion inspo, particularly as served by two of its main characters, Geralt (the titular witcher) and Yennefer (a rogue sorceress). I have been doing Witcher-inspired looks ever since I finished watching, and NYE was no exception. I decided to “Yen-up” this Nicole Miller dress by adding a faux fur vest whose silhouette is almost armor-like.

Notes: Nicole Miller dress (thrifted, $8); Skaist Taylor for Target vest (thrifted, $25); Valentino shoes (consignment, $50).

Festive, My Way

I’m not big on festive dressing – no Christmas sweaters here, no red-and-green combos. Well, not quite. I did wear dark forest green and blush pink for Christmas Day dinner with my family, a combination inspired by the Danse Lente bag I received as a gift from my husband.

This is a combination that I might not have otherwise put together, but I ended up loving it. It’s unexpected and doesn’t look garish at all. As someone who loves colour but also feels most comfortable wearing black, this is important. Also loving this Oak & Fort faux leather, half-wrap skirt – it’s such a “me” piece, and I can’t wait to use it for some Witcher-goes-corporate looks.

Notes: Aritzia sweater (thrifted, $5); Oak & Fort skirt (thrifted, $12); Melody Ehsani earrings (retail, $20); Prada shoes (retail, $330); Danse Lente bag (gift).

Laurie-Jo Mash Up

Another thing I did over the holidays was watch the new Little Women movie. A separate post on that is coming up later this week. Needless to say, however, the movie was also full of style inspo for me, especially from Jo and Laurie. This outfit was a bit of a mash-up of their styles, and also inspired by this Instagram ad from Frank & Oak:

I don’t have a pair of high waisted plaid pants (more’s the pity) so I had to make do with my paperbag-waist Anthro pants. The marigold colour paired well with my grey Comme des Garcons cardigan, a recent thrift rescue. (The cardigan had been shrunk by its previous owner, and I did my best to un-shrink it via blocking.) I like to think these Modern Vice shoes are something that Laurie – or Timmy Chalamet, let’s be honest – would wear. Timmy is one of my new style idols; I love how he mixes traditionally masculine and feminine pieces, and marches to the beat of his own sartorial drum.

Notes: Aritzia top (thrifted, $5); Comme des Garcons cardigan (thrifted, $4); Anthropologie pants (gift); Modern Vice shoes (thrifted, $25).

Gothic Fairytale

I didn’t bother much with Boxing Day sales this year, apart from checking out Goodwill’s 50% off sale and popping into Nordstrom Rack. The latter didn’t have a stellar sale, but I did find this literally stellar faux leather jacket. Actually, to be precise, my daughter found it for me. Her mission, in every store, is to find “sparkly stuff” and, this time, she really delivered. I am obsessed with star motifs, and my daughter didn’t get her predilection for sparkles from her father, ahem. I like how BlankNYC jackets fit (I have a couple of other ones), and they’re reasonably priced at Nordstrom Rack, so this one was a no-brainer. My first outfit with it was also a no brainer. I layered my Rick Owens smoke-hued tunic over an asymmetrical Oska skirt, and added some patent leather boots (my current faves) for some textural contrast. The result was very “gothic fairytale princess” and I LOVED every bit of it.

Notes: Oak & Fort turtleneck (retail, $38); Rick Owens tunic (secondhand, $133); Oska skirt (thrifted, $10); BlankNYC jacket (retail, $63); Ecco boots (thrifted, $20).