Details: Gap dress (Poshmark), Stuart Weitzman shoes (thrift), Coach bag (eBay)
Thoughts: I’ve been looking for this dress secondhand for a year – since my last clothing swap, in fact, when one of my friends wore and I fell in love with it. Poshmark finally came through! It was worth the wait because it’s a great summer dress. Light and airy and easy to wear. I’ve gotten several compliments on it. Naturally, the pattern is my jam. Honourable mention to this vintage Coach bag; I bought it 10 years ago back in the days when you could pick up 90s leather Coach bags for less than $50. I stopped wearing it and gave it to my mom after a while. Then, recently, I was at my parents’ house and ended up finding her bags (which I hadn’t gone through at the same time as her clothing) and it felt like a little present to rediscover this particular one.
Details: Toni T dickie, Vince top, Laura Ashley skirt (all thrifted), turquoise necklace (Poshmark)
Thoughts: I love how this dickie collar can change up the vibe of an outfit in an instant. It’s great for layering both in winter and in summer, including under sleeveless tops like this one. So easy and so versatile. This outfit came together because I’m a little bit obsessed with blue/olive combinations at the moment. Probably not high contrast enough for my Season, but it’s such a harmonious palette.
Details: F21 top (thrifted), Everlane pants (swap), Isabel Marant belt (thrifted), Ash sneakers (thrifted), Copper Canoe Woman earrings
Thoughts: I don’t usually thrift F21, but I saw this mesh crop top and was instantly transported to the late 90s. So I had to get it! A black bralette and high waisted pants means that it’s a lot less risque than a “mesh crop top” sounds. And it got a surprising amount of compliments from younger folks. It’s disconcerting when I’m accidentally cool, hahaha!
Details: Roolee dress, Chap jacket, BR belt (all thrifted), turquoise necklace (Poshmark)
Thoughts: Back to my black-and-white pattern mixing. I like throwing one of these outfits in every once in a while — almost like a palate cleanser. Turquoise is probably my favourite accent colour for B&W, with red being a close second.
Details: Marimekko x Uniqlo top, Jones NY jacket, Adriano Goldschmied jeans, Cotton Ginny belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)
Thoughts: Cooler temps means a rare(ish) chance to wear one of my summer coats. I will take that, thank you very much! Here, instead of doing an expected pairing for this southwestern pattern — usually a white or a solid coordinating colour top — I decided to try a little pattern mixing too. This Marimekko pattern is great because it can pull in different directions; it can read as quirky or it can read as geometric. Here, it’s the latter than works well with the pattern of the jacket.
Details: Old Navy tank, Shoshanna dress (both thrifted), Gap skirt (swap), Lena Bernard necklaces (Poshmark)
Thoughts: I’ve worn this dress as a duster with jeans later year, so I had to try it with a denim skirt too. I am still not 100% sold on the colours of the floral pattern; I don’t love wearing this shade of orange, tbh. Plus, I find the sleeves to be rather hot (they’re polyester, sadly) for summer. So, while I’ve held on to this dress/duster for the time being, it’s on my “edit watch list”.
Details: Raga dress, Lilka jacket, Marquis shoes (all thrifted), Lena Bernard necklace (Poshmark)
Thoughts: I found this dress recently at the thrifts and didn’t recognize the brand but thought to myself “it looks like Anthro”. And, sure enough, I googled the brand and it’s sold at Anthro. Which makes this a head-to-toe Anthro outfit. It’s been a while since I’ve done of those. Back in 2015/6, it happened a lot but I think the vibe now is different — less twee, more romantic/boho.
I’ve recently been inspired to try thrifting and you were one of the sources of that inspiration. I’ve dipped my toe in and a blouse arrived via Poshmark today, my first thrifted purchase of my life. The price was great and the blouse was exactly as described, but it has a strong smell of detergent/fabric softener (hopefully only that) and I’ve realized an obstacle for me…I’m allergic. I’m going to soak it for awhile and wash it a few times, but I was wondering if you have ever experienced something along these lines and if you have tips for getting smells out of clothing?
I am not especially sensitive to perfumes, so my main concern is usually cigarette smells. I’ve been lucky not to have run into that problem with Poshmark before. That being said, I think if you wash the clothing, most smells should come out fairly easily. You can also hang the clothing outside in the sun for a few hours, unless it’s something super delicate that could get bleached by sunlight. For BO or deodorant smells, I’ve heard that spraying a mixture of water and vinegar on the pits of the jacket/top/etc can really help (again, this might be a no-go for delicate fabrics — I would Google around a bit to make sure).
Thank you!
Vodka or a rubbing alcohol spray can help too. Lysol makes a laundry sanitizer without perfumes (Free & Clear) that seems to also kill some perfume smells. Of course, take care with certain fabrics with any of these suggestions. Washing with baking soda plus your detergent, and vinegar in the rinse. Perfumes/strong scents give me a bad headache, so I understand and you have my sympathies!