Details: Reitmans sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Aldo shoes (all thrifted), Warren Steven Scott earrings

Thoughts: I usually stick to a 3-piece outfit formula to achieve the level my preferred level of put-togetherness, but it’s possible to get the same result with a simpler version, like this one, too. Just pick one or, better yet, two statement pieces and you’re set. I added some funky accessories (earrings and shoes) to lean into the playful vibe of this particular combination. Black, white and red is a classic combo, but it doesn’t have to be serious.

Details: Primavera dress, Joie cardigan, Lena Bernard necklace (all thrifted), Zara shoes (retail)

Thoughts: Oh hey, look at that: another 2-piece outfit. Here, the dress is the statement piece, but it’s pretty chill. I chose the boots because I felt like they kept the outfit from feeling too staid, and gave it a 90s vibe that I very much enjoyed. You can tell it’s the nostalgia of a Gen X-er because, yes friends, those are reading glasses I forgot to take off. That is the current season of life for this 1980 baby. Reading glasses. Read that and weep. I kid, I kid. It’s ok. They make cute reading glasses these days.

Details: Calvin Klein tee, Only & Sons jacket, Jessie skirt (all thifted), Coach bag (secondhand), Mia shoes (retail)

Thoughts: Speaking of the 90s, this outfit wants a moment of appreciation. I wore it on a weekend road-trip to Calgary with a friend, and it provided the perfect balance of comfort (first priority) and style (distant second but not entirely out of the running). I’m pretty sure this oversized jean jacket will be one of my go-to toppers this summer. Ditto for these shoes in the footwear category. They’re both so easy to wear, comfortable, and versatile. What more could I ask for?

Details: Calvin Klein tee, Zara jacket, UO pants, vintage belt (all thrifted), turquoise accessories (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I knew this classic white tee would be doing a lot of work for me this summer, and I was right. It’s plain and versatile, with a classic cut and nice weight (thick and opaque, not see-through at all) that make it easy to dress up if needed. It’s Calvin Klein, and it makes me think of those impossibly cool, minimalist 90s ads for the brand — which is what inspired this outfit I wore to the office. (Yes, I occasionally go into the office. It gives my WFH life a little spice now and then, haha!) I chose the accessories and statement blazer as a way to put my own spin on the minimalist inspo. I took the jacket off once I got to work and didn’t put it back on for most of the day, but the turquoise bits made the outfit feel less generic, and more like “me” in an understated kind of way.

Details: AllSaints top, Club Monaco vest, Lida Baday jacket, Talbots skirt, vintage brooch (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This all came together through a series of leaps. I wanted to wear this beautiful crushed velvet vest, and decided to pair it again with a column skirt; I chose this particular skirt based on the colour palette. Then I decided to make the most of the deep-V neckline and pulled out this frilly rosetted shirt. The shirt is sleeveless and it felt a bit too early in the season (and rather cold) to have bare arms, so I decided I needed a topper. I tried a few different options until I found one whose length and cut gave me the best overall proportions and … voila. I don’t usually do short-over-long layering when it comes to jackets and vests, but I quite like how this combo worked out. Mental note made.

Details: H&M dress, Higher Ground dress (worn open), BR belt (all thrifted), selfmade necklace, Zara boots (retail)

Thoughts: Speaking of layering, I’ve been meaning to try a dress-worn-as-duster-over-another-dress combo for a while. This black dress is a great option, not only because it buttons all the way, but because it’s a heavier cotton giving it the weight of a topper. I wanted the under-dress to provide contrast, so I went with a light-coloured tulle confection. Volume and movement and texture all in one shot: perfect! This ended up being a nice goth last hurrah for the season. It’s time to bring out the summer wardrobe!

Last time I wrote about my reawakened interest in fragrances, I alluded to a list of perfumes I was planning to add to my collection. If, like me, you’re feeling nostalgic about 90s, today I’ve got you covered. The first addition arrived a few weeks ago, and it is a pretty iconic “green” fragrance. Got a guess? Read on and find out if you’re right.

The problem with a lot of my fave perfumes from the late 90s through the late 2000s — my previous fragrance-loving era — is that they’ve been discontinued. I know I am not alone in mourning their disappearance, which makes it hard to understand why their respective houses don’t bring them back. Take Gucci Envy, for example. Launched in 1997, it was a unique, modern, icily sexy scent: green and metallic, with white and green florals (including lily of the valley, hyacinth, and iris). It was so badass, unlike anything else on the market … then, or since. I’ve searched in vain to find a modern “dupe” but no dice. You can still find original bottle on resale platforms, but they are going for multiple hundreds of dollars. If I had the power to bring back just one discontinued perfume, it would be Envy, for sure. A close second would be Stella InTwo Peony. Launched in 2006, it was a woody, peppery peony scent that managed to be floral without being overly sweet. Again, a very unusual, complex scent … without any real current equivalents.

I guess I have a thing for unusual, somewhat offbeat (?) perfumes. Luckily, not all of them have been discontinued. There was one perfume I coveted back in the day that was green and floral — no, not Elizabeth Arden Green Tea (although that was one of my mom’s favourites).

It was Calyx! Originally launched by Prescriptives in 1987, it is now under the Clinique umbrella but the formula is substantially similar. (I say “substantially” because I’m going off memory here, not having an original to compare). I think I fell in love with it sometime in the mid-2000s, but for some reason, I never ended up buying it then, though I have vivid memories of sniffing it every time I stopped at the Prescriptives counter in Holt Renfrew. I decided this had to be my first nostalgic pick for my collection, and I was able to score a (brand new in box) bottle on Poshmark for about half the retail price. When it arrived, it was love at first sight sniff all over again. To me, it smells much as I remember the old formulation to smell, but keep in mind that it’s been almost 20 years.

I am not convinced that fragrance descriptions are all that useful — smell is too complex and subjective of an experience for that — but I enjoy reading them, so I’ll offer you mine just for the fun of it with the caveat that you should probably never blind buy a perfume based on someone else’s review of it. My immediate reaction upon spraying my wrist was “predominantly green — without any grassiness — with a whiff of sharp almost bitter, overripe fruitiness.” According to Fragrantica, the top notes include guava and green leaves, so that tracks. After a few minutes, a strong lily of the valley essence came through — lilies of the valley in a bed of green. It’s one of my favourite smells, so this makes me happy. After about 15-20 minutes, the smell settled down into a slightly woody, dewy floral. There was still an impression of lilies of the valley (which got progressively weaker with time), and lingering hint of warm sweetness. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on — maybe the impression of all those tropical fruits in the top note. As more time went on, the woodiness went away, and the scent became more straightforwardly floral — fresh florals, not heavy or overly sweet.

Out of curiosity, I asked my husband to smell my wrist around the 15 minute mark and his response was “Crisp. Water. I can smell some flowers too.” Which goes to show: everyone’s olfactory experiences are different.

Now, remember how I was talking about Envy and the impossibility of finding anything that resembles it? Wellllll … look, I am not going to tell you that Calyx is a dupe. It’s not — it does not have the metallic accord of Envy. Envy is cool green all the way, Calyx is warm/humid green. But they share a lot of DNA, both unusual “green” fragrances that are unusual in a similar way. Based on the note pyramids I can find online, this makes some sense and is probably not just some wishful thinking on my part. Both have fruity and green top notes, LOTV and freesia middle notes, and an iris/oakmoss/sandalwood base. Interestingly, I did not see Calyx mentioned in any discussions about Envy dupes on Reddit, but then I saw that Tania Sanchez, in her seminal fragrance compendium (co-written with Luca Turin) Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, referenced the similarities between Calyx and Envy. Sanchez gave Calyx a 5 star review, and clearly prefers it of the two. As a point of interest, Turin did the review of Envy in the same book and also gave it 5 stars, though his description of it didn’t, in my opinion, capture its essence. I mention this because (a) I have become a fan of Turin and his (and Sanchez’) witty, erudite (but unpretentious), and often pithy perfume reviews (plus, his book on the science of olfaction, The Secret of Scent, is fantastic if somewhat controversial), and (b) Turin hates most of the perfumes I love, like D&G Light Blue and Replica By The Fireplace. Loathes them! Gave them 1 star each. Of Light Blue, he wrote “[i]f you hate fragrance, you’re probably on your fourth bottle.” I don’t know why, but this amuses me rather than upsets me. Having read his and Sanchez’ perfume guides, I have decided that my next hobby is going to be the fragrance version of oenophilia. I want to develop my “nose” and learn more about different perfume notes. Which is not the same thing as collecting perfumes … though, as it this post makes clear, I am not entirely averse to the latter either.

Speaking of which, the second new addition to said collection is technically a steal. My husband discovered a bottle of perfume in his medicine cabinet (we have separate ones) which he’d been given as a gift many years ago and never wore. His signature scent for more than 20 years has been L’Eau de Issey Pour Homme, and he is what you might call a perfume monogamist. So, I decided to “rescue” this bottle from oblivion because the smell intrigued me, and because it was likely something my mom had chosen (probably as a Christmas gift) so it has a lot of sentimental value for me; I’m fairly certain of this because she was also the one who picked my dad’s cologne, and both are Cartier fragrances. This one is called Roadster, which makes sense as something my mom would choose for my husband, whom she knew to be obsessed with vintage cars. It is also a “green” fragrance, literally and olfactively:

Roadster has been discontinued, which is a shame because it’s a lovely fresh scent that could easily be, in my opinion, unisex. Keep in mind that I am also someone who occasionally wears her husband’s Issey perfume. Of the two, I actually find Roadster’s dry down to be less overtly masculine — probably because it includes vanilla, so it’s sweeter. Anyway, here is my description of Roadster, top to bottom. First impression is “fresh green”. The mint note comes through very clearly, but it doesn’t remind me of toothpaste or gum; instead, it has a kind of translucency to it, like tea. After 5 minutes, the mint remains the predominant note. It’s slightly spicy, but smooth. After the initial opening, which felt cool, the scent is starting to warm up. About an hour in, it settles into a very pleasant warm amber with a faint, lingering note of mint. It’s sweet but not overtly so. I asked my husband to smell the perfume on my wrist, but all he said was “minty”. It’s like he wasn’t even trying, LOL!

If perfume talk isn’t your cup of tea, I hate to tell you, you will probably be subjected to more of it in the near future. If it is your cup of tea, I have good news for you! Stay tuned for next time, when we will be talking about another perfume from my youth. Here’s your hint: purple. It’s probably not the one you’re thinking of 😉

Details: H&M top (retail), Everlane sweater, Mackage jacket, Ann Marino shoes (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (eBay), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: It’s almost time to bring back my summer wardrobe, and I got a jump start because I’ve been dying to wear this skirt again since the fall. I can confirm, I’m still madly in love with it. Decided to make the most of the transitional weather, and pair it with a leather jacket for a bit of nice juxtaposition. This worked out well, as it allowed me to pick up with reddish-pink from the skirt and make it my “unifying” colour.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Talbots vest, Jil Sander coat, Fossil belt, Echo scarf (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (secondhand & gifted)

Thoughts: This is it, friends! This is the Jo March outfit I have been working towards since December 2019. We have reached Peak Jo March. I finally found the patterned red silk waistcoat I had been looking for all this time because I was convinced it was what Saoirse Ronan had worn in the movie. I say “convinced” because I was wrong, somehow. When I pulled up a photo of the outfit I had been dreaming of for years, it turns out that the waistcoat was yellow with red pattern. Her neckerchief was red. Oops. But close enough. I loved the outfit and it made me realize that I need to wear more silk scarves like this — it add a nice little touch of colour around the neck without making me feel suffocated.

Details: Toni T dickie, Lord & Taylor sweater, Gap jacket, Topshop pants, Fossil belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (consignment)

Thoughts: All older pieces I’ve worn before, remixed. I love that. I went for a bold pattern mix here, and I think I mostly pulled it off. However, I am thinking it may be time to part ways with these pants. The quality has never been great and while I love the windowpane print, I am not a huge fan of the pleated paper-bag waist; it doesn’t sit flat and flops about more than I like. The silhouette is also not my favourite currently (although that can and probably will change again), but most importantly, I have now acquired a few other trousers that are better quality and suit me better. All signs point to it being time to let go … but I will probably sit on that decision for a bit longer, just to be sure.

Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Gap jacket, Talbots skirt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Will I still wear this much brown come summer? It remains to be seen. For now, I guess I am. There is something very pleasing to my eye about the proportions of this outfit. The jacket is cropped (and nipped in) at the perfect spot/length for me. Paired with this long column skirt, it makes me look taller than I am, which I always enjoy.

Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Zara blazer, United Colours of Benetton pants (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (consignment)

Thoughts: Same sleeveless sweater, totally different outfit. The blazer and pants are not a suit — and, in fact the reds are slightly different, though close enough to fool the eye — but I had to wear them together at least once. I mean, they look damn good together! I thrifted them separately but only about a week apart, which is some kind of kismet for sure. I have never worn a lot of red, other than as an accent colour, but this is making me rethink it. I have always loved this shade of orangey poppy red, which I think flatters my complexion the best out of all reds. This is a VERY bold look, but the simplicity of the outfit balances out the colour overload. It’s a Power Look, for sure.

Details: F21 sweatshirt, Ralph Lauren skirt, Pink Tartan jacket, Emmanuel belt, Ann Marino shoes (all thrifted), Coach bag (gift)

Thoughts: I couldn’t wait to take out my new-to-me (and long coveted) vintage Coach bag for a spin, so I built a cute outfit around it. I paired 2 very old pieces — the skirt and the sweatshirt, high and low — with a recent addition to my closet, this knit moto jacket. I’m not short on outerwear, but I picked up the jacket because I thought it would be a nice alternative for my leather jackets: same style but different weight and texture. And it’s quite nice quality, which is rare to find at the thrifts these days.

Details: BCBG dress (ebay), BR belt, Babaton skirt, acrylic necklace (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Some of the OGs will remember this dress. I bought it back in 2013, after months of hunting, having fallen in love with it after I saw Adrien wearing it on Looks Good From The Back. I hadn’t worn it in years, but held on to it because it holds special memories of a certain era of my life. Recently, I felt the urge to dig it out of storage and try to make it “me” again. The me of now is radically different than the me of 2013-2015, but clothes are endlessly versatile. Case in point: this outfit. An old dress made new again.

Details: Banana Republic sweater & pants, Fossil belt (all thrifted), Stella & Dot necklace (Poshmark)

Thoughts: A very simple but satisfying outfit built around the combination of purple and brown, which is a favourite of mine. It’s all about the colours and the silhoutte, with nice supporting work from a couple of key accessories. That’s all it takes!