Details: H&M turtleneck, Limited cardigan, Nine West jacket, Sonoma belt, Office London shoes (all thrifted), Acne skirt, Marc Jacobs bag (both eBay)
Thoughts: Having established most definitively that blue and brown are a fail-proof pairing, it’s become something of a hobby of mine to try out different shade combinations. This aqua colour is one of my favourite blues and, look, it pairs beautifully with a both a cool-toned, medium brown (jacket and cardigan) and an orange-toned brown (boots). Throwing 2 different browns into the mix, and piling on layers, is one of my ‘hacks’ for adding depth to an outfit colour palette, which in turn makes the whole thing look more luxe. I mean, apart from the skirt and bag, none of the pieces here are particularly bougie, but I like to think the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. I loved this one.
Details: Gap turtleneck, Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Banana Republic jacket, Tristan belt, Eclat skirt, BareTraps shoes (all thrifted)
Thoughts: I took a similar approach with this outfit, using differently textured layers to give depth to a 2-colour palette. Black and brown work together very well, as long as there is enough contrast between them; warm-toned browns, I find, are best. I thrifted the jacket, sweater and skirt within days of each other, and seeing them hung next to each other, post-laundry, I knew I had to wear them together. Sometimes, inspiration comes by happenstance. Actually, it usually comes that way — just the universe, working in its mysterious ways. I have a feeling this skirt is not long for my closet, however; as soon as my daughter saw me in this outfit, she started eyeing the skirt with a speculative look I know well. I guess I’d better enjoy it while I can.
Details: H&M turtleneck, J. Crew cardigan, vintage jacket, Fossil belt (all thrifted), Banana Republic pants (retail, old), YSL bag (eBay)
Thoughts: I initially put this vintage leather jacket in my cart as a bit of a joke; the colour drew my eye, but I figured it would be too bright, and the cut of the jacket too 80s, to actually work. But then I tried it on and both my daughter (who happened to be thrifting with me that day) and I had to admit that, actually, it looked rather cool. It was only $25, so I decided to take a gamble on it; it’s sufficiently unique to be the kind of thing I’d never find again, and nothing haunts a thrifter more than the one-of-a-kind things she didn’t get. Anyway, at home, I ran into the problem I often have with (bright) purple clothes: a lack of ideas about how to pair them with the rest of my closet. Black is an option — insofar as black is always a safe enough last resort — but I don’t super love how it looks paired with purple. In the past, I’ve enjoyed the pairing of dark plum and dark green, so I decided to look for a shade of green that might work with this mauve-ish colour. And after some deliberation, I came up with olive green. I liked how that looked, but felt the outfit needed a third colour to balance it out. Brown was my first thought, black my second, but I’m glad I went with the third, which was this mahogany colour that sits at the intersection of red, brown, and purple. Now, for my next trick (with this jacket) … I’m gonna need to some time.
Details: H&M turtleneck, Ralph Lauren sweater, Fossil belt, Banana Republic jeans, unbranded vest, Coach bag, Office London shoes (all thrifted)
Thoughts: I thrifted this furry vest because it was giving me 70s boho vibes, and that intrigued me. I think it has possibilities vis-a-vis certain aspects of the Ralph Lauren multiverse, which I plan to explore in the future. For this inaugural outfit, I kept things very simple, using the vest to add some flair to a minimalist combo of jeans and cable-knit sweater.
Details: Free People sweater, Wilfred skirt, Manolo Blahnik shoes (all thrifted), silver ball necklace (Poshmark), Rafael Alfandary necklace (consignment)
Thoughts: I love collecting pottery, so I knew I’d have to buy this skirt as soon as I saw — much as I don’t need another skirt in my closet. But the heart wants what it wants, and a pattern of cute vases? Definitely WANT. And, as it happens, the rest of the skirt is also practically tailored to my preferences; it’s the perfect length and tiered, two things I can never resist in skirts. I’m also a big fan of the colour scheme. The background is a purplish grey, with various blues and purples in the pattern; these colours open up a lot of styling possibilities for someone whom the thrift gods have been blessing with a lot of purple clothing lately. Like this vintage Free People sweater. Don’t they look so good together? Also, no, I haven’t started calling everything I thrift “vintage”. I looked up the tag and found an old Reddit post about the same sweater (in a different colour) in which a former Free People employee confirmed it was from around 1992-1994. How neat is that? God, I love the internet! And thrifting!
Details: Tommy Hilfiger shirt, Ralph Lauren vest & blazer, Fossil belt, Banana Republic pants (all thrifted), Timex watch (Poshmark)
Thoughts: Just some Ralph Lauren bizness. Brown and blue. You know how we do.
Details: Emmy Deveaux bodysuit, Ralph Lauren shirt, Italian belt (all thrifted), Margiela skirt (swap)
Thoughts: This outfit was inspired by a photo of Linda Evangelista in an outfit from a 90s Donna Karan runway collection that came across my Instagram feed. A column of black with an oversized white shirt, and a statement accessory. The original outfit featured pants and a chunky necklace; I subbed in a maxi skirt and chunky belt, plus my beloved cuffs. I felt almost as cool as … well, not Linda, who is a goddess and a legend, but one of the not-quite-super models of my teenage years. I’ll settle for that!