Year in Review: Favourite Outfits

I cannot seem to wrap my head around the fact that 2025 is just days away. It’s going to be a year of ponderous milestones that somehow feel unreal; 20-year anniversary of my law school graduation, 30-year anniversary of coming to Canada, 45 years all told. I feel less old than I did a year ago, until I look in the mirror and realize that time does, in fact, flow in only one direction – at least as far as bodies are concerned. But 2025 is still days away, which might as well be another country. Today, let’s look back on the recent past which, though equally inaccessible, has the advantage of being familiar. Quantum physics I don’t know; but outfits, outfits I know. My own outfits, especially. It’s right there in the title, after all.

There are a lot of outfits to squeeze into this eulogy of the year’s sartorial adventures; I’ve been having a lot of fun getting dressed. And a lot of fun thrifting, too. It’s bittersweet, because I am more convinced than ever that we are witnessing the end of thrifting’s Golden Era. We are standing on the deck of the Titanic, listening to the band play, as it were. I’m taking extra good care of my clothes, thinking ahead of the time when I might release them back into the circular economy; by then, good quality clothing will be even harder to find than it is now, and I like to think of my future contributions as a kind of paying forward of my current good (thrifting) fortune. The thrift gods have been kind to me in 2024. And I made the most of it. As I also did of a warm spring, temperate summer, and mild fall. Indeed, I could not have asked for more perfect weather to suit my personal style … which feels extremely odd to say when I think about how rather unusual the weather has been for our climate. Best not to dwell on that, huh.

I can’t seem to stop myself from waxing gloomy, so I think we’d best move on to the outfits. I made some effort to find common threads (no pun intended) among my picks, but I’m presenting them in no particular order because, when it comes down to it, picking favourites is hard.

My favourite silhouettes haven’t changed much this year, and midi skirts continue to be high on my list of most-worn pieces.

This year, I’ve gravitated more towards subtle pattern mixing, but I also enjoyed the occasional bolder mix.

I fully embraced the preppy side of the Ralph Lauren universe, including the whole sweater-tied-over-the-shoulders classic styling trick.

Another thing I embraced this year was brown. Need I say more?

90s minimalism was a trend I did not expect to fall for quite so hard, but nostalgia is a powerful drug. I regret nothing because revisiting the fashion I never got to enjoy as a teenager the first time around has been hella fun.

But maximalism is fun too!

Shoutout to my favourite floral skirt! It wasn’t the only thing I wore this summer, but it was definitely one of the highlights. The summer was probably my most (sartorially) eclectic season, with outfits that ran the aesthetic gamut.

Prairie- and western-core was less in evidence in 2024, but not entirely absent. I have been leaning more towards incorporating elements of it into different styles, taking a page from Papa Ralph who is the master of mixing genres.

Last but not least, special mention to my favourite pants of the year. And, yes, in a surprising twist, they’re white. That wasn’t on my bingo card for 2024.

Here’s to wonderful surprises in 2025!