Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, vest & skirt, vintage belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: This shirt/vest combo is one of my faves; I’ve worn it before with pants, but I like it even more with this skirt. The brown makes the blue really pop. This skirt was one of my luckiest thrift finds — vintage RL stuff is becoming increasingly rare at the thrifts, especially nicer pieces like this wool skirt. The silhouette is one of my faves (full, ankle-length skirts being the other). If we are going to try to keep track of these things, I would consider this a Historian outfit.

Details: H&M shirt, Frame blazer, vintage belt (all thrifted), Maeve skirt (Poshmark), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: I am obsessed with this outfit formula: full skirt, shirt, blazer, and statement belt. It’s inspired by (what else) a Ralph Lauren runway look from the early 80s. I just love the juxtaposition of dressy blazer and cottagecore-y skirt, and plan to play around with it a fair bit. A statement belt is the perfect finishing touch. Trailblazer vibes all the way!

Details: J. Crew shirt & vest, Gap blazer, H&M pants, J. Crew shoes (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This outfit was all about the subtle pattern mix created by the blazer/vest combo. I love those two patterns together, and built the rest of the outfit around the same colour pattern. Otherwise, the formula is one of my go-tos: shirt, vest, blazer, pants. Standard Historian template!

Details: Ralph Lauren turtleneck and sweater, Nine West jacket, Cotton Ginny belt (all thrifted), Banana Republic jeans (retail)

Thoughts: This is a pretty basic outfit but I looooved the way the jacket and patterned sweater looked together. So while this might have been a basic formula, it was not a boring outfit. This jacket and this pair of jeans have been real wardrobe workhorses for me this season; I find myself constantly reaching for them which feels very satisfying. I want my whole closet to give me that feeling (and it’s close!). Putting this look into the Trailblazer category.

Details: Oak & Fort turtleneck (swap), Jacob cardigan, Babaton pants, Oak & Fort coat, Asos boots (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren belt (Poshmark), Coach bag (trade)

Thoughts: I like this vintage cardigan a lot, but I’ve been struggling with the length and resulting silhouette. I tend to wear either short, cropped cardigans or really long ones (past the hip). This length is tricky to me because I’m not used to it. So I decided to try something different and belt it. The result wasn’t too bad, if I say so myself. It has a bit of a Bohemian vibe which is neat, because I tend to associate that avatar with dresses and skirts.

Details: Jacob vest, Marc Cain skirt, Barbara Bui jacket, Chie Mihara shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: One more Historian outfit for you, this one with a slight “dark romance” vibe to it. I wanted to pick up the golden accents from the vest, so I chose this jacket because of the cool collar detail and cuffs. To be honest, I probably should have worn this with the Ralph Lauren skirt from the first outfit above — the silhouette would have been more “me” — but my first instinct is always to pair a long jacket with a short skirt. Blame Cake! Added these sheer black tights to try something different (aka not my usual opaque ones) and I’m not sure I love the look with a skirt this short, but maybe it’s something I need more time to adjust to.

It hasn’t been that long since I’ve talked about my avatars, but I think my system is up for an overhaul. None of it should be a surprise to those who have been following along lately, but it’s quite different from where it started back in 2018. Quick recap: avatars are characters that represent some facet of my personality that I want to express through my clothing (at different times, and in different situations). You know how some people pick 3 words to describe their style? I use avatars to embody my style. I find it easier to visualize everything through this process – and by “everything” I mean everything from shopping, to finding style inspo, to putting outfits together. This post from 2021 does a good job of summarizing my original avatars and their early evolution. So what’s in store for 2024 and beyond?

As long-time followers know, the Prince and Artist have been retired, first one then the other. This makes sense when you consider that they were both avatars geared towards my professional life, which has changed a LOT since 2018. The Adventurer avatar morphed into the Historian. While the Bohemian is the last remaining original avatar, its character has changed a fair bit in the interim. For 2024, I am sticking with the Historian and the Bohemian – in new incarnations – and adding a brand new avatar, the Trailblazer. I struggled a lot with the name of that one, because I always just think of it as Jo-March-on-the-Prairie, but needed a one-word name in the same vein as the others. Ahem. I’m sort of giving it away, but here goes:

The Historian

The character is still Diana Bishop – history professor by day, super powerful witch by night, who loves classic tweeds all the time. While I am not a powerful witch (to the best of my knowledge), I sometimes like to think that, all evidence to the contrary, I’m a bit of a badass despite being a middle-aged suburban mom with a nerdy desk job.

This is some of the inspo I have saved for this avatar.

And here are some of my own outfits which I feel best capture this avatar.

The Bohemian

The character is now Tilda Swinton as a Scottish aristocrat who lives in a crumbling country pile (à la We Capture the Castle) set in a wild, atmospheric landscape.

I feel like the Bohemian needs a bit more explanation so here’s a mood board to go with it:

She wears whatever bits and bobs she feels like; traipsing up and down big staircases with a moth-eathen cape fluttering behind her, but also traipsing up and down the countryside in huge sweaters and sensible shoes, but also hiding in an old nook to read her books in peace. This version of the Bohemian is my best attempt at reconciling my Leo Sun and Taurus Rising signs: I love nice expensive things, but prefer them to be a bit shabby; I like drama but mostly other people’s; and I like a bit of fresh air, but not as much as the smell of books.

Here is some of the inspo for the Bohemian:

And some of my own Bohemian-themed outfits:

The Trailblazer

The character is, well, exactly as I described it above: Jo March (2019 adaptation version) meets the prairies.

The Trailblazer is a lot of the things I love and appreciate combined in one: writing, arts & crafts, Ralph Lauren’s Americana, wide open spaces. Mind you, I prefer to enjoy the latter from an air-conditioned car but that’s just a footnote. I also appreciate Jo’s sense of independence and her love of waistcoats.

Some Trailblazer inspo:

And some previous Trailblazer-themed outfits:

Like I said: I don’t think much of this will come as a surprise. But it’s been very helpful for me to synthesize and summarize all these ideas in one place, particularly as I work on my goal of being more intentional and strategic with my purchases.

Details: J. Crew shirt, Everlane sweater, Babaton pnats, Fossil belt, Frye boots (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren blazer (Poshmark), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: In case you couldn’t quite tell, I score another vintage wool LRL blazer on Poshmark recently; in fact, it was my last Posh purchase of 2023. I adore these plaid blazers, and now have 3 patterns in different colour palettes. This one is a beautiful mix of green and dark blues, along with some yellow/tan. It’s a slightly different vintage than my other two, hence the much stronger shoulder line thanks to built-in shoulder pads. That isn’t my favourite detail, but I can make it work. I borrowed the colour palette for the rest of the outfit focusing on navy and green, with pops of mahogany as grounding neutral. I am not a fan of dark navy, which is a common shade, so I’ve avoided the entire category of “navy” for years. But recently, I’ve come around to it because I’ve discovered I do enjoy a lighter, more purple/blue navy — and it goes really well with brown!

Details: Glamorous top (gift), Gap jacket, Brave belt, Chelsea Crew shoes (all thrifted), Halogen x Atlantic Pacific skirt (Poshmark)

Thoughts: A friend gave me this top, and because it’s so cropped, I decided to pair it with a high waisted skirt. The colours sent me in the direction of this skirt. It was the start of a good outfit, but needed something extra to make it come alive. A wave of inspiration pushed me towards my belt drawer, and I decided to try something more “out there”. I was surprised by how much I loved what this Brave belt added to the outfit — it changed up the vibe, taking the tulle fully towards the prairie aesthetic of the top. I added a brown velvet jacket (and brown shoes) to tone down the pink, without dulling it too much. The cropped silhouette works well with this fuller skirt.

Details: Lord & Taylor sweater, Nanette Lepore jacket, no label skirt, Lulu Frost necklace, J. Crew shoes

Thoughts: This outfit was all about the colour story! I love this shade of yellow paired with this shade of blue; the colours have a similar softness. I added the jacket (which is actually chartreuse and purple) for a “twist” and I think it works really well as part of this palette.

Details: Babaton top (swap), Talbots skirt, Icone blazer (both thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail, old), selfmade necklace

Thoughts: I’ve mentioned before how purple and green are my “villain colours” — it’s a combo that makes me feel cool and badass. But I realize that I should have been more specific; it’s plum and dark green that evoke those feelings. I realized that when I tried a different combo: teal green and royal purple. As a colour pairing, I think this look amazing; but it doesn’t make me feel badass. It feels a lot more chill, almost soothing (despite the intensity of the purple). It was a good experiment in colour theory and colour blocking.

Details: Nine West jacket, no name sweater, Cotton Ginny belt, BDG pants (all thrifted), Laredo boots

Thoughts: Still obsessed with this jacket, and I love how it “completes” this outfit. This sweater is another piece I absolutely love, and find to be very versatile. This whole fit just has a cool vibe to it, IDK.