So, this is 40.

To say that this wasn’t how I envisioned my 40th birthday to pass is, well, an understatement. But then again, 2020 took all of us by surprise. At the beginning of the year, it looked like I would be spending some time on self-introspection, thinking about what this milestone represents and how I feel about it. I even had the inklings of a little mid-life crisis hatching. Scratch that. Since March, my entire mental and emotional bandwidth has been devoted to adapting to and managing the impacts of the pandemic – at work, at home, and in my personal relationships. I have no energy to spare on thinking about what turning 40 means. All I know is that I am awfully lucky to have all my loved ones close to me and safe, to have financial security, to be healthy. From that perspective, I’ve made it. This is as good as 40 gets.

I am not yet ready to look ahead of me. The immediate future is still filled with so much uncertainty and anxiety; beyond that, I still need to think about what the next 30 or 40 years of my life looks like. In some ways, 40 does feel like a frontier of sorts. Growing up, it was the outer boundary for all my personal life plans; I knew what my life up to 40 was supposed to look like, what the milestones would be. The ages of 15 to 40 are well-depicted in our popular culture so they feel, well, familiar even as you are living them. I suppose after 65 or so, things again come into focus – retirement and/or grandparenthood are also common enough themes in popular culture. But the period between 40 and 65, for a woman especially, is like … a sort of black box. Obviously, those of us who work, continue to work; those of us who have kids, continue to parent. Relationship status changes or stays the same. But what does life look like, day to day? What are the goals that fuel the forward movement? For me, that remains to be decided.

So instead of looking forward, let’s look back. And because this blog is, after all, meant to be frivolous, let’s kick it back to the last decade and some important style questions.

Favourite brands
2000: Gap (LOL!)
2010: Diane von Furstenberg, BCBG, Anthropologie
2020: Dries van Noten, Issey Miyake, Rick Owens, Marni

Aspirational brands
2000: Coach (although this was more mid-2000s)
2010: Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Louis Vuitton
2020: Iris van Herpen

Favourite accessory
2000: shoes
2010: bags
2020: jewelry

Favourite colour/print to wear
2000: aqua/stripes (probably)
2010: purple/florals
2020: black/rainbow

Favourite places to shop
2000: Forever 21, H&M
2010: Winners (TJ Maxx), consignment
2020: thrift, consignment

Favourite silhouette
2000: low-rise jeans (sigh)
2010: pencil skirts & sheath dresses
2020: potato sack dresses; midi/maxi lengths everything

Favourite styling tip
2000: Hah!
2010: colour blocking/clashing
2020: layering

Favourite style icon
2000: I can’t remember – maybe Claire Danes?
2010: Audrey Hepburn
2020: Tilda Swinton

Favourite Splurge
2000: Something from the Gap, I am sure
2010: Louis Vuitton bag
2020: Issey Miyake dress

So much has changed, yet much … actually, no. Almost nothing has stayed the same. It’s as if, I dunno, I was a whole different person. Isn’t that funny? Day to day, I never feel like I’m changing. Even now, if you were to ask me if I feel as if I’ve changed over the past decade, I would hesitate. But when I start listing stuff like this, it’s so easy to see how much has changed. And if my sartorial preferences have changed so much, I can only assume the same is true in other areas as well.

Where am I going to be at 50? Stay tuned.

Going For Gold

I’m not super into astrology but the memes are fun, so this year I’ve been embracing the whole Leo Season thing. My best friend is also a Leo, so we egg each other on with the meme game. Anyway, Leo’s are supposed to love yellow and gold, but until recently, I didn’t relate to that at all. Then I realized that I do love yellow … just not the traditional kind. I like the weird ones – mustard, chartreuse, and this shade which I like to call “Antique Gold”. It’s a bit green, a bit brown, and altogether lovely. Especially in velvet, which adds a whole other dimension to it. I love the simplicity of this sack dress; what drew me to it, apart from the colour and texture, was the knowledge that it would serve as a perfect backdrop for a lot of my statement necklaces. Here, I wore it with a matching Rafael necklace, but gave the colour story a surprise twist with purple shoes.

Summer Layers

You guys know how much I love layering, and this outfit is one of my fave layering experiments to date. Summer is not the easier season for layers, but it’s still possible to achieve a cool effect – figuratively and literally – with lightweight pieces like linen and silk. Admittedly, the knit vest came off before noon as the temps rose, but I had to try it on because it just lends some lovely angles to this outfit.

Summer Vibes

It’s still a linen kind of summer, even more so in the last week as temps soared into the 30s Celsius. For a slightly cooler morning, a little white denim jacket is perfect. There is something so quintessentially summer about light blue and white combos, isn’t there? I also added one of my newest handmade necklaces, which I am calling “Daisy”. The yellow also pops against blue, and completes that whole summer-inspired palette.

Today, I want to talk about some of the more interesting and/or unusual things I’ve thrifted this summer since the re-opening of retail stores in my area.

Pyne & Smith linen dress

I’ll start with this dress because it illustrates one of my biggest tips for thrifting: know how to recognize quality independent of labels. When I first spotted this dress on the rack, I didn’t recognize the brand name. But I already knew that it was something worth putting into my cart. The hand-feel of the linen fabric and a quick glance at the finishes told me that. Later, Google told me that Pyne & Smith is a small independent sustainable fashion brand. Later still, some of my Instagram followers told me that it happens to be a quite popular brand at that. Imagine – I found something cool without even knowing it.

Bottom line is this: a comprehensive knowledge of brands helps a thrifter immensely, of course, but even more important is the ability to spot quality. Brands evolve all the time, new ones gain popularity, etc. Signs of quality are always the same.

Claire Desjardins dress

One of the artists I follow on Instagram is Claire Desjardins, a Canadian abstract painter. I like her paintings a lot, although they’re definitely not in my budget at this time. Lo and behold, one day I randomly stumbled on this dress, which must be part of a collab with a Canadian clothing company; the print is inspired by Claire’s paintings. It seemed like such an odd coincidence at the time – to find something connected to an artist I like in a wholly unexpected way.

Sarah Pacini linen coat

This is such an interesting piece from one of my favourite designers. I appreciate how there is always something a little unique or unusual about SP pieces – like the cut of this coat, and the black contrast trim on the front and back.

Proenza Schouler vest

This was a thrift first for me – the first time thrifting this brand, that is. It was also a major score, and this vest retailed for around $1,000USD and I paid less than $20CAD – or, in American currency, two pine cones and a stick of gum. It did need a good go with the sweater shaver, but it’s now looking practically brand new again. Maybe it’s all in my head, but I feel like a cool “fashion girl” whenever I wear this.

Jil Sander coat

Another major, major score and something I can’t wait to wear come fall. Sorry, no pictures for now because I haven’t worn it yet and I can’t find it online. But … it’s black, it’s classic, it’s a wool-angora-cashgora blend. Cash-whatnow? Yeah, I learned something new myself. Apparently, it’s a special type of wool. Fancy goats, y’all.

Donna Karan jacket

This was pure fashion nostalgia. A vintage Donna Karan collection piece that screams “90s fashion dream”. Can you picture Cher Horowitz wearing something like this? I couldn’t resist getting it for the quality of the workmanship alone – the inner seam finishes are seriously to die for, as Cher would say – even though I’m not entirely sure how I can incorporate it into my 21st century wardrobe.

Quay sunglasses

I rarely see decent sunglasses at the thrift store, so it was doubly exciting to score this fun pair of Quays — because I like the quality and because this is such a fun shape. I never spend a lot of money on sunglasses because I am rough on them and/or lose them often, so it’s nice to get a good pair for a steal.

Tory Burch bag

This was such a funny score because I see cheap knockoffs marked up for ridiculous prices all the time at Value Village, and the one time there is an authentic bag, they price it for $11. It’s what keeps thrifting interesting, I guess. You never know where and when a sweet bargain will pop up. This bag is actually perfect for my current needs; I’ve stopped using regular/large sized bags when I go out and have pared down what I take with me; only my cards, keys, phone, and hand sanitizer usually. That way, there are fewer things I need to clean every time. Anyway, this little crossbody is the perfect size, plus it’s divided like a wallet, so it has slots for all my cards unlike my other tiny purses which, at best, have one little pocket. It fits – just barely but still – my keys and a small bottle of sanitizer, plus my old iPhone 6S in external back pocket for each reach.

Ash sneakers

I love my old pair of Ash leather sneakers – also thrifted – so I was thrilled to find a second, slightly different, version. It alleviates a fear I often have when it comes to favourite thrift finds: what will I do when it wears out and I can’t find a replacement? This applies most of all to shoes, which do wear out far more quickly than anything else in my closet. With two pairs of these sneakers now, I can split my wears and extend the lives of both pairs. And I do wear them a lot now that I don’t commute to the office anymore. They are perfect for my more casual lifestyle now. I like the slightly rock ‘n roll vibe, plus the small wedge heel gives me some height without sacrificing comfort. They’re also so, so easy to clean.

Morays bracelet

This was one of those situations where you learn something new thanks to thrifting. From a distance, this bracelet looked quite unassuming, but I knew I’d need to have a closer look as soon as I picked it up. It was much heavier than I was expecting. And it had a safety catch. You know, that little chain that holds the two ends together even when the clasp is open? I may be using the wrong terminology, but you catch my drift. Now, most low end costume jewelry doesn’t bother with things like that, so I knew this wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill piece. I immediately looked for a stamp, and eventually spotted one – albeit one too small for me to read clearly without assistance. I paid my $7 and took the bracelet home for further study.

With the aid of the Magnifying Glass app (very handy for these sorts of occasions and free to download, I believe), I deciphered the stamp. It says “Morays” and then “1/40 12k”. A little Google later, I discovered two things. One, the numbers indicate this is a gold-filled piece. That means it’s a step above gold tone and gold plated jewelry, but not quite fine jewelry. Two, there is Morays Jewellers in Florida which bills itself thusly: “Seven generations in service to the exclusive tastes and finer habits of the Miami gentlemen and ladies.” I die. If my bracelet came from THAT Morays (and I haven’t found another contender yet), my only question is: I would love to know the story of how that bracelet ended up in a thrift store in Edmonton.