Details: Tommy Hilfiger shirt, Pilcro sweater (both thrifted), Suttles & Seawinds skirt (Poshmark), Prada shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: Prairie and preppy had a baby, and I wore it! Don’t worry, no actual babies were harmed in the process. This outfit was inspired by the colour palette; the shirt looked like a wonderful complement to the skirt, and I revisited the sweater-tied-over-the-shoulders thing because I wanted to add more layers of pastels. I loved the result so, so much. The shoes were chosen because I wanted something that wouldn’t pull the eye away from the outfit itself. It has been a few years since I’ve had occasion to wear them. They’re a relic of my law firm days — I’m pretty sure I bought them back in 2013, just before my daughter was born. And now, pretty soon, she’ll probably start wearing them. No, I’m serious. She’s only half a shoe size away from me and catching up fast. Time flies.

Details: Old Navy tee (thrifted), Prairie Trail Goods cardigan (swap), Ralph Lauren belt (Poshmark), Banana Republic pants (retail)

Thoughts: A weird thing happened again, and I found another pair of my fave style Banana Republic pants at Winners. This one is velvet (the other one was corduroy) and cost $9. I have no idea how this happens — months and months apart — but I won’t question the mysterious ways of the universe. This time, the size is slightly too big, but nothing that a belt can fix. The colour is interesting, and I’m learning how versatile it can be. Just look how well it pairs with the sky blue sleeves of this upcycled cardigan? Love.

Details: Wilfred vest, Liz Claiborne dress, BR necklace (all thrifted), Lena Bernard necklace (eBay), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: My rainbow dress offers endless remixing possibilities, and here is one of them. I’ve always loved this shade of bright poppy red — it feels so energizing! I guess that’s what we might call a power colour. (As opposed to my villain colours which, as we know, are purple and green).

Details: Nautica shirt, H&M pants, Brave belt, Everlane shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I fell in love with this vintage shirt on the men’s rack at VV and had to buy it for myself, even though it would fit my husband much better. Too bad for him, it’s mine! My preciousssss, all mine. Seriously, though, how perfect are these colours? They remind me so much of the 90s.

Details: Tabi dress, Bozzolo top, Mexx cardigan, Napoleoni shoes (all thrifted), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: Y’all know that pink/red roses on a blue background is a pattern for which I have a fatal weakness, so you will understand why I had to buy this vintage dress last year. Do I already have several dresses with similar patterns? Yes. Should I be buying more? No. Is that ever going to stop me? Also no. Anyway, this one is pretty cute — albeit the cut/style is a bit on the casual side for me. It makes for a cute house/garden dress, but I decided to try to dress it up for “going out” (which, in my case, usually means running errands). Because of the low neckline, a base layer was a must. A white baby tee is my go-to in these situations, and suits the retro vibes of the dress. The black cardigan and accessories add a nice amount of contrast, making the whole outfit look more crisp and pulled-together.

Details: Holding Horses dress, Pelican Cove vest, vintage cowboy boots (all thrifted), bolo tie (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I love wearing this little tunic dress with cowboy boots. So I am, again. And again. But, look, I added a denim vest and my new bolo tie this time. It’s different, ok?

Details: Ricki’s skirt (retail), Reitmans top, vintage belt, Sorel shoes (all thrifted), Prairie Trail Goods vest, Coach bag (Kijiji)

Thoughts: This skirt-vest combo is a no-brainer, but please note how the striped tank top matches the striped piping on the vest. And is echoed again in the shoes. I am very proud of that detail. That’s all.

In this edition of Things Adina Currently Likes to Obssess About, I am presenting you a grab bag of perfumes I’ve added to my collection in recent months. They do not represent, by any means, the entirety of my new additions. Instead, I chose these as representative of some of the different approaches I’ve taken in pursuing my perfume hobby. Let’s call them Thrift Finds, Cheap Heroes, and Hedged Bets.

The first category is fairly self-explanatory.

I am very happy to buy perfumes secondhand; provided they’re stored properly, away from bright light, perfumes can last a long time (past their expiration date) without completely losing their profile or potency. To ensure that is the case, if buying online, I try to stick to bottles that are still in the sealed original packaging; if I’m buying at the thrift store, a quick spray and sniff usually tells me if the perfume is still good. I would love to thrift more perfumes but, like everything else, they’re becoming increasingly pricey. Anything with a recognizable brand name, even if unboxed and/or partially used, tends to be priced minimum $30, and often upwards of $50. Given the existence of discount online retailers like FragranceNet, such prices are hardly an attractive bargain.

Sometimes, though, a gem manages to fall through the cracks.

I didn’t recognize this bottle immediately, but I picked it up for a sniff because it was the only one priced attractively at $15. The scent intrigued me, so I flipped the bottle and — lo! — I saw that it was Jo Malone. I know enough about the brand to realize that this was a bargain. And I had a coupon, making it a whopping $10. A real “start the car!” moment. As I was checking out, a sales associate spotted the bottle, recognized it, and came over to chat. When she heard what it had been priced at, she remarked it was “practically highway robbery” or something to that effect, and I had a moment of panic when I wondered if she would try to change the price on me. Thankfully, she did not — although it’s something I’ve heard happens with some regularity at thrift stores these days. She did have a point — this was a HUGE steal — but at the same time, it bears remembering that Value Village got this bottle for free, so they’re making a profit regardless. If you’re wondering how much of a steal it was, well, the original retail price was somewhere north of $350CAD; it’s a limited edition perfume, 175 ml (most of it still in the bottle). It was part of a 2016 collection based on tea — this one is called Darjeeling Tea.

The first blast of scent is one of refreshing tea — not citrussy (like many other tea-forward perfumes) but herbal and slightly soapy. The tea note does not last, to my nose, very long at all, though. It quickly becomes a fresh, white floral scent with a strong, herbal kind of soapiness to it. Other reviews mention the jasmine note coming through most strongly, but to me, it’s the herbal, green, slightly bitter soapy note. I think this is the artemisia, a note I had not encountered in perfumes before. I am going by the information on Fragrantica on this, which describes artemisia as a “bitterish, herbal and strong-smelling plant note known as wormwood which aromatizes absinth and vermouth.” It is a very unique scent, in any event. I wouldn’t say that Darjeeling Tea is one of my favourite perfumes in my collection, but I appreciate its uniqueness and enjoy wearing it when I want a fresh, zingy, not-too-floral, not-too-sweet scent.

At the other end of the scale from bougie Jo Malone, is one of my fave Cheap Heroes — a perfume I got for $22 at Shoppers Drugmart: Guess Seductive Noir.

I’ve mentioned before that I love discovering inexpensive perfumes that punch above their price point, and this is one of them. I didn’t buy this completely blindly, having spent a fair bit of time reading reviews of it online beforehand, but I did buy it without actually smelling it. Top notes are sage, bergamot, and peony. Middle notes are iris, jasmine sambac, and lily-of-the-valley; base notes are vanilla, vetiver, and velvet. Somehow, the scent transcends (or defies) my expectations based on those notes. The name, Seductive Noir, is somewhat misleading, imo, as well. It’s not what I would classify as a “sultry” scent, though it possesses a subdued elegant allure. I have seen it compared to Mon Guerlain by Guerlain, and having tested the latter, I can attest to the similarities.

First impressions: slightly smoky, lavender-infused amber. (The fact there is no lavender listed in the notes blows my mind a little bit). It develops into a beautiful, rich blend of aromatic, floral notes, and vanilla. Once or twice, I could have sworn I picked up a whiff of the lily-of-the-valley, but usually the florals are too well-blended to stand out individually. The combination really does have the soothing qualities reminiscent of lavender; I often spritz a little on my wrist before I go to bed, because it’s such a calming scent to me.

Lastly, in the Hedged Bet category, may I present:

The OG Lolita Lempicka was another Cheapie Hero I got at Shoppers months ago, and it quickly became one of my favourite perfumes. The brand has a good rep in the frag communities I frequent — lovely fragrances, reasonable prices — so I started to do some more research on it, and came across another one of its offerings that struck me as having potential to appeal to my nose. This one, to be precise: Lolitaland. (Sidebar: the only thing I hate about this brand is the names. I’m pretty sure that having “Lolita perfume” in my Google search history has placed me on some kind of FBI watch list.) I am not much of a gourmand girlie — and Lolitaland is all gourmand — but I was intrigued by the chaotic note menu (which includes, but is not limited to, Bellini, orange, mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, pepper, white peach, plum, black currant, two kinds of jasmine, magnolia, rose, vanilla, licorice, musk, and sandalwood) and the descriptions of the perfume in online reviews. Did I mention that it was created by Francis Kurkdjian, he of Baccarat Rouge 540 fame? I am not about to pay hundreds of dollars for a FragTok “it” perfume, but given the opportunity to sample an artist’s work at an attractive price, I will always take it. I got my 75 ml bottle of Lolitaland on FragranceNet for about $50, and it was definitely worth it.

First impressions: orange crème brûlée. To my nose, the orange and the peach compete for attention, with the peach pulling ahead as time goes on. There are definitely dessert vibes involved here, but it’s a very smooth blend — fruity, but not too fruity; sweet but not cloying. There is a slight smokiness to the vanilla but I would not put this perfume in the same category as, say, Replica By The Fireplace.

Alright, that’s enough perfume talk from me for now. If you’re down, share your recent buys and new (or old) faves in the comments, and stay tuned for another collection update coming soon!

Details: Gap dress, Only & Sons jacket, Aldo shoes, Rebecca Minkoff bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This outfit formula — boho dress, oversized denim jacket, chunky white loafers — feels trend-aware but true to myself. And that’s the sweet spot, isn’t it? It’s not about ignoring fashion, it’s about making it your own. And look, I know this isn’t the cutting edge of fashion by a country mile; the cognoscenti have already probably moved on from chunky shoes, and denim jackets. But these pieces allow me to update this dress in a way that, to me, feels fresh but also comfortable. And by that, I mean comfortable in my own skin, which is always my first and most important priority.

Details: LoveShackFancy top, Max & Co skirt, Donna Karan belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: It’s been a hot minute since I found a designer label at the thrifts, so I had to pick up this LoveShackFancy blouse for its novelty, if nothing else. Well, that wasn’t the only reason, of course. I love the cotton candy colours; they’re sort of intense pastels, which I think are more flattering on me than traditional, soft pastels. I have to say, I am not especially impressed with the quality of this piece considering its retail price point (north of $350CAD) which is disappointing even if I only paid $7 for it. What the heck is happening with the fashion industry if this is what’s being sold as “designer” these days? Sigh. At least I have my vintage … including this skirt (old) and this belt (new). Can you believe I found this genuine snakeskin belt for less than $3? It’s probably from the 80s, and it’s superb quality that has held up beautifully over the years. I’m not sure anyone will be saying that about the blouse in 2050. (And no, don’t tell me my math is off. I refuse to hear it.)

Details: Suttles & Seawinds dress, Le Chateau belt (both Poshmark), tulle skirt (thrifted)

Thoughts: I love this dress a lot but wish it was slightly longer. Got my tulle skirt out. Problem solved 😉

Details: Ines de la Fressange x Uniqlo shirt, BR tie, Tahari jacket, CoH jeans, Brave belt, Ferragamo shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I am still exploring the possibilities of this vintage Tahari jacket — the cut is so unusual and so good. I wanted to juxtapose the femme vibes of that cut with more masc styling. The glasses were an afterthought (I often forget I’m wearing my reading glasses, a sign of my age in more ways than one) but they certainly helped the overall Jenna Lyons-ness of the outfit. I wasn’t mad about it one bit.

Details: Vince top, Icone blazer, UO pants, Donna Karan belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This blazer is new-masquerading-as-vintage but I am a sucker for Grandma’s couch florals, so I got it. For this outfit, I leaned into the colour scheme, pairing the blazer with my olive-and-black striped knit top for a relatively subdued pattern mix moment. I decided to pick a light belt as a way to introduce some contrast and stop the black from taking over too much.

Details: Anthro jacket, Old Navy tee & sandals, vintage skirt, Coach bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I call this summer boho casual. Cotton layers, a floaty skirt (plus bike shorts), sandals. Easy and literally breezy. This particular skirt is a no-brainer choice when I’m stuck for ideas, because the pattern affords so many pairing options. For this outing, I decided to pick the maroon as a focal colour, and the outfit basically assembled itself from there.

Details: unbranded shirt (swap),Zara top, LL Bean belt, CoH jeans, Fluevog shoes, Rebecca Minkoff bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I got this plaid shirt at my last swap because I love its colours, but it feels a little bit disingenuous. I can’t say I have ever been a huge Guns ‘n Roses fan per se. Does this mean I’m flying false colours here? LOL! Anywhoo. The shirt is very oversized, so I choose a crop top to balance things out. I debated a bit over the choice of denim, but this ankle crop ultimately felt like the best option. Of all things, I think it’s the hat that ties it all together. This damn hat will end up being the MVP of my summer, just watch.