Details: bl^nk London top, Topshop pants, Emmanuel belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I can’t believe it took me so long to pair these pants and this blouse — they go so well! The pattern mixing makes the outfit feel like a higher-level effort, even though it’s just, well, 2 pieces. Red and blue is an energizing colour combo (it always pops) and I think this is a great shade of blue for it too because it doesn’t read too “primary colours”.

Details: H&M shirt (thrifted), Topshop dress (eBay), Zara shoes (retail), Copper Canoe Woman earrings (gift)

Thoughts: A white shirt is a classic pairing for this dress, but I chose a more unusual version this time. The collar gives it that Wednesday Adams vibe, and I think the boots underscore it. This dress still hits all the right notes for me; the use of the contrast polka dot pattern is such a clever way to maximize this unique pinafore design. I am still low-key looking for the reverse colour version of this dress — black polka dots on a white background. That’s how much I love it.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Tahari shirt, Frye boots (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren coat (FB Marketplace), Ralph Lauren belt (Poshmark), Everlane pants (swap)

Thoughts: I haven’t used FB for the better part of a decade, so I always forget that Marketplace exists and is actually not a bad platform to find secondhand bargains. I was recently on there because we’re looking for a rug, but I decided to search for “Ralph Lauren” on a whim. And what do you know? I found this mint-condition, 90s wool blanket coat for a steal. It’s going for $300-500 on eBay, and I paid $100 — score! It’s a different colour palette and length from the Pendleton coat I recently found, so I feel like they won’t compete with each other too much. This is a women’s Medium but it has that boxy oversized fit so it’s nice for early spring layering.

Details: corset (Etsy), Rebel Sugar turtleneck (gift), Second Female cardigan, Laura Ashley skirt, Fluevog shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I’m calling this “goth cottagecore” because why not. I wanted to pile on a bunch of florals and really lean into that Ren-Faire vibe, but I felt a bit exposed up top so I decided to add another layer. A white blouse seemed too … expected so I decided to choose outside the box and voila! I don’t know why these photos look like they were taken with a potato instead of an iPhone13, but enjoy this unintended throwback to the early days of my blog.

Details: Ralph Lauren sweater, Gap skirt, Woolrich vest, Stuart Weitzman shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This outfit is all about the vest-skirt pairing, so I kept everything else simple and clean. In retrospect, I kinda wish I had broken up all the black with a chambray shirt. Oh well! There is always next time.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Topshop dress (both thrifted), Zara shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I really love this dress — the cut is fab and the pattern is fun — and I so wish that the quality was better. Alas, it’s cheap-feeling polyester. Topshop sometimes knocks it out of the park, design-wise, but still skimps on fabrics. That being said, this is my favourite way I’ve worn this dress so far. Layering a black turtleneck under a summer dress is the most basic way to do transitional dressing, but damn if it doesn’t work like a charm here. I bookended the turtleneck with chunky black boots, and threw in some bright green tights for a flash of colour.

Details: Massimo Dutti sweater, Echo scarf, Vince skirt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I’m a little bit scared about wearing this skirt because I know I am bound to spill on it sooner or later and I am not sure how easy it will be to get stains out of this material … but I also really enjoy wearing it so *shrug*. Here’s hoping I can stay accident-free for as long as possible. I tend to stay away from this type of shiny satin material especially with skirts because some versions have a tendency to cling too much. Not this one, though; it has some weight to it (I was almost certain that it was cupro, but apparently it’s a polyester blend) which makes it hang nicely on the body.

Details: Lord & Taylor cardigan, Paul Smith scarf, UO pants, Gap jacket (all thrifted), Mia shoes (retail)

Thoughts: My fave shoes are back! When I tell you I’m excited, you have no idea. I still love these platform loafers so, so much. I feel like a genius for having chosen a pair with brown soles because this allows me to wear them with black and brown or both. Brilliant! I also feel really good about this pairing of magenta and whiskey brown; it works really well, while the black makes both colours look extra bright and sharp.

Details: Gap sweater, Issey Miyake dress, BCBG jacket, Zara shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: It’s an increasingly rare witchy outfit for me. I just haven’t felt drawn to black a lot lately, unless it’s mixed with white. Don’t know why and not gonna analyze it too much. But I wanted to go for something dark to test this new BCBG jacket I thrifted; the curved arms gave me Comme des Garcons vibes, so I wanted the most CdG outfit I could muster from my closet right now. I think this came together nicely. Wearing black these days feels like camouflage to me so I tend to wear it when I don’t want to stand out too much.

Details: InWear sweater, Jil Sander coat, Ralph Lauren skirt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I could have sworn that I had worn this outfit before, but a quick scan through my IG suggests otherwise. You can’t blame me for thinking it though, because how perfect are these pieces together? Wearing head-to-toe brown brings more joy than black, most of the time these days. I think what I love is the depth and richness you can achieve by layering different shades of brown. Brown might be my beige! You know … the colour people don’t understand why you love, lol!

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Lord & Taylor sweater, H&M pants, Chico’s belt, Elena Wong coat, Modern Vice shoes (all thrifted), Tignanello bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: My fave sartorial time of year is when I get reunited with my spring/summer coats, like this fun Elena Wong one. Over the years, I have accumulated quite a few lightweight coats and jackets and it’s exciting when the season starts relatively early because it means I have more opportunities to wear them all. For this outfit, I wanted to stick to the colour palette of the coat, so I chose neutrals with yellow as an accent. And you know what … yellow is a fantastic accent colour! Underrated!

Details: Pilcro sweater, Prairie Trail Goods vest, Cartonnier pants, Rafael Alfandary necklace, J. Crew shoes

Thoughts: This vest is one of the pieces I’m most excited to wear this summer… so excited, in fact, that I couldn’t wait any longer to wear it. So I tried to come up with a cozy way to make it work for the current season. I chose this sweater based on the colours in the quilt pattern, and I am pumped about the combo! The striped pants add a bit of subtle pattern-mixing, plus the colour works better with the palette here than a simple black would have done.

Details: Wilfred sweater, Ports blazer, Ralph Lauren skirt, Nocona belt, Chelsea Crew shoes

Thoughts: This outfit was, once more, inspired by some RL runway looks. This belt-over-sweater-over-skirt formula is making me very happy right now. An outfit in head-to-toe shades of brown is very “RL country” which is my style sweet spot, especially for spring/fall. Do I wish the skirt was a smiiiidge longer? Yes, always. But overall, it’s all good.

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck, Le Chateau vest, Twinset blazer, Banana Republic pants

Thoughts: I was going for a little baroque, a little dandy vibe here, and I think I mostly pulled it off. The pattern mixing works for me, and you know I am a ride-or-die for vest+blazer combos. I’m slightly undecided on whether the turtleneck is a bit too heavy, but I am also not sure if a better alternative was at hand (I don’t think a button down shirt would have worked).

Details: Wilfred sweater & coat, Denim & Supply dress, Ecco boots

Thoughts: When you’ve got a patchwork of patterns … adding one more to the mix is the obvious outfit-making strategy, no? As always, I am relying on a cohesive colour palette to push me into that “YES” territory. I think I made it 😉

Details: Le Lis top, Holding Horses tunic, Topshop skirt, Lena Bernard necklace, Zara shoes

Thoughts: This is very similar to a couple of other outfits I wore; I’m just mixing up the same (or similar) pieces in different ways. If the formula ain’t broken, don’t fix it. Just improvise on the same!

Details: United Colours of Benetton poncho, Frame jeans, Office London shoes

Thoughts: This poncho was not an automatic thrift buy for me, believe it or not. My husband pushed me into getting it, as I was having doubts. He was correct. It’s too strange and wonderful — wonderfully strange! — of a piece to pass up. I don’t normally like overtly-branded clothing, but the colourful lettering here works for me. It’s so fun! Plus, I like the message (cleverly) worked in: tutto va bene (tton). Everything is okay. Some days you need that reminder, you know?