It’s that time of year – time to share Best and Worst Of lists. Before I tackle outfits, I thought I would start with some of my best – or perhaps I should say “favourite” – purchases of 2018. And first of the first: clothing. This is ostensibly a style blog, after all. And true to my track record, there are plenty of options from which to pick.

I do try to be selective with what I buy, I truly do, but I am rarely as successful as I would like. Because the vast majority of my purchases come from local thrift stores — I bought, like, 8 new things this year (almost all of them being accessories) — it’s easy to rationalize most purchases, not matter how experimental in nature. Worst case scenario, if something doesn’t work out, I’m out $10 or less (and the piece is re-donated or gifted); more often than not, I can re-coup my money, or even make a small profit, by re-selling or consigning the item in question. I am pretty ruthless when it comes to getting rid of “failed experiments”, which means my closet is filled only with the things I truly like … and like a lot. So, like I said, getting a list of favourites down to a manageable length is a challenge. I mean, lookit: that $2,500 YSL blazer I thrifted for less than $15? It didn’t make the cut.

What did?

– Sarah Pacini leather vest ($80; consignment) – This has become my go-to piece when I want to add a bit of edge to an outfit. It’s a wonderfully versatile piece for layering, which is my current obsession.

– Ayrtight dress ($45, $0 with consignment credit; consignment) – This is everything I love in dress format – interesting draping, neutral colours, long hemline, natural fabrics, comfortable silhouette.

– Theory tie-waist blazer ($13; thrifted) – I have purchased a ton of great blazers this year (including several black ones), but this one is starting to stand out; the waist tie makes it interesting and can help change out the silhouette of the outfit.

– Dries Van Noten dress ($323, $0 with PayPal balance; eBay) – Beautiful dress by one of my favourite designers. Enough said. This hasn’t turned up on the blog yet, but I cannot wait to wear it.

– Antipast skirt ($6; thrifted) – This skirt is incredibly soft and floaty, and it makes me feel like a (goth) ballerina every time I wear it. I didn’t even know that was an aspiration of mine, but there you have it.

– Zero+Maria Cornejo dress ($12; thrifted) – One of the most elegant sack dresses I own. I love its architectural lines, and the very cool abstract pattern.

– Aritzia Cyprie sweater ($130; retail) – I adore the “tamarind” colour of this sweater, the slim-but-ever-so-slightly-slouchy style, and the overall luxe feeling. It makes me feel like a million bucks when I wear it.

– Aqua butterfly-embroidered leather jacket ($150; secondhand) – I love leather jackets, and I love butterflies. A butterfly-covered leather jacket? I mean, c’mon. This is SO my style alley, they might as well name it after me.

– Armani Collezioni dress ($35; thrifted) – It’s a glitter bomb, and extra AF … but in an understated kind of way. I feel like that describes my overall aesthetic pretty well.

– AllSaints ruffle neck blouse ($7; thrifted) – I am not a fan of ruffles (on myself) but this top is something special. It’s dramatic and has a vaguely Edwardian vibe that works well with some of my more goth-leaning pieces.

– Marc by Marc Jacobs metallic crossbody bag ($20; thrifted) – I’ll be honest, you guys: I use this bag about 90% of the time nowadays. I’ve completely fallen out of the habit of changing my bags to match my outfits. This one goes with almost anything I wear, and it’s the perfect size to wear both on its own, or with my commuting tote/backpack. I especially like the fact that I can wear it on the shoulder or cross-body.

– J. Crew cameo necklace ($8; thrifted) – Finding this necklace (after many years of lusting after it online) is still one of my fave thrifting stories. It’s beautiful, and quite versatile, and it makes me happy every time I wear it.

– Manolo Blahnik “Sedaraby” pumps ($12.50; thrifted) – Another favourite thrifting moment was finding these “Cinderella” pumps just in time for the holidays. They’re a classic style that I can wear with all my special occasion dresses for years to come.

– Anthropologie green resin earrings ($80, $0 with PayPal balance; retail) – These were a real splurge for me, but I have no regrets. I adore the malachite-like resin, and I love how simple yet elegant these are. The posts are a pain to put in for some reason, but I wear them as often as I can anyway.

I could go on, but I will stop here so as not to bore you to sleep … because I want you to tell me: what were your favourite purchases of the year? Any surprise winners – aka pieces that you didn’t expect to end up loving as much as you did? Tell all in the comments.

Balloons, Away

Talk about sleeve drama, yeah? I have never thrifted a Forever21 piece before, but I had to make an exception for this balloon-sleeve (probably not the correct term, don’t care) top. I don’t even like gingham, but I love me some dramatic volume. I love it enough to pay some preposterous amount ($12, I think? maybe more) because Value Village is nothing if not ridiculous in its pricing; I can say that with confidence, because this top still had its original tags, and the listed retail was $24. I was going to post a long rant about it on Instagram, and then I forgot and more exciting things happened in my thrifting life, and in the meantime, I got over it. I’m fine. I mean, I can’t be mad because look how cute this outfit is! I felt very sassy and yet also vaguely like a medieval page the whole time. I love these stupid sleeves way, way too much.

Long Over Slim

Another thing I’m currently loving (possibly) too much is this whole tunic-over-pants formula. It’s the sort of thing I used to associate with women of, ahem, a certain age; somehow, it now seems totally fresh and even slightly edgy. This could just be a symptom of my infatuation with menocore, I don’t know. In my mind, I am a kind of average-person version of Tilda Swinton; I don’t need to know that I actually resemble your Aunt Kathy who is Handling Menopause As Well As She Can In The Circumstances. Y’all don’t burst my love bubble, okay?

Anyway, how else can anyone wear this Sympli tunic? I love the draping detail of the hemline, but it makes it rather scandalous to wear without some sort of (substantial) leg covering. In the context of a tunic, leggings feel juvenile to me because that’s precisely what my 5-year old wears on a daily basis. Slim-cut pants, on the other hand, seem eminently suitable for an ostensibly mature adult. In any case, it’s a combo I really enjoyed wearing and will probably try to replicate. You have been warned.

Layering Experiment No. 698542

I love this Marni top. Ditto for this Rick Owens turtleneck dress. And, hey, they are even better together. My DYI Isabel Marant-lookalike belt ties it all together nicely. It’s one of my favourite ways to wear this top, but here’s a look at some other examples:

One of the regrets of my sartorial life is that I have few real opportunities to get properly dressed up. Weddings come up in my social calendar once every few years, and I don’t attend a lot of galas, cocktail receptions and the like. Forget red carpets. Currently, my one chance to get fancy is New Year’s Eve; for the second year in a row, my husband and I will be attending a NYE party, sans kids, where the dress code is, well, flexibly formal. Which is to say, you can get as glitzy as you want.

As you can imagine, picking what to wear for such an event is an Important Decision in my world; I have a lot of “special occasion” dresses hanging in my overflow closet, waiting for their moment in the spotlight. This year, the struggle feels especially real, as there is no clear “front runner”. One decision that was easily made, however, was my choice of shoes. If you watch my IG Stories, you will have heard by now about my Cinderella moment at Goodwill – where I found a pair of like-new Manolo Blahnik “Sedaraby” pumps for a magical $12.50. In my size. In just the colour (black) and with the right amount of sparkle to go with pretty much any of my dress options. So, I had to get serious about the whole dress-picking thing.

I had two new (to me) dresses in the line-up this year, so I started there. With important occasions like this, I like to “test-drive” my options in advance and see how I feel about them – both whilst wearing them, and in photos. In some cases, outfits can truly look better in person than on camera, but for the most part, I find photos to be a really valuable tool in evaluating how a particular outfit works. For purposes of this exercise, and the photos below, I threw on some accessories, but they’re not necessarily reflective of how I would ultimately style these dresses (shoes excepted).

First up, this absolutely beautiful Armani Collezioni dress I thrifted in Phoenix this past May.

Pros: It’s comfortable (stretchy) and flattering; does not require Spanx; it’s over-the-top glittery and makes me feel like a fairy, shedding sparkles wherever I go (umm, literally). Did I mention the twirl factor?

Cons: It’s fairly conservatives (glitter aside) so I could wear this to more toned-down events (possibly even some work-related functions); it’s stretchy and loose, so will probably fit for the next few years – no rush on having to wear it; accessorizing can be tricky (potential for accessories to clash with glitter).

Second, this Tadashi Shoji number I thrifted in Calgary last November (I think).

Pros: It’s slinky, flattering and still fits (may or may not in a few years); the purplish colour is gorgeous though hard to capture in photos; the neckline is surprisingly comfortable, even with a strapless bra; easy to accessorize.

Cons: Would probably benefit from some Spanx; while lovely, it doesn’t feel particularly glitzy – feels more like a wedding party dress than a NYE dress.

After looking at these photos, I am leaning towards the Shoji dress as my first choice, but am not entirely sold yet. I’ve been looking through photos from parties past, and I find myself yearning for the bigger drama factor of some of my other dresses. Remember these:

Well, I can’t wear the one on the right because I wore it to the same NYE event last year, but the other two? Definitely in the running. Ugh, why is this so hard, you guys?

Are you attending any fancy events this holiday season? How do you go about picking what you’re going to wear?