It all started with a watch.

No, wait, let me back up.

I guess it really started with my love for sun, moon, and star motifs. I was a 90s teen, it was unavoidable – and I never really grew out of it. Over the years, and especially in the last four as my nostalgia kicked into high gear, I’ve bought all kinds of things – home décor, clothing, accessories – because they featured some combination of celestial bodies. One thing I coveted for a long time was a vintage sun & moon phase watch. There was a Timex one I had my eye on for a while, but the stars never quite aligned (pun intended!) to put it in my path. Or, rather, the stars had something different, better in mind for me. Earlier this year, I finally found the perfect thing:

I paid $25 at Goodwill for this 1988 vintage Guess watch and it’s everything I wanted and more, patina and all. I love the face so, so much. Not only the sun/moon design, but the style of Roman numerals is *chef’s kiss*. I have no idea if it actually works, because I have not replaced its battery; nor do I plan to. Sometimes I manually wind the hands so I can change the moon for the sun, and vice versa, but I don’t need it to actually tell time – I wear it purely as an accessory, like a bracelet.

This watch was the spark that slowly reignited my interest in watches. I used to wear them every day, back in the days when I was obsessed with my Skagen “Anita” watch collection, but this habit was another victim of the pandemic. The difference, now, is that I wear watches without using them – which makes it cheaper and more convenient to collect vintage ones. Of course. You knew that was coming, right? Because I wear them as accessories, I am guided purely by aesthetics, not quality or brand. There are lots of vintage watches at the thrift stores; most of them are overpriced and/or not my style, but I’ve been having fun looking for pieces that suit me. And I’ve found a couple!

The sun & moon phase watch is marked “Hong Kong” but otherwise a mystery; I could not resist its oversized face – probably a men’s watch. It cost $4. The Boy London is also a men’s watch but its 90s vibes appealed to me. It cost $6. At this point, it’s impossible to have cheaper fun at the thrifts.

What happened next is a series of lateral jumps in the creative process (if we can call putting myself together a “creative process”) that can sometimes feel like magic. Wearing watches again made start thinking about arm stacks. Remember arm stacks? I used to love those. Put a pin in this, we will come back to it. First, let’s side step to what will seem like a tangent, but which I promise is very relevant.

Another thing I thrifted earlier this year was a 5-stone eternity band; it was a $3 ring with cheap CZs and a mostly tarnished finish, but I fell in love with the design. More importantly, it looked wonderful stacked on top of my mom’s wedding band, which I had started wearing on the ring finger of my right hand. After testing it for a few weeks, I decided to “upgrade” to a better-quality version – a sterling silver and moissanite ring I found on Amazon:

I am obsessed with this ring stack, to the point that I rarely wear anything else on this finger (slightly inconvenient as I have a lot of other rings I love that only fit on this finger, oh well). Sometimes I swap out the blue topaz ring – an early gift from my husband – for my own wedding band, which also makes for a beautiful stack.

I was probably admiring said stack when the idea came to me. What if I got something similar for a sleek and classic arm stack? What if I got a diamond tennis bracelet? It would look very nice with my vintage watches and other slim bracelets I have, no? Yes. Now, of course, I am not going to jump into actual diamond territory on a whim. TBH, having tried moissanites, I may never jump into actual diamond territory ever again. My first thought was to look for a sterling silver and moissanite tennis bracelet on Amazon, having been impressed with the quality (relative to price) of my ring. I’ve had it for a few months now, wear it daily (and rarely bother to take it off even when I shower), and it still looks great. I wanted the same sort of thing for my bracelet, but it turns out that the price point is quite a bit different when you move from a ring to a bracelet. Again, I was still at the “testing out a new idea” stage, and did not want to spend a couple hundred dollars yet.

I looked around some more and found a much cheaper (under $40) option with CZs instead of moissanite and “gold-plated silver” whatever that means. (I’m pretty sure it’s not sterling.) I put it in my cart to save while I pondered the purchase, and in the meantime decided to have a look at Poshmark as well. Ten minutes of scrolling didn’t lead me to any promising silver-and-moissanite bracelet options … but it did lead me to something promising. I saw a listing for a Swarovski tennis bracelet and went “hmm”. I have always been very happy with Swarovski quality; I’ve had pieces for years and they never tarnished, or lost stones, etc. This bracelet was listed for $60, which was within the budget I was willing to spend. But there was more. Something about it triggered a memory.

It reminded me of a Swarovski necklace that my mom used to have – a gift, I believe, from her friends for her 60^th birthday. I had borrowed it from her a few times, before she died, for special occasions. After she died, I sorted through her jewelry and put away most of the fancier pieces, this necklace included. I hadn’t thought of it in years, until the style of stone setting on the Poshmark bracelet reminded me of it. And I thought … what if?

I dug out the blue Swarovski box from storage and looked inside. And sure enough, next to the necklace, there it also was:

This may sound strange, but it felt like I was getting a sign from my mom, all these years later. It has happened before. Seeing the bluejay (my mom’s favourite bird) hop around in the garden right outside the window where I was sitting down for lunch. Finding the red Coach bag I thought I’d sold and missed terrible, but which my mom had kept for years, in one of her closets. Little gifts. Just like this one. Just in time for Mother’s Day.

Love you always, mama!

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Danier skirt, Nocona belt (all thrifted), turquoise necklace (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I adored this outfit — peak Adina! Sometimes, all you need is a statement skirt and crisp white shirt. I am a white shirt convert now. The key is to have an oversized one, and wear it loose and casual not buttoned up and businessy. Well, buttoned up works too, but only under sweaters and vests for me … and it has to be a different white shirt because the one used for layering must be fitted not oversized (for obvious reasons). All of which to say, yes, I have multiple white shirts in my closet now. I barely recognize myself! But the real star here is this incredible vintage suede skirt. It’s the perfect cut for me and the quality is amazing; a skirt like this would cost $500+ at, say, Banana Republic these days. It’s soft but has a good weight to it without sacrificing movement. It’s quite swishy. I realized that the length, on me, works best with a heel (even a modest one) that shows off the ankle a bit. Which is fine by me, as it all plays into the rather glam vibe of the skirt.

Details: H&M top (retail), Ralph Lauren blazer, Everlane sweater, vintage belt, BR pants (all thrifted)

Thoughts: The pleated pants are back for another iteration of the Historian. I don’t know what else to say, guys: it’s all just constantly remixing the same pieces in ever-so-slightly-different ways. I’m never bored, but I won’t speak for you 😉

Details: Wilfred sweater, Nicole Miller skirt, Aldo shoes (all thrifted), Lena Bernard necklace (eBay)

Thoughts: Speaking of remixing: considering how much I love this skirt, I struggle a bit too much with finding different ways to style it. That is the difficulty with some statement pieces, especially uniquely patterned ones like this. That being said, I am very happy with how this outfit turned out — it’s simple but very satisfying. The loafers were the perfect shoe choice, IMO. I recently admitted defeat over my old Steve Madden pair; the double platform was simply too high and bulky for me. This Aldo pair with its more modest platform works much better for me. Lesson learned.

Details: Ralph Lauren sweater (gift), Jessie skirt, Talbots vest (both thrifted), Laredo boots (consignment), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: A little bit 90s, a little bit funky. This is a very plain colour palette for me, but as always in such cases, I compensated with texture to keep things interesting. Every time I wear this skirt, I am transported back to 1997 except I feel much cooler now than I did then and if isn’t the definition of winning at life, what is?

Details: Pendleton sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Ash shoes (all thrifted), vintage cardigan (secondhand), Coach bag, Le Chateau belt (both Poshmark)

Thoughts: Contrast the previous outfit to this one — proof I can still do mad-bold colour when I feel like it. This vintage handmade cardigan continues to get me compliments every time I wear it. And it’s such a joy to wear quite apart from the external validation. Paired it with a graphic skirt, and I feel like it was an excellent choice. The belt and shoes play up the slightly punk-ish vibe.

Details: Jeanne Pierre sweater, vintage belt (both thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (eBay)

Thoughts: Spring prairiecore romance … is what I would call this vibe. Love the colour story, love the pattern, love how I feel when I wear my favourite clothes.

While I’ve talked before about my intentional shopping goals for the year, I recently realized that I never really addressed what was on my said intentional shopping list. My closet has been in a very stable state for a while now, which means that my focus, as far as new purchases go, has become quite narrow. For the most part, I have been looking to limit significant purchases to certain key items, and otherwise be quite ruthless about anything else I buy (i.e. at the thrifts). Let’s talk about those key items in more detail, and see how things have been shaping up so far!

There were 3 categories of key items that I singled out at the beginning of the year: 1) vintage Ralph Lauren, 2) vintage Coach bags, and 3) Pendleton blankets. The first category is a catch-all, though my focus remains on consolidating my Ralph “capsule” — i.e. pieces that embody the brand’s ethos through the years. I have a number of specific items in mind, none of which I’ve been able to source yet — either at all, or within my budget. As for “wild cards” in this category, nothing has come up so far; thrift stores have become a poor prospect, and Poshmark these days is both wildly overpriced, and lacking in vintage offerings. So, while this remains an important part of my intentional shopping list, there have been no new additions.

For vintage Coach bags, I had a clear goal: I wanted to add a black bag, a green bag, and an ivory/cream bag. This was based on a number of considerations. One, 90s leather Coach bags are not only wonderful quality, but their aesthetic really suits every facet of my current style. The designs also align with my functional preferences; I like smaller bags that can be worn crossbody. The lack of logos and simplicity of design also suits me perfectly. My rationale for selecting these specific colours was that (a) I didn’t already own Coach bags in those colours (I had brown, mahogany, and red), and (b) they would work well with my wardrobe palette.

The price of 90s Coach bags has gotten quite high lately and, as much as these were a priority for me, there was a ceiling to what I was willing to pay. So patience was the name of the game. After a few months, I was able to find a black Court bag in relatively good condition on Poshmark for about $150CAD all in. It needed a bit of rehabbing, but nothing that a good wash and condition couldn’t fix:

The green bag proved a more difficult quest. I missed out on a great deal early on, before I had acquired enough information to recognize it as such. Green bags are rarer than other colours, and their prices reflect that. I had resigned myself to a very long wait, and then fate intervened. An internet friend reached out, after I posted about my quest on Instagram, and offered her own bag as a gift. She had bought it years before at a charity auction but hadn’t used it, and wanted it to go to a good home where it would be appreciated. Needless to say, I was bowled over by her generosity. The bag is a beauty and her origin story makes her all the more meaningful to me.

So, at this point, all that remains on my shopping list is an ivory bag, and I am waiting for the right one to cross my path. I briefly borrowed a bone-coloured Coach bag from a friend of mine to test its versatility with my wardrobe; while it was a lovely bag, it made me realize that true ivory (more white than cream) is the best option for me, which helps to narrow down my search.

The last category on my intentional shopping list is, strictly speaking, a different kind of priority than the others, as it isn’t related to my wardrobe at all but, rather, my house. I want to upgrade some of the textiles we have, starting with blankets. And in particular, I have been dreaming of having a couple of Pendleton blankets. Good wool blankets are hard to find at thrift stores these days, much less Pendleton ones, so I had expected to buy these — over a few years — brand new. But then, randomly, the thrift gods smiled on me, and I found one, in excellent condition, at Value Village. Things being what they are these days, it was not cheap by any means ($200). For its condition, and considering the retail price, I felt it was a good deal nonetheless. It’s the Chief Joseph pattern, and I adore it:

I am still planning to buy at least one more Pendleton blanket, but as I have a very specific pattern in mind, I am pretty sure it will be a retail purchase that I will need to plan around the family’s overall budget. It may not end up happening this year, but that’s ok. The anticipation will only make it more special in the end.

Speaking of Pendleton, while this was not on my shopping list, I would be remiss not to mention here the absolutely fabulous vintage wool Pendleton blazer I scored on Poshmark for $35CAD all in:

I haven’t been spending much time on Poshmark lately, apart from checking new Coach and RL listings (and perfumes!), but finds like this one are the reason I am not planning to entirely quit browsing the app. Just a real hidden gem. While I wasn’t specifically looking for it, it’s very much my jam — wool plaid blazers have my heart.

The last thing I want to mention is my success in a quest that started almost 2 years ago. Remember my search for the perfect palazzo jean? Yes, I finally found it … at the thrift store, no less:

And with that, my intentional shopping list shrinks down a little bit more. Not coincidentally, my thrifting has recently shifted away from personal clothing purchases; I am now mostly shopping for my (constantly growing) kids and husband — and books!! — and also just buying fewer things in general thanks to the decline in quality I’ve talked about in the past. I will not rehash that conversation here again, but it’s something that’s often on my mind. I’m curious to see how the rest of the year unfolds … in thrifting, and in my intentional shopping project. Stay tuned.