Details: Reitmans sweater, Heritage House skirt, Banana Republic belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I wore this outfit on my list in-office work day of the year. I was aiming for “subtly festive” and I think I nailed it, if I do say so myself. This sweater continues to prove that it’s not always about the brand. Or, in this case, even the quality; this sweater is an acrylic blend, which I usually avoid. It’s such a unique and beautiful design, and that trumps all other considerations. I don’t wear this sweater a lot, but I always seem to reach for it when the occasion calls for an elegant but understated vibe. Even if the outfit, as a whole, is super simple, the sweater instantly elevates it. And for that, it’s a keeper. The skirt is no slouch either. Look at that fabulous silhouette! I love long column skirt, and this one has a little extra flair, ahem, flounce. It’s also wool and lined, and you really can’t ask for more.

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck (retail, old), Uniqlo sweater, vintage leather jacket, Talbots skirt, Coach bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: My son calls this my Joker jacket, but the joke’s on him because he clearly can’t recognize a great jacket when it’s right in front of him. Orchid purple is one of my current obsessions, and this particular shade is so vibrant and fun. I’ve paired it with burgundy before, and loved the combination, so I did it again, and added some more purple into the mix for fun. The cropped style of the jacket also works well with a high waisted column skirt, and we all know how I feel about those, so … bonus!

Details: Laurel shirt, Oscar de la Renta vest, Villager skirt, Paloma Picasso belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I haven’t been doing bold pattern mixes as often lately, but I had to try this one because the colours were just too perfectly matched. I added the brown cardigan vest and belt as a “grounding” neutral, because I felt the outfit needed something along those lines, and brown seemed like a better option here than black.

Details: Club Monaco sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Suzy Shier coat, Stuart Weitzman boots, Coach bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I was drawn to this skirt because of its print, which reminded me of Ganni’s version of leopard print. It’s actually a LRL skirt and I’m pretty sure it’s vintage-ish because the quality is really, really good. It has snaps between the top 4 buttons, which the kind of nice touch that most brands tend to skimp on these days. It prevents gaping in the area where it would otherwise be most likely to do so (i.e. around the hips). Anyway, the other reason why I got the skirt was because I’ve decided to experiment with short skirts again. It’s the perfect time of year, since it’s the season for opaque tights and tall boots. (I refuse to wear mini skirts with bare legs. I may or may not change my mind on this. I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.) Winter is also the perfect time for a short-skirt-long-jacket moment, and I’m never not ready to go there.

Details: H&M shirt, Jean Howell cardigan, Chicwish skirt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This was another take on festive dressing, Adina style. I had been “saving” this vintage cardigan for a special occasion for a while and finally decided it was time to stop being precious about it and just go ahead and wear the darn thing. I went for a Molly Goddard-inspired fit, which was super fun.

Details: unlabelled turtleneck, Gap cardigan, vintage skirt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Here is another short skirt experiment, this one in a classic pleated style. And it’s wool! I thought navy would be a versatile option. Rather than a long jacket, I paired it with an oversized (and rather long) vintage Gap men’s cardigan. The green turtleneck was inspired by the colours of the cardigan, natch. A bit matchy matchy, but that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt & sweater, Calvin Klein belt, Levi’s jeans, Ferragamo shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Another casual outfit, but with a couple of small details that tickled my fancy. The colour of the sweater matches the polo player logo on the shirt, and the two-tone belt echoes the stripe pattern. I know, I’m an odd duck. Anyway, I had to have a little fun with this, because I wasn’t really sure about this shirt to begin with. Still might not be, to be honest. But it’s vintage cotton and we all know I’m a sucker for that. So thick and soft! The quality is just too good, so even if I end up only wearing it around the house, it’s a worthwhile use of $8.

Details: Urban Outfitters sweatshirt, American Apparel coat, Banana Republic jeans, Asos boots, Ricki’s bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I stole this sweatshirt from my daughter, who found it on one of our thrift adventures. What I can I say: payback is fair play, considering how much closet theft I’ve been letting her get away with lately. We must be rubbing off on each other, because our aesthetic preferences seem to be converging to ever greater extent — this sweatshirt being but one data point. I love art-based graphic tees and tops, and Gauguin? No brainer. Lest you feel too bad for my daughter, being deprived of her thrift spoils, I’ll have you know that she proceeded to steal borrow this coat not 2 days after I wore this outfit. My acquiescence then opened the floodgates and we are now hashing out a workshare arrangement as it pertains to my winter coat collection. Sigh.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Ricki’s skirt, Nine West jacket, Ricki’s bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Have you noticed this bag yet? I hope you like it as much as I do, because I’ve been using it a lot ever since I got it at the end of last month. It’s my (current) fave shade of blue — which looks beautiful next to brown — and the shape is *chef’s kiss*. The strap is soft (which makes it comfortable to carry) and the ideal length for me. I love the slight slouchiness of the bag, which doesn’t render it entirely without structure. The quality is absolutely nothing to write home about; it’s cheap, unlined fake leather. I will be devastated if and when it falls apart because I love everything else about this bag, but on the plus side, I only paid $5 for it, so I’m sure I’ll be getting my money’s worth.

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck, Ralph Lauren skirt, Suzy Shier coat, vintage bag, Canadienne boots (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Could this be? Yes, it is: yet another mini-skirt experiment. This one is vintage Polo, probably mid-2000s. I love the wash and the little pockets. Pairing it with a chunky cream sweater was a no-brainer, but it remains to be seen if I can muster up some other outfit ideas for it.

Details: Uniqlo sweater, vintage vest & belt, Ralph Lauren skirt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: My favourite sweater and one of my favourite skirts. That’s pretty much the whole story. Comfort dressing, if you will.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Bianca dress, Levi’s jacket, Coach bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I’ve been wanting to find a daisy print dress for a while, because it reminds me of the 90s so much. This dress fit the bill, sorta, mostly. The cut is nice, and the daisy print is cute enough. But it’s polyester, and not the kind that makes you forget what it is. I liked this outfit a lot, but I am not sure if I can live with this dress in the long-run, which is a real bummer. I’m planning to give it another chance, perhaps come spring, but I’m back on the look-out for a nicer alternative.

Details: Scarlett dress, Talbots wrap (both thrifted)

Thoughts: My NYE plans involved my couch and an Elementary marathon, but had they been a little bit more social and/or festive, this is what I would have worn. As it was, I used the vintage wool wrap as a lap blanket. It’s partially why I grabbed it at the thrifts; for $7, it was worth getting as a fancy blanket if nothing else. I don’t wear poncho type things as a general rule, but this one has more potential than most because it’s a generous size and has a rather polished look to it, and grey is a good neutral. We’ll see what comes of its potential. Special shout-out to the brooch that ties it all together (not quite but almost literally); it was a gift from a dear friend, whom I may have pointed in the right direction after stumbling on this Schiaparelli-inspired number on Amazon of all places. I’m being more indiscreet than usual in telling you that, but I do have my reasons; my peeps on Instagram loved this brooch as much as I do, and I’m not one to gatekeep sourcing information if I can help it. So there you have it 😉

Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2025 is Mocha Mousse and people are having some kind of feelings about it. In case you haven’t already seen it, here it is:

I get why it would be a more divisive pick than usual for Pantone. Brown isn’t a colour most people get excited about. I used to be one of them and while I could proselytize about brown with all the typical enthusiasm of the recently converted, I am going to save my breath and let others figure out their own journey. Mocha Mousse is not brown at its most inspiring, but that’s also just a personal preference; it’s a bit too washed out and cool-toned for me. But I’m thrilled that any shade of brown has hit the Zeitgeist, however briefly, because it means that I get to be accidentally on trend for a bit, which is rare enough in my case to make for a pleasant surprise.

My wardrobe has been slowly filling with brown clothing and I am excited to start a new year – four new seasons! – with so many exciting options at hand. While Mocha Mousse doesn’t feature prominently (or at all, really) in my line-up, here are some of the shades of brown that do:

Since brown has replaced black as my core neutral, I have been slowly adjusting the rest of my wardrobe palette around it. Many of the colours I’ve gravitated towards in the past – blue, first and foremost – do work well with brown. But brown has opened the door to some different colours – and colour combinations – as well, and I have been enjoying exploring those in recent months. As in all sartorial matters, my experimentation has been guided by my thrifting. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t get too excited about Pantone’s opinions; thrifting always marches to the beat of its own drum. As a thrifter, you have to embrace the chaos and learnt to spot the possibilities it spins your way. A few colours that have lately crossed my path at the thrifts have made the jump from ‘hey, that’s nice’ to ‘shoot it straight into my veins, NOW’ territory. In short, I am obsessed.

What colours are we talking about?

I am crap at describing colours and this particular shade of blue is impossible to pin down. I did my best to find images that line up with the mental image I have, but it was difficult. The middle image* probably captures it best. It’s a slightly greyed-out sky blue. A lot of similar shades I’ve seen online tend to lean either too purple (more like periwinkle) or too green, or they’re too pastel or too icy. The inspiration behind my obsession is a Uniqlo sweater I thrifted back in November; I have been wearing it once a week ever since, and considering how many sweaters I own (answer: dozens!), that’s saying a lot.

*Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that stunning dress? It’s Alaia, of course. Sigh.

Speaking of colours that are difficult to find, can I introduce you to this gorgeous shade of green that doesn’t seem to have a name? I adore it. The closest thing I’ve found so far is a slightly more blue-leaning version, but I am persistent as hell when it comes to the objects of my hyperfixation, and I expect I will find my luck at the thrifts sooner or later. It’s a shade that reminds me a lot of the 90s, and I love how unexpected it feels.

This one should come as no surprise, as I have been obsessed with deep red for a while now. Again, nailing the right shade is tricky. It can’t be too orange, but it also can’t be too blue. It can’t be too bright (lipstick red), and it can’t be too dark (burgundy/maroon). It’s not a colour I would wear head-to-toe, but it’s perfect as an accent.

Orchid was a Pantone Colour of the Year a while ago, but seemed to fade out of the collective consciousness pretty quickly (no pun intended). I have a love/hate relationship with vibrant purples: I love looking at them, but struggle to wear them. In the past, I have gravitated more towards the plums and aubergines, which seemed to play along better with the rest of my colours. But I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for magenta and I feel like, recently, that has pushed me to reconsider orchid.

All of these colours pair nicely with one or more shades of brown, so adding them in small doses to my closet will create lots of remixing possibilities. I have already tried a few of them … and I want more!

I cannot seem to wrap my head around the fact that 2025 is just days away. It’s going to be a year of ponderous milestones that somehow feel unreal; 20-year anniversary of my law school graduation, 30-year anniversary of coming to Canada, 45 years all told. I feel less old than I did a year ago, until I look in the mirror and realize that time does, in fact, flow in only one direction – at least as far as bodies are concerned. But 2025 is still days away, which might as well be another country. Today, let’s look back on the recent past which, though equally inaccessible, has the advantage of being familiar. Quantum physics I don’t know; but outfits, outfits I know. My own outfits, especially. It’s right there in the title, after all.

There are a lot of outfits to squeeze into this eulogy of the year’s sartorial adventures; I’ve been having a lot of fun getting dressed. And a lot of fun thrifting, too. It’s bittersweet, because I am more convinced than ever that we are witnessing the end of thrifting’s Golden Era. We are standing on the deck of the Titanic, listening to the band play, as it were. I’m taking extra good care of my clothes, thinking ahead of the time when I might release them back into the circular economy; by then, good quality clothing will be even harder to find than it is now, and I like to think of my future contributions as a kind of paying forward of my current good (thrifting) fortune. The thrift gods have been kind to me in 2024. And I made the most of it. As I also did of a warm spring, temperate summer, and mild fall. Indeed, I could not have asked for more perfect weather to suit my personal style … which feels extremely odd to say when I think about how rather unusual the weather has been for our climate. Best not to dwell on that, huh.

I can’t seem to stop myself from waxing gloomy, so I think we’d best move on to the outfits. I made some effort to find common threads (no pun intended) among my picks, but I’m presenting them in no particular order because, when it comes down to it, picking favourites is hard.

My favourite silhouettes haven’t changed much this year, and midi skirts continue to be high on my list of most-worn pieces.

This year, I’ve gravitated more towards subtle pattern mixing, but I also enjoyed the occasional bolder mix.

I fully embraced the preppy side of the Ralph Lauren universe, including the whole sweater-tied-over-the-shoulders classic styling trick.

Another thing I embraced this year was brown. Need I say more?

90s minimalism was a trend I did not expect to fall for quite so hard, but nostalgia is a powerful drug. I regret nothing because revisiting the fashion I never got to enjoy as a teenager the first time around has been hella fun.

But maximalism is fun too!

Shoutout to my favourite floral skirt! It wasn’t the only thing I wore this summer, but it was definitely one of the highlights. The summer was probably my most (sartorially) eclectic season, with outfits that ran the aesthetic gamut.

Prairie- and western-core was less in evidence in 2024, but not entirely absent. I have been leaning more towards incorporating elements of it into different styles, taking a page from Papa Ralph who is the master of mixing genres.

Last but not least, special mention to my favourite pants of the year. And, yes, in a surprising twist, they’re white. That wasn’t on my bingo card for 2024.

Here’s to wonderful surprises in 2025!