I can’t believe I didn’t think to pair these two pieces — dress and necklace — before. They’re truly perfect together. I feel like most of the credit needs to go to my MaxMara necklace, which has proven to be a statement accessory superstar. So much for all the doubters (ahem, my husband) who questioned the wisdom of my decision to buy it. Almost every time I am in need of a special piece to elevate a simple outfit, this necklace does the trick. It’s a compliment magnet too. There is something surprisingly elegant about all those big pieces of resin.
oh hello there, dear feet!bell sleeves – love it or hate it?
My outfit was not the only good thing going for me. Behold, a Good Make-Up Day:
magical make-up
Don’t ask me what I did differently that day, because I have no idea. I just, somehow, magically, looked far more rested and fresh and glowy than usual. Like lightning in a bottle, this whole effect has proven rather difficult to replicate. If you’ve got some new must-have beauty items to recommend, I’m all ears.
Back to the outfit, with one more word on the dress. I am starting to be less enamoured of the bell sleeves. I know they’re currently trendy, and they’re not flappy enough to actively bother me, but I feel like they make the dress look a bit “fancier” than I’d like. Plus, they’re hard to fit into blazers without wrinkling them. I’m debating taking the dress to the tailor to consider a partial sleeve-ectomy. Thoughts?
Coat, J. Crew (thrifted); turtleneck, Club Monaco; skirt, Baraschi (thrifted); boots, Bandolino (thrifted); bag, Gucci (via consignment)
Since I am mostly focussing on work outfits on the blog these days, I wasn’t going to post this outfit at first. For some reason, though, it got a bazillion likes on Instagram, and I reconsidered. Don’t get me wrong; I thought it was a cute outfit too. But lots of outfits this cute (or cuter even) don’t get as much positive public feedback. I find these kinds of situations very interesting, and I often end up trying to figure out just what, precisely, about the outfit photo elicited a strong reaction from people. The colours? The silhouette? The angles? The backdrop? I tend to assume it has more to do with the outfit than the surroundings, but when you think about it, that’s not necessarily true in a visual medium. Anything could make the difference.
Feel free to offer your thoughts in the comments, by the way.
close-up on skirt
Since I blog for fun and am seriously lazy, I rarely do much except muse about these things. I think it would be exhausting to have to treat every IG post as a marketing experiment — constantly tweaking and adjusting your “presence” or “brand” or whatever based on the reactions you get. I know some people think that blogging is a lark, and while that might be true for amateurs like me, I don’t think it’s remotely accurate for professional bloggers. It’s hard work — not in a physical sense, of course, but hard nonetheless. It doesn’t appear that way because we’re sort of trained to assume that social media is some kind of effortless, spontaneous form of expression whereas for a lot of (professional) bloggers each post is more akin to an advertisement. They are selling their brand, even if they are not directly selling a particular product. Think about how much work goes into making a magazine or TV ad; the work isn’t simply in the execution, but in the strategy and the research and planning that goes into informing that strategy. Seriously, I’m tired just thinking about it. One of many reasons why I won’t be quitting my day job any time soon.
Moving on from that total tangent, I’ll say just a few words about the outfit. First, the coat. Now that spring is finally around the corner, I realized that I hardly wore my winter coats apart from my everyday MaxMara workhorse. Propelled by guilt, I made an effort to bust out of my routine, and pulled out this thrifted J. Crew Lady Day coat. I’m glad I did, even though it elevated this outfit to a more colourful level than I would have otherwise chosen, because it worked so well with the skirt.
The skirt is wonderful. It’s thrifted Baraschi, and I bought it even though it was about 3 sizes too big because I loved the print so much. And it has pockets too! I wasn’t deterred by the sizing issue, because I have a simple solution for circle skirts like this one; I just fold the waist over as much as necessary, and pin it with a safety pin in an inconspicuous place. The extra fold just looks like part of the design — quite unnoticeable, I assure you. Having the skirt professionally tailored is, of course, the better option; for this style of skirt, I don’t think the cost is very high, but I prefer to wait and see if the skirt becomes a closet staple before I commit. Learned that lesson the hard way, naturally.
It’s been rather quiet on the thrifting front lately; I’ve had less time (and inclination) to go lately, and the frequency of my scores has decreased in proportion. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating for any aspiring thrifters in the crowd: the more often you thrift, the more amazing things you will find. One thing I have noticed locally is that prices have gone up. Goodwill has increased its standard prices by 50 cents here and there; no big deal, especially considering that they are still running their weekly 50% off colour tag sales. Value Village prices on the other hand … oof. Scoring good deals is still possible (premium denim is where it’s at, as you will see shortly), but more and more of their people are wising up to designer labels. As both a VV shopper and donor, I have very mixed feelings about this. I have debated taking more of my donations to Goodwill (which is a non-profit, unlike VV), but Goodwill does not offer donation coupons in my area. I still support both organizations/companies with my shopping dollars, but I am doing so with a grumble when it comes to VV.
Burberry or not Burberry?
I’ve been seeing a ton of fake Burberry in thrift stores lately. It’s funny how coincidences like that happen. I have no idea if these pants were real or knock-off, but judging from the quality and workmanship alone, I sure hope it was the latter. With that said, Burberry is totally not my thing, coats and trenches excepted.
BDG jeans
I have no personal experience with BDG brand denim, but I’ve heard good things online. I almost bought these two pairs to try out the brand; you’ll see in a minute why I ended up not getting them, but I am definitely keeping my eye out for it, and will probably end up buying some BDG in the future. For, um, blog science … or something.
all the premium denim
Seriously, though, thrift stores = treasure trove of low-priced premium denim. I have found pretty much every brand you can imagine, including (in addition to the above) J Brand, Acne, Citizens of Humanity, Rich & Skinny, and others. Ironically, the brands that are priced highest at VV are the likes of 7 For All Mankind, True Religion, and Rock & Republic (although prices vary wildly, even within the same store). I have bought my fave brands (Rag & Bone, AG, and Pilcro) for under $10, and often under $5 — in brand new or like-new condition.
no, seriously!
More denim. The Fiorucci’s were a nostalgia moment; anyone else growing up in (Eastern) Europe in the early 90s probably has fond memories of that brand.
Anthro brand top
I have been finding very little Anthro lately, which is probably for the better. I did spot this floral top … and passed, because it is not my current style. Pat on the back for restraint.
Boss blazer
I am always low-key looking for my next great black blazer, so I was initially excited to see this Boss version on the rack. The price did make me raise an eyebrow; while it’s certainly low compared to retail, it is very high for thrift where most blazers are $10 or under. And then I had a closer look, and saw that, on top of everything else, the condition was not good. Pro tip: always check the inside collar and armpits on blazers. Dirt/residue in those places is often hard to get out (and dry-cleaning sometimes just “bakes” it in more) and nobody has time to deal with that — there is always a better blazer to be found.
Aritzia brand sweater
I was tempted by this sweater — look at that huge funnel neck! — but ultimately decided to pass because of the length. It was not quite a tunic, but longer than I prefer my sweaters. I didn’t see myself wearing it enough (especially not for the rest of this year), and the bulkiness would have made storage a challenge.
Free people jacket
Leather jackets (real or faux) in good condition and current style are few and far between in thrift stores, but since I adore my Joe Fresh version, I always keep an eye out for them. This Free People jacket was a decent deal (about $18 if I recall correctly) and in pretty good shape. The style was not my cup of tea, however, so I passed. Nicole did not approve.
Pilcro & AG
Remember how I passed on those BDG jeans? Well, it just so happens that I found another pair of skinny grey jeans (which I’d been hunting for months) and dark red cords on the same trip — both made by two of my fave brands. Of course I bought them. And since I never say no to AGs (or Pilcro or Rag & Bone), I also snagged a pair of dark grey skinny velvet cords. They were $3. I am not kidding.
Babaton silk shell
This cobalt blue shell is not quite on all fours with my colour palette, but it’s close enough to Dazzling Blue and I knew it would work well with lots of existing pieces in my closet. It was less than $3, which for 100% silk was a no-brainer. There was a tiny spot on the blouse, which I didn’t notice when I bought it, but it luckily came out when I (hand) washed it. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have about 20 outfits featuring this blouse lined up in my Stylebook app. It’s going into heavy rotation starting next month
DVF blouse
This DVF blouse was a similar story, albeit the colour is definitely off-side my palette. It’s a really lovely, really unusual blue. Not cobalt, not royal blue. I tried, but couldn’t accurately capture it on my camera phone. Since I love blue in almost all its incarnations, I decided to get the blouse, even though it will probably be difficult to wear with anything except black.
Judith & Charles blazer
Lastly, this light grey pin-striped blazer was not quite what I was looking for (I want a medium grey, plain blazer) but the quality and condition made it too good to pass up. It’s made out of light wool, and judging from the lining, it was not worn by its previous owner. Judith & Charles is a less well-known label but they feature a lot of great business wear options, and their pieces are made in Canada. A blazer like this would run about $400; definitely worth checking out if you see it in thrift stores.
And that is it, my friends. Tell me all about your thrifting adventures this month.
