Yup, another new dress. Sorrynotsorry. Did I mention that this dress was still selling on the Nordstrom website (for over $70) when I thrifted it? It cost me $14. Yup, definitely not sorry. The print is, admittedly, a bit … um, vivid, shall we say? … but the silhouette is lovely and not remotely twee. So I think it passes the rules, even though it’s not very minimalist. I did get a ton of compliments on it when I wore it, so I’m guessing there’ll be someone out there who will be happy to take it off my hands if and when I decided to pass it on. Hashtag: thinking ahead.

For the time being, I’m happy to have it in my rotation. I kept the accessories to a minimum this time to compensate for the wild print, and I think the result is pretty good. I’m excited to try different styling options too, so I think it’s safe to say that you haven’t seen the last of this dress.

Black and blue is my default colour combo, but I realized I hadn’t worn this green MaxMara skirt in a long time, so it was time to switch things up. I added extra hints of green with the necklace and shoes, but kept things pretty simple otherwise. The faint pinstripe of this DKNY blazer also added a subtle bit of visual interest. I really loved the resulting outfit, even though it doesn’t photograph quite as well as I think it looked in real life.

Did I mention my thrifted Theory top has pockets? How cool is that? Actually, my entire outfit (top, skirt, and blazer) is thrifted and it cost under $20. Pretty cool. Who says you can’t build a work wardrobe on a budget? People have been asking me if I would be interested in opening a resale shop as a thrifting side project, and the answer is … honestly, no. It’s rather time-consuming, and I don’t enjoy the administrative aspects which make up a good chunk of that time. But if I ever won the lottery, I would definitely love to have a small, local studio — and pay someone to run it, so I could spend my time sourcing cool finds and doing style consults. How much fun would that be?

Minimalism means different things to different people. Most aesthetic descriptors do, after all. While I wouldn’t say that I would never take the “all black” route to a minimalist aesthetic, it’s not generally my preferred approach. I like colours too much. And prints. And sparkly things. So this is a good example of “minimalist, Adina-style”. A small colour palette (but featuring one bright colour) heavily reliant on black, with a bit of visual interest — some bling, some mix of textures.

I enjoyed this casual outfit a lot. It was comfortable but made me feel put-together without it being either too “calculated” or too boring. This is, basically, the closest I’ll ever get to the mythic French style. I have no idea if an actual French woman would wear this, but that’s kind of besides the point, in the end. I think what everyone is really chasing is the feeling we associated with those images or the idea of effortlessly cool women. Tell me, peeps: what do you think?