Last week, we talked about fall fashion inspo. This week, I’m taking stock of my closet and figuring out what pieces I might want to add to help me bring my fashion board vision to life this season.

White baby tee

If I am going to commit to a 90s revival, I realized that this one is a must. Last month, I thrifted a satin slip dress and that unlocked a core memory for me. I have at least one other dress of a slip type (and it’s plaid!) to make this a mini-trend for my fall wardrobe. I was fully planning to thrift this, but ended up stumbling across the perfect white baby tee at Winners — it must be a sign that the 90s revival has reached full market penetration — and getting it immediately rather than waiting and taking my chances. I know, I know. I really do try to buy secondhand first, but this piece was a top priority for me and I knew, from experience, that thrifting something to meet my specifications (tight-fitting, cropped, cap sleeves, unyellowed) might take a while. I didn’t want a repeat of my white dress saga — still ongoing, by the way.

Black floral slip dress

This goes along with the white tee, but also other outfit formulas I have in mind. It’s something I’ve been low-key looking for since last year. I have some Ralph Lauren inspo saved that features chiffon, spaghetti-strapped, maxi slip dresses, and that’s the vibe I would ideally like to achieve, but I am open to alternatives. I want something vintage ideally, so thrift and Poshmark is where I am looking. I could buy a current iteration of this trend but I would prefer not to. How is this different from the white tee? Well, vintage white tees are hard to come by in good used condition. Quality also matters less to me, to be honest, with a tee; as long as it’s cotton, I’m not too fussy. With a dress, I definitely appreciate the higher quality of vintage pieces over their contemporary versions. Plus, I just like the idea of using an item original to the era when I am reinterpreting and updating that era’s vibes.

Vintage Coach bag

Yep, this is still on my list. I haven’t put a lot of effort into stalking these on eBay or Poshmark because, while they’re easy to find, the prices are ridiculously high these days. I am pinning my hopes on the thrift gods deigning to bless me again. It might be a faint hope, but you never know; one of my friends recently thrifted a 90s Coach bag. The leather ones would be great accessories for both my Historian and Artist outfits. I would love a black, navy, cream or brown one, but I’ll take anything and everything I can get.

Mary Janes

This is not a high priority because I still have my platform loafers that work with the 90s revival vibe, but it’s something I would pick up if the right pair popped up at the right price. The right pair would be black with a chunky sole.

Ralph Lauren teddy bear sweater

Still on the list from last winter. Still looking.

RL fair isle sweater vests

I have a couple of Ralph Lauren fair isle sweater vests but I would love one or two more in different colour palettes. I love sweater vests. This fall, I want to branch out and experiment with pairing them with skirts rather than pants. You know, that Molly Goddard vibe.

Black or grey tiered tulle skirt

This is something I have carefully considered. I have a couple of tulle skirts I like a lot but don’t wear very often. Does adding another one to my closet make sense? I’ve decided it does, although it’s not a top priority item nor something I want to spend a lot of money on. But I think it’s worthwhile as it would serve a few of my avatars, and serve me well with any witchy outfits I might put together this winter. I initially thought black would be the best option, but I am now leaning more towards (warm) grey instead as I think it would be more versatile (i.e. cover a wider range of aesthetics more easily than black).

Full velvet skirt

I think a full skirt in a dark jewel tone velvet offers intriguing possibilities for the Historian and Bohemian avatars. For what I have in mind, it would almost certainly have to be a vintage number. It’s a silhouette I have in a few flavours already but in summer fabrics (cotton and silk) so what I want is a winter version. I’m pretty flexible, though, so I’m putting out this idea into the universe and seeing what is manifested.

What’s on your shopping list this fall?

Details: Alfred Sung blouse, Ralph Lauren skirt, Rebecca Minkoff belt

Thoughts: Guys, I am obsessed with this vintage Alfred Sung blouse! No, but for real. It’s so good! Look at that mixed floral/plaid pattern. Look at those rich jewel tone colours. And it’s silk! Of course, my reflex was to pair it with my favourite plaid skirt and, of course, it looked great. I’ve been saving this blouse all summer and patiently waiting for fall because the colour palette feels so autumnal to me. I managed to get to the end of August until my patience ran out. Can you blame me though?

Details: Eddie Bauer sweater, Banana Republic Factory jeans, J. Crew shoes, Coach bag

Thoughts: Another one of my favourite things at the moment is this nautical sweater. I keep telling people not to sleep on vintage Eddie Bauer, sweaters especially. I love the cotton ones because they’re great for transitional weather; you can wear them when it’s 15-18 degrees (Celsius) and they’re the right weight — warm but not too warm. And Eddie Bauer had some great patterns/designs, like this one. I decided to stick with the classic colour palette, and added jeans and a matching bag. I got quite a few compliments on this outfit, even though it’s incredibly basic.

Details: ElevenParis tee, YSL skirt, Blank NYC jacket, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, Ash sneakers

Thoughts: I was amused by this image — Saint Kate? LOL! — and for $5, I decided to indulge myself even though I don’t buy graphic tees a lot anymore. For this outfit, I played up a vaguely grungy vibe with a plaid skirt and leather jacket.

Details: Ardene tee, Wilfred dress, Ralph Lauren shirt, Pelican Cove vest, Fluevog shoes

Thoughts: I guess I am now fully committed to a 90s revival. Finding this silk satin slip dress sealed the deal. [Unintentional tongue twister, sorry!] The next logical step was to get a white baby tee and … voila! I’ve joked before that my 90s obsession is a way of healing my adolescent fashion trauma; my family was poor when I was a teenager, and I could not afford to wear all the cool things back then. Now, I can buy to my heart’s content, the second time around. But there is another dimension to this: body image trauma. I was deeply insecure about my body growing up; my relationship with my body was so deeply toxic that it ended up in body dysmorphia and an eating disorder. There were certain things — like cropped tees and slip dresses — that I could never have worn back then, even if I could afford them. It has taken decades of self-work and healing, but I am now at a point where I feel comfortable enough in my own body to wear anything I like. It is ironic, I suppose, that this inner freedom came at a time when, by society’s standards, my body is past its “peak” of physical beauty or whatever. But, at the same time, I see it as a hopeful thing. It’s never too late to reclaim your own power.

Details: Wilfred top, vintage skirt, J. Crew shoes

Thoughts: Rainbow brite aesthetic fully engaged! For me, colour is like a shot of adrenaline straight into the happiness-receptor of the heart. Listen, I just made that up and there is a reason I never attempted med school. What I’m saying is, colour is an instant mood-lifter and some days we need all the help we can get and it’s perfectly okay.

Details: AllSaints blouse, Roksanda skirt, Rebecca Minkoff belt, Manolo Blahnik shoes

Thoughts: This is such a great skirt and I’m still chuffed to have found it. The thrift gods still smile upon me from time to time. Well, I’m not complaining. This entire outfit is thrifted and while it’s taken me years to assemble it (the shoes are the oldest, from 2014), it’s been worth the wait. And the journey was fun. Thrifting is always fun. Having a wardrobe that 20-year-old me couldn’t have even fathomed? Priceless.

Details: Wilfred top, Toni T dickie, Gap pants, Manolo Blahnik shoes

Thoughts: More of my black-and-white pattern extravaganza nonsense. At this point, I just enjoy pulling out b&w pieces from my closet and throwing them together in ever-wilder combinations. Like, I think I need to keep a separate corner reserved just for this. I don’t pull these outfits out often, but at least once a month, one has to happen. They’re very much the opposite of my rainbow outfits, but equally fun.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Mexx vest, Ines de la Fressange x Uniqlo pants, J. Crew shoes

Thoughts: It can’t be an outfit round-up without at least one Ralph Lauren-inspired fit, right? Well, here you are. Fin!

September is a melancholy time of year in many ways … but it’s also the most exciting time of year and I can sum that up for you in 2 words: Fall Fashion. Fall is my favourite sartorial season – that all-too-brief period of time when I can wear all my favourite clothes. Sweaters! Wool jackets and skirts! Coats! All the coats! I love planning my fall fashion “strategy”. As it’s been a while since I’ve done one, I thought it was also a good time to do an avatar review/update. Let’s dig in!

As a quick back-of-the-napkin summary, my avatars are characters that embody the different vibes/ flavours/moods of my personal style. They are the High Priestess/Crone (previously the Prince), the Artist, the Historian (previously the Adventurer), and the Bohemian. You can read my thoughts on the last iteration of my avatars here. Over the years, the influence of each avatar on my actual outfits has waxed and waned. For example, 2018 had big Prince energy: edgy, architectural, dark clothing was my comfort zone. 2020, in contrast, was very Bohemian: colourful, zany, unconventional. In the last few years, I’ve been alternating mostly between the Historian and the Bohemian, with subtle shifts and changes in the flavour of each avatar from season to season.

Taking stock of my sartorial landscape this fall, I think it’s safe to say that the Historian and the Bohemian will remain my primary avatars. I also feel like there is another player coming into the mix. Initially, I wondered whether it was a wholly new avatar, but I’ve decided that it’s simply an evolution of the Artist in a slightly new direction. In the past, the Artist was a character very much under the sign of the moon; a dramatic but soft feminine energy, fluid and elegant. Now, I feel like it has acquired an edge – call it grunge elegance. If it was Mucha before, it’s Basquiat now.

Now let’s put all this into visual terms of reference.

The Historian avatar remains a Luxe Academia crossed with English Manor Chic vibe. I still very much identify this avatar with Diana Bishop from A Discovery of Witches who is a university professor, a witch, AND the wife of a super-rich Anglo-French vampire who looks like Matthew Goode. In other words, my dream life, hahahaha! For fall 2023, here is my Historian style inspo:

The Bohemian avatar has lately had a distinctive Jo-March-meets-Ralph Lauren-on-a-prairie. I’m taking that into fall mode with darker, rich colours and an Edwardian flair:

As for the Artist, I am feeling very inspired by 90s grunge – plaid is a fall staple for me anyway. But this is a dramatic, glam sort of grunge and not too masculine.

I haven’t talked a lot about the High Priestess/Crone avatar, and that’s because this one remains a little bit in the wings, so to speak. It’s not an energy I feel strongly at the moment, so I am content to keep it in reserve for the time being. It might be something that will resurface again in the winter, which is very much a time of regeneration and rebirth when the wise mother aspect of the High Priestess/Crone makes itself felt.

Having taken stock of my inspiration, the next step in my fall fashion planning is to think about what pieces I already have and what pieces I would like to add to my closet, and compile a “thrift hit list” for the season. Stay tuned next week for that!