Details: Ralph Lauren sweater & skirt, Babaton turtleneck, Pedro Mirailles shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Guys. Guyssssss. GUYS! I found this vintage handknit RL sweater just randomly on a random rack on a random day at my random local thrift store. My hand shook as I pulled it off the rack, no word of a lie. A real “fell to my knees in a Walmart” moment, ok? I’ve been looking for one of these ‘novelty’ RL sweaters for yeeeeaaaars — unsuccessfully until now — so I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. Sweaters like this are very popular among RL fans, so their resale value is in the hundreds of dollars. I paid $8. Yes, you read that right. Anyway, I wore it, it’s amazing, the end. Byeeee!

Details: Ralph Lauren turtleneck & vest, Nine West jacket, H&M pants, Nocona belt, Ricki’s bag

Thoughts: Ok, not goodbye quite yet. Another day, another RL-inspired fit. The original inspo is better suited to spring/summer, so I had to improvise here a bit, but I think I managed to pull … something … off. These H&M jeans were a recent thrift impulse buy; I got them because I like this cut and wash, but mostly because the fringe detail appealed to me. It gave me some southwest/cowboy vibes somehow, so I think I’d get them and see how they’d style up with my prairie pieces this summer. Strangely enough, my daughter loathes them. It’s reassuring to know that we still have some things not in common, haha!

Details: Twik sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Zara shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: At the risk of sounding (and looking) for a broken record … here we go again. I hadn’t worn my fave RL skirt in a while, so it was time. I also realized that this sweater matches the green colour from the skirt pattern perfectly, so voila: matchy matchy option unlocked. Piled on the silver accessories and called it an outfit.

Details: Ricki’s turtleneck & skirt & bag; H&M cardigan, Levi’s jacket, Frye belt, Laredo boots (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I’m seeing a lot of white maxi skirts on trend lists at the moment, and I couldn’t be happier because I love mine. I’m quite drawn to the way I’ve seen white skirts like this styled with black, so I’ve been trying out a few combinations. Still difficult to do, what with it being the eleventy month of winter, but I gave it my best shot. This Levi’s jacket has been coming in clutch all season, because it’s loose enough to accommodate quite a few layers, plus decently warm itself.

Details: Bozzolo top (retail), Tommy Hilfiger dress, H&M cardigan, Dr. Martens shoes (all secondhand)

Thoughts: As soon as I saw this vintage Tommy dress at the thrift store, I knew I had to get it. It unlocks some core memories, that’s for sure. This whole outfit, in fact, is an ode to my 16-year old self, who couldn’t dream of wearing clothes this cute. I mean, just peep those Docs; teenage Adina would have died and ascended to Cool Girl Heaven. Better late than never I guess 😉

Details: Ricki’s turtleneck, Tabi vest, Social Tourist jeans (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Listen, I paid waaaaay too much for these jeans, but I just couldn’t resist. I’m pretty sure they’ll probably end up in my daughter’s closet any day now, but I had to give them a wear or two first. They’re just so cute! I try not to do too much twee/whimsical stuff these days (unless it’s whimsigoth) because it doesn’t speak to the Me of Now, but sometimes my heart still pulls in that direction. Or, in this case, hearts.

Doc Martens Mary Janes

Friends, I have a feeling these shoes are about to become my entire personality. You have been warned. You may remember that I was looking for a pair of mary janes shoes for more than a year, and I’m glad that I didn’t find one before I discovered these Docs because They. Are. Perfect. Everyone knows I love a chunky shoe, and the 90s vibes of this style dovetails beautifully with my current aesthetic direction. It’s gonna be a Docs Girl Summer for me … a Docs Girl Spring in the meantime. I’ll even let you in on a little secret: I may or may not have bought a pair of 14-eye lace-up Docs from Poshmark. For extra stomp and 90s goth princess cred 😉

Opaque Tights

I’ve been getting back into mini skirts pretty hard-core lately; which is to say, wearing them regularly for pretty much the first time in my life. Because of the whole long torso/short legs situation, mini skirts are tricky for me, proportions-wise. This issue is compounded by the fact that my legs are Casper the Ghost-levels of pale; exposed to sunlight, they are practically blinding and, as such, too much of a visual distraction.

Enter opaque tights. Having a darker colour on my legs gives something of a lengthening effect, I find, and also an opportunity to play around with the outfit palette. They’re also practical this time of year, which is not an insignificant consideration. I’ve drastically expanded my colour selection in tights, and I am now able to accessorize quite creatively, without always having to resort to black tights. Nothing wrong with those, but sometimes the outfit calls for something else. And I’m pretty sure I’ll have just the thing.

Puffy Heart Necklace

This is a deep cut, but hear me out. In the last little while, this darn thing has become one of my most-worn accessories and I feel that deserves a shoutout. It’s minimalist but a statement at the same time. It takes me back to my teenage years, and we all know how I feel about that. It can do the whimsical thing, and it can do the goth thing. Not bad for a $5 thrift store find.

I should mention that I got a similar heart necklace (on a longer chain) in gold-tone – also from the thrift store – but find myself wearing this one more often. Some of that has to do with the fact that I tend to favour silver over gold (though I wear both regularly), and some has to do with the length of the necklace. I prefer this shorter length and find it more versatile.

Baseball Hats

I’ve never been a huge “hat person” – mostly because I have a huge head that’s difficult to accommodate. And I never wore a baseball hat, specifically, until last year. My husband and kids love them, but it wasn’t until I noticed that I kept mentally “pinning” outfits from IG that featured a Yankees hat that I decided it was time to give them a try. I actually don’t care and know nothing about baseball, the sport. I’ve thrifted several baseball hats recently, chosen purely on aesthetic grounds. I love the “NY” logo the most, but I’m also fond of the “LA” and “SD” ones I have (along with a couple of Ralph Lauren ones, and I don’t think I need to explain why I got those). Don’t ask me what teams those are, because I have no idea; I assume they play out of Los Angeles and San Diego, but if I’m wrong, no need to correct me. No, really! Absolutely no need at all.

[I only know the Yankees because it’s an easy name to remember and it starts with Y, which is part of the logo itself. And half the time, I forget it anyway.]

Anyway, it turns out that baseball hats are relatively easy to fit on a big noggin, and look great with ponytails; this being my go-to hairstyle for ‘low effort’ days and/or ‘need to wash my hair but I’m too lazy’ days, I think you can begin to appreciate why baseball hats are a great accessory for me. Also, they are a nice, subtle way to reinforce the colour palette of an outfit.

Details: Toni T dickie, Twik sweater, Jones NY jacket, Babaton skirt, BR belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: My current colour green obsession, turned up to the max. The odds of finding such perfectly matched shades, in two different textures, are so small and made this feel like outfit kismet. I simply had to pair this sweater and this jacket. Kept the rest of the outfit simple, but I feel like the small pop of that white collar was key; had I simply stuck to black and green, I don’t think the colours would have popped as much, or looked as sharp.

Details: Toni T dickie, Love Moschino dres, H&M cardigan, BR belt (all thrifted), Doc Martens shoes (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I finally got the Mary Jane shoes of my dreams and I’m about to make them my entire personality. You have been warned. I love, love, LOVE these Docs so much! I have a bazillion outfit ideas for them, most of them involving some degree of nostalgia. I never had Docs in the 90s (they would have been waaaay out of my budget) so this is my chance to be the cool teenager I never got to be the first time around. Am I too old to go there again? I don’t care and, fwiw, I don’t think we are ever too old for the things that bring us joy.

Details: Wilfred bodysuit, Ports jacket, Ricki’s pants, Fossil belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Had to go to the office again recently and decided to switch things up a bit; instead of a minimalist outfit built around black, I wore one built around brown. These Ricki’s pants are really hitting the spot for me, and I’m glad I picked them up. The Ports jacket is an Old Faithful that never lets me down. Not as sure about this Wilfred bodysuit; the style is cool, but the snaps are weird and not very easy to use, which is a surefire way for bodysuit to end up annoying me. Might end up chalking up this thrift find as a bust 🙁

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Lewit sweater, vintage blazer, Wilfred skirt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: Pink and blue is not a combination I wear very often but the print of this skirt inspired me to give it a try. And that ended up having a bit of a domino effect …

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Smash & Tess bodysuit, Uniqlo sweater, CK jeans, Brown’s shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: … because here I am, wearing the same pink shirt again, this time with my fave blue sweater. I saw someone on IG wear a sweater over a layered shirt/tee combo like this, and I liked the laidback vibe a lot. Definitely something I’ll try again with other combinations.

Details: Ricki’s turtleneck, Gap shirt, Ralph Lauren jacket, Tabi skirt, Esprit belt, Laredo shoes, Coach bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I loved wearing this jacket last week so much, I had to wear it again. And used its colour palette to pull together the rest of the pieces for this outfit. I like layering turtlenecks under heavier weight shirts like this — very Ralph Lauren-coded paired with jeans and a big buckle belt. I am so excited for spring, when I can switch up my layering game with lighter clothing.

Details: Ralph Lauren turtleneck, A&F cardigan, Levi’s jacket, Ralph Lauren skirt, Coach bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: Another layered moment, this time using the turtleneck + cardigan + jacket formula. Went matchy matchy with the colour choices, but when it comes to this skirt, I never seem to be able to resist that impulse.