Two weeks ago, I flew to Montreal for a 5-day visit to see my best friend, who moved there in 2021. It was almost exactly 3 years since the last time I was on a plane back in March 2020, though that feels like a lifetime ago. I was thrilled to be seeing my bestie – the last time I saw her was a year ago when she came back to Edmonton for a visit – and excited to be in Montreal again, but I also felt plenty of anxiety. I was never a frequent flyer even in pre-pandemic times, but it’s safe to say that I’ve lost my “muscle memory” for plane travel in the intervening three years. Thinking about going to and through the airport, getting on a plane, and repeating the process all over again made me feel a little nauseous.

To make my life easier, I decided to do something I’d never done before: take only a carry-on. This might seem like no big deal for some of you, but I have never travelled by plane without checked luggage. If it takes a plane to get there, I need a suitcase of clothes to come along with me. While I’ve gotten better over the years about not over-packing, I still need the security blanket of extra clothing options, “just in case”. Well, not this time. This time, I had to prepare a bare-bones packing list – a new challenge for me, especially considering how out of practice I’d gotten.

I started by breaking down my needs. I had 2 travel days and 3 city days to cover. To help pack light, I decided I would wear the same outfit on the plane both ways, and that I would only bring one pair of shoes to wear the entire time. Because I knew I would be doing a lot of walking (and it would still be fairly cold), the shoes would be a pair of flat-heeled, black boots that could be worn with both pants and skirts/dresses. That left me with at least 3 outfits to figure out.

While my bestie and I didn’t have plans to do anything super fancy during my visit, I was still going to be in Montreal; I wanted to look nice, but also needed my outfits to be comfortable since I would be wearing them all day to a variety of activities (mostly museum hopping, dining out, and shopping).

I started with the bottoms. One was going to be a pair of jeans; easy to dress up and down, comfortable enough for the plane, hard-wearing. The choice of jeans was a no-brainer: my kick flare Tommy Hilfiger pair. The pant leg is wide enough to accommodate the (knee high) boots I planned to wear, and the cropped length meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting them wet if there was snow on the ground.

Technically, I probably could have brought only the jeans and a bunch of tops, but I wanted some variety so I decided to bring a second option: a skirt. Picking which skirt to bring seemed daunting at first – I have a lot of skirts! – but in the end it was actually pretty easy. I knew I wanted a long skirt and something that wasn’t too “precious” (i.e. I could wear on snowy/muddy streets without worrying about it). I ended up choosing my Cleo plaid wrap skirt. It’s black but has a nice pattern – not too loud, not too subtle – to make it more interesting. It’s a lightweight wool blend material, which is easy to wash; plus, I paid $5 for it, so even in the worst-case scenario — total destruction — it’s not a huge loss.

By the time I got to tops, my decisions were already much easier, since the bottoms I had selected helped to narrow down my options. Well, the skirt did, anyway. I picked tops based on what would work with the skirt, since I knew they would always work with the jeans too. I ended up choosing 2 sweaters, 1 cardigan, and a button-down shirt. This might seem like a lot, but I had to consider layering options – I would be outside a fair bit, and my winter coat isn’t super heavy. For that reason, I also added a thin (cotton) turtleneck; this functions as a base layer in the winter and I don’t count it as “real clothes”.

Lastly, I added the “functional” items: a sweatshirt (for the plane, and for lounging at my friend’s house), a pair of leggings and a long sleeve t-shirt (also for lounging), plus of course PJs, socks and underwear, hat, scarf and mitts.

With this packing list, I was able to create 6 easy outfits (double what was strictly necessary, as insurance):

I ended up wearing 4 of these outfits and was pretty happy with them all:

Details: Jeanne Pierre sweater, Zara skirt, Marquis sandals (all thrifted), MaxMara necklace (retail)

Thoughts: Swamp witch is back!! I thrifted this vintage sweater and Zara skirt on the same thrift trip, and I knew they were meant to be worn together. I see lots of possibilities in each piece separately — the skirt is intriguing in its shape and texture — but they are so wonderful together. The sweater was made in Ireland which seems appropriate given its brilliant green colour. I wasn’t sure at first how to “finish” this outfit. None of the shoes I tried worked. Then I remembered that I had this pair of bright green tights; I had bought them online, hoping for a darker emerald shade, and never found an occasion to wear them because they are so bright. Well, it’s just right for this outfit. I finally attempted the tights-with-sandals combo, which has felt intimidating for me in the past — too “fashion it girl” for me. Wearing this around the house felt like a safe way to test the waters.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Tahari shirt, Ralph Lauren jacket, Issey Miyake skirt, Chico’s belt, Fluevog shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Back to my comfort zone! I recently thrifted this black & white jacket, adding it to my collection of softly structured, southwestern print RL-brand jackets. Some are LAUREN Ralph Lauren, some are Denim & Supply, this one is Chaps — it’s a popular style for the brand. I like them a lot because they are comfier to wear than regular blazers, and are also pretty versatile.

Details: Oak & Fort top, Oscar de la Renta vest, Nocona belt, Fluevog shoes (all thrifted), Topshop skirt (swap)

Thoughts: I’ve been slowly getting into brown over the past year, and I’m not mad about it. Bad gets a bad rep, but it has way more potential than, say, beige, IMO. First of all, there are many shades, to suit many complexions and wardrobe colour palettes. Second, brown is a fantastic (way underrated) complement to many other colours. And, honestly, it’s not bad on its own too. I think this outfit is proof of that. And, yes, you can def wear brown and black together. Let’s also take a moment to appreciate this awesome vest-cardigan — it’s vintage Oscar de la Renta and it’s 100% amazing cashmere.

Details: Jeanne Pierre sweater (thrifted), Paul Smith pants (Poshmark), J. Crew shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: Same sweater, different outfit. I had to bring out these pants again, it’s been too long and they are too awesome. I love blue/green pairings. Since the colours of the pattern on the pants are pretty muted, I decided to add a brighter pop of blue with the shoes. Simple but effective.

Details: H&M dress, no name cardigan, Marquis shoes, Rafael Alfandary necklace (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Just a fun, loose, knock-about-the-house outfit. I did try out another tights-and-sandals combo. The more I get my eyes used to this formula, the more comfortable I’ll get with it; and maybe, when it warms up outside, I’ll give it a real whirl. I’ve worn the cream version of this dress with this cardigan before, but I wanted to try the black this time. One, because I like brown and black together; and two, because I thought the polka dot pattern would pop with the patchwork of patterns on the cardigan.

It’s been a while since I updated my “thrift hit list”, aka the list of things that I am actively looking to add to my closet. As you know, thrifting is not an exact science; you can’t predict what you’re going to find, so you have to be flexible – sometimes what finds you is what you’ll only later realize you need, or what you never knew you needed but now badly want. That being said, I do like to have a ‘loose’ list in mind when I thrift, if only to possibly better my odds of finding those specific items. I’m agnostic when it comes to the idea of manifesting: it probably doesn’t work, but it can’t hurt to try.

I also keep this list in mind when I’m scrolling Poshmark, because sometimes fate thrifting needs a helping hand, you know?

Here’s what’s on my thrift hit list for spring 2023:

Granny boots

I’ve been wanting a pair of these for a while. I have a pretty clear image in my mind of what I’m looking for: either black or brown, low heel, just above ankle height, laced up. A little bit Baba Yaga, a little bit Edwardian school marm. These would work really well with my various prairie / romantic / southwestern / witchy lewks.

Colourful tights (and socks)

Full disclosure: I’m not against buying tights and socks secondhand (they’re easy enough to wash) as long as they’re in good condition, but this is more of a Poshmark or even Amazon hunt, because I never see interesting ones at the thrifts. Colourful opaque tights are unicorns. I have built up a decent collection over the years, but I would love to add more colours and especially patterns – plaid, tartan,  argyle, or anything graphic would be amazing.

Palazzo jeans

Yep, still on the hunt for these jeans. I did recently thrift a pair of Gap wide leg jeans that is a decent placeholder in this category, but it isn’t 100% what I want so I am on the lookout for an upgrade. I think the style is becoming more popular, so hopefully there will be more secondhand options available soon.

Sunglasses

My current pairs of sunglasses are pretty scratched up and need replacing. I only ever buy cheap sunglasses because I’m rough on them. I usually buy them at Winners, but I’ve started looking at the thrifts too. I’m super picky about the shape, though, so this will take a while. I don’t have a specific shape in mind, per se: I’ll just know it when I see it (and try it on).

Pendleton blanket coat

This is a Holy Grail type of item – rarer than hen’s teeth. There are some options on Poshmark but they are $$$. A dream version would be anything from Lindsey Thornburg, but considering those cost thousands of dollars, it probably won’t be happening. I’ll be very happy with a regular Pendleton version, either current or vintage.

Club Monaco crest sweatshirt

These have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, which means (a) they’re picked clean at the thrifts, and (b) prices on Poshmark are ridiculous. Of course, I want one of the vintages one, not the current version that CM sells now. I wish I had bought one years ago, when finding them at the thrifts was easier. But I am determined to succeed! I refuse to pay $120+ for an old sweatshirt.

Ralph Lauren knits and vintage pieces

This is pretty self-explanatory. I love all things RL, especially vintage, so I am picking up nice pieces wherever I can find them since secondhand prices have been steadily ticking up in the last few years. I would love a teddy bear sweater or any other similar “novelty” sweaters (they’ve done a bunch of fun ones over the years). Also any wool blazers, vests (of course), and wool or silk (midi or maxi) skirts.  

Patterned co-ord set

I’ve been influenced by @mystyleismybrand on IG, who often wears the most beautiful coordinating pant suits (and skirt suits) in the most fun patterns. I’m not sure if it’s something *I* would also wear a lot, so I am not ready to put a lot of money into it, but I would love to try it. A patterned velvet pant suit, or a patchwork tweed one, would be my top choices.

Paco Rabanne-inspired silver disc skirt

This is a hyper specific item and one that would be a “fashion not function” piece. It’s basically a chainmail-like skirt made up of large silver discs (much much larger than regular sequins or paillettes). Anthropologie recently had a skirt that answered to this description, but it was $200+ which is too steep for my budget for impractical items. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find it secondhand at some point, or perhaps even find a vintage version. The chances of it being Paco Rabanne (the original designer) are slim to none, but a girl can dream.

What’s on your shopping list this spring?