Details: H&M top (Poshmark), Second Female sweater (thrifted), Isabel Marant belt (thrifted), COS pants (thrifted), Ash sneakers (thrifted)

Thoughts: I am loving crop tops right now. I think it’s because I’m very into high waisted bottoms (skirts and paperbag waist pants, especially) which are a perfect pairing for crops. What I most like about this combination, I think, is that it allows me to play with proportions and invert my long-torso/short-legs body shape. I enjoy looking leggier than I am, haha.

Details: Zara tee (Poshmark), Liz Claiborne dress (thrift), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrift)

Thoughts: I wore this to take my kids to the fairground (one of those mall parking lot affairs) and it seemed “on them”, so to speak. This remains my favourite dress, and I enjoy wearing it as a skirt too — especially since it allows me to wear a regular bra (something that would be difficult otherwise given the spaghetti strap situation of the dress). Plus, it’s extra versatile!

Details: Pink Tartan dress (thrifted), Gap shirt (thrifted), Stuart Weitzman shoes (thrifted), brutalist brooch (thrifted)

Thoughts: I wanted to switch things up a bit with this dress, so I decided to try layering it. It worked pretty well; I do like the extra drama which the sleeves bring here.

Details: Oak & Fort blouse (Poshmark), Twik skirt (thrift), vintage silver buckle belt (Poshmark), Barbara Barbieri shoes (thrift)

Thoughts: I am obsessed with this belt I found on Poshmark — it’s just stunning. I’m super into turquoise stones at the moment, plus the vibe really suits my summer 2022 aesthetic. I think I may be leaning towards a southwestern vibe more than I originally anticipated. White and aqua are the perfect summer combo for me – they feel so fresh andbreezy.

Details: Wilfred dress (thrift), Obakki jacket (swap), Zara crop top (thrift), Napoleoni shoes (thrift), Anna Paola bag (consignment), Rafael Alfandary necklace (ebay)

Thoughts: I put this dress back into rotation for the summer, because the style is very suitable to my current Jo March-inspired aesthetic (especially as a layering dress) and the colour is a good neutral. I do wish it was slightly longer. Funnily enough, I had been using it in the past couple of years as the backdrop for all my jewelry photos; I didn’t think I would be wearing it as a dress again, but here we are. I’m definitely glad I kept it. Ditto for this crop top that’s a bit too cropped for regular wear — it makes for an interesting (layering) boob halter 🙂

Details: Wilfred top, Talbots skirt, Debew poncho (all thrifted); Manolo Blahnik shoes (ebay)

Thoughts: I love love love this skirt, and had to give it at least one try before putting it away till fall. It has such a 90s silhoutte and pattern, which is perfect for my fall 2022 plans (mostly, a continuation of my spring style, heavily influenced by vintage Ralph Lauren). Spoiler alert: I also think it will be a perfect match for the floral Talbots sweater I got not too long before. This Wilfred top on the other hand? Chalk it up as a loss; it’s too scratchy for me, so I will be passing it on.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt (Poshmark), Cartonnier pants (thrift), selfmade necklace, Chie Mihara shoes (thrift)

Thoughts: I adore the patchwork pattern of this RL shirt, but I have to confess that I am struggling a bit with styling it. I think the sleeves are part of what’s throwing me off; I will roll them up a bit next time. And try again, of course. Still, I did not hate this outfit; in fact, I was quite pleased with how the stripe (pants) on stripe (shirt) action turned out.

The last time I wrote about Jo March, Style Icon, was January 2020, shortly after the release of Little Women. In so many ways, a simpler time. It marked the beginning of my love of vests and waistcoats, which endures. But as I was looking around for inspiration for my summer 2022 style adventures — and having a hard time visualizing my ideas — guess who popped back into mind?

Jo March.

Okay, so a lot of the outfits she wears in the most recent movie are more fall/winter than summer, but bear with me. My spring looks have been heavily leaning into the Historian avatar (inspired by my obsession with all things Ralph Lauren), but for summer, I feel like I need to pull more towards the Bohemian again. For the past 2 years, my Bohemian avatar has been centered around colour and pattern (key word: eclectic maximalism), both things I still enjoy, but I want to make a bit of shift now towards something softer and more romantic. Some of Ralph Lauren’s prairie/boho pieces fall in line with this aesthetic which I continue to struggle to articulate — I’ve seen the term “high country” used in a few places, but I’m not sure if it’s well defined enough. I’ve never been a fan of Wuthering Heights but when I say “romantic” in this context, that’s what I mean: gothic romance that’s all about wild, wind-swept places not dark forests and creepy castles. Think billowy nap dresses not sharply tailored black.

Now, you might say: what does Jo March have to do with it? And I’m sorry, but my brain works in mysterious ways. The heroine I see in my mind’s eye populating my prairie gothic romance would dress a lot like Jo March. Long skirts (or dresses), flowy robes, cropped jackets, waistcoats, Edwardian style blouses, roughhewn fabrics (heavy cotton, linen) mixed with soft ones (velvet, silk), patchwork, a little bit shabby chic, not too buttoned-up.

In general, I feel like I find my footing once I have a clear “character” in mind for my avatar. For the Historian, that character has been Diana Bishop in recent years. I have a very clear idea of what Diana would wear (in my opinion) and that’s helpful to me in visualizing and choosing my own outfits (when I want to tap into that avatar’s style). And, maybe, Jo March will become that character for my Bohemian avatar this summer.

There are definitely some common elements between my spring and summer style, but the latter takes those elements and loosens them up a bit – quite literally, I need looser/airier layers for summer. Less blazers, more robe-like duster coats. Less wool, more linen. You get the idea … hopefully.

Here are a few inspo photos I’ve been saving up:

As I mentioned, I think a lot of my current clothes will work nicely with this new direction, and I have a fairly short list of items I will be looking to add (secondhand, of course) to my closet to complement them. This includes: a white cotton prairie-style maxi skirt or possibly dress (airy but not see-through), a patterned silk waistcoat, a floaty robe-style long duster or two (could be dresses, as long as they’re the kind that button all the way down so they can be worn open), and some boho-style wide belts. I’ve starting keeping a written list of things I’m hoping to thrift — both for summer but also, looking ahead, for fall — in the hopes of manifesting my luck or, at least, keeping myself focused on these things (and ignoring other cute stuff that might distract me, always a danger with thrifting).

Details: Ace & Jig top (thrifted), Heritage House skirt (thrifted), Tabitha jacket (thrifted), Napoleoni shoes (thrifted), Stella & Max bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: The idea behind this outfit was simple: throw all the rainbow coloured things together and see what comes out. The result was a winner for me.

Details: Primavera dress (thrifted), Wilfred sweater (thrifted), Noul coat (thrifted), Tommy Hilfiger bag (thrifted), Napoleoni shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: This dress is such a 90s throwback in my eyes; it came with those little waist ties to tie around the back, which I promptly cut off. What I love most about it, apart from the silhouette, is the pattern — it reminds me of peonies. This was a simple outfit, but one which gave me strong “comfortable in my own skin” vibes. It’s probably utterly unmemorable for others, but a special one for me for that reason.

Details: Denim & Supply dress (Poshmark), Rafael Alfandary necklace (ebay), Club Monaco turtleneck (retail)

Thoughts: You can probably easily imagine the reasons why I got this dress. Mixed plaids, yes. Maxi length, yes. Bit of a prairie vibe, yes. And it does live up to my expectations except for one thing. The bust fits very very poorly. If I tighten the straps to make it fit, size-wise, then the cups sit way above my actual boobs. If I loosen the straps so that the cups sit roughly in line with my boobs, there is a lot of gaping. Sigh. So I will need to come up with innovative solutions to disguise this problem because I really do like the dress. First up: wearing a thin turtleneck underneath.

Details: J. Crew shirt (thrifted), Vince top (thrifted), Isabel Marant belt (thrifted), H&M pants (thrifted), Mackage jacket (thrifted), Ash sneakers (thrifted).

Thoughts: I am very pleased with how this outfit turned out; it’s low key, but feels very me. I have a stroke of inspiration to use the Vince knit tank top as a vest, and it worked out very well. The very baggy paperbag waist pants can accommodate a couple of layers tucked in, which is nice. The studded belt complements the studded sneakers, and it’s a nice touch of matchiness that I appreciate.

Details: J. Crew shirt (thrifted), vintage velvet vest (thrifted), On the Verge skirt (thrifted), Zara shoes (consignment), Obakki jacket (swap)

Thoughts: Just an experiment in making a short skirt work for me. I like how the outfit looked, though it didn’t feel very “me”.

Details: Rebel Sugar turtleneck (gift), Elizabeth & James vest (thrifted), Saint Laurent skirt (thrifted), St. John top (thrifted).

Thoughts: I kinda missed the season for wearing this wool skirt (one of my all time faves) but I managed to get in at least one outfit. And it was a good one — I liked the way the trompe l’oeil chains pair up with the plaid, it’s giving me McQueen vibes which is always a bonus.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt (thrifted), Made by PJ coat (thrifted), Ines de la Fressange pants (thrifted), Emanuel belt (thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: This outfit was the result of a random pairing — I thought the colours of the shirt and jacket would work well together, so I tried them, and they did. I built the rest of the outfit around it. The pants have some burgundy in them, so I thought they would be a good match. The result has a certain Jo March-on-the-prairie feel to it, which I am very much into (more on that next week).