While my style has remained relatively consistent in recent years, subtle shifts are still happening all the time. That is the nature of any creative pursuit; it is not a sealed vacuum where everything remains perfectly static. Small changes can create a domino effect as well. Recently, I’ve found myself reaching for different jewelry pieces than in the past; more minimalist and classic necklaces and earrings, in particular. Think pearls, diamond tennis bracelets, simple studs and gold hoop earrings, and so on. (Along with watches, obvi.) It was not a conscious decision, and it didn’t immediately dawn on me that this was even happening, but once I noticed the trend, I also realized that it had a direct correlation to the shift in my personal style that led me to incorporate 90s minimalist and classic preppy influences into my outfits.

Naturally, the first thing to do was go through my jewelry collection and start pulling out older pieces that fit my new ‘mood-board’, most of which I hadn’t worn since the early 2010s — the last time I was into delicate, minimalist jewelry. I am very happy that Old Adina bought a few Tiffany pieces back in the day when their silver jewelry cost half what it does now; the designs are simple and pretty timeless, and while I was previously saving them for my daughter, I think I’ll be keeping (and wearing them) myself for a little while longer. Ditto for some other semi-fine pieces, like silver ball stud earrings, that I bought back in the days when I was trying to curate a collection of classic staples. I still subscribe to the concept that ‘nothing is truly timeless’, but maybe jewelry is the closest thing to an exception. I also began to look at the thrifts for a few items with which to update my jewelry collection. I bought a couple of choker-length pearl necklaces, and a pair of chunky gold huggie earrings. As it often happens, as soon as I started looking for minimalist stuff, it seemed as though all I could find was the opposite. I’m sure, with time, I’ll have more luck — such being the nature of thrifting.

Strangely enough, thrifting did end up contributing to my current jewelry line-up in a rather roundabout way. Having been sucked down the rabbit hole of thrift haul reels on Instagram, I ended up watching a bunch of videos of people unpacking jewelry mystery bags. Basically, these are large containers full of assorted jewelry that either didn’t sell as individual pieces on the thrift store floor (or showcase) or were never properly sorted and merchandised in the first place. I imagine that thrift stores get such large quantities of small accessories that they sometimes don’t bother to individual sort, price, and stock everything in the store. These mystery bags/jars/containers are usually transparent but sealed up; you can sort of see what’s inside but not really, and you can’t pick through them before you buy. I haven’t bought one of these myself in the past because I always assumed they’d be largely full of junk, and they’re not cheap — most start at $30 and go up from there — but some people are finding decent stuff, along with the junk.

Anyway, after watching these videos, two things happened. One, I started to consider buying one from my local thrift store. (Of course I did, I love mystery bags. My inner child delights in surprises, even as the adult hates the idea of wasting money and cluttering my house with junk.) I haven’t yet, but never say never. Two, I remembered that, years ago, I put aside a bunch of jewelry that I thrifted (or was given by people) for the purpose of upcycling. Remember when I used to make upcycled jewelry? It’s been a hot minute. Well, I went down into the basement to dig up my craft boxes and see what I had forgotten I had. And the first thing I found was … wait for it … a plastic bag full of miscellaneous jewelry.

Now, this wasn’t the typical stuff I was using before for upcycling. This was stuff that I got as part of larger lots, which was too nice to upcycle but didn’t suit my style at the time. And, boy, am I glad that I had the foresight to put it aside and save it — rather than donate or swap — because I found some pieces that are totally up my (current) alley.

This is practically identical to one of the necklaces I thrifted recently, except that the clasp is gold not silver. If I had found it first, I would have saved myself the extra $6, but it is what it is. It’s not a bad thing to have a back-up, and the pearls are actually slightly different colours also.

A slightly different take on pearls; less classic, but I like the dainty details.

This long necklace of faux baroque pearls and marcasite has no markings or stamps, but it has a nice weight to it and feels like good quality. Hard to tell if it’s vintage, but it’s definitely above your run-of-the-mill fast fashion.

I love the vintage vibe of this necklace. The beads are plastic/resin but from a distance they could pass for stones. In my book, knots between the beads are a sign of slightly better quality — plus, I think they help to make the necklace stronger/ less prone to breakage.

This teeny watch, featuring a mother of pearl face and marcasite embellished silver tone band, has bracelet-stack potential. I do need to figure out if I can take out a link or two in the band, as it’s currently too large for my wrist.

I am not 100% sure this beaded necklace is something that suits my current style, but it’s giving me 90s vibes so for that reason, I decided to pull it out and give it a trial run.

These little hoop earrings with interchangeable charms are just perfect. No notes.

Lastly, a couple of smaller pieces — a simple rhinestone brooch, and a silver-tone chunkier necklace. The latter is always nice to have on hand, as I have quite a few silver pendants that I can rotate through.

There were other things in my home-made mystery bag, which I’ve put back and tucked away for the future. If this has taught me anything, it’s that Future Adina will love to re-discover this little time capsule at some point. And I’ve made another one too … from all the pieces I decided it was time to edit out of my current collection. Having realized that change is afoot, it makes good sense to assess what no longer serves me fully and make room for the new by removing some of the old.

I started with my necklace collection; took everything out, looked it over, identified what I have not been wearing for a while. I made three piles: donate, offer to my daughter, put aside for the future. Here are the pieces that I’m moving out of my current rotation but keeping:

The long colourful necklace on the top left side is going to my daughter, but everything else is going into storage. I can see myself wearing these again — particularly the Alexis Bittar necklaces on the right — so they’re keepers.

I don’t wear chunky colourful statement necklaces very often anymore, but I did keep a few for the rare occasions that call for them. These ones did not make the cut, but I still like them a lot, and think they have potential to swing back in style for me.

I thrifted a lot of Stella & Dot pieces over the years, but as time goes on, I have been moving away from this style of costume jewelry. I already pared down my collection over the last few years, and these are some of the last remaining pieces that I don’t wear but am not quite ready to let go. I’m putting these in a separate bag, and will reassess next year whether I want to keep holding on to them or not.

This ended up being a long-overdue (jewelry) closet edit that brought some much-needed organization to my collection — a good reminder not to forget that accessories, like clothes, benefit from periodic review. Speaking of which, I really should tackle my belt drawers next … but I’m not sure I’m ready for the extra difficult decisions involved in that particular project 😉

Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Do+Be skirt, Pelle blazer, Louis Vuitton bag (all secondhand), Mia shoes (retail)

Thoughts: Isn’t this vintage leather blazer just the best? Can you believe I only paid $20 for it, and it’s in mint condition. Well, that’s my fall wardrobe sorted in one go #kiddingnotkidding. I am fully back on the brown-is-the-best-neutral train for another season, in case you couldn’t tell. After years of avoiding it in favour of black, I am finally able to admit (and see) that it suits me much better. It also happens to work well with leopard print, which is one of my ‘experiments’ this fall. So far, it’s going very well. Turns out, leopard print is not a half-bad pattern mix option. I love putting together (sorta) monochromatic outfits as a showcase for layering, texture, and pattern contrast.

Details: Liz Claiborne vest & pants, vintage belt, Rafael Alfandary necklace (all secondhand)

Thoughts: Still wearing and loving these pants. Paired with a fun vest, they nail that ‘relaxed elegance’ vibe I’ve been digging lately.

Details: Jil Stuart top, Issey Miyake skirt, BR & vintage necklaces (all thrifted), Simons belt, J. Crew shoes (both retail)

Thoughts: This blouse was a style gamble, but something about its exuberant ruffledness tickled my fancy. I thought it might pair well with some of my southwestern-inspired pieces. I didn’t want to go too overboard, so I added only a belt this time. I also piled on a bunch of colourful accessories to add a bit of colour contrast while keeping the overall palette relatively restrained. This outfit was all about finding the right balance; I wanted visual interest without going overboard.

Details: Esprit vest, Calvin Klein jeans, Gap belt, Dooney bag (all secondhand), Maguire shoes (retail)

Thoughts: This vest is so 90s in the best way, isn’t it? The bootcut jeans are def Y2K, and the combo is somehow very Adina 2024. I thought the shoes would complement the vest nicely, with a little stripe-on-stripe action. A simple outfit, but quite satisfying.

Details: A&F cardigan, Guess bodysuit, Gap belt, Oat jeans, Rebecca Minkoff bag (all thrifted), Maguire shoes (retail)

Thoughts: This was the chunky cropped white cardigan I thrifted off my fall wishlist, and while I don’t love its quality, it is exactly everything I thought it would be: a piece that will help tie together a bazillion outfits. This one included. Imagine this with a black topper — it wouldn’t work half as well, imo. My goal is now to find an elevated version of this cardigan, but I can afford to wait because this one will serve me well for the foreseeable future. I also love these Oat jeans I thrifted, but will now have to say goodbye to … because my daughter has moved in and claimed them. Sigh.

Details: A&F cardigan, SmartSet dress, Aldo shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Same cardigan, different outfit. See what I mean about its versatility? This is a totally 90s dress — and actually from the 90s — that really spoke to me when I saw it at the thrifts. The colours are great and the pattern feels vintagey but also kind of modern at the same time. This is also a very 90s outfit formula, but instead of the thin, cropped cardigans popular back then, I subbed this chunky one. And the result? A throwback, updated.

Let’s pick up where we left off last week and talk about some more of my favourite brands for vintage (80s, 90s, and Y2K) fashion. I’ve tried to organize these into (semi-arbitrary) categories to help jog my mental Rolodex — that’s a reference for my fellow Gen Xers — because there are a lot of them to remember. My advice is: if you come across a vintage-looking label, it’s worth a closer look. I always check the fabric composition, and the “made in” tag, along with the overall condition of the item and the quality of its finishings; and if it’s an unfamiliar brand, I do a quick look-up on Google to see what it resells for. I am generally not expecting non-designer vintage to resell at super high prices, but if I’m seeing listings in the $30-50 range (or higher), it’s likely to be a brand with decent quality.

Department store brands

Let’s start off with one of my absolute faves: Liz Claiborne, along with its offshoots LizWear and LizSport. I have SO many pieces, including pants (my fave white pair!), tops, sweaters and vests. So many good vests! Style-wise, this brand covers a lot of bases, from cottagecore to preppy, and from casual to dressy. Lots of natural fibers, especially cotton, which is always a bonus. Along very similar lines there is Jones New York and Talbots. As with Liz Claiborne, you can tell which pieces are vintage (versus current) from the brand logos and the “made in” tags. All of these brands are good across all categories of clothing, as well as accessories.

Slightly less common to find here is Anne Klein and Anne Klein II. I haven’t done much research into this brand, so I don’t precisely know its history, but I do know that the latter was advertised a lot in Vogue and similar magazines in the 80s and 90s, so it was a relatively upscale brand — with quality to match. I would put the English brand Jaeger in the same bucket; both of these have a more classic, elegant aesthetic. Ditto Ann Taylor. For something with a little more flash and 80s pizzazz, Carole Little is also worth keeping an eye out for.

Then we have what I think of as the “catalogue” brands, including J. Crew, Eddie Bauer, and Pendleton. (Most brands on this list did catalogues back in the day, but just go with it. This is what I meant when I said my categories were arbitrary ;)). I love EB for knitwear and outerwear. Ditto for Pendleton, who also did amazing wool blazers. Vintage J. Crew is super rare here, but I would die for some of their wool and cashmere sweaters — especially some of their original rollneck sweaters.

Canadian brands

Into this category, I’m putting a bunch of brands that are of a similar type to the above only, well, Canadian. It’s not merely patriotic pride that influenced that decision; depending on your location, these brands may be more or less accessible on account of being Canadian. As far as Ports International goes, I actually only found out recently that it is; for some reason, I previously thought it was a European brand. I find the quality to be slightly inconsistent, but for the most part it’s quite good — on par with some of the higher-end brands listed above. The aesthetic is generally on the classic/ladylike end of things; I’ve had especially good luck with jackets and skirts. Braemer and Alfred Sung are also worth keeping an eye on; lots of 80s “power” suiting and blazers. I always check to make sure the shoulder pads are removable (not sewn in) because, while I love a strong shoulder, too much of it makes me look like a linebacker.

On the designer end of things, Wayne Clark did a ton of fabulous stuff in the 80s, including evening wear. I recently thrifted a velvet jacket that is absolutely stunning, but I have also come across more casual/daytime pieces as well. And since I forgot to add these to my post last week, here is an honourable mention for a couple of European designer brands: Louis Ferraud and Sassoon. I’ve got a couple of amazing jackets from both of these brands — very “lady-who-lunches” in the best way.

I would be remiss not to include Danier in this list of Canadian brands, because it’s my top go-to for vintage leather clothing. Their jackets and blazers are the most common items to be found at the thrift stores — though prices have skyrocketed in recent years — but skirts, vests, and even pants are worth a look. My Danier suede maxi skirt is an absolute stunner, the kind of thing I could easily see on a Ralph Lauren runway; something of similar quality would cost upwards of $500 these days.

Cottagecore brands

If, like me, you’re into the cottagecore aesthetic, here are some of the brands that might deliver the vintage pieces your closet needs. Laura Ashley is, of course, a classic. I don’t come across it often here in Edmonton, but it never disappoints. Their floral prints are usually amazing. Speaking of amazing prints, I like to think of Suttles & Seawinds as the Canadian Laura Ashley. They also do a lot of patchwork-style pieces, including matching jacket/skirt and vest/skirt combos. Also similar, but with slightly more hit-and-miss quality, is April Cornell. I love their aesthetic, but I don’t always love the fabrics they use (viscose for summer dresses).

For fun knitwear, Tabi and Susan Bristol are usually good bets; the latter also for patchwork stuff. Christopher & Banks and Beechers Brook are two brands to which I’ve only recently started paying attention, but I think they would fit into this category as well (although I think BB had a broader range of styles, beyond the cottagecore stuff).

Youth/Mall brands

My favourite vintage ‘mall brand’ is, of course, the Gap but Mexx and Esprit are not too far behind. These are all relatively easy to find in my local thrift stores, along with Canadian staples like Le Chateau, Jacob and Tristan & Iseut. Less common is vintage Banana Republic, though I recently scored the perfect 90s velvet mini dress with an old school BR label. For some reason, vintage Club Monaco is also quite rare at my local thrifts, but maybe that’s because it’s considered highly desirable.

Slightly more youth-oriented, there is also Mariposa and SmartSet; both are 90s throwbacks that my teenage self would have loved to wear. Their specialty was trendy clothing, which means that vintage pieces that are still kicking around will definitely reflect what was “in” 20+ years ago. I would add Jessie to this list — not to be confused with Jessica, which also appears on a lot of vintage clothing, but which I believe was targeted at an older audience.

If you have other recommendations — the more obscure, the better! — please add them to the list in the comment section. Sharing (the knowledge) is caring!