Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2025 is Mocha Mousse and people are having some kind of feelings about it. In case you haven’t already seen it, here it is:

I get why it would be a more divisive pick than usual for Pantone. Brown isn’t a colour most people get excited about. I used to be one of them and while I could proselytize about brown with all the typical enthusiasm of the recently converted, I am going to save my breath and let others figure out their own journey. Mocha Mousse is not brown at its most inspiring, but that’s also just a personal preference; it’s a bit too washed out and cool-toned for me. But I’m thrilled that any shade of brown has hit the Zeitgeist, however briefly, because it means that I get to be accidentally on trend for a bit, which is rare enough in my case to make for a pleasant surprise.

My wardrobe has been slowly filling with brown clothing and I am excited to start a new year – four new seasons! – with so many exciting options at hand. While Mocha Mousse doesn’t feature prominently (or at all, really) in my line-up, here are some of the shades of brown that do:

Since brown has replaced black as my core neutral, I have been slowly adjusting the rest of my wardrobe palette around it. Many of the colours I’ve gravitated towards in the past – blue, first and foremost – do work well with brown. But brown has opened the door to some different colours – and colour combinations – as well, and I have been enjoying exploring those in recent months. As in all sartorial matters, my experimentation has been guided by my thrifting. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t get too excited about Pantone’s opinions; thrifting always marches to the beat of its own drum. As a thrifter, you have to embrace the chaos and learnt to spot the possibilities it spins your way. A few colours that have lately crossed my path at the thrifts have made the jump from ‘hey, that’s nice’ to ‘shoot it straight into my veins, NOW’ territory. In short, I am obsessed.

What colours are we talking about?

I am crap at describing colours and this particular shade of blue is impossible to pin down. I did my best to find images that line up with the mental image I have, but it was difficult. The middle image* probably captures it best. It’s a slightly greyed-out sky blue. A lot of similar shades I’ve seen online tend to lean either too purple (more like periwinkle) or too green, or they’re too pastel or too icy. The inspiration behind my obsession is a Uniqlo sweater I thrifted back in November; I have been wearing it once a week ever since, and considering how many sweaters I own (answer: dozens!), that’s saying a lot.

*Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that stunning dress? It’s Alaia, of course. Sigh.

Speaking of colours that are difficult to find, can I introduce you to this gorgeous shade of green that doesn’t seem to have a name? I adore it. The closest thing I’ve found so far is a slightly more blue-leaning version, but I am persistent as hell when it comes to the objects of my hyperfixation, and I expect I will find my luck at the thrifts sooner or later. It’s a shade that reminds me a lot of the 90s, and I love how unexpected it feels.

This one should come as no surprise, as I have been obsessed with deep red for a while now. Again, nailing the right shade is tricky. It can’t be too orange, but it also can’t be too blue. It can’t be too bright (lipstick red), and it can’t be too dark (burgundy/maroon). It’s not a colour I would wear head-to-toe, but it’s perfect as an accent.

Orchid was a Pantone Colour of the Year a while ago, but seemed to fade out of the collective consciousness pretty quickly (no pun intended). I have a love/hate relationship with vibrant purples: I love looking at them, but struggle to wear them. In the past, I have gravitated more towards the plums and aubergines, which seemed to play along better with the rest of my colours. But I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for magenta and I feel like, recently, that has pushed me to reconsider orchid.

All of these colours pair nicely with one or more shades of brown, so adding them in small doses to my closet will create lots of remixing possibilities. I have already tried a few of them … and I want more!

I cannot seem to wrap my head around the fact that 2025 is just days away. It’s going to be a year of ponderous milestones that somehow feel unreal; 20-year anniversary of my law school graduation, 30-year anniversary of coming to Canada, 45 years all told. I feel less old than I did a year ago, until I look in the mirror and realize that time does, in fact, flow in only one direction – at least as far as bodies are concerned. But 2025 is still days away, which might as well be another country. Today, let’s look back on the recent past which, though equally inaccessible, has the advantage of being familiar. Quantum physics I don’t know; but outfits, outfits I know. My own outfits, especially. It’s right there in the title, after all.

There are a lot of outfits to squeeze into this eulogy of the year’s sartorial adventures; I’ve been having a lot of fun getting dressed. And a lot of fun thrifting, too. It’s bittersweet, because I am more convinced than ever that we are witnessing the end of thrifting’s Golden Era. We are standing on the deck of the Titanic, listening to the band play, as it were. I’m taking extra good care of my clothes, thinking ahead of the time when I might release them back into the circular economy; by then, good quality clothing will be even harder to find than it is now, and I like to think of my future contributions as a kind of paying forward of my current good (thrifting) fortune. The thrift gods have been kind to me in 2024. And I made the most of it. As I also did of a warm spring, temperate summer, and mild fall. Indeed, I could not have asked for more perfect weather to suit my personal style … which feels extremely odd to say when I think about how rather unusual the weather has been for our climate. Best not to dwell on that, huh.

I can’t seem to stop myself from waxing gloomy, so I think we’d best move on to the outfits. I made some effort to find common threads (no pun intended) among my picks, but I’m presenting them in no particular order because, when it comes down to it, picking favourites is hard.

My favourite silhouettes haven’t changed much this year, and midi skirts continue to be high on my list of most-worn pieces.

This year, I’ve gravitated more towards subtle pattern mixing, but I also enjoyed the occasional bolder mix.

I fully embraced the preppy side of the Ralph Lauren universe, including the whole sweater-tied-over-the-shoulders classic styling trick.

Another thing I embraced this year was brown. Need I say more?

90s minimalism was a trend I did not expect to fall for quite so hard, but nostalgia is a powerful drug. I regret nothing because revisiting the fashion I never got to enjoy as a teenager the first time around has been hella fun.

But maximalism is fun too!

Shoutout to my favourite floral skirt! It wasn’t the only thing I wore this summer, but it was definitely one of the highlights. The summer was probably my most (sartorially) eclectic season, with outfits that ran the aesthetic gamut.

Prairie- and western-core was less in evidence in 2024, but not entirely absent. I have been leaning more towards incorporating elements of it into different styles, taking a page from Papa Ralph who is the master of mixing genres.

Last but not least, special mention to my favourite pants of the year. And, yes, in a surprising twist, they’re white. That wasn’t on my bingo card for 2024.

Here’s to wonderful surprises in 2025!

Details: Amaryllis coat, Ralph Lauren sweater, Do+Be skirt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I don’t wear cobalt blue very often, but when I do, I love it. It’s such a great colour, and it’s an interesting choice to pair with leopard print. I can’t take all the credit for that, I got the inspiration from something I saw on IG. As soon as I found this vintage cotton sweater at the thrift store, I knew it would be a perfect match for the Amaryllis coat I bought years ago. That’s how a thrifted closet works! And here’s a little secret for you: the sweater is actually short sleeved. A merino wool turtleneck makes the outfit weatherproof without affecting the aesthetic (because I knew I wouldn’t be taking off my coat on my outing that day). Most of my winter outfits are sorta like nesting dolls; you never know how many extra pieces are hiding under the surface 😉

Details: Ann Taylor sweater & belt, Frank & Oak blazer (all thrifted), Banana Republic pants (retail)

Thoughts: I’ve been wanting to try a grey/burgundy combo for a while, but hadn’t had the right greys in my closet until I found, first this cashmere turtleneck shell (for sure vintage-ish) and, second, this men’s blazer. The check pattern has thin burgundy lines in it, how apropos for these corduroy pants I got a couple of years ago. It’s a no-frills kind of outfit, but the colour scheme is very pleasing. I am not grey’s biggest fan in general, so I don’t plan to add too much more of it to my closet, but I think these 2 pieces will serve me well and add versatility.

Details: Wilfred sweater (retail, old), Limited cardigan, Elena Wong coat, Everlane pants, ASOS boots, Tignanello bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This is one of the most unusual and fun coats I’ve ever thrifted, and it remains a joy to wear. I build the entire outfit around the colour scheme of the coat, and it turned out awfully well, if I do say so myself. I am a big fan of cropped pants this time of year, because they’re easy to wear with boots; no need to tuck in pant legs, or drag them on the (wet) ground. I do find they look better with boots that have a small heel, and luckily, I have a couple of options that work when there is snow on the ground — keeping in mind that I don’t do a look of outdoor walking this time of year.

Details: Uniqlo sweater, Villager skirt, Gap blazer, Tod’s shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Another simple outfit, who even am I? I don’t know why, lately, I’ve been gravitating more towards what are, for me, very minimalist looks. Maybe it’s the 90s influence. Anyway, the main thing I want to tell you about here is that this Uniqlo merino wool sweater is amazeballs. I guess it’s technically a cardigan, since it buttons all the way down, but I prefer to think of it as a winter-weight button-up shirt. It has a cute collar and everything! I thought it looked darling with this polka dot skirt, without being too twee.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Eddie Bauer cardigan, Liz Claiborne pants, Fossil belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This red cardigan with white pants? How could I not immediately go there once I thrifted the former? It’s such a punchy combo. I leaned all the way into the preppy vibe and added a classic striped men’s shirt to the mix. Were the pearls a little too on the nose? Maybe. But I committed!

Details: J. Crew sweater, Liz Claiborne vest, Miss Sixty skirt, Donna Karan belt

Thoughts: Here’s an example of how satisfying it is to build an outfit around layer upon layer of the same shade — with textural contrast in the mix, of course. I put the belt into the picture at the last minute, to kick up the contrast a bit more and help “ground” the outfit.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Blu’s shirt, Ralph Lauren vest, Eddie Bauer belt, Levi’s jeans (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This is a vintage pair of orange tab Levi’s from the early 70s. Can you believe it? The silhouette looks so fresh! More proof that fashion is cyclical. The thrift gods have been blessing me with vintage Levi’s lately, and I’m not complaining. I decided to put this pair into action with a classic Papa Ralph-inspired outfit that incorporates another recent thrift find, the chocolate brown suede shirt. I feel like a suede shirt is very RL-coded, and I had been low key hoping to find one for a while. I paid up a bit to get my hands on this vintage one ($18, side-eyes Goodwill), but I think it’s worth it.