Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Kate Hewko skirt, Ralph Lauren coat, Coach bag, Ann Marino shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I thrifted this amazing blazer-coat in 2021, back when vintage Ralph Lauren wasn’t yet as rare as hen’s teeth at the thrifts. I paid $13 for it *cries in 2024 thrift prices* I will admit that it’s a piece I have struggled to style over the years, but I am glad that those struggles didn’t push me to get rid of it. Sometimes, inspiration needs some time to mature; if a garment is special enough, it’s worth putting aside for a while until its moment arrives. I think we can say that the moment for this coat has arrived. This outfit was 10/10 for me, no notes.

Details: Alfred Sung blouse, Heritage House skirt, Le Chateau belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I am equally note-less about this outfit because, well, what is there to say. It’s pretty dang perfect for me. The skirt was a fabulous thrift find from earlier this year; it’s wool and lined and worth every penny of the $17 I paid for it. This shade of green is very high on my fave list at the moment. Also, that silhouette. The length is just a tad longer than I would normally consider ideal for my proportions, but the silhouette makes it work, so the skirt doesn’t visually “swamp” me.

Details: Laurel shirt, Donna Karan belt, United Colours of Benetton pants (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: This vintage Laurel shirt is a very apropos for a medieval history nerd like me, don’t we think? I’ve never seen a pattern like this before, nor can I find this exact blouse online (even with a reverse image search) which I am choosing to take as a sign that this shirt was made specially for me … 30 years ago in Slovenia, from whence it slowly made its way to me via, ultimately, the local Value Village. Please do not challenge my delulu, thanksverymuch. Anyway, I paired it with these vintage, lightweight wool pants for a very punchy outfit. (Mildly punny, though I expect knights on horses to be more stabby than punchy. But I digress.) I finished it off with a cream belt, as it seemed to me that a darker coloured version would look “muddled” with this colour scheme. This is not a unique case, either; this belt has turned out to be a super versatile item — lots of outfits seem to benefit from a light neutral accessory like this.

Details: Icone shirt (swap), American Eagle jeans, Ralph Lauren jacket, Brave belt, Ferragamo shoes, Coach bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: We can’t go too long without a Papa Ralph-inspired outfit, and by “we” I mean me. Canadian tuxedo with a preppy twist turned out even better than expected. I took a bit of a risk choosing 2 denim pieces of similar colour/wash; usually, when wearing head-to-toe denim, I would pick different washes. But I think the choice here paid off thanks to the contrasting jacket, which breaks up (and also complements, colour-wise) the column of denim.

Details: Bozzolo top (retail), Gap shirt, Auxiliary belt, Amaryllis jacket, American Eagle jeans, Ferragamo shoes, Tommy Hilfiger bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Can’t go wrong with brown and denim, and here is more proof. I’m obsessed with chocolate brown at the moment, and especially chocolate brown velvet, so you can guess how much I love this vintage Gap shirt. It’s good enough to make an outfit with a pair of basic jeans, but I added some leopard print for good measure because why not.

Details: Moschino x H&M sweatshirt, Levi’s jacket, Woolrich x Converse shoes (all secondhand), Calvin Klein jeans (retail)

Thoughts: These jeans have been through a lot. I bought them earlier this year for my daughter, mostly so she would stop stealing my jeans. She wore them once or twice, then randomly decided that she didn’t like them after all. I hate calling time on jeans, especially pairs bought at retail, because (a) they consume so many resources in production, and (b) there is so much supply of jeans at the thrifts, the vast majority of them don’t end up being bought and reused. So, I took this pair into custody and gave them the old college try. Made for a change, since the flow of clothes between my daughter’s closet and my closet has been very one-sided lately, and in the opposite direction. Anyway, after giving them a couple of wears, including this outfit, I came to the conclusion that, as much as I think they’re cool, they’re not quite my style. Before putting them in the donate pile, I decided to ask my daughter one more time if she was sure she didn’t want them. You’ll never guess what happened next. Well, unless you, too, have a tween daughter, in which case you’ll know exactly what happened next. She said omg mom thank god you kept these because they’re perfect and I was so sad because I thought we had donated them. Or words to that effect, in Gen Alpha translation. So: hello and goodbye jeans, we hardly knew ye.

Don’t quote me on this, but the last time I had a proper think about my wardrobe palette was back in 2018 or thereabouts. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and all that. And yet … here I am, fixing to change things up. In truth, the change has been a-coming for some time. It started when I ‘discovered’ brown (sometime in 2022, I think?). Since then, slowly but surely, brown has been replacing black as the core dark neutral in my closet. It’s not simply a question of my falling in love with it; I’ve also come to realize that it’s more flattering for my complexion than black, especially when worn near the face. I love black, but it does tend to wash me out – and I already look rather Corpse Bride-ish on my best days.

The introduction of brown into my wardrobe palette opened the door for a few other colours to sneak in and, at the end of the summer this year, I suddenly found myself thinking about my wardrobe palette again. Then I stumbled across some Reels discussing ‘hot’ colour combos for Fall 2024, and I sat up and started to take notes. Which I then took with me to the thrift stores – as one does, naturally. Long story short, I assembled an updated playbook for my fall wardrobe, incorporating some new (and new-ish) colours: the aforementioned brown (camel, whiskey, mahogany, and chocolate), white and cream, navy, dark green, and deep red. Along with blue – in various shades – these colours now form the backbone of my closet. Accent colours include poppy red, magenta, teal/turquoise, Kelly green, and yellow. And, of course, black.

There will always be black in my closet, though I prefer to use it in small doses, as a ‘grounding’ neutral when combining two or more bold colours. If I’m going for a more subdued colour scheme, I now tend to use either brown or navy as the core neutral, rather than black. While I still adore the drama of black-and-white outfits, it’s a vibe to which I’ve been feeling less drawn lately. This might change as we head into winter, which is usually the time when I’ve tended to wear those kinds of outfits in the past.

Meanwhile, here are some of the colour combos I’ve been loving this fall.

Navy and White

Monochromatic Brown and/or White

Navy and Dark Green

Brown and Blue

Navy and Red

Overall, this is a much more subdued palette than what I had been wearing around, say, 2020-2021. I do still enjoy wearing brightly coloured outfits from time to time – I love colour too much to ever tire of wearing it – but this palette aligns better with my current aesthetic, which is heavily leaning in a classic/preppy direction. The pendulum will swing again, I’m sure, because that’s what pendulums personal style does, but I am very much enjoying this moment. And, as always, thanking my thrifting lucky stars for the opportunity to follow my inspiration and my budget.

Details: Club Monaco sweater, Liz Claiborne pants, Mexx belt, Ralph Lauren shoes, vintage bag (all thrifted)

Thoughts: It is very brave — or very foolhardy — for someone as klutzy as me to wear head-to-toe white. Sometimes hubris pays off, though. I felt pretty freakin’ fabulous in this Nancy Meyers-coded outfit … aaand I managed to avoid making a mess of myself. I broke one of my rules in buying this vintage Club Monaco sweater, as I already have a very similar white cable knit sweater, but I have no regrets because it’s fabulous. Also, it’s a turtleneck, which the other sweater isn’t, and a slightly different shade of white. Justifications, I have lots of them. Anyway, I wanted to keep the outfit very simple, to allow the details of each piece to shine, so I kept the accessories minimal — with the exception of the bag, which was more like the cherry on top of the merengue here.

Details: Calvin Klein tee & jeans, Ralph Lauren trench & shoes & bag, Gap belt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I haven’t worn a trench coat in years, but the vibes are finally vibing again; it’s a classic piece that fits right into my current style mood. By one of those lucky coincidences that sometimes bless the dedicated thrifter, I stumbled on the perfect tan trench at the tail end of summer — and it’s Polo Ralph Lauren to boot. It instantly elevates the most basic of outfits, and you can’t get more basic than a white tee and jeans. Another take on 90s-inspired minimalism.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt & sweater, Brighton belt, Danier skirt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I am very much into this blue, white, brown colour palette at the moment, and I simply had to build an outfit around this suede maxi skirt. It never fails to deliver. I decided to take another page from Papa Ralph’s playbook, and pair it with preppy pieces — plus a western-style belt. Mixing genres is one of the things that he does best. His most recent runway collection (SS 2025) provided lots of food-for-inspo on that front.

Details: Tommy Hilfiger shirt, Ralph Lauren vest, Sag Harbour pants, Fossil belt, Ferragamo shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Another colour combo I’m loving at the moment is navy and dark green. How amazing are these vintage wool pants? And they’re lined, which is a bonus that can’t be discounted in these days of declining quality. I find that the key to making this colour palette work is avoiding black and using brown as the base neutral instead. Brown sets off darker blues and greens so much better than black, so they pop instead of looking muddled.

Details: vintage sweater, Auxiliary belt (both thrifted), Zara pants, J. Crew shoes (both retail)

Thoughts: I’m not sure if I’ve ever done a fully head-to-toe brown outfit before, but this one was a first-class effort, whatever the case. Adding several shades of the same colour gives an outfit depth, while different textures give it visual interest. The leopard print belt was a last-minute addition, but I thought it would be fun to sneak in a little bit of (trendy) pattern.

Details: Zara top, Danier vest, Jones NY blazer, Elisa Fanti skirt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I’m loving suede vests at the moment, and this deep red one is *chef’s kiss*. I would normally pair with pants, but decided to give it a try with a skirt — and a classic pencil skirt at that. Paired with a blazer, it turned out quite well; without, I am not quite loving the visual effect of the short sleeves, so that’s an element I’d probably workshop a bit more next time.