Judging from many of the blogs and social media accounts I follow, 2020 seems to be the year of the No Buy. So many people are talking about cutting back their consumption, paring down their closets, embracing minimalism.

I … am not.

I am not intentionally bucking the trend, I swear. Well, OK, there is a little part of me that enjoys being contrary. Mostly, I’m just going with the thrifting flow. And the thrift gods have brought me a steady trickle of little treasures since January. I try to be selective, I really do. But I am also an acquisitive magpie at heart; there are limits to my restraint.

I’ll be writing more about this in a future post, but I’ve been on the opposite of a no-buy so far this year. With the exception of the some of the items I’ll be showing you in this post, all of my purchases so far have been thrifted (or otherwise secondhand). And a lot of what I’ve been buying has been accessories and books. So many books. I am in book heaven right now (and working on plans to expand my home library).

But that’s not what I want to talk about today. Today, let’s look at some pretty jewelry pieces I’ve picked up in the last couple of months.

This cultured pearl necklace was a Winners impulse buy, but I loved the unusual, modern design – especially the paper clip-like links. I plan to wear this in the summer with some of my more, ahem, plunging necklines.

I love Warren Scott Steven earrings. They are fun and distinctive, and they elevate every outfit instantly. I also love being able to support independent, Indigenous artists so this is one retail purchase I don’t mind making.

Labradorite is my favourite stone, so I tend to pick up reasonably-priced pieces whenever I can. I found this Argento Vivo ring (on the left) at Nordstrom Rack and was impressed by its size and apparent quality relative to the price. It’s large enough to make a statement, but classic and minimalist enough to be quite versatile for everyday wear. It’s become one of my go-to right-hand rings.

Speaking of daily wears, this ring stack is my favourite engagement ring/wedding ring alternative. I still adore my original set, but 10 years later, I want some variety. I also don’t want to invest a lot of money into the alternatives, at least not immediately. I’ve been “testing” a few combinations using inexpensive rings from Amazon over the years, and this is my hands-down fave so far. Both rings were under $25 but have been holding up well over the last month or so. The band is gold-filled, and the ring is sterling silver – at least according to the product listing. I’ve had no adverse reactions to either piece, and they haven’t turned my fingers green. I really like the style and dimensions of each ring (the band could be a little bit thicker) and the colour of the centre stone. If I were to upgrade, I’d be looking for something similar in a lab-created gemstone, with real gold.

At the other end of the ring spectrum, there is this humongous agate slice ring. It looks handmade, and I thrifted it for something like $4. I’ve been looking for something like this for a while, mostly on eBay, but hadn’t found something I liked until I saw this. I wish the stone was a different colour, as I don’t wear brown a lot, but it’s still a fabulous piece and thrifters can’t be choosers, I suppose.

I’ve been finding a lot of Stella & Dot pieces at the thrift store lately, which is just fine by me. I don’t believe in supporting MLMs directly, but I will pick up Stella & Dot pieces secondhand because, in my experience, they are quite well-made for (non-high end) costume jewelry. This necklace is a good example – the centerpieces are stone, not plastic, and the gold tone finish is intact (even though this is an older piece).

Initially, I thought this might also be a Stella & Dot piece, but it doesn’t have the usual tag nor any other markings. It looks and feels like department-store quality costume jewelry – comparable to J. Crew and the like. Mostly, I bought it for the style – it has that modernist vibe I really like, and I love the swampy green colour of the stones.

And that’s it for fun new (to me) jewelry. Stay tuned for a post on some of my favourite recent thrifted clothing finds. Yes, there are a couple of thrifting Hall of Famers in there 😉

Modern Classics

Red lipstick. Resting bitch face. Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet. What do they all have in common? They’re all classics, at least in my book. And also components of this pretty cool outfit. This is why I can’t break my “all black” habit; it’s just too damn easy to look cute and put together – without any appreciable effort – when everything is black. I suppose silhouette does make a difference; this formula is also a classic: volume on top, sleek on the bottom.

I’m a big fan of this graphic sweatshirt even though I’m not generally into graphic tops, nor do I usually thrift Forever 21 pieces. Part of what drew me to it is the nostalgia, and part of it … well, it’s black. It just looks cool. Also cool is this AllSaints dress that I haven’t worn nearly enough. It’s got a neat, asymmetrical one shoulder neckline that you can’t see here, but check out that all-over ruching – it’s *chef’s kiss*. It’s stretchy and comfy as heck, which makes it a perfect pairing for a literal sweatshirt.

Notes: AllSaints dress (thrifted, $8.50); F21 top (thrifted, $8.50); Arnold Churgin boots (thrifted, $20); Melody Ehsani earrings (retail, $30).

Statement Maker

According to Instagram, this is a love-it-or-hate-it jacket and I am here for it. Art is divisive. The farther I go down the path of looking at clothing as a form of self-expression, the more I realize that I have to be OK with people not understanding or liking my outfits/output. Or, to be honest, even understanding the art/function distinction I am trying to make. I have to say, though, that some of my favourite comments are those where people go, “This isn’t my thing, but I appreciate what you’re trying to do here”. Because I feel seen, y’all.

Anyway, I personally enjoy the hell out of this outfit. I like the weird, asymmetrical angularity of this jacket. It’s architectural, with a kind of modernist vibe and a little Japanese flair — all things I love. I took a risk pairing volume on top with volume on the bottom, but I liked the juxtaposition of the sharp angles of the jacket and the fluid, soft edges of the dress. It’s also just a very comfortable outfit all things considered; it looks “polished” for lack of a better word, but it’s not at all restrictive or tight.

Sigh.

Listen, I am terrible at talking about my outfits in a way that illuminates the creative process behind them. I am equally inept at talking about art in general. I just … well, know what I like, when I see it. Trying to explain the whys or hows is a bit excruciating. Irony, I know.

Notes: Joseph Ribkoff jacket (thrifted, $13); Issey Miyake dress (secondhand, $580); Nine West shoes (retail, $40).

Stars In My Eyes

Star motifs are a personal obsession, so you can imagine how excited I was to spot this sweater at Goodwill. It’s so cute! It also kiiiiiinda looks like something you’d see at, say, Zara. Yet, the hand-feel suggested otherwise. I looked at the label tag, which stirred vague memories of something seen at Nordstrom Rack; I put the sweater in my cart and proceeded on my way. Long story short, I come to find out that this Chinti & Parker sweater originally retailed for over $700 and OH MY GOD WHAT KIND OF RETAIL REALITY ARE WE LIVING IN?!? But, hey, this is why I thrift. I’m obsessed with this sweater (though I would never in a million years pay seven hundred of my own dollars in any North American currency for it) and I have so many outfits planned for it already. First up, a basic mom-on-Saturday-errand-run ensemble, pictured above. I felt hella cute in it. But I promise to do something more interesting with it next time.

Notes: Chinti & Parker sweater (thrifted, $8); AG jeans (thrifted, $9.50); Modern Vice boots (thrifted, $20).

This post will be a bit of a mixed bag, which is a good reflection of my year to date. At the end of December, I experienced some general life burn-out which extended over to my painting; rather than push through it, I gave myself permission to take “time off”. I started reading more again – I’m up to 11 books read in 2020 so far – and even did a bunch of knitting. While I enjoyed the break, I did feel like something was missing. When I am not creating something – and I don’t count knitting here because it’s more of a mechanical activity than a creative one for me – I miss it. But in going back into creative mode, I decided to be more selective about it – choosing projects that spoke to me, without worrying about whether they would appeal to a wider audience.

It started with this portrait I completed late last year, taken from a photo that I fell in love with. The model, Angele Fougeirol, reminded me a little bit of my mom when she was young.

I can’t say that I used any new techniques (other than experimenting with a more abstract finish/background) but I really took my time with it and consciously applied all of the skills that I’ve been learning over the past 6 months. It was a true labour of love; I made the portrait for myself and it turned out to be one of my best pieces. It’s hanging up on one of the gallery walls in my house next to some of my other favourite art.

Then I have an idea to do a portrait series inspired by the zodiac. I’m not super into astrology, but I was drawn to the idea of trying to visualize each sign as a person. There was a bit of research involved, but mostly intuition. It started with this inspiration photo, which reminded me of a renaissance painting:

Something of her air (or maybe it was her hair) made me think of Aries. That’s how it all started.

Trying to find other inspiration photos that suit my overall vision for this project has been a slow and sometimes difficult process. Again, rather than rushing through for the sake of moving along, I took my time with it. Eventually, I found a second photo that was perfect.

This is Virgo, and she is such a beauty:

I am currently looking for my next zodiac subject, but I haven’t found her/him yet. I trust that the right one will come along in due course.

In the meantime, I decided to tackle a couple of other “passion” projects. First, I found an old beading project that I had begun and abandoned several years ago, and felt inspired to finish it. Working on it was a nice alternative to painting on days when I could only spare a little bit of time in the evening, after sundown. Lately, I’ve had better luck painting in daylight, so I tend to do most of it on weekends. Beading (along with reading) has filled my free time during weeknights. Here is the finished piece:

I upcycled a simple stretchy belt that I thrifted for $3.50 to serve as the “backing” for the beaded piece. Worked like a charm.

Second, I decided to indulge in a little bit of fandom by painting a portrait of Geralt of Rivia – aka the Witcher. Yep, still obsessed with that. I chose this promotional image from Netflix over a (more natural) still image from the show because I wanted to try a more stylized approach.

Honestly, it was … a challenge. Working largely in greyscale rather than skin tones was a new experience from me, as was working with a male subject (it’s only my second one). Then, of course, there is the likeness. Making Henry Cavill look ugly is some kind of crime against nature and art. Not to mention, there are lots of examples of amazing Witcher fan art all over Reddit and social media, just in case I needed some more pressure. This was one of those times when I really didn’t know if I could pull it off.

Witness the beginnings:

Not exactly promising, right? I mean, it was the opposite of promising. There was a point (bottom right) when I seriously thought this was a lost cause project. It looked soooo bad. But I stuck with it, plugging away slowly. A couple of weeks in (working very haphazardly, I might add), I finally turned the corner – to the point when it looked somewhat human.

And then I kept going, tweaking a little, bit by bit. That’s been one of my biggest lessons learned from painting: no matter how unpromising the beginning, if you keep working at it, it will get better. Not immediately, but over time. And to give myself the grace to be not-so-good but open to improvement.

And, in the end, I was quite pleased with the result:

In somewhat related news, I started a new separate IG account for all my art/craft projects. My handle is “the_arterego” in case you’re interested in following along.