Details: London Kaye sweater (thrifted), H&M pants (thrifted), BR belt (thrifted), Michigan Rag Co. coat (thrifted); Dooney bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: My Jessica Fletcher inspired outfit, and it’s all about that fun vintage windbreaker. I loved wearing this. As a semi-related aside, I would love to visit Maine some day. Actually, getting to see a coast, any coast, again soon would be lovely. I miss the salty air and walks on the beach.

Details: Equipment blouse (thrifted), Second Female cardigan (thrifted), Vero Moda pants (thrifted), Indigenous earrings by Mikisikahtak Creations (gift from my BFF)

Thoughts: I love a blue-green palette, and enjoy finding new ways to create outfits around it. This is a mix of different shades and tones so actually more colourful than usual, but it all works still. My favourite part was the earrings, of course.

Details: COS sweater (thrifted), Maeve skirt (thrifted), Tignanello bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: This was a bit of a wildcard pairing, but the blue in the sweater matches the one in the skirt so I thought it was worth the try. I think the patterns work together. The yellow was an extra shot of colour – it always pops against blue.

Details: Zara duster (thrifted), BR jumpsuit (secondhand), Zara shoes (consignment)

Thoughts: A duster can be an easy way to dress up a simple outfit, and make lounging at home feel decadent. Especially when it comes with a dramatic fringe like this one. I do worry about catching and ripping said fringe, which is a minor annoyance, but the aesthetic is worth it. It’s basically a glorified house robe, but make it fashion.

Details: J. Crew sweater (thrifted), Zara blazer (thrifted), Tulip skirt (thrifted), Fossil bag (thrifted)

Thoughts: I like 80% of this outfit, and the 20% I don’t like represents the concessions I had to make to the weather — the black tights and the black turtleneck under my sweater. Black doesn’t work here, it really throws off the colour palette and overall vibe. Which is too bad because there is some wonderful subtle pattern mixing happening. Overall, it wasn’t an outfit I was really “feeling” but it’s a formula I might revisit and try to improve upon.

Details: Marimekko x Uniqlo top (thrifted), Wilfred cardigan (thrifted), Maeve skirt (thrifted), Lena Bernard necklace (thrifted), J. Crew shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I loved this pattern mix, but I wish the skirt was longer. I don’t enjoy wearing knee-length pencil skirts, and haven’t for a couple of years; I am not sure if the pendulum will ever swing that way again. I have tried to avoiding buying new ones (and slowly culling my old ones) but I couldn’t resist the fun pattern of this Maeve skirt. I’m torn, though. This outfit, as much as I enjoy the colour story, doesn’t really fit my current aesthetic preferences. But letting go of good outfits isn’t easy, either. I have to keep reminding myself that I only have so much time, and I should spend it wearing the things that make me feel like myself.

Details: Twik top (thrifted), Sarah Pacini shrug (thrifted and gifted), Antipast skirt (thrifted), Fluevog shoes (thrifted).

Thoughts: Every now and then, I feel the need for a witchy outfit as a palette cleanser, so to speak. It never goes out of style, as far as I’m concerned. Here, my favourite part were all the accessories:

The Historian (formerly Adventurer) style avatar was a sleeper for a long time. At first, the shift to WFH moved me away from my more “formal” avatars, the Prince (now High Priestess) and the Artist, towards the fun and quirky Bohemian. In the last few months, though, it’s the Historian that calls to my imagination. Don’t get me wrong; I still wear and will continue to wear a lot of Bohemian outfits because I adore colour and patterns, and summer is coming. But the Historian is where a lot of my creative energies are being drawn.

I was looking back at some of the recent Historian outfits I’ve loved the most, and it struck me that they had a definite Ralph Lauren flavour. The fact that two of my most beloved pieces of clothing are vintage RL helped the realization along. I started digging into online archives, looking for 80s and 90s Ralph Lauren images. I quickly realized that I’d hit a rich vein of inspo. Finding lots of pictures from 30+ year old runway collections or magazine ads isn’t easy, but the thing about Ralph Lauren is that their collections self-reference a lot. That’s why it’s really easy to spot a Ralph Lauren look.

I have never considered myself a fan of Americana in fashion, so the cowboy end of the RL spectrum isn’t really my bag. And as a non-WASPy immigrant, I have complicated feelings about preppy style. But! I do love the tweeds and the plaids, the wools and leathers and linens. Especially anything with a more “dark romance” edge to it.

As in all things style-related, I struggle to explain in words the ideas and moods I want my clothes to evoke, but basically: I know what it is when I see it.

Here are a few of the images I’ve bookmarked for inspiration:

I also took a deep dive into the brand’s history, and came across some interesting articles including this one on its influence on 90s hip hop culture. It expanded my view of the brand and what I had perceived as its WASPy connotations. I should also add that my current obsession with all things 90s (from pop culture to fashion) is going strong. It feels re-energizing to find new sources of inspiration, and there is a nostalgic element to revisiting an era from one’s own living memory.

Details: Zara vest (Poshmark), Noul coat (thrifted), Vero Moda pants (thrifted), Stoney Clover x Target bag (retail)

Thoughts: My friend Lucy posted a photo of this bag a few weeks ago and I immediately fell in love with it. I mean, a rainbow bag? C’est moi. Because it’s a Target collab, I knew my chances of getting it (as a Canadian) were slim unless I fancied paying scalpers’ prices for it. [I don’t.] But it was meant to be! My boss (and friend) happened to be visiting California at *just* the right time, and she managed to snag me one right before they sold out. I was over the rainbow! I don’t care if this is a bag “meant for a child” (thanks, Reddit!) — my inner child is very happy with it.

Details: Loft top (thrifted), Babaton skirt (thrifted), Stella & Dot necklace (thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I don’t often buy Loft pieces because they’re not usually OTT enough for me, hah. This top was an exception because those sleeves are proper dramatic. I hesitated a bit with the colour because orange is still a dicey proposition for me; but it was close enough to my favourite shade of orangey red to be worth the risk. And I think I made the right decision. I love the sleeves and the fabric is very nice also (cotton poplin). I think I will get a good amount of wear out of it, and have fun doing it too.

Details: Cloth cardigan (thrifted), Gap jeans (thrifted), Ash shoes (thrifted), Tignanello bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: Couldn’t walk away from this cardigan, it was weird and funky which is my catnip. Pieces like that do all the heavy lifting in an outfit — you get maximal impact for minimal effort. What’s not to love?

Details: Equipment blouse (thrifted), Icone blazer (thrifted), Kimchi Blue pants (thrifted), J. Crew shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I had listed this blouse for sale ages ago, but it sat and sat. So I decided to take it back because it’s getting harder to find nice pieces like this at the thrifts, and a silk blouse is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, the colours work great with my beloved blue-green colour scheme.

Details: Zara tee (thrifted), Do Everything in Love cardigan (thrifted), Cartonnier pants (thrifted)

Thoughts: You shouldn’t be surprised that I bought this tee — it was too on the nose not to, given that I was working on some Van Gogh-inspired sunflower embroidery at the time. The real revelation here are the pants; I didn’t think I would love them as much as I do. They are a navy-and-burgundy stripe, but read purple in photos. I like the silhouette and the colour. I thought they would be a great pairing for the yellow tee — yellow and purple is an eye-catching combo — and decided at the last minute to add the chartreuse. Good decision, I think.

Details: Selected Femme sweater (retail), velvet vest (thrifted), Ralph Lauren blazer (thrifted), Babaton skirt (Poshmark), Rafael Alfandary necklace (ebay), Chelsea Crew shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: Still loving with this blazer. I’ll have a post coming up soon about my current obsession with vintage Ralph Lauren. I’ve been strongly drawn to the Historian avatar lately, and trying out different outfits using similar formulas.