Here’s my fashion confession: I am not an outfit repeater. Ok, that’s not absolutely categorically true; I do sometimes repeat outfits, but it’s an exception not a rule. I appreciate the ethos of outfit repeating so I have made it a part of my life in a way that complements my personal philosophy of dressing-as-a-creative-act.

Enter the remix.

Just like the colours in a paint-box, clothes are wonderfully versatile. Building a secondhand closet means that I have a lot of “colours” to play with, so the remixing possibilities are limited only by my ingenuity. I talked last week about how I use fashion inspiration to spark creative experiments; it’s all about finding new ways to wear the same old clothes. I have been on the remix train for a long time (since around 2015) so I have built up practices over the years to support that. For example, whenever I’m deciding to buy a new piece of clothing, I try to think of at least 3 ways to wear it with things I already own. If I can think of 3 on the spot, it usually means that there are a dozen more ways to remix it. I don’t like “single use” clothing — i.e. things that can only be worn one way — and tend to avoid it. One example of that, for me, is self-tying wrap dresses. I have tried to wear them in different ways, but I haven’t found a way to layer them that works for me; I don’t like how they look with blazers or other toppers, and I hate that you can’t swap out the belt. So I just don’t buy them anymore.

Another useful practice was marathon try-on sessions. I would pull out a bunch of clothes from the closet, throw them on the bed and then try on different combinations — no matter how “wild” or unlikely. I learned a lot of things from that, by trial and error: about pattern-mixing, about colour theory, about proportions. My eye was the guide — I would try an outfit and look in the mirror (taking a photo is even better) and go with my gut on whether it looked “right” for me. After years of practice, I can now do this exercise largely in my head, without needing to empty out my closet … though trying things on is still the best gauge of an outfit’s potential. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes an outfit that worked well in my mind, doesn’t quite translate in real life.

Often, remixing is a question of very small tweaks; change out the top, or change the accessories, or add a new element. The habit to break is thinking that item A always has to be worn with item B. That kind of thinking will stop you from imagining other possibilities, for both A and B. Break them apart! Nothing terrible will happen, I promise.

Y’all know that I am not about didactic “telling” when it comes to (personal) style, but I like to offer people different ways of approaching things by showing. Recently, I’ve starting posting remix collages along with my OOTDs on Instagram, as a way to showcase how pieces can be worn in different ways. Each collage is a photo of my OOTD side by side with 2 other outfits featuring one item from the OOTD. Here are some examples:

I hope these remixes show how items can be used to create outfits with different aesthetics, for different occasions, and different seasons.

Details: Charlie Holiday dress, Tommy Hilfiger bag (both thrifted), Old Navy shoes (Poshmark), Rafael Canada jewelry

Thoughts: This is that linen-blend tiered summer dress I mentioned thrifting a while ago, which checks off all the boxes in terms of cut, length, volume, fabric, everything. It’s so comfortable and easy to wear and easy to accessorize. My goal now is to find this same style (or something almost identical, I’m open to a slightly different bodice/strap situation) in white. It has to be opaque, which is always a challenge with white dresses. I’ve found a few possibilities on Poshmark — nothing at the thrifts, sadly — but they’re either not quite right or not quite the right price. Anyway, back to this dress. I love it. This was such a simple outfit, but I felt like a million bucks in it. This is going to be my default, need-an-instant-outfit-and-have-no-other-ideas mode this summer — just switch up the accessories each time and go.

Details: Prairie Trail Goods jacket & tote, Pilcro top (thrifted), Gap jeans (thrifted), Marquis shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: I love the 70s vibe that this jacket and jeans create together. It’s not 100% within my style wheelhouse, but I enjoy it as an extension of the romantic boho prairie aesthetic I’ve been doing lately. Long hair is such a good accessory for it, too. A small/trivial detail, maybe, but I am enjoying this haircut (or, rather, lack thereof) a lot including its impact on my fashion choices.

Details: J. Crew top, Ralph Lauren dress & skirt, Free People belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I haven’t been buying a lot of clothes lately — a combination of selectiveness on my part and diminished selection at the thrifts — but one of my fave finds has been this Lauren Ralph Lauren shirt dress. It’s silk and quite fancy considering we’re talking about the diffusion line here. I can’t get enough of this magenta colour, and I am a big fan of shirt dresses that can be unbuttoned all the way and worn as dusters. It lets me feel like I’m wearing a swish cape … fun!

Details: no label top (thrifted), Gap vest (Poshmark), Issey Miyake skirt (thrifted), Cotton Ginny belt (thrifted), turquoise necklace (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I wrote earlier about how much I love vests as “completer” pieces in the summer and here’s a good example of how that works.

Details: Wilfred top, Citizens of Humanity jeans, Fluevog shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This is a very basic outfit — top, jeans, sandals — which is elevated by the interesting details of each element. Mostly the shoes. Those shoes are anything but basic and — this is key actually — shockingly comfortable.

Summer seemed to arrive suddenly – and very early – in Edmonton this year, which took most of us by surprise. Normal temperatures in May are usually in the mid-teens and they’ve been as high as +30 Celsius recently. I hesitate to call it “summer” because the weather here is nothing if not unpredictable – we’ve also had snow in May before – but it does look like it’s time to put away my spring coats. I am slightly sad about it, because I love spring fashion, but I’m now pivoting hard to my hot weather wardrobe. I put the boots away, brought out the sandals. Took out the wool jackets, coats and skirts, and unearthed all the summer dresses. It’s a ritual I strangely enjoy, even though it means turning my small house upside down for a day.

I am still vibing with last year’s summer aesthetic so I have no plans for major edits to my wardrobe, apart from a few updates (thrift gods willing) and maybe some paring down. With my annual clothing swap coming up next month, it’s a good time to do that. But even when things are mostly staying the same, I like to gather new style inspo at the beginning of the season. It’s like bringing in fresh air – new ideas make me feel energized and excited about the clothes I already have.

You won’t be surprised to hear that one of the first places I looked for inspo is old Ralph Lauren runway collections. It’s not just that I love the eclectic aesthetic; but nobody does layering and mix-and-matching like RL, and these are key strategies for me when it comes to making the most of my wardrobe. The way RL runway outfits are styled give me so many ideas for novel combinations of pieces from my own closet. Being able to “remix” my clothes in new, fun ways cuts down on the desire to buy new things simply for the novelty.

Here is one example. I was drawn to the pattern mixing and the use of accessories in this outfit. I don’t have a patchwork/madras jacket (looking for one!) but I worked with pieces from my closet to create something that, to me, had a similar vibe.

Here is some non-RL inspo that caught my eye too. On the left is a current Brunello Cuccinelli ad; I am not normally a fan due to the brand’s “stealth wealth” associations (gag) but I love the mood this image evokes (which, for me, has nothing to do with rich people). I don’t have the pieces to replicate it exactly, but I could put together my own take on it.

Here are a few more RL runway outfits that I’m saving for reference; they are not specifically summer looks, but again — it’s all about the proportions, layering and mixing.

The key to layered looks in the summer (in Edmonton) is breathable, light layers. I love cotton and especially linen for that. Also vests and crop tops. Loose dresses and skirts come with their own built-in AC. The creative challenge is taking the inspo look, which may or may not be geared to summer, and translating its components into summer-appropriate versions.

Here’s an example:

Not the same-same, but similar. The inspo is never a recipe, after all; it’s a starting point.