Details: H&M top (retail), Everlane sweater, Mackage jacket, Ann Marino shoes (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (eBay), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: It’s almost time to bring back my summer wardrobe, and I got a jump start because I’ve been dying to wear this skirt again since the fall. I can confirm, I’m still madly in love with it. Decided to make the most of the transitional weather, and pair it with a leather jacket for a bit of nice juxtaposition. This worked out well, as it allowed me to pick up with reddish-pink from the skirt and make it my “unifying” colour.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Talbots vest, Jil Sander coat, Fossil belt, Echo scarf (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (secondhand & gifted)

Thoughts: This is it, friends! This is the Jo March outfit I have been working towards since December 2019. We have reached Peak Jo March. I finally found the patterned red silk waistcoat I had been looking for all this time because I was convinced it was what Saoirse Ronan had worn in the movie. I say “convinced” because I was wrong, somehow. When I pulled up a photo of the outfit I had been dreaming of for years, it turns out that the waistcoat was yellow with red pattern. Her neckerchief was red. Oops. But close enough. I loved the outfit and it made me realize that I need to wear more silk scarves like this — it add a nice little touch of colour around the neck without making me feel suffocated.

Details: Toni T dickie, Lord & Taylor sweater, Gap jacket, Topshop pants, Fossil belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (consignment)

Thoughts: All older pieces I’ve worn before, remixed. I love that. I went for a bold pattern mix here, and I think I mostly pulled it off. However, I am thinking it may be time to part ways with these pants. The quality has never been great and while I love the windowpane print, I am not a huge fan of the pleated paper-bag waist; it doesn’t sit flat and flops about more than I like. The silhouette is also not my favourite currently (although that can and probably will change again), but most importantly, I have now acquired a few other trousers that are better quality and suit me better. All signs point to it being time to let go … but I will probably sit on that decision for a bit longer, just to be sure.

Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Gap jacket, Talbots skirt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Will I still wear this much brown come summer? It remains to be seen. For now, I guess I am. There is something very pleasing to my eye about the proportions of this outfit. The jacket is cropped (and nipped in) at the perfect spot/length for me. Paired with this long column skirt, it makes me look taller than I am, which I always enjoy.

Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Zara blazer, United Colours of Benetton pants (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (consignment)

Thoughts: Same sleeveless sweater, totally different outfit. The blazer and pants are not a suit — and, in fact the reds are slightly different, though close enough to fool the eye — but I had to wear them together at least once. I mean, they look damn good together! I thrifted them separately but only about a week apart, which is some kind of kismet for sure. I have never worn a lot of red, other than as an accent colour, but this is making me rethink it. I have always loved this shade of orangey poppy red, which I think flatters my complexion the best out of all reds. This is a VERY bold look, but the simplicity of the outfit balances out the colour overload. It’s a Power Look, for sure.

Details: F21 sweatshirt, Ralph Lauren skirt, Pink Tartan jacket, Emmanuel belt, Ann Marino shoes (all thrifted), Coach bag (gift)

Thoughts: I couldn’t wait to take out my new-to-me (and long coveted) vintage Coach bag for a spin, so I built a cute outfit around it. I paired 2 very old pieces — the skirt and the sweatshirt, high and low — with a recent addition to my closet, this knit moto jacket. I’m not short on outerwear, but I picked up the jacket because I thought it would be a nice alternative for my leather jackets: same style but different weight and texture. And it’s quite nice quality, which is rare to find at the thrifts these days.

Details: BCBG dress (ebay), BR belt, Babaton skirt, acrylic necklace (all thrifted)

Thoughts: Some of the OGs will remember this dress. I bought it back in 2013, after months of hunting, having fallen in love with it after I saw Adrien wearing it on Looks Good From The Back. I hadn’t worn it in years, but held on to it because it holds special memories of a certain era of my life. Recently, I felt the urge to dig it out of storage and try to make it “me” again. The me of now is radically different than the me of 2013-2015, but clothes are endlessly versatile. Case in point: this outfit. An old dress made new again.

Details: Banana Republic sweater & pants, Fossil belt (all thrifted), Stella & Dot necklace (Poshmark)

Thoughts: A very simple but satisfying outfit built around the combination of purple and brown, which is a favourite of mine. It’s all about the colours and the silhoutte, with nice supporting work from a couple of key accessories. That’s all it takes!

It all started with a watch.

No, wait, let me back up.

I guess it really started with my love for sun, moon, and star motifs. I was a 90s teen, it was unavoidable – and I never really grew out of it. Over the years, and especially in the last four as my nostalgia kicked into high gear, I’ve bought all kinds of things – home décor, clothing, accessories – because they featured some combination of celestial bodies. One thing I coveted for a long time was a vintage sun & moon phase watch. There was a Timex one I had my eye on for a while, but the stars never quite aligned (pun intended!) to put it in my path. Or, rather, the stars had something different, better in mind for me. Earlier this year, I finally found the perfect thing:

I paid $25 at Goodwill for this 1988 vintage Guess watch and it’s everything I wanted and more, patina and all. I love the face so, so much. Not only the sun/moon design, but the style of Roman numerals is *chef’s kiss*. I have no idea if it actually works, because I have not replaced its battery; nor do I plan to. Sometimes I manually wind the hands so I can change the moon for the sun, and vice versa, but I don’t need it to actually tell time – I wear it purely as an accessory, like a bracelet.

This watch was the spark that slowly reignited my interest in watches. I used to wear them every day, back in the days when I was obsessed with my Skagen “Anita” watch collection, but this habit was another victim of the pandemic. The difference, now, is that I wear watches without using them – which makes it cheaper and more convenient to collect vintage ones. Of course. You knew that was coming, right? Because I wear them as accessories, I am guided purely by aesthetics, not quality or brand. There are lots of vintage watches at the thrift stores; most of them are overpriced and/or not my style, but I’ve been having fun looking for pieces that suit me. And I’ve found a couple!

The sun & moon phase watch is marked “Hong Kong” but otherwise a mystery; I could not resist its oversized face – probably a men’s watch. It cost $4. The Boy London is also a men’s watch but its 90s vibes appealed to me. It cost $6. At this point, it’s impossible to have cheaper fun at the thrifts.

What happened next is a series of lateral jumps in the creative process (if we can call putting myself together a “creative process”) that can sometimes feel like magic. Wearing watches again made start thinking about arm stacks. Remember arm stacks? I used to love those. Put a pin in this, we will come back to it. First, let’s side step to what will seem like a tangent, but which I promise is very relevant.

Another thing I thrifted earlier this year was a 5-stone eternity band; it was a $3 ring with cheap CZs and a mostly tarnished finish, but I fell in love with the design. More importantly, it looked wonderful stacked on top of my mom’s wedding band, which I had started wearing on the ring finger of my right hand. After testing it for a few weeks, I decided to “upgrade” to a better-quality version – a sterling silver and moissanite ring I found on Amazon:

I am obsessed with this ring stack, to the point that I rarely wear anything else on this finger (slightly inconvenient as I have a lot of other rings I love that only fit on this finger, oh well). Sometimes I swap out the blue topaz ring – an early gift from my husband – for my own wedding band, which also makes for a beautiful stack.

I was probably admiring said stack when the idea came to me. What if I got something similar for a sleek and classic arm stack? What if I got a diamond tennis bracelet? It would look very nice with my vintage watches and other slim bracelets I have, no? Yes. Now, of course, I am not going to jump into actual diamond territory on a whim. TBH, having tried moissanites, I may never jump into actual diamond territory ever again. My first thought was to look for a sterling silver and moissanite tennis bracelet on Amazon, having been impressed with the quality (relative to price) of my ring. I’ve had it for a few months now, wear it daily (and rarely bother to take it off even when I shower), and it still looks great. I wanted the same sort of thing for my bracelet, but it turns out that the price point is quite a bit different when you move from a ring to a bracelet. Again, I was still at the “testing out a new idea” stage, and did not want to spend a couple hundred dollars yet.

I looked around some more and found a much cheaper (under $40) option with CZs instead of moissanite and “gold-plated silver” whatever that means. (I’m pretty sure it’s not sterling.) I put it in my cart to save while I pondered the purchase, and in the meantime decided to have a look at Poshmark as well. Ten minutes of scrolling didn’t lead me to any promising silver-and-moissanite bracelet options … but it did lead me to something promising. I saw a listing for a Swarovski tennis bracelet and went “hmm”. I have always been very happy with Swarovski quality; I’ve had pieces for years and they never tarnished, or lost stones, etc. This bracelet was listed for $60, which was within the budget I was willing to spend. But there was more. Something about it triggered a memory.

It reminded me of a Swarovski necklace that my mom used to have – a gift, I believe, from her friends for her 60^th birthday. I had borrowed it from her a few times, before she died, for special occasions. After she died, I sorted through her jewelry and put away most of the fancier pieces, this necklace included. I hadn’t thought of it in years, until the style of stone setting on the Poshmark bracelet reminded me of it. And I thought … what if?

I dug out the blue Swarovski box from storage and looked inside. And sure enough, next to the necklace, there it also was:

This may sound strange, but it felt like I was getting a sign from my mom, all these years later. It has happened before. Seeing the bluejay (my mom’s favourite bird) hop around in the garden right outside the window where I was sitting down for lunch. Finding the red Coach bag I thought I’d sold and missed terrible, but which my mom had kept for years, in one of her closets. Little gifts. Just like this one. Just in time for Mother’s Day.

Love you always, mama!

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Danier skirt, Nocona belt (all thrifted), turquoise necklace (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I adored this outfit — peak Adina! Sometimes, all you need is a statement skirt and crisp white shirt. I am a white shirt convert now. The key is to have an oversized one, and wear it loose and casual not buttoned up and businessy. Well, buttoned up works too, but only under sweaters and vests for me … and it has to be a different white shirt because the one used for layering must be fitted not oversized (for obvious reasons). All of which to say, yes, I have multiple white shirts in my closet now. I barely recognize myself! But the real star here is this incredible vintage suede skirt. It’s the perfect cut for me and the quality is amazing; a skirt like this would cost $500+ at, say, Banana Republic these days. It’s soft but has a good weight to it without sacrificing movement. It’s quite swishy. I realized that the length, on me, works best with a heel (even a modest one) that shows off the ankle a bit. Which is fine by me, as it all plays into the rather glam vibe of the skirt.

Details: H&M top (retail), Ralph Lauren blazer, Everlane sweater, vintage belt, BR pants (all thrifted)

Thoughts: The pleated pants are back for another iteration of the Historian. I don’t know what else to say, guys: it’s all just constantly remixing the same pieces in ever-so-slightly-different ways. I’m never bored, but I won’t speak for you 😉

Details: Wilfred sweater, Nicole Miller skirt, Aldo shoes (all thrifted), Lena Bernard necklace (eBay)

Thoughts: Speaking of remixing: considering how much I love this skirt, I struggle a bit too much with finding different ways to style it. That is the difficulty with some statement pieces, especially uniquely patterned ones like this. That being said, I am very happy with how this outfit turned out — it’s simple but very satisfying. The loafers were the perfect shoe choice, IMO. I recently admitted defeat over my old Steve Madden pair; the double platform was simply too high and bulky for me. This Aldo pair with its more modest platform works much better for me. Lesson learned.

Details: Ralph Lauren sweater (gift), Jessie skirt, Talbots vest (both thrifted), Laredo boots (consignment), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: A little bit 90s, a little bit funky. This is a very plain colour palette for me, but as always in such cases, I compensated with texture to keep things interesting. Every time I wear this skirt, I am transported back to 1997 except I feel much cooler now than I did then and if isn’t the definition of winning at life, what is?

Details: Pendleton sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Ash shoes (all thrifted), vintage cardigan (secondhand), Coach bag, Le Chateau belt (both Poshmark)

Thoughts: Contrast the previous outfit to this one — proof I can still do mad-bold colour when I feel like it. This vintage handmade cardigan continues to get me compliments every time I wear it. And it’s such a joy to wear quite apart from the external validation. Paired it with a graphic skirt, and I feel like it was an excellent choice. The belt and shoes play up the slightly punk-ish vibe.

Details: Jeanne Pierre sweater, vintage belt (both thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (eBay)

Thoughts: Spring prairiecore romance … is what I would call this vibe. Love the colour story, love the pattern, love how I feel when I wear my favourite clothes.