Details: Tommy Hilfiger sweater, Do+Be skirt, Pelle blazer, Louis Vuitton bag (all secondhand), Mia shoes (retail)
Thoughts: Isn’t this vintage leather blazer just the best? Can you believe I only paid $20 for it, and it’s in mint condition. Well, that’s my fall wardrobe sorted in one go #kiddingnotkidding. I am fully back on the brown-is-the-best-neutral train for another season, in case you couldn’t tell. After years of avoiding it in favour of black, I am finally able to admit (and see) that it suits me much better. It also happens to work well with leopard print, which is one of my ‘experiments’ this fall. So far, it’s going very well. Turns out, leopard print is not a half-bad pattern mix option. I love putting together (sorta) monochromatic outfits as a showcase for layering, texture, and pattern contrast.
Details: Liz Claiborne vest & pants, vintage belt, Rafael Alfandary necklace (all secondhand)
Thoughts: Still wearing and loving these pants. Paired with a fun vest, they nail that ‘relaxed elegance’ vibe I’ve been digging lately.
Details: Jil Stuart top, Issey Miyake skirt, BR & vintage necklaces (all thrifted), Simons belt, J. Crew shoes (both retail)
Thoughts: This blouse was a style gamble, but something about its exuberant ruffledness tickled my fancy. I thought it might pair well with some of my southwestern-inspired pieces. I didn’t want to go too overboard, so I added only a belt this time. I also piled on a bunch of colourful accessories to add a bit of colour contrast while keeping the overall palette relatively restrained. This outfit was all about finding the right balance; I wanted visual interest without going overboard.
Details: Esprit vest, Calvin Klein jeans, Gap belt, Dooney bag (all secondhand), Maguire shoes (retail)
Thoughts: This vest is so 90s in the best way, isn’t it? The bootcut jeans are def Y2K, and the combo is somehow very Adina 2024. I thought the shoes would complement the vest nicely, with a little stripe-on-stripe action. A simple outfit, but quite satisfying.
Details: A&F cardigan, Guess bodysuit, Gap belt, Oat jeans, Rebecca Minkoff bag (all thrifted), Maguire shoes (retail)
Thoughts: This was the chunky cropped white cardigan I thrifted off my fall wishlist, and while I don’t love its quality, it is exactly everything I thought it would be: a piece that will help tie together a bazillion outfits. This one included. Imagine this with a black topper — it wouldn’t work half as well, imo. My goal is now to find an elevated version of this cardigan, but I can afford to wait because this one will serve me well for the foreseeable future. I also love these Oat jeans I thrifted, but will now have to say goodbye to … because my daughter has moved in and claimed them. Sigh.
Thoughts: Same cardigan, different outfit. See what I mean about its versatility? This is a totally 90s dress — and actually from the 90s — that really spoke to me when I saw it at the thrifts. The colours are great and the pattern feels vintagey but also kind of modern at the same time. This is also a very 90s outfit formula, but instead of the thin, cropped cardigans popular back then, I subbed this chunky one. And the result? A throwback, updated.
Let’s pick up where we left off last week and talk about some more of my favourite brands for vintage (80s, 90s, and Y2K) fashion. I’ve tried to organize these into (semi-arbitrary) categories to help jog my mental Rolodex — that’s a reference for my fellow Gen Xers — because there are a lot of them to remember. My advice is: if you come across a vintage-looking label, it’s worth a closer look. I always check the fabric composition, and the “made in” tag, along with the overall condition of the item and the quality of its finishings; and if it’s an unfamiliar brand, I do a quick look-up on Google to see what it resells for. I am generally not expecting non-designer vintage to resell at super high prices, but if I’m seeing listings in the $30-50 range (or higher), it’s likely to be a brand with decent quality.
Department store brands
Let’s start off with one of my absolute faves: Liz Claiborne, along with its offshoots LizWear and LizSport. I have SO many pieces, including pants (my fave white pair!), tops, sweaters and vests. So many good vests! Style-wise, this brand covers a lot of bases, from cottagecore to preppy, and from casual to dressy. Lots of natural fibers, especially cotton, which is always a bonus. Along very similar lines there is Jones New York and Talbots. As with Liz Claiborne, you can tell which pieces are vintage (versus current) from the brand logos and the “made in” tags. All of these brands are good across all categories of clothing, as well as accessories.
Slightly less common to find here is Anne Klein and Anne Klein II. I haven’t done much research into this brand, so I don’t precisely know its history, but I do know that the latter was advertised a lot in Vogue and similar magazines in the 80s and 90s, so it was a relatively upscale brand — with quality to match. I would put the English brand Jaeger in the same bucket; both of these have a more classic, elegant aesthetic. Ditto Ann Taylor. For something with a little more flash and 80s pizzazz, Carole Little is also worth keeping an eye out for.
Then we have what I think of as the “catalogue” brands, including J. Crew, Eddie Bauer, and Pendleton. (Most brands on this list did catalogues back in the day, but just go with it. This is what I meant when I said my categories were arbitrary ;)). I love EB for knitwear and outerwear. Ditto for Pendleton, who also did amazing wool blazers. Vintage J. Crew is super rare here, but I would die for some of their wool and cashmere sweaters — especially some of their original rollneck sweaters.
Canadianbrands
Into this category, I’m putting a bunch of brands that are of a similar type to the above only, well, Canadian. It’s not merely patriotic pride that influenced that decision; depending on your location, these brands may be more or less accessible on account of being Canadian. As far as Ports International goes, I actually only found out recently that it is; for some reason, I previously thought it was a European brand. I find the quality to be slightly inconsistent, but for the most part it’s quite good — on par with some of the higher-end brands listed above. The aesthetic is generally on the classic/ladylike end of things; I’ve had especially good luck with jackets and skirts. Braemer and Alfred Sung are also worth keeping an eye on; lots of 80s “power” suiting and blazers. I always check to make sure the shoulder pads are removable (not sewn in) because, while I love a strong shoulder, too much of it makes me look like a linebacker.
On the designer end of things, Wayne Clark did a ton of fabulous stuff in the 80s, including evening wear. I recently thrifted a velvet jacket that is absolutely stunning, but I have also come across more casual/daytime pieces as well. And since I forgot to add these to my post last week, here is an honourable mention for a couple of European designer brands: Louis Ferraud and Sassoon. I’ve got a couple of amazing jackets from both of these brands — very “lady-who-lunches” in the best way.
I would be remiss not to include Danier in this list of Canadian brands, because it’s my top go-to for vintage leather clothing. Their jackets and blazers are the most common items to be found at the thrift stores — though prices have skyrocketed in recent years — but skirts, vests, and even pants are worth a look. My Danier suede maxi skirt is an absolute stunner, the kind of thing I could easily see on a Ralph Lauren runway; something of similar quality would cost upwards of $500 these days.
Cottagecore brands
If, like me, you’re into the cottagecore aesthetic, here are some of the brands that might deliver the vintage pieces your closet needs. Laura Ashley is, of course, a classic. I don’t come across it often here in Edmonton, but it never disappoints. Their floral prints are usually amazing. Speaking of amazing prints, I like to think of Suttles & Seawinds as the Canadian Laura Ashley. They also do a lot of patchwork-style pieces, including matching jacket/skirt and vest/skirt combos. Also similar, but with slightly more hit-and-miss quality, is April Cornell. I love their aesthetic, but I don’t always love the fabrics they use (viscose for summer dresses).
For fun knitwear, Tabi and Susan Bristol are usually good bets; the latter also for patchwork stuff. Christopher & Banks and Beechers Brook are two brands to which I’ve only recently started paying attention, but I think they would fit into this category as well (although I think BB had a broader range of styles, beyond the cottagecore stuff).
Youth/Mall brands
My favourite vintage ‘mall brand’ is, of course, the Gap but Mexx and Esprit are not too far behind. These are all relatively easy to find in my local thrift stores, along with Canadian staples like Le Chateau, Jacob and Tristan & Iseut. Less common is vintage Banana Republic, though I recently scored the perfect 90s velvet mini dress with an old school BR label. For some reason, vintage Club Monaco is also quite rare at my local thrifts, but maybe that’s because it’s considered highly desirable.
Slightly more youth-oriented, there is also Mariposa and SmartSet; both are 90s throwbacks that my teenage self would have loved to wear. Their specialty was trendy clothing, which means that vintage pieces that are still kicking around will definitely reflect what was “in” 20+ years ago. I would add Jessie to this list — not to be confused with Jessica, which also appears on a lot of vintage clothing, but which I believe was targeted at an older audience.
If you have other recommendations — the more obscure, the better! — please add them to the list in the comment section. Sharing (the knowledge) is caring!
Details: Eddie Bauer sweater, Liz Claiborne pants, Fossil belt, Alexander McQueen shoes (all thrifted)
Thoughts: Still rocking my white pants, still obsessed with them. The matchiness of this outfit pleased me a great deal, especially once I realized the shoes have red piping on them. Both sweater and pants are (good, vintage) cotton, so they’re perfect for early transitional weather — cool mornings, warm days. I’m really feeling this relaxed preppy vibe at the moment, and can’t wait to experiment with it going into fall.
Details: Re/Done tee, Judith & Charles jacket, Donna Karan belt (all thrifted), Ricki’s skirt (retail)
Thoughts: I’m not sure how I’ll feel about wearing this white skirt in the cooler months ahead (even at home), so I decided to take my chance while I still have it, and give it another wear. I’ve been growing bolder this year, doing head-to-toe white outfits despite my propensity to spill things on myself. Hope I haven’t just jinxed myself. Anyway, this is almost all white. Red is just a fantastic pairing for white, and I much prefer it to the standard red, white, and blue (with its patriotic connotations which I, as a Canadian, have no desire to promote ;)).
Details: Bozzolo top (retail), Beechers Brook dress, Babaton skirt, Napoleoni shoes (all thrifted), Marc Jacobs bag (eBay)
Thoughts: Let’s move on now to my 90s obsession. Baby tee, slim skirt, sheer dress overlay — need I say more? I’ve also decided that it’s time to bring back my old Marc Jacobs bags into rotation. They’re not precisely Y2K, but close. This was the era when MJ bags were made from the most incredible leather (on par with vintage Coach, imo) and lined with suede. Yes, suede! Usually in a fun, contrasting colour to the exterior leather. These bags are heeeavy to carry, but so fabulous. And so many to-die-for colours! I am so happy that I didn’t do another dumb thing and get rid of these years ago, like I did with my original vintage Coach bag collection. If anything is gonna make me start wearing shoulder bags again, it’s these babies.
Details: Bozzolo top (retail), Braemer vest, Apostrophe skirt, Aldo shoes (all thrifted), Rafael Alfandary necklace (eBay)
Thoughts: Speaking of the 90s … as soon as I saw this skirt at the thrift store, there was only one thing on my mind: 1999 Oscars red carpet. IYKYK. I have been obsessed with Gwyneth’s bubblegum pink gown for 25 years. Maybe it was an omen; after all, it was designed by Ralph Lauren and, well, here we are today. Anyway, this skirt was $3 so it was an instant “yes”. However, once I got it home, I realized that I had no idea how to style it. More than anything, I think it’s the pink that stumps me; it’s not a colour I wear a lot, and I’m finding it somewhat challenging to figure out what to pair it with, on top of also trying to match the vibe of the skirt. Anyway, my first attempt ended up with this outfit, which I didn’t mind at all. The vest gives me 90s Versace vibes, and paired with my trusty cropped tee, it felt like a cohesive idea come to life.
Details: Brooks Brothers shirt, J. Crew blazer & shoes, Tommy Hilfiger jeans, vintage belt, Coach bag (all secondhand)
Thoughts: It’s almost time to bust out my corduroy stuff in earnest, and I couldn’t be more excited. That’s all I got here — it’s a pretty basic outfit, but the colours make it fun.
Thoughts: I thrifted this skirt for my fall wishlist so I could experiment with the leopard print trend, and I’m actually having a lot of fun with it. This was my first styling attempt, and I went bolder than I originally planned for two reasons. One, I wanted to wear my red slides again, so I decided to pair the skirt with this cropped red sweater vest. Do the reds match perfectly? No, but there’s enough outfit in between to distract the eye (hopefully). Two, I found this really cute, (faux) tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl vintage bag, and thought its dotty print would clash perfectly with the leopard print — that is to say, it would be a pattern mix made in heaven.
