Last week turned into a perfect storm of splurging. The Mulberry bag I bought on eBay finally arrived (from England), the day after I spent the last of my Xmas gift card on this new Smythe blazer at Blu’s. It all felt very … decadent. The Smythe was an impulse buy, but I’m a sucker for elbow patches (and these are real leather, as are the buttons), and the fit is fantastic. This blazer was made in Canada, so I feel good about that. Assuming the quality is as good as its reputation promises, I should be wearing this piece for many years.

The Mulberry is the Audrina style, which I have been hunting for ages. I fell in love with it because of the hardware on the pocket closure, which is an unusual pin-lock style. Yeah, I’m weird about bag hardware. Anyway, it just so happened that I finally found the Audrina on eBay (it’s an older style and seems pretty rare) in this beautiful cerise colour … which I had been coveting separately. (Everyone needs a pink bag in their closet, right?) The size is bang-on for my personal preference, and the bag as a whole is very practical. Consider this a mini review, with raves all around.

Of course, the day I wore this outfit, the rain came down with a vengeance, hence these crappy office photos. But trust that this outfit was hella cute, and won me a bunch of compliments. Treating myself, indeed.

I don’t do black and white often, especially not without throwing in some accent colour, but I invariably like the rare exceptions. I’m afraid this is one of those outfits that looks better in person than in pictures (at least those taken with my iPhone camera, on my driveway, while pretending not to notice the neighbours driving by and telling themselves “what is the deal with those people, they seem normal enough the rest of the time”). It’s the most basic of basic, but sometimes basic is best, you know?

Everything here except my top is thrifted, including the Famous Manolos. Who knew I would end up loving a pair of white pumps so much? Mr. Blahnik makes beautiful (and comfortable) shoes, so perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Oh, if the stars would align again, so I could find another pair! And if the Campari Mary Janes are out of the question, I’ll be happy to settle for some Valentino Rockstuds instead — I’m very reasonable like that. Are you listening, thrifting gods? It’s me, Adina. xoxo

I’m a redhead who is not afraid to wear pink, but coral is usually where I draw the line. Thing was, this Gap blazer fit so nicely, and seemed like such a great summer piece, I decided to set aside my prejudices. Well, coral is still not my colour, but this outfit turned out nice enough. The coral in the blazer picks up the same shade in the skirt, and my teal Muse II adds a bit of a colour contrast (along with the blue in the skirt). I defaulted to boring black for my shoe choice, mostly because navy pumps continue to elude me, and I’m afraid I need to add nude ones to the list too.

Are there any colours you guys avoid? Have you ever broken your own “rule” and been pleasantly surprised with the result?