Steampunk Lite

I really like the print of this Clover Canyon top. It’s vaguely steampunk-ish and visually arresting. It makes quite a statement … but it’s also the opposite of versatile. Long sleeves and the stiff scuba-like material make it hard to layer under blazers, and the cropped length creates additional limitations. I was considering whether to get rid of it, but couldn’t quite give up on that cool print. Then I had the bright (though not particularly original) idea of layering it over not under things. Ahh – a new world of possibilities. This linen shirt was a good first option, as the lace frill at the bottom adds some length and also a nice bit of contrast. It’s a simple but effective combination, which got lots of comments on Instagram. Not that I’m all about compliments on social media but … well, don’t mind if I take them all, mwaahaha.

Notes: Clover Canyon top (consignment, $25); For Cynthia top (thrifted, $4); Aritzia pants (thrifted, $8); J. Crew shoes (retail, $80).

Yennefer Goes to Law School

Did ya think you’d be done with the Witcher content so soon? Think again. I call this my Yennefer-goes-to-law-school outfit, although to be honest, most days I wish I had gone to Aretuza instead. I mean, minus the not-having-any-kids part; I’d miss those little rascals. But, yeah, a little magic wouldn’t hurt now and then. I guess I’ll stick to the whole outfit glamour-ing business, which is not nearly as impressive but fun on an achievable level for a Muggle like me. Sorry, mixing up my fandoms now. Anyway. It’s hard to go wrong with black and white, and the pieces here are certainly not the kind to let you down. This faux leather skirt is one of my fave recent purchases, and it works quite well with the AllSaints blouse that’s one of my old fave purchases. Not to mention the shoes, which were one of my first and most favourite designer thrift finds ever. Good stuff all around.

Notes: AllSaints top (thrifted, $4); Smythe blazer (thrifted, $11); Oak & Fort skirt (thrifted, $12); Manolo Blahnik shoes (thrifted, $14).

Trench Chic

I didn’t know how much I needed a trench-style dress until I found this Talbots number at my local thrift store. That’s the beauty of thrifting, I guess. I even paid up for it because I could tell the (vintage) quality was excellent. It’s a heavy linen material, similar to my (also vintage) Ungaro dress – not as prone to wrinkling, and with a nice drape to it. I wish it was more of a midi style, because that’s my preferred length these days, but that’s a small quibble. I made up the difference by wearing almost-over-the-knee slouchy boots, and I loved the resulting City Adventurer vibe.

Notes: Talbots dress (thrifted, $20); Equipment shirt (gifted); Stuart Weitzman boots (thrifted $20).

I’ve referenced this in passing in recent posts, but I thought it would be worthwhile writing in greater depth about my current sources of style inspiration. My style obsessions, if you will. While you may not share them exactly, you may be interested in my process for adapting/incorporating inspiration into my outfit planning.

First up, Jo March.

Y’all know about my mixed feelings about the new Little Women movie but one thing that I unabashedly loved about it was the costuming, especially for Jo. The first time we see her onscreen – in her “independent lady writer in New York” mode – I turned to my best friend and said “I need her entire wardrobe”. Something about the silhouette and proportions – voluminous long skirts, waistcoats, and tailored little jackets – just spoke to me.

Apart from the waistcoats, which have become my #1 thrift goal, I already have a lot of pieces that fit the Jo aesthetic. This is a sign. To me, inspiration doesn’t mean copying, nor does it mean buying a whole new wardrobe. If I had to do that to be able to put together an “inspired by” outfit, I would have to rethink whether that particular inspiration really suited me or not. Sometimes, it’s okay to admire someone’s style without making it yours. My goal is to hone in on the mood/essence/vibe of an outfit that attracts my eye, and figure out how to infuse that into my own outfits as filtered through my personal style preferences. That way, when I wear that outfit, I’m expressing a particular mood not simply cos-playing.

Jo’s style dovetails nicely with my Adventurer (and, to a lesser extent, Prince) avatar and represents a direction I had been wanting to explore – i.e. doing more of a “19th century lady explorer” thing than a “Indiana Jones in professor mode” thing (think skirts instead of pants and slightly less tweed).

My other current style obsession is The Witcher.

I found the show highly entertaining in spite (or maybe because) of my extremely low expectations. To put it bluntly, I started watching it as a joke because I thought it would be terrible … and got sucked into its (pretty formulaic, let’s not pretend) storyline and charmed by its main protagonists. The best part is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s a huge amount of fun. I love Geralt, bad wig and all, because he’s reliably deadpan in a world full of ridiculous propositions – monsters! dragons! enchantments! curses! surprise children! evil armies on the march! – and has a way with monosyllabic words of the expletive variety. I also enjoy powerful witches, so I guess I was predisposed to like Yennefer (even though her “crisis of identity” plotline kinda bored me, tbh). She happens to have a killer wardrobe, which helps – very much a Prince aesthetic, with maybe a little Artist thrown in.

My main takeaways from The Witcher are: all-black and black-and-white outfits (for which, of course, I need little encouragement); long, streamlined silhouettes with nipped-in waists; and LOTS of texture. I have been incorporating leather into my outfits whenever I can for a while now, and The Witcher is giving me some new ideas.

What’s inspiring you at the moment?

Best of 2020

That’s right, I am calling it now: this outfit will be one of my favourites of the year. Maybe THE favourite. It may seem foolhardy to say that about something I wore on January 7, but I mean, just look at it. It’s pretty much perfect for me. It looks black in photos, but the Marie Saint Pierre dress is actually dark grey. It has some killer pleating which creates that fantastic bell shape. I added a light grey tulle skirt as a kind of petticoat because (a) I wanted to add length to the dress, and (b) visual interest. Rather than try to find a necklace that would compliment the unusual neckline, I decided to go with brooches; I am currently obsessed with star motifs, and these are statement-making without being gaudy. Last but not least, I decided to add a belt to further highlight the lines of the dress. It works. It all works.

Notes: Marie Saint Pierre dress (thrifted, $8.50); Everly skirt (thrifted, $8); brooches (Amazon, around $25); Greta Constantine x Danier belt (thrifted, $12); Cole Haan shoes (thrifted, $20).

The Splurge

I am constantly low-key stalking Dries Van Noten pieces on eBay; resale prices are typically high, so it requires a lot of patience to find a good deal on a piece I like. At the tail end of last year, I stumbled on this dress, which checks off a lot of boxes for me: midi length, sleeveless (easier to layer that way), interesting abstract pattern, nice colour palette. The price was pretty good (around $200CAD before shipping) and I was able to knock it down a bit further using the “Best Offer” option. Even better? I had saved up a good balance in my PayPal account from reselling clothes, so the dress cost me nothing out of pocket.

Side-note: I won’t lie, I still struggle with paying more than $100 on any single item of clothing, even if the money doesn’t come directly from my bottom line. But I have recently decided that, as thrifting supplies the bulk of my wardrobe and most of my clothing needs at a very reasonable cost, I am going to save up my reselling profits and use them on special “investment” pieces – i.e. things I need to pay up for. This would include pieces from my fave designers that are challenging to source through thrifting (Dries, Marni, Rick Owens, Issey Miyake, etc.) and expensive staples (like the MaxMara coat that I need to replace).

Back to the outfit: I kept things simple here with a black blazer as a topper, but I did add an extra pop of colour with the blue shoes. It works well with the yellow, I think. I don’t own a lot of yellow pieces but I like it in small doses and it does allow for some great colour combinations, like this one.

Notes: Dries Van Noten dress (eBay, $275); Theory blazer (thrifted, $13); J. Crew shoes (thrifted, $15).

Fun Friday

This is my take on casual Friday, sans denim. I know people tend to see a skirt and think “fancy” but it really isn’t. I mean, it takes the same amount of effort to put on a black skirt as it does jeans, and it goes with all the same things – like this sweater. Add a pair of mules, and you’re good to go. Easy, breezy, comfortable. I will say that my only 2020 resolution is to unapologetically embrace and express my inner oddball, so “extra AF” outfits will become more of the norm around here, hopefully, because that’s how my inner oddball likes to roll. An outfit like this tries to straddle the line between social expectations (casual Friday) and personal inclination (outfit with a twist).

Notes: Gap sweater (thrifted, $5); Crea Concept skirt (thrifted, $8); Eileen Fisher shoes (thrifted, $10).

Obligatory Witchy Lewk

Do I need to make this a recurring feature of these posts? I feel that maybe I do. Anyway, here’s the requisite “witchy” lewk of the week courtesy of a newly thrifted Oska dress (which is giving me real Issey Miyake/Junya Watanabe vibes) and my quickly-becoming-a-favourite embellished Blank NYC jacket. Note to self: find more star-print things. Maybe some earrings next?

Notes: Oska dress (thrifted, $8.50); BlankNYC jacket (retail, $63); Ecco boots (thrifted, $20).