Fall Feels

This Thanksgiving, I was thankful for many things, including the fact that it hasn’t snowed. Yet. More than I remember of previous years, I am finding this brief fall season to be charming. The leaves are beautiful shades of yellow, red and orange which look fetching even on gray days. Gray days have their own charm too – on weekends, I love going for walks in our neighbourhood, then coming home to read or paint in my cozy space. All of that to say: this is what I wore for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house. It was a good outfit, even if my son thought I was overdressed.

Notes: Rick Owens dress (thrifted, $10); Skies Are Blue vest (thrifted, $5); Zara shoes (retail, $80).

Stormy Seas

I love this colour palette; it reminds me of stormy seas. There are 3 different shades here: slate blue (the top), grey (the blazer), and dark green but they harmonize nicely. This Helmut Lang blazer was part of an epic haul in September, and has really good lines. I am not usually a fan of very sharp (padded) shoulders on blazers, because mine are already broad, but here the detail works somehow. Also working? This Rafael necklace. In all fairness, it works with pretty much everything I wear. Someone once commented that it looks like a necklace that holds a few spells and I love it all the more for it. Pieces with a little bit of mystery are my favourite.

Notes: Babaton top (thrifted, $12); Helmut Lang blazer (thrifted, $8); Zara skirt (thrifted, $11); Cole Haan shoes (thrifted, $20); Rafael necklace (eBay, $80).

Achievement Unlocked

At the Wardrobe Exchange event back in September, I fell in love with an outfit. This incredibly stylish woman was wearing a black sweater (with leather pocket accents), a chartreuse green satin midi skirt, and black ankle boots. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was perfection. I was especially taken with the skirt. Through the magic of social media, I was connected with its stylish owner and discovered that it came from a Dorothee Schumacher trunk show. [Sidebar: Dorothee Schumacher is one of those lesser known designers whose stuff I really like. Have yet to find pieces at the thrift store, but this was a good reminder to check eBay more often.]

Needless to say, I knew my chance of finding the exact same skirt were slim to none, so I started looking for alternatives – first on eBay, and then retail. Somewhat surprisingly, none of the usual suspects (Zara, ASOS, Topshop) had nothing to offer me. I needed something very specific: the colour (chartreuse) AND the style (midi) AND the material (silky satin). I was more or less resigned to putting my search on the back burner when – lo! – I stumbled across the exact thing I wanted at Nordstrom Rack. It’s a random brand and fast fashion quality, but I think it will work as a statement piece and I can’t wait to wear it. For its inaugural outfit, I chose something that was a hat-tip to the original inspiration.

Notes: Jones NY sweater (thrifted, $8.50); Sarah Pacini vest (consignment, $85); Code x Mode skirt (retail, $34); Tory Burch boots (thrifted, $20).

Not having paid much attention to haute couture for the last 5-7 years, I don’t have strong feelings about most designers. I have started to develop a list of favourites in the last 18 months, but it’s a pretty short one and it’s based predominantly on my own personal experiences with particular brands. I’ve never thrifted any Celine clothes, so I don’t have a lot of thoughts on Celine. It’s not on my favourites shortlist, although of course I would be more than happy to have a chance to try it out.

That being said, I am deeply, deeply digging their F/W 2019-2020 collection. Even if Celine, as a whole, does not represent my overall aesthetic, this one collection really nailed one facet of it. I mean, this outfit, you guys … GAH!

I love everything about this and the best part is that it’s eminently wearable! In real life! Even for this suburban working mom!

A quick mental inventory of my closet told me that I already have most of the necessary pieces. The only thing missing is a pair of tweed culottes. I am planning to remedy this unfortunate omission at the earliest opportunity thrifting permits. In the meantime, I decided to turn the outfit on its head: why not tweed on top and leather on the bottom?

Initially, I tried a different skirt (with more of an A-line silhouette) but I didn’t like how it worked; the above-the-knee length made the outfit look too schoolgirlish for my liking. Although this pencil skirt doesn’t create quite the same silhouette as the culottes, I like the overall effect. Sometimes, it takes a few tweaks to get an outfit you really love. Sprezzatura doesn’t just happen 😉

Street Style

Not gonna lie: this is 100% outside my style comfort zone. I mean, I am comfortable with maxi skirts and leather jackets, but this particular combo is not really in my wheelhouse. I feel it’s what the young kids might call “street style”? I don’t even know. But I do know these marble-print Docs are amazing and deserve more wears that I have been able to give them so far. I thought they would be a cool pairing with the sporty vibe of this Phillip Lim skirt, which was one part of my most amazing thrift haul ever. [More on that later.] I like how it all came together, but I’m still not sure it’s “me”. Oh well, sometimes experimenting is the main point.

Notes: Line sweater (thrifted, $8.50), Mackage jacket (thrifted, $50); Phillip Lim skirt (thrifted, $7); Doc Marten boots (swap, free).

Walk On The Wild Side

I don’t usually buy H&M pieces, even secondhand (their aesthetic doesn’t appeal as much as, say, Zara) but I had to make an exception for this animal print jacquard coat. It’s utterly ridiculous, and utterly fabulous at the same time. I could picture Tilda Swinton wearing the luxe version of it, and decided I needed to have this regular-person version in my closet. I paid $40 for it at the Wardrobe Exchange event which is a LOT for me as a thrifter, but also not really in the bigger scheme of things. I love the swampy green colour the most; truly, if it had been a regular black/tan animal print, I would not have given it a second glance. I also love the shape of it – masculine and slightly boxy – which is hard to capture in photos; you have a hint of it in the righthand photo.

I would love to say that I went all out and paired this coat with some fantastically over-the-top outfit – hello, Bohemian! – but I wanted to wear it to work so … plain black it was. For now.

Notes: H&M coat (secondhand, $40); Theory top (thrifted, $5); Aritzia pants (thrifted, $8); Rafael necklace (eBay, $160); Cole Haan shoes (thrifted, $20).

The Best Outfit

Does this qualify as burying the lede? Because this is one of my favourite outfits ever, and by that reason alone, maybe I should have put it first. However, we can also look at it as your reward for reading this far into the post. Ta da! This represents the pinnacle – for the time being, if I am gonna be optimistic – of my thrifting career. I found a Rick Owens leather vest, friends. After years of searching and hoping and searching and hoping, it finally happened. It was a personal style victory, because RO is one of my most favourite designers, and a thrifting victory, because this stuff is EXPENSIVE AND ALSO WHO THE HECK JUST GIVES IT AWAY?! Ahem. I am very very grateful to that person. Thanks to them, I got to wear head to toe (almost) Rick Owens and I felt like a million bucks.

Notes: Line sweater dress (thrifted, $17); Rick Owens tunic (secondhand, $133); Rick Owens vest (thrifted, $9!!!!); Stuart Weitzman boots (thrifted, $20).

The Artist

I don’t know what it is – the proportions and lines, the arty necklace, the colour palette – but this whole look strikes me as very artistic. I have been struggling a bit to come up with toppers to wear with this amazing Maria Cornejo dress, because the deep dark green colour doesn’t shine next to black. I like the green-on-green happening here, but I think I will need to branch out to some more exciting colour combos next. Maybe lilac?

Notes: Zero + Maria Cornejo dress (thrifted, $19); Elsamanda sweater (thrifted, $8); necklace (thrifted, $5??); Tory Burch boots (thrifted, $20).

Return of Hygge

Last but not least, this is a pretty simply outfit that ended up being a real winner. I love the look of these over-the-knee suede boots (even though I wish there were flats, not heels) but they have a short shelf-life here in Edmonton. I pulled them out for a dinner date to celebrate my husband’s birthday and, sure enough, it started raining that night and the temps dipped below zero. Sigh. But while it lasted, it was fun. This Pringle of Scotland dress has come to be my go-to when I want to show off some leg; the volume and loose fit balances out the high hemline. Also, the geometric print is aces. For warmth, I added a chunky Line sweater (also part of my epic haul) and a knit beanie (not picture). It’s what ya gotta do when you’ve been working from home and haven’t washed your hair, and your husband says “why don’t we run out for dinner”. Hashtag: real life glamour.

Notes: Line sweater (thrifted, $6); Pringle of Scotland dress (thrifted, $8.50); Paco Gil boots (thrifted, $??); YSL bag (eBay, $500).