Advanced Class

When I think about pattern mixing with plaid, the first combination that comes to mind is florals. Inspired by the master himself, Dries Van Noten, I decided to dig deeper. So, um, stripes it was. I think this outfit works quite nicely, even though it’s definitely “in your face” bright.

*pats self on the back*

Funnily enough, I wore the same sweater to my son’s advance birthday party back in June (we always hold his party for friends early to avoid summer vacation schedule conflicts) and again on the day of his actual birthday last week when we treated him to a morning of fun & games at Chuck E. Cheese. In related news, we have an 8-year old in the house now and OMG how is that even possible?! I still vividly remember when he could fit into the crook of my arm; meanwhile, he’s a 4 foot 7 dynamo who can run (and talk) circles around his mom. No, I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Notes: Gap sweater (thrifted, $5); Tracy Reese skirt (consignment, $20); Derek Lam flats (thrifted, $12); Coach bag (thrifted; $40).

The New Skort

Remember the skort? The shorts that looked like a skirt? These Maggie Walt pants are the maxi version of that, and I can’t get enough of them. I’ve been wearing them quite a bit this summer, in no small part thanks to the cooler weather. They are a heavy linen, so they’d probably be too warm for actual summer weather, but they’re a good weight for the non-summer we’ve been having.

I kept the rest of the outfit simple to let them take the stage, so to speak, but there is nothing basic about it (or so I like to think). The Rafael necklace works beautifully with the patterned waistband, adding just a bit of colour and extra visual interest.

Notes: No name top (thrifted, $7); Maggie Walt pants ($6.50); Rafael necklace (thrifted, $8); J. Crew shoes (retail, $80).

Plaid Overload

You’re not sick of plaid yet, are you? I hope not, because I’m not tired of this maxi skirt yet, so you’ll be seeing it again in the coming months. And speaking of pattern mixing, I had another brainwave and decided to pair this plaid with an abstract geometric print in a similar shade of blue. Still trying to make Dries proud over here … although I feel like he might find the lapis necklace a bit too safe and matchy-matchy. Baby steps.

As a side note, the top is one I had earmarked for sale last year, only to find that no one wanted to buy it. After a few months, I decided to keep it to, um, prove a point or something. I’ve ended up wearing it a fair bit, which makes me feel like I’m winning the argument with the imaginary naysayers who didn’t see the potential of this very cute top, ahem.

Notes: Kate Spade Saturday top (thrifted, $5); Ralph Lauren skirt (thrifted, $6.50); Me Too flats (thrifted, $16); vintage necklace (thrifted, $8).

Thrifting has its downsides. There, I said it. The main one, in my opinion, is that it introduces you to nice, expensive things at a completely affordable price point … but it offers no guarantee of supply. One recent example was a magazine I picked up at Value Village for 99 cents (plus tax). It wasn’t just a regular magazine, it was a special edition of French Vogue featuring the 2015 Spring/Summer collections (Paris, New York, Milan, London). The entire thing was basically a photo-book report on that season’s collections, and it was amazing. Minimal ads and text. Pages and pages of runway photos. I spent a blissful hour or two poring over it. And then I wanted to see more. Have never seen one of these magazines at the thrift store before, probably won’t again.

Do you know how much these magazines normally run?

$40CAD plus tax.

No joke.

I know, I know. Vogue has an online database of runway collections, free to access. Somehow, it’s not the same. I like having all the (physical) photos in front of me. And being a person with a decent chunk of disposable income, I went and scratched the itch; I bought the 2019-2020 Fall/Winter collections edition at Chapters. It was painful, but I managed to rationalize it. Still – dammit it, thrifting, for introducing me to yet another expensive habit.

All that being said, let’s get to the real point of this post.

For years, I did not look at runway collections, finding them irrelevant to my experiences as an average consumer in a non-major urban centre. As I have shifted my perspective on style recently – approaching it more as an art form/means of creative expression – I have begun to appreciate couture again. It’s a point of view. It might not be directly applicable or translatable to my real life needs, but it can inform the way in which I look at and use clothes. I am also reconsidering the idea of “inspo”. I’ve never been a huge fan of copying others’ outfits, but the process doesn’t have to be that literal. The best sources of inspirations are those which push me to see things from a fresh perspective, to ask myself “but what about this?”

I found flipping through the photos from the collections to be a great creativity-sparking exercise. At a high level, just seeing all the different silhouettes, styles, styling choices, colours, textures, and so on, made me feel inspired … not to go out and buy new things, but to go through my closet and try new things. Then there were dozens of outfits that I went to analyze more closely – things that caught my eye on a page, made me go “wow”. I looked at these and tried to break them down: what message/feeling did each look convey to me, what did I like about them, what elements would translate to my personal style, etc.

I thought it might be interesting to some of you if I ran through an example. This is a more literal case than most, but that’s because Dries Van Noten speaks my language, style-wise.

Let’s start at the beginning. What I loved about the original was the Bohemian-Adventurer flair, seemingly haphazardly assembled but with a keen eye to the overall harmony of the outfit. I loved the drama of the fur collar, and how the ornate top was juxtaposed with the other pieces, yet brought them together in a really cool, unexpected way. I liked the volume of the pants, and how the outfit retained its slim vertical lines despite all the layers. And somewhere in the mix, there is a kind of devil-may-care attitude that I would love to bring to my own life (even just a little).

As I said, my resulting “inspired by” look is a fairly close translation of the original. The pants have an interesting shape and volume, and the high waist works well with a cropped jacket, keeping the vertical lines. The waistband offered a good contrast with the bright print top, adding a bit of Bohemian flair. The top was probably the one item I would not normally have used in an outfit like this, were it not for the Dries inspiration. (I could see myself pairing these pants and jacket, because the proportions work so well). But I like it here. In fact, this outfit works equally well without the jacket, which I ended up taking off as the day got warmer.

The one thing I chose to forego from the inspo was the extra accessory. I think the necklace is a fabulous styling choice on the runway, but for my real life, the outfit was enough of a “statement” without anything like that.

I have been doing similar exercises as I come across runway looks that really speak to me, so let me know if you would be interested in more posts like this.

Mish Mash Flair

My BFF is currently obsessed with Ari Aster’s Midsommar so I chose to wear this blouse as a sort of tribute to that whole aesthetic. The rest of the outfit was a total grab bag of stuff, though. Somehow, it came together quite nicely. I attribute it to my favourite pendant (well, one of them) because it ties everything together.

Notes: Jil Sander jacket (thrifted, $10); H&M blouse (thrifted, $8.50); Cartonnier pants (secondhand, $20); Rafael necklace (eBay, $80); Derek Lam flats (thrifted, $12).

Light Gothic

I added a new Rafael necklace to my collection (of course), and it just so happened to vibe perfectly with this outfit I had planned for a Saturday outing with the fam. I have been remiss in not giving this Rick Owens dress the attention it deserves, so the idea was to remedy my neglect. I also wanted to try something different with it, so I layered it over a knit tunic instead of its usual slip. I love how the muted greys of these two pieces work together. And yes, please believe me when I say I actually wore this, in July. Such is the state of our summer. In fact, I added the leather jacket as a necessity. Sigh.

Notes: Rick Owens dress (secondhand, $133); by Malene Birger tunic (thrifted, $9); Iris Setlakwe leggings (thrifted, $9.50); Mackage jacket (thrifted, $50); Rafael necklace (secondhand, $126); Geox booties (thrifted, $15).

Black & White

After my first few years in the work force, I stopped wearing the white-top-black-bottom combination. It felt very “stock photo business person”, and that hasn’t been my jam for a long time. But you know what? With the right pieces, it can still be interesting. Here, those pieces are the skirt and the statement necklace, neither of which reads as “business casual catalogue”. The pop of green, in particular, was important. Black and green together can be tricky, but when white is in the mix, it works so so well.

Notes: No name top (thrifted, $7); Antipast skirt (thrifted, $6.50); Smythe blazer (thrifted, $8); necklace (thrifted, $5); Cole Haan shoes (thrifted, $10).