New Favourites

Self-explanatory: am wearing some new favourite things. The dress is from a new-to-me Canadian brand called Ayrtight. I got it at my favourite consignment store (My Favourite Aunt’s, or MFA for short) on sale for around $45. It’s a linen rayon blend, which feels nice and drapes well. This is a size Large, which makes it perfectly slouchy on me. The armholes are slightly too big as a result, but I plan to wear this layered under or over other pieces, so this isn’t a concern for me. It has pockets. It’s very, very cool.

Also cool? This Eileen Fisher linen jacket. On its own, it’s definitely a piece that can read as “matronly”. It’s a size Small, but fits large, so I initially planned to give it to my mom. (Hey, she’s a more conservative dresser than me, okay?) But it turned out to be too small for her in the shoulders, so I grabbed it back and decided to make it work. And you know what? I freaking love it. The silvery grey colour is a fantastic neutral, and paired with edgier pieces, it looks fab. If you follow me on Insta, you will be seeing a LOT more of this jacket, because I’m planning to wear it with EVERYthing.

More New Favourites

I’ve harped on and on about the importance of learning to recognize quality in clothing; it makes a huge difference to one’s success as a thrifter. No matter how brand-aware you are, you will still run into new or unfamiliar labels in your thrifting adventures; if you know how to spot quality, you won’t miss out on the hidden gems. Case in point: this skirt. The floaty material drew my eye immediately (even though it was jammed on a crowded rack); touching it confirmed my suspicions of quality. The material was cotton, but a cotton made for angels or something. I checked the label, but the brand name was unfamiliar to me: Antipast, made in Japan. I was in a rush, so I tried it on without Googling the brand. I’ve been really into exploring the witchy side of the Artist persona, and I thought this skirt had possibilities in that respect, so I bought it. It was only $6.50, after all. Later, at home, I looked up the brand. I found a similar skirt on the Gravity Pope website listed for … are you ready for this? $4665CAD.

Anyway, the skirt’s witchy promise came true with this outfit. Everything else is also thrifted, and cost less than $50 in total. They’re all basic items I could wear a million different ways, so I love how they’re transformed by this one new piece.

And Even More New Stuff

I have a post coming up on this Aritzia sweater. Suffice it to say: I went against my MO to buy it, but I think it was worth it. I don’t think these pictures do it justice; it looks luxe AF in real life, and the colour is to die for. Even my mom was impressed and she is generally pretty skeptical of my sartorial choices (see above).

This outfit was inspired by a runway look from the Chloe 2011 S/S collection. That’s how long I held on to that memory, you guys. Nailing a feminine vibe that’s elegant without being too dainty or too girly is not easy, but this inspo nailed it for me, and I have spent years trying to recreate it. I think this outfit gets close:

Let’s also take a moment and admire these earrings:

And Some Old Stuff

Well, sorta. Most of the outfit is old stuff, except the vest which is new (to me). I “borrowed” it from my friend Jenn (Life Preloved); she thrifted it thinking it was a men’s vest, only to realize later that it’s not. (Either that, or it’s cut for a very diminutive man.) I’m really into the three-piece/borrowed from the boys look right now, so I wanted to see if I could make it work, and she kindly offered to let me try. And … I kinda love it?! Yeah, it’s a keeper, I think.

Some upcoming changes at the office will mean that my casual Fridays are about to get a little less casual – as in, we might be required to “pay” for the privilege of wearing jeans, and any denim will have to be of the classy kind; think: dark wash, no distressing, no patches. Since I’m not crazy about wearing jeans to the office anyway, I am planning to switch up my Friday outfit formula (keeping in mind that the office dress code is still business-casual). This was a test outfit, and I quite like it. Next on the agenda: wearing a dress on Friday. Oooh!

If you had to choose only one colour to wear forever, which one would it be?

I want to say something fun and exciting, but honestly? Probably black. It’s not my best colour, but it’s the most versatile and easy to find.

What field of work are you in? Curious if professional dress is required?

I am a lawyer, and currently working as in-house legal counsel. Our office dress code is “professional” but definitely at the business-casual end of the spectrum rather than business-formal. The degree of dressiness also varies by department. My outfits are probably dressier than most (but not all) of my co-workers, but not to a significant extent.

How many kids do you have?

I have two: a 7-year old son, and a 5-year old daughter. They are delightful, and it takes a lot of willpower on my part not to spam my social media with their exploits.

Who are your top 3 celebrity style icons?

This was a surprisingly difficult question to answer – who would have guessed? Tilda Swinton, for sure. Kate Lanphear. And Iris Apfel, maybe? Or Cate Blanchette.

Why have you chosen not to monetize your blog/instagram?

I wrote a bit about that on my FAQ page, but the long and short of it is that, for me, it doesn’t feel authentic. No shade intended towards monetized bloggers. My approach to clothes/shopping/style does not lends itself to being monetized and that’s ok. My goal has always been to connect with other people interested in my hobbies, and create a community. That’s really hard to do these days of social media overload and viral stars and micro blogging, but I don’t think that throwing in monetization would help at all.

What are your favourite hobbies?

Reading, writing, thrifting, needle arts (embroidery and knitting), and collecting things. There are a few more I’d like to try, if I had more time. I enjoy making and being around beautiful things.

What clothing items do you buy new?

Always: underwear (including bras) and nylons. I occasionally buy other things new as well, especially jewelry.

What are your tips for looking polished and put together?

Intentional fit (whether your personal style calls for a tailored fit or a slouchy one). Good quality fabrics. Good quality shoes. Most of all: confidence. So, whatever it takes for your to feel most confident/your best. For me, that includes a flattering haircut and mascara. Always.

How does being in-house compare with private practice?

I can’t speak in general terms, but for me it comes down to: better work-life balance; more practical, hands-on work; greater variety of work and experience; more opportunities for growth.

What is your protocol for cleaning thrifted clothes?

I used to use a home dry-cleaning kit, but I have since switched to a steamer. I use the JIffy E-Steam handheld steamer. I steam everything, focusing on areas with high skin-to-skin contact (armpits, collars, etc.). If a piece has a stain that I missed at the store, I will hand-wash the item, then steam it again to get wrinkles out.

Shoes get their inside soles wiped down with rubbing alcohol.

Steamer or iron?

Steamer all the way! I always hated ironing, and now I don’t have to do it. I love my little steamer.

Do you thrift for your kids too?

Generally, no, but I do shop at consignment for them. In my experience, it’s harder to find kids clothing in like-new condition at thrift stores, and the prices are not much better than what you can buy, on sale, at retail stores. I tend to buy their clothes at stores like Joe Fresh, Old Navy, and Walmart, because they’re hard on their clothes and grow out of them quickly. Once they’re older, I will probably try to find them better quality, longer-wearing clothes. I would like to get them interested in thrifting once they develop a bit more patience 🙂

Who takes your photos? Do you take them every day?

It used to be my husband, but it’s now mostly the kids. They’re easier to bribe, haha! I plan my outfits in advance, and take photos in batches. I can usually have 10-15 minutes before they start to get bored. The photos that are taken outside are “day of”, typically snapped as we’re leaving the house to go somewhere.

Got more questions? Drop me a line in the comments or a DM on IG 🙂

It’s been a while since I did one of these posts, huh? For a while there wasn’t much to report on the reading front, and more recently, I just got plain lazy. The truth is that I don’t enjoy writing about books; my idea of a satisfactory review is the title, brief (and I mean BRIEF) description of the subject matter, and my personal ranking of how much I liked/enjoyed the book. Yet, I feel like that’s somehow inadequate for a post like this; I would like to write more, but my laziness always gets the better of me. With that in mind, I thought I would try my preferred “speed round” approach and see if anyone still found it useful/interesting.

– Christopher Hibbert, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici: Title is self-explanatory; this is a biography of the Florentine House of Medici. I would give it a 4/5. Hibbert is an excellent historian, and he is working with fascinating material in the case of the Medicis, but the books is a bit dry at times.

– Tana French, The Trespasser: Mystery novel of the “cop procedural” sub-genre, set in contemporary Ireland. All of French’s novels are set in the same “universe”, featuring the same police department but with different detectives as protagonists in each case. The protagonist in this book is a WOC, and the crime is reported as a domestic case (though there is, obviously, more to it than first appears). I would give this a 3.5/5. French is one of my fave contemporary mystery writers, but her plots are hit-and-miss for me. This one was more of a “miss”. French writes “good atmosphere”, so that upped the ranking for me.

– Bill Bryson, One Summer: America, 1927. As the title suggests, a book about the events that took place in America during the summer of 1927. If, as for me, that year doesn’t mean much to you, you will be pleasantly surprised by how eventful it was. This was a fantastic read, 5/5. Bryson is one of my favourite writers, period, and has a tremendous knack for weaving together all kinds of stories: Charles Lindbergh’s history-making Transatlantic flight, Babe Ruth’s legendary exploits, Al Capone’s tax trial, Prohibition, the creation of Mount Rushmore, and many, many more.

– Bill Bryson, Troublesome Words. This one is hard to describe, but it’s a cross between a dictionary and a spelling/grammar/syntax textbook. It doesn’t sound like something that would be fun to read, but Bryson somehow succeeds in making it precisely that. It’s best read in short chunks, and probably worth referencing every so often. I would give it 5/5 as a writer’s resource. I thought I was a good writer (and a bit of a snob about others’ sloppy writing), but this book showed me that I have PLENTY of room for improvement.

– Robert Galbraith, Lethal White. Mystery novel of the “private detective” sub-genre, set in contemporary England. This is the 4th novel in the Cormoran Strike series, which I love. I pre-ordered this and received it on its release day and, despite it being 7697353 pages long (actually 656 pages but, trust me, it’s a doorstop-sized thing), I finished it in about 3 days. As for my ranking … it’s tough. I would give it a 3/5, which might be a bit stingy.

OK, I am going to make exception to my earlier comments and talk about this one in a bit more detail.

First off, it is way too long. The mystery itself (once the book got to it) is enjoyable enough, if slightly predictable – and I say that as someone who rarely spots the culprit ahead of the reveal. The details of the whodunit are complicated enough that I did not connect the dots (nor do I usually try, I love the reveal-all scenes in mystery novels and hate spoiling my own fun), but let’s just say that the culprit(s) pinged my radar, big time.

The bigger letdown was the rest of the book, namely the ongoing Cormoran-Robin relationship saga. Pause here for a SPOILER ALERT.

DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

So, like, NOTHING gets resolved over six hundred odd pages. Nothing. Robin gets married and subsequently (after six hundred pages) decides to leave her husband, who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever to justify taking that long over the latter decision. Cormoran dates some forgettable character, and Charlotte pops up just long enough to establish what will presumably be the romantic obstacle(s) for the next 2 to 4 books. Cormoran and Robin never talk about their actual feelings for each other, whilst spending countless pages of interior monologue analyzing them in detail. I had hopes for the epilogue, but nope. Still just platonic friends, happy to use work as an excuse to see each other, sublimated lust, etc., etc., etc. Seriously, the progress of this relationship is slower than George RR Martin’s typical publishing schedule. We are FOUR books deep, people. As a reader, I love a slow-burning romance, but this is pushing my limit. I acknowledge that’s a very subjective thing, though.

Also subjective, and possibly polarizing? I don’t know that I actually connect with Robin as a standalone character. I love Cormoran; to me, he stands out as a memorable, charismatic character, but Robin? She could be any number of generic “plucky heroine, haunted by past trauma” characters. Maybe she is meant to be the “everywoman” character that allows the (female) reader to insert themselves into the book but … nah, she doesn’t really do it for me. I wanna work with someone like Cormoran (in a fantasy life, because I’m actually a wuss and would hate to be a private detective in real life), but I don’t want to be Robin. Does that make sense?

Alright, that’s enough blabbing from me. If you’ve read Lethal White, I would love to hear your thoughts. And, as always, if you have reading recc’s, leave them in the comments!