Details: J. Crew shirt, Everlane sweater, Babaton pnats, Fossil belt, Frye boots (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren blazer (Poshmark), Coach bag (Poshmark)

Thoughts: In case you couldn’t quite tell, I score another vintage wool LRL blazer on Poshmark recently; in fact, it was my last Posh purchase of 2023. I adore these plaid blazers, and now have 3 patterns in different colour palettes. This one is a beautiful mix of green and dark blues, along with some yellow/tan. It’s a slightly different vintage than my other two, hence the much stronger shoulder line thanks to built-in shoulder pads. That isn’t my favourite detail, but I can make it work. I borrowed the colour palette for the rest of the outfit focusing on navy and green, with pops of mahogany as grounding neutral. I am not a fan of dark navy, which is a common shade, so I’ve avoided the entire category of “navy” for years. But recently, I’ve come around to it because I’ve discovered I do enjoy a lighter, more purple/blue navy — and it goes really well with brown!

Details: Glamorous top (gift), Gap jacket, Brave belt, Chelsea Crew shoes (all thrifted), Halogen x Atlantic Pacific skirt (Poshmark)

Thoughts: A friend gave me this top, and because it’s so cropped, I decided to pair it with a high waisted skirt. The colours sent me in the direction of this skirt. It was the start of a good outfit, but needed something extra to make it come alive. A wave of inspiration pushed me towards my belt drawer, and I decided to try something more “out there”. I was surprised by how much I loved what this Brave belt added to the outfit — it changed up the vibe, taking the tulle fully towards the prairie aesthetic of the top. I added a brown velvet jacket (and brown shoes) to tone down the pink, without dulling it too much. The cropped silhouette works well with this fuller skirt.

Details: Lord & Taylor sweater, Nanette Lepore jacket, no label skirt, Lulu Frost necklace, J. Crew shoes

Thoughts: This outfit was all about the colour story! I love this shade of yellow paired with this shade of blue; the colours have a similar softness. I added the jacket (which is actually chartreuse and purple) for a “twist” and I think it works really well as part of this palette.

Details: Babaton top (swap), Talbots skirt, Icone blazer (both thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail, old), selfmade necklace

Thoughts: I’ve mentioned before how purple and green are my “villain colours” — it’s a combo that makes me feel cool and badass. But I realize that I should have been more specific; it’s plum and dark green that evoke those feelings. I realized that when I tried a different combo: teal green and royal purple. As a colour pairing, I think this look amazing; but it doesn’t make me feel badass. It feels a lot more chill, almost soothing (despite the intensity of the purple). It was a good experiment in colour theory and colour blocking.

Details: Nine West jacket, no name sweater, Cotton Ginny belt, BDG pants (all thrifted), Laredo boots

Thoughts: Still obsessed with this jacket, and I love how it “completes” this outfit. This sweater is another piece I absolutely love, and find to be very versatile. This whole fit just has a cool vibe to it, IDK.

The title of this post is misleading. I don’t believe in New Year Resolutions. If I feel that I need to make changes in my life, want to adopt a new habit, or achieve some specific goal, I will start working on that as soon as I feel I have the resources (emotional, mental, financial) to do so as successfully as possible. Why wait for some arbitrary day? And why January of all times? It’s already such a tough month from a well-being perspective; a better month, in my opinion, for giving yourself a break than pursuing new ambitions.

That being said, I suppose that “new year resolutions” is a handy shorthand for the topic I wanted to chat about today, which is setting intentions for my shopping and wardrobe curation moving forward. These are not rules per se, but rather guidelines to help me make more mindful decisions. They arise from a lot of self-reflection I’ve done over the past year — noticing trends in my purchases and outfits, what I like to wear and how I like to wear it, what things are most meaningful and bring me the most joy, etc. A list began to organically coalesce in my mind towards the end of last year; between you and me, I have already started to put most of them into practice. But I think it’s good to write these things down, to crystallize the intentions and create a greater sense of accountability.

Focus on natural fibers

Going forward, I want to focus on purchasing natural fibers. For certain wardrobe categories like knitwear (tops and sweaters) and blazers, my intention is to look exclusively at natural fibers (linings not included because sigh). For skirts, dresses and pants, I know that some level of compromise may be required, but the ideal would be cotton, linen, and wool. I have a love-hate relationship with silk — I love it, but it hates my propensity to spill on myself — so it’s something I buy only if I feel that I can handle the likely laundering requirements (which can depend on the type of silk, category of garment, etc.).

Think twice thrice about thrift purchases

A good chunk of thrift purchases are impulse buys; that’s the nature of the game — you never know what you’re going to fall in love with until you find it. I’ve talked before about how it’s a great way to build a closet … but, in my case, the closet has been built. It has also been elevated, over and over, so at this point it doesn’t contain many “filler” or “meh” pieces. I have so many fabulous clothes, I often feel guilty for not having time to wear them all enough. I don’t want to add more stuff to the mix unless they are things as good or even better than what I have — things that add true value to my closet. That’s a very high threshold, and I need to exercise an equally high amount of discernment when I make decisions at the thrift store.

Closet future-proofing

My focus at the thrift store will be on good quality basics as future replacements. By “basics” I mean primarily base layer staples, like plain tees, tank tops, turtlenecks, etc. These are important “bricks” in my closet and I enjoy having good quality pieces — hello, natural fibers, again — to work with. Replacing them once the actual need arises can be difficult; retail doesn’t generally offer the quality I want, and thrifting doesn’t deliver things on demand. Plus, I am concerned that, as time goes on, the quality available in thrift stores will also decline as their inventory gets taken over, more and more, by fast fashion. Hedging for my future needs seems like a good strategy at this point, as vintage goods are becoming increasingly scarce. I don’t plan on buying a dozen of the same item (I don’t replace them every week, after all), but having at least one good backup seems wise.

Strategic value purchases

Buying fewer things at the thrift store will mean spending less money on thrifting, which means that I will have more discretionary funds at my disposal with which to make strategic buying decisions. By that I mean buying special pieces that most align with my style values — those pieces that bring me the most joy. These are generally things that aren’t very easy to find at the thrift stores, so acquiring them involves paying a premium on other resale platforms like Poshmark and eBay. I will always try to hunt down the best deal I can, but I like having the margin to stretch the definition of a “good deal” if needed. Many of the items I would consider in this category are currently experiencing a surge in secondhand pricing. For example, a good deal for a vintage Ralph Lauren skirt is not what I would consider a good deal for most other brands’ vintage skirts.

I’m still working to outline an overall plan for my strategic purchases for 2024, but I think my focus will be on, among other things:

• Vintage Ralph Lauren items which, to me, are representative of the brand’s ethos and align with my aesthetic. I like to think of it as having my own capsule collection. My focus will be on the categories that speak to me the most: skirts, blazers, sweaters, and coats.
• Vintage heritage brand leather bags — primarily Coach and Dooney. I have 2 or 3 specific bags in mind that I would like to add to my closet, to complement my current bag line-up.
• Classic jewelry that will eventually become part of a legacy for my daughter. I am not necessarily thinking about fine jewelry, but rather items of unique design that are meaningful to me. Some examples would include Canadian brutalist designers like Rafael Alfandary, Robert Larin, and Guy Vidal; Scandinavian design studios like Lapponia; other mid-century and contemporary designers (e.g. Elsa Peretti).

If you are in the process of setting some style- or shopping-related intentions or goals for 2024, I would love to hear about them!

Details: Oak & Fort turtleneck, Tahari shirt, Ralph Lauren vest & skirt, vintage belt, Dooney bag, Laredo boots, Nine West jacket (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This outfit was so bang-on the general direction of my current style heading into 2024. I’m planning a post to update my avatars, but you shouldn’t be surprised to see more of this. This is precisely the kind of layering I’m loving right now — at least while the weather allows — because it gives depth and visual interest to the outfit. The trick is picking the right layers, but this combo of thin, black turtleneck + chambray shirt + knit vest + jacket works really well. I’ve been lucky to have more time to wear my fall jackets than usual this year, though I suppose “lucky” is probably not the right word for it. I’m expecting that January and February will revert to historical norms (we can only hope, we need snow so badly, as weird as that sounds) so I’ll be saying goodbye to this amazing leather jacket for a while. I’ve worn it with some many things already — jeans, dresses, and now skirts — and it has yet to let me down. This skirt is another wardrobe superstar for me, and an all-season one at that.

Details: Wilfred sweater (retail), Amaryllis coat, Babaton pants, Fossil belt, ASOS boots, Stella & Max bag (all secondhand)

Thoughts: Brought back a little (or a lot of) colour into my outfit with this brilliant cobalt blue coat; I started there but didn’t stop. I love pairing blue and yellow, so I threw a few different things into the mix. The scarf and the bag seemed like a good match as well, mirroring the same geometric pattern. And I decided to stick with brown as the grounding neutral here instead of black, as it works so nicely with this shade of navy.

Details: Tommy Hilfiger vest, Gap shirt, Ralph Lauren belt (all secondhand), Banana Republic jeans (retail)

Thoughts: A very simple but satisfying outfit! Remember how I mentioned before that this sleeveless mock-neck sweater (it’s really more like a vest!) is so handy for layering? Here’s another good example. I wanted the velvet shirt to be visible so it had to be the top layer, but I also wanted some textural contrast. Enter the vest, which looks like a sweater but isn’t — so easy to layer under the shirt! Add a good pair of jeans and a belt, and you have yourself an outfit to which Papa Ralph would give the thumbs up (or so I like to think).

Details: vintage cardigan, Marc Cain skirt, Ports International coat, Canadienne boots, Coach bag (all secondhand), Hermes scarf (from mom)

Thoughts: Funny story about this coat: a lady stopped me at the thrift store and told me that I had to buy it because I looked so good in brown. I think Ports is generally good value for the money, and this is a classic duffle-style coat in excellent condition (and 100% wool) so why not? I bought it … but later, on further reflection, I realized that it’s not really my style. I think it looks great with short skirts — as in this outfit — but I don’t wear short skirts very often. This was a reminder that I cannot let my focus slip when I’m thrifting; I need to be intentional and highly selective at all times. Luckily, this purchase wasn’t a total loss, as I have a few friends who are interested in the coat — I’m sure it will work out for one of them. But, lesson learned!

Details: Equipment shirt, Higher State dress, Silverado jacket, Chico’s belt, Laredo boots (all secondhand)

Thoughts: As I was running out of time to wear warmer weather outfits, I had to sneak in one more “winter prairie” look featuring this wonderful coat that my friend Sherry gifted me. In case you are wondering, the layering here was base tank top + shirt + (long sleeved) dress + coat. Not a walking outfit, for sure, but plenty warm for errand-running in a car. The layering also allowed me to up the visual interest by adding the pop of contrasting pattern at the neck. I kept the colour palette consistent so it wouldn’t be too distracting.

Details: Jacob cardigan, Ines de la Fressange x Uniqlo shirt, Line sweater, Oak & Fort jeans (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I guess you could say that I’m still wearing your grandpa’s style, in this case his cardigan. Though, to be fair, this vintage Jacob cardigan is most likely from the 90s, so more like to have belonged to one of your parents … or, if you’re my age, maybe it was, ummm, yours. Ahem. I do wish this cardigan was a bit shorter because I prefer a more cropped silhouette with my high-waisted jeans and skirt, but I loved the overall vibe and couldn’t pass it up at the thrifts when I found it a few weeks ago. Would I still buy it today, if I were to apply my more discriminating lens? I think I would, both for its vibe but also for the nostalgia factor. The silhouette is something I can work on; perhaps it will push me to be a bit more adventurous and try some new styling tricks.