I’m thinking of switching up my weekly outfit posts and trying a slightly different format moving forward. I haven’t quite landed on what I want the new one to look like, so I might be trying a few options. These days, I don’t feel like I have much to say about my outfits apart from, like, “here’s something cute I wore and liked a lot.” Might turn the weekly round-up into a dumping ground for my Thoughts of the Week (similar to the Friday Feels post I put up on my writing account on IG), with bonus outfit photos for visual interest. In general, I am much less interested in fashion as a hobby these days — probably because I now have an all-consuming outlet for creative expression in my writing instead. But I would love to share more about my experiences with thrifting and what those have taught me about personal style. If that sounds intriguing to you, let me know.

Ok, now let’s look at some of my fave outfits from the past 6 (has it been 6?!?) weeks.

Hey, look at that: not me, still on the brown train. I can’t quit, I won’t quit. Not when it looks this good. Speaking of good, I am OBSESSED with that vintage Coach duffle bag. Hands down, one of my fave bags and quite possibly my best Poshmark buy of the year. I’ve been very, very picky lately — not just with Poshmark, but shopping in general — and focusing my energy (such as I had) and money on finding/buying special pieces, like this bag.

I am very into this vibe, whatever you want to call it. The dress in the middle is Ralph Lauren, and one of my fave recent thrift finds. I LOVE it. It’s silk and it fits like a dream and it’s everything I want in a dress. The outfit on the right was inspired by a vintage J. Crew ad. Need I say more? The skirt on the left is another current obsession. Pink isn’t a colour I normally gravitate toward, but I adore the style of this skirt, and I am working around/with the colour.

Case in point: see middle photo. Gosh, I loved that outfit so much! As you can tell, I’m still rocking the maxi skirts. Also still rocking what I now call my “subtle cowboy” vibe. The skirt on the left is an older Wilfred style that I’ve been hunting for years, and recently found at Red Pony, a local consignment store. I hate the fabric (it’s polyester not cotton, WTH Aritzia?!) but I am making it work because it’s nearly perfect in every other way. [It could stand to be a few inches longer, hence the petticoat.]

Last but not least, quick highlights of some of my other spring-to-summer moods. I’m LOVING men’s shorts at the moment. The relaxed preppy vibe, the comfort … 10/10, no notes. I’m also riding the summer goth train, especially after finally getting a pair of tall Dr. Martens boots. Photos to come — and you’ll want to see them, I promise!

See ya next week!

Hey, hi, hello.

It’s been … checks notes … a while?

Sorry about dropping off the map internet and all that, but if it makes you feel any better, I also did the same thing IRL – just ask my friends. Or don’t, because they probably don’t remember who I am. Just kidding! I’m only friends with people who understand the existential necessity of sometimes disappearing without a trace for weeks (or months) at a time. Life happens, you know?

Speaking of life happening, here’s what’s been happening in mine: Not. Much.

Not much, except the mundane daily grind … oh, and a hell of a lot of writing. 165,000 words’ worth of writing, which equates to two full-length novels, which represent book #2 and #3 in my (sorta) series of interconnected standalone mysteries. Basically, for the last couple of months, I’ve been working two jobs, one of them entirely unpaid and all-consuming. [That would be the writing, in case it wasn’t obvious.] Between those and family, I’ve had approximately zero energy for, well, anything else. Make that less-than-zero energy, actually. There have been many a day when I ran strictly on fumes and iced coffee.

Which reminds me: something kinda momentous did happen recently. I quit Diet Coke. I am now, exclusively, an iced coffee girlie. My body seems to prefer this method of caffeine delivery, don’t ask me why.

But I digress.

In addition to finishing the first drafts of book #2 and #3, I have also been working on a pretty major edit of book #1. Writing two more books has taught me a LOT – primarily about tightening up backstory, pacing, and POV – so I went back and applied those lessons to book #1. Unfortunately, that happened after I was already well into the query process, which wasn’t ideal but hopefully won’t prove fatal to my chances of getting agent representation. I’m still deep in the query trenches and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. I’ll write a separate post about that, since it’s probably unfamiliar territory for most of you and I intend to drag you along with me, whether you like it or not. Just kidding; I won’t. I do hope you’ll follow along, though. It’s gonna be a long, hard slog, and it will be nice to have some company.

Because I’ve spent every spare minute writing, I haven’t done much of anything else: zero reading, next to no socializing, very little thrifting. But June is the month I plan to re-emerge from my cocoon house again, and I kicked things off by hosting my annual clothing swap. A post on that coming soon too. Summer is now kicking into gear here in Edmonton, which means it’s (a) gardening season, and (b) time to bust out my summer wardrobe. I’m very excited about that, although I’ve had very little time to think about fashion or clothes lately. I know, I sound like a broken record. But I’ll be doing a quick little roundup of some outfit highlights, so look for that coming up. Oh, and if you need more Adina content, I’ve started a new IG account under my (future) pen name dedicated to writing and all things books (my own and other people’s). Check it out and follow me if you want to see/hear my thoughts on the writing process, my journey to trad publishing, bookish memes, book reviews, and more. My handle is @ murders_she_writes … and, yes, that is a J.B. Fletcher reference.

Ok, enough from me, for now. I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing and reading lately, so come and tell me in the comments!

The minute the snow melts, I’m, like, “summer’s coming, b*tches!” Which is, of course, a ridiculous attitude to have as a Canadian living in the most northern city** in the world, but also not what I’m here to talk about. The fact is, May is just around the corner and, somehow, I feel like I’ve missed the boat on getting excited for spring, so all the more reason to start diving into my summer plans.

My summer wardrobe/outfit plans, that is.

And friends, I’m stoked. Over the last 6-9 months, there’s been a kind of quiet overhaul going on in my closet, arising from my reconnection to 90s nostalgia; moving into a new season means that I get to finally wear a lot of pieces and outfits I’ve been dreaming about for a while. I’m calling it a “quiet overhaul” because, on one hand, I don’t feel like anything too drastic has changed in terms of my overall personal aesthetic. Fundamentally, I’m still a Papa Ralph girlie, with a slightly goth heart. On the other hand, there has been a series of small shifts in how my core aesthetic is translating to outfits which, over time, have created a noticeable drift towards the minimalist end of the style spectrum. This is, in large part, due to the influence of 90s fashion.

Anyway, I spent some time recently going over various inspo images I’ve been saving up on my phone, and put together a little mood board for spring/summer 2025. These days, I don’t do a lot of planning ahead for outfits. In years past, I would spend an hour on weekends trying out and putting together outfits for the week ahead, which gave me time to put thought into each one. I never do that anymore; instead, I might pick out an outfit the night before or, more likely, the morning of. [For what it’s worth, I think this is a function of (a) being far more comfortable/familiar with my own style and having less need to experiment to ‘figure it out’, and (b) being so busy with writing that I don’t have time for other hobbies, including clothes/fashion.] Choosing outfits when I’m pressed for time means that I sometimes find myself needing reminders of the outfit ideas I’ve collected, which is why I’ve started taking screenshots of inspo photos I randomly come across, as well as making notes on my phone whenever a particular combination pops into my head. Having these references handy helps me to avoid a situation where I’m staring at my closet blankly, overwhelmed by too many choices.

Speaking of that, I’ve continued to procrastinate on doing a DEEP closet edit, which is about to come back to bite me in the you-know-what, because it’s almost time to do the seasonal closet switch-over. I don’t think my secondary closet (for out of season clothes) can accommodate all the fall/winter stuff that I’ll need to move into it to make room for summer stuff in my primary closet … but that’s still future Adina’s problem for now. However, knowing that I’m sitting on a ticking time bomb of clothes has made me very determined to cut way, waaaaaay back on new (secondhand) clothing purchases. So far, this spring, I’ve stuck to that resolution. It helps that, as I look at my spring/summer mood board, I see nothing that requires me to add new pieces to my closet. Even if the vibes are a little bit different than in previous years, translating them into outfits will require nothing more than wearing my old clothes in (slightly) new ways. Yay!

Here’s what I’m thinking about.

You can see both the Papa Ralph and the 90s influence here. This is how I want to wear pants this summer — laidback prep with maybe a hint of coastal cool mom. Relaxed fit jeans, khakis, and menswear-inspired shorts paired with men’s shirts and blazers. Belts and loafers, minimalist jewelry (not necessarily dainty), hats and scarves.

Consider this my summer 2025 take on the Historian: academichic meets romantic Bohemian. Earthy colours, mixed textures, loose and comfortable fits. Throw a little Annie Hall flair into the mix as well.

This is an updated take on the southwestern/prairie side of Ralph Lauren, with some romantic elements added to the mix. I am very obsessed with the runway look on the left — the mix of a very dreamy, soft, romantic dress with the concho belt. I want to play around with similar juxtapositions. I also want to experiment with more pared down outfit palettes, where one boldly colourful piece is paired with neutrals (white, brown, etc.).

While there is, arguably, a bit of a throughline with the other vibes, this one is an outlier. But the heart wants what it wants, and I guess my heart is still a 90s teen at heart. She loves grunge, and Vivienne Westwood, and vampire boys (that’s a Buffy reference, to be clear). I intend to have some fun with this, now that I don’t need to worry about coats and heavy layers. And I’m thiiiiis close to buying my second pair of Docs, which would be the perfect accessory for all my big, twirly skirts.