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.

If you’ve been reading here over the last year, this post will hold no surprises for you; but I like to look back at my outfits, pick my favourites in retrospective — hindsight gives a different perspective on things — and observe the themes that emerged over the year. I didn’t break any new ground, sartorially speaking, in 2023; rather, I think it was a year of consolidation. I explored the sources of inspiration that have become most meaningful to me, and became more settled (grounded?) in my current avatars. I experienced a lot of joy from my clothes and my outfits in 2023, which is as it should always be, ideally. I also feel that I have reached a stage where, though I remain open to and excited by new possibilities, I am very content with my closet and FOMO-free.

While I would never say that this is the forever iteration of my personal style and closet — because we always grow and change, no matter how old we are or how much we like our current selves — I do feel very comfortable in this version of it. Looking forward into 2024, I see more of the same.

As always, I tried to organize this post around the themes that emerged from my retrospective, and there is no better way to start it than what I call “Ralph Lauren things”.

The thing I love about Ralph Lauren is that he’s as much a storyteller as a designer. That really appeals to me, because I think clothes should always tell a story. His designs don’t actually change that much over the years; there have been iterations of the East Coast prep/British country/American Southwest aesthetics going back to the 80s, but the quality and attention to details is where he shines. It feels authentic rather than trendy, which I appreciate.

Then, there was the 90s revival:

During the late summer and early fall, I had a great time revisiting the outfits I had most coveted as a teenager and never had the chance to wear the first time around. Did I get it all out of my system? I’m not sure. We’ll find out come spring whether I am ready to say goodbye to the 90s, again, or not.

Skirts were another major trend last year, but when are they not:

There were a lot fewer rainbow moments in 2023, but that’s not to say that I fully abandoned that particular aesthetic — colour always lifts my mood:

While brown was the colour of Fall 2023, blue remained a constant all year round:

Wide leg jeans had a big moment this year, and I still can’t get enough:

I committed to cowboy boots this summer, and prairie boho looks in general made a big comeback:

“Creative layers with a side of pattern mixing” remains one of my fave trends for spring and fall:

And after all that is said and done, there was still a miscellany of cool outfits that mixed and matched various trends:

And all of this still doesn’t account for the last few weeks of the year, when outfits were still going strong. Oh well, there is always next year to talk about more!

Welcome to 2024!

Details: Rebel Sugar mesh top (gift), Zara top (thrifted), BCBG belt, Carven skirt (both Poshmark), selfmade necklace

Thoughts: I love this outfit a lot and I can’t believe I didn’t think to pair this skirt and belt before. Long-line skirts like this one remain one of my style obsessions. Some people might think the extra length would only serve to overwhelm me — I am not especially tall (5’7) with short legs — but I think it actually makes me look taller (which I love, for the same reason).

Details: Emmy Deveaux bodysuit, Vero Moda blazer, Nicole Miller skirt, BR belt (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I wore this outfit to the office recently. Yes, I went into the office for once. It was nice to see everyone but the commute was awful. Once again, thankful I’m WFH … even if it means nobody usually gets to see my awesome outfits. Well, apart from all of you. Anyway, I had put this blazer away last year, as I had stopped reaching for it. It doesn’t really suit my Historian or (summer) Bohemian avatars. But I’m glad I held on to it because as soon as I thrifted this skirt, I knew this was the first outfit I wanted to try. They’re made for each other! I also think this blazer might serve me well with some 90s-inspired outfits so it’s sticking around for a bit longer.

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck, Gap sweater (both thrifted), Banana Republic jeans (retail)

Thoughts: How perfectly does this turtleneck match up to this sweater? It creates this cool trompe l’oeil effect that looks like I’m wearing a rainbow vest over a striped turtleneck. But, actually, the sweater has sleeves! That’s it. That’s the whole reason for this outfit. I am easily amused.

Details: Oak & Fort top, vintage vest (both thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (gift), Rafael Alfandary necklace (eBay), Holt Renfrew belt (retail)

Thoughts: This was a pretty literal translation of a runway look from (IIRC) Chloe. Or Celine. Sorry, I can’t remember anymore. But this is basically my Fall 2023 Bohemian avatar come to life. Big “Jo March” vibes. I loved it. Easy and simple and comfortable.

Details: H&M x Moschino sweatshirt, Philip Lim skirt, Only & Sons jacket (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I dusted off a couple of pieces I hadn’t worn in a while — this skirt and this sweatshirt — because I thought the jacket would bring them off together into a cool, casual outfit. And I was right! Sorry, that sounds insufferably self-congratulatory, doesn’t it? But I felt great in this outfit, and I continue to be impressed by the versatility of this jean jacket. I haven’t worn jean jackets in a few years, but the combination of the men’s (oversized) cut and the colour make this particular jacket feel really fresh and fun to me.

Details: F21 sweatshirt, Woolrich vest, BDG jeans, Fossil belt (all thrifted), Converse x Woolrich shoes (eBay)

Thoughts: This is the kind of outfit I never felt cool enough to wear as a teenager. Or had the money to purchase, for that matter. I loved wearing it this time around! These jeans were a calculated risk on my part; it’s definitely a cut/design that’s out of my style comfort zone, but I dig how they look. And they are comfy AF.