I Got Coat Game

I think I said this before, but my coat game went to a whole different level once I started thrifting extensively. Coats are pricey at retail, so I never used to have more than a few. With thrifting, it’s easy to find many different styles for under $30 a piece, so I have been slowly accumulating a very (ahem) large collection. In my defence, in Edmonton, one definitely needs 4 season’s worth of coats. Not in my defence, I probably have enough for 8. And yet, I keep buying more. But also, how could I resist this Elena Wong number? It’s so unique and fun. I paid $13. It’s the perfect weight for transitional/early fall weather, and the colours are also perfect for this season.

Forever Mad For Plaid

I love how the traditional plaid of this vintage Saint Laurent skirt mixes with the more avante-garde plaid of the Clover Canyon top. It’s giving me some Alexander McQueen vibes. Just a fun fall outfit.

When Avatars Unite

I feel like this is a mix of the Artist and the High Priestess avatars in colour palette and silhouette, and I am quite pleased with the overall effect. It’s one of those outfits that doesn’t meet any of the traditional “figure flattery” check points, but I appreciate as a kind of abstract art installation — because it’s visually interesting and has intriguing movement and angles. I was reminded recently of how amazing Michele Lamy’s style is, and I am inspired to double down on doing a (very watered down!) version of her “marching to one’s own drumbeat” thing going on.

Monochrome Sublime

I really wanted to call this Monochrome Epitome but English is a weird language and those two words don’t rhyme. Anyway, this outfit is one of my favourite new ways of doing black-and-white — this Lida Baday dress is a trompe l’oeil delight. It has some medieval allusions with the heavier jacquard-like faux overlay and the ruched black fabric insert. Layered over black culottes, it looks almost like I’m wearing a fun coat. Because the dress is a bit of a shorter length that I prefer these days, I am looking at clever ways of layering it over longer pieces.

Spring to Summer

The weather has been all over the place lately; sometimes it feels like summer, sometimes it … doesn’t. I’m not complaining, for once, because this year I realized that as much as I am a summer person in spirit, I prefer spring/fall when it comes to sartorial matters. Layers, you guys. I love me some layers.

But when the weather can’t make up its mind about which season it is, you have to get creative with the hybrid combinations. In this case: sweater on top, summer skirt & sandals on the bottom. This rainbow stripe sweater always makes me happy, and the skirt is a compliment magnet. I’m not mad about it.

Notes: Gap sweater (thrifted, $5); Floreat skirt (thrifted, $12), Madewell shoes (thrifted, $8.50); Rebecca Minkoff bag (thrifted, $10)

Camel, Take Two

Still loving this cashmere camel coat; it feels like the right amount of luxe to dress up what are, essentially, fancy leggings. I’ve been dealing with IBS-related symptoms for the last month or so, which has made me prioritize comfort; jeans can be a challenge some days, and on weekends it’s nice to have another option. With a polished but still relaxed/loose-fitting top half of the outfit, this looks quite nice even with minimal effort.

Notes: Jil Sander coat (thrifted, $10); Equipment shirt (thrifted and gifted); Line sweater (thrifted, $8.50); Iris Setlakwe leggings (thrifted, $9.50); Coach bag (thrifted, $30); AGL shoes (thrifted, $10).

Midnight Floral

This Ted Baker-esque print caught my eye immediately; turns out the dress is Pink Tartan, which is a Canadian mid-level designer brand. Based on the quality, I think this might be some kind of diffusion line; the quality is not as great as the items I’ve tried at Holt Renfrew before. Because the fabric is a rather odd, plasticky-feeling polyester (like raincoat material), I layered this over a silk slip-like dress for extra comfort. It worked out well, and reminded me that I should look into buying a proper slip one of these days.

That being said, the aesthetic is very nice. It’s the kind of dress that never fails to get compliments. Still, I don’t think this is my style. The cut is classic and flattering, but it feels wrong for my avatars. I enjoyed taking this particular risk on a pretty dress, but it’s not going be a keeper for me, so I’m gonna try to find it another home.

Notes: Pink Tartan dress (thrifted, $18); J. Crew shoes (thrifted, $10).

Eclectic Casual

I wore this outfit on one of our warmest days this year, and I’m not gonna lie: it was fun. There’s nothing like some good Sleeve Drama, and this kimono-inspired topper has lots of it. Please admire my restraint in not posting a dozen photos of my twirling/tilting-at-windmills attempts. It might seem weird to wear pants on a warm day, but (a) I can’t do shorts anymore, and (b) these are the softest linen and comfy as heck. They also have a cool, shimmering texture which is hard to capture; the fabric looks a bit like a moth wing, especially in sunlight.

Notes: Postmark top (thrifted, $7); Floreat topper (secondhand, $26); Lida Baday pants (thrifted, $4.50); Stella & Dot necklace (thrifted, $5); Indigo Rd shoes (thrifted, $10).

The less said about the first 3 weeks of December, the better. The month redeemed itself somewhat once the holidays kicked in, but I am definitely ready to turn a new page on the calendar. I expect that 2019 will feel like a long run-up to a truly milestone year – my husband and I will both turn 40 and will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary in 2020 – but I don’t want to give it short shrift. One of my don’t-call-it-a-resolution resolutions is to live more fully in the moment. With that said, the next few months will probably be a bumpier ride than usual, so apologies in advance if I’m not around here as much.

But enough looking forward; let’s take a look back at last month’s work outfits:

I said there would be more colour than in November and … there was, kinda? Wearing black is a hard habit to break, and I’m not really even trying. Overall, though, I am pleased with how this month’s “capsule collection” worked out – as a whole, it was nicely representative of my various style personas/avatars.

I also thought it might be fun to do a snapshot of the last 4 months:

The top left quadrangle is September; top right is October; bottom left is November; bottom right is December.

There isn’t a drastic overall contrast, but if you compare September and December, I think you can see how much more cohesive the latter collection is. You may wonder why I am obsessed with the concept of cohesion in my wardrobe/outfits, and honestly, I couldn’t really explain it myself until recently, when I  started reading up on my Enneagram type again. That is a discussion for another post, but trust me when I say that it’s a very 4w3 thing to be obsessed with.

Just for fun, here’s an even longer walk down memory lane. December 2016 (top) and 2017 (bottom):

So much more colour! But the outfits are all over the map. I still really like some of them (and this type of exercise is a good reminder to revisit them) but together they feel overwhelming. Onwards and upwards!