It all started with a watch. No, wait, let me back up. I guess it really started with my love for sun, moon, and star motifs. I was a 90s teen, it was unavoidable – and I never really grew out of it. Over the years, and especially in the last four as my nostalgia kicked into high gear, I’ve bought all kinds of things – home décor, clothing, accessories – because they featured some combination of celestial bodies. One thing I coveted for a long time was a vintage sun & moon phase watch. There was a Timex one I had my eye on for a while, but the stars never quite aligned (pun intended!) to p ..read more

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt, Danier skirt, Nocona belt (all thrifted), turquoise necklace (Poshmark) Thoughts: I adored this outfit — peak Adina! Sometimes, all you need is a statement skirt and crisp white shirt. I am a white shirt convert now. The key is to have an oversized one, and wear it loose and casual not buttoned up and businessy. Well, buttoned up works too, but only under sweaters and vests for me … and it has to be a different white shirt because the one used for layering must be fitted not oversized (for obvious reasons). All of which to say, yes, I have multiple white shirts in ..read more

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Massimo Dutti sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Old Navy belt, Coach bag (all secondhand), J. Crew sweater (retail, old), Mia shoes (retail, old) Thoughts: How much did I love this outfit? A lot. I’m so excited to start shifting my closet towards spring/summer, and this was a baby step in that direction. Summer for me is all about the Trailblazer, heavily prairie-core; I will miss the layering, but it will be nice to be reunited with pieces like my vintage RL skirts (like this one) and patchwork jackets. In the meantime, I took inspiration from the skirt patterns here ..read more

Yes, we are doing a spicy take today! The title is inspired by a recent series on Amanda Lee McCarty’s podcast Clotheshorse, “Why Clothes Are Kind of Garbage Right Now”, and the content is inspired by my personal observations over the last couple of years, along with some pure speculation on my part. In truth, it’s nothing that should come as a surprise. I should have seen the writing on the wall as early as 2021, but I remained in denial for a while longer. Not anymore. These days, there’s very little sand left in which to bury one’s head. I mentioned 2021 because that’s when I read Adam Mint ..read more

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck, Escada dress, Rebecca Minkoff belt, Aldo shoes (all thrifted) Thoughts: I thrifted this vintage Escada dress years ago (circa 2017) but it’s been hanging in my archive closet for a long time. It’s a beautifully made and cut dress, but despite being seemingly plain, it’s anything but. The detailing makes it special but it also makes it a challenge to style. The good news is that I’m on something of a 70s kick at the moment, so I’ve got more ideas for this than before. Starting with this outfit, which is pretty simple but quite effective, if I do say so myself ..read more

Details: H&M top (retail), Ralph Lauren vest, InWear blazer, BDG jeans, vintage belt, Dooney bag (all secondhand) Thoughts: Guysssss! This is it! I finally found my palazzo jeans — the style I’ve been hunting for nearly 2 years. They were worth the wait, I love them so much. This one is called the BDG Puddle jean. I think there might be different versions with the same name, though, because the one’s I’ve found on Poshmark under that label look different. Why am I looking for another pair on Poshmark? Because my daughter also loves them and has been trying to steal this pair ever since I ..read more

I originally wrote this post before my impromptu sabbatical, and the title was less on-the-nose at the time. But, what the hell, let’s go with it! There have been lots of beginnings this year. The biggest news — on the creative front, especially — has been the fact that I wrote a book. Well, to be precise, I wrote something I hoped, one day, might become a book that other people might read. It was an incredibly consuming but also fulfilling project … until I ran into a full-on crisis of faith, not just over the quality and merit of my writing, but of my ideas. I want to be clear here: I think ..read more

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck (retail, old), Ralph Lauren sweater (eBay), J. Crew blazer (retail, old), Fossil belt (thrifted), Banana Republic pants (retail), Coach bag (Poshmark) Thoughts: This shade of brown is one of my faves … wait, did I just say “one”? Does that imply I have more than one favourite shade of brown? Who am I????? It’s true, though. I’ve been afraid of brown — well, not afraid exactly, more like uninterested — my whole life, but it turns out that it’s actually a beautiful colour. Or colours, rather. This shade is at the intersection of brown and burgundy, and I love its ..read more

At the beginning of the year, I wrote about my goal of shopping more mindfully and intentionally going forward. As I’ve been working on it, and working through my thoughts on consumption and consumer culture more general as I write my book (more on that later), my perspective has been evolving — and my approach along with it. I wanted to document that process here, as I think it’s a useful companion piece to my shopping- and style-oriented posts. Most of the time, on social media and elsewhere, we are presented with the results of consumption without any context, divorced from its real-life im ..read more

Details: Wilfred vest, Ralph Lauren skirt, Escada blazer, Rafael Alfandary necklace (all secondhand), J. Crew shoes (retail, old) Thoughts: I haven’t worn much red in years, but this vest has been like a shot of adrenaline to my closet. It’s what I consider my “best” red — a poppy red, slightly orange-leaning shade. I had to pair it first with this skirt, to pick up on the pattern of the skirt. It feels like such an electric combination somehow. Kept the outfit very simple, but felt smashing in it. Details: Wilfred sweater, Topshop dress, Jones NY blazer, BR belt (all secondhand) Thoughts: C ..read more