The Last Remnants of Winter
Things I've been loving (vintage ofc), fit checks aren't vapid, and a continued love for the color brown.
Hi again. It’s been a minute. I’ve missed this. I started a new job and it has been pretty much around the clock, so to be honest, my bandwidth has been at an all time low. Work. Sleep. Repeat. But, I’m back and have been hard at work planning some new content - and my eBay watchlist and Etsy favorites are stocked up and ready to get back to the regularly scheduled programming of my weekly ‘Added to Favorites’. Spring is here, and I am currently writing this poolside from Turks and Caicos (post coming soon), but it was cold in New York a month ago, so rounding up the last few weeks is going to have variety, to put it nicely. I just bought linen pants for my vacation, but I was wearing a wool coat the day of my departure. This post is a bit of a meandering jaunt, but I’ve been away for a few weeks and just want to talk all things fashion.
Things I’ve been loving:
Vintage enamel mesh bags. These are both from Seven Wonders Collective. I have a brown version of this, but the extra details on both of these just really do it for me.
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A chunky loafer - the first pair is Stine Goya, the second Koio (brown is sold out, but I’ve linked black). I saw both recently at Consignment Brooklyn, and as impractical and slightly unhinged as the Stine Goya pair is, it feels like a slightly more elevated version of the Miista square soles. The Koio loafers are now something I think about a pretty decent amount. I remember being appalled when Miu Miu showed boat shoes on the SS24 runway - Sperry shoes and LuluLemon leggings were the unofficial uniform of my high school. I cannot fully embrace the boat shoe, but the Koio loafer is the perfect combination of deck shoe lace-up and penny loafer shape.
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Thoughts - Style as a connection:
As much as people, especially on the internet, like to downplay fashion and shopping and “fit checks” as superficial, shallow “girl” activities that are unimportant and vapid, they are so, so much deeper than that. Style is a connecting force between me and the people in my life. It’s a thread stitching us together, each one of our styles adding dimension and helping to color in the crossstitch of our lives. It’s one of the easiest ways I stay in touch with people I don’t see on a daily basis - sisters, long-distance friends, my mom. It’s one of the main forms of communication between my roommate and myself - she puts on fashion shows for me when she’s planning her vacation outfits, and I’ll send her photos when I’m panicking in the thrift store dressing room. We’ll spend 30 minutes brainstorming the perfect styling for a new thrift find; She bought a vintage fur coat when we went on a thrifting adventure in New Jersey a few weeks ago. We landed on mint leather gloves. Seems impractical, and neither of us actually have mint leather gloves, but it’s more about the process and the bonding than the actual outfit itself.
In my family, it’s a bit of a given that I will give my opinion on outfits, solicited or not. After spending as much of my life as I can remember loving fashion and dressing up, graduating with a degree in fashion design, and working as a stylist, I have become the self proclaimed and begrudgingly accepted authority on the matter , so at least the advice is requested and encouraged almost all of the time. It’s hard work but someone has to do it, no matter how (very, very) small the circle is. My college aged sister will text me panicking over a dress for her sorority formal. My teacher sister will request assistance finding the perfect blazer. My baby sister (she’s 16, she’s just the youngest) will text asking which yarn color and crochet pattern is the best combination for her next project. My mom will tell me she has a themed party for work, and I’ll happen to stumble upon a perfect piece at the thrift store. And I’m slowly converting my entire family into vintage lovers. Raised on TJMaxx, giving up the convenience is no easy feat for girls in the suburbs. But when my sisters visit, I take them on The Grand Thrift Tour (my favorite shops in New York) and while I remain the most “thrifty” of us all, they have officially been converted - on different levels, but a win is a win. I see my sisters a few times a year - holidays, birthdays, dance recitals. So having fashion and styling and our stupid little fit checks as a reliable way to keep in touch is much more meaningful than they may appear at first glance.
Things I Wore Recently:
Apparently I’ve been liking the color brown.
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Another Consignment Brooklyn find - a vintage suede Buckboard jacket. I can never find jackets that hit me at an actually cropped length, so I really, truly thought about this jacket a lot. I didn’t buy it the first time I tried it on, but I gave it a good ponder and finally let myself be convinced it was a good purchase. And so far it has been. I was also very excited about the shoes for this outfit - I recently met up with
for coffee because it turns out we live in relatively close neighborhoods - I love this community!!! But we stumbled upon a stoop sale and I snagged a pair of Le Monde Béryl velvet slip on loafers for $40! I literally could not pass up the opportunity. Full disclosure - I had actually never heard of the brand but Hilliary said I would be insane not to buy them, and I have to agree.This is the same base outfit as above, but with another piece from the fabulous stoop sale. I got the seller to throw this belt in for $10 extra - it’s not really a great piece for the warmer weather that is quickly approaching, so I had to squeeze in a final moment for it while I can still get away with wearing coats.
Wedding season is approaching, and this was the first. I bought this incredible lamé pleated gown from Allegra Vintage (she does a spring prom pop-up available to shop at Unearth) last year, and it’s been my go-to for formal events ever since. It’s so comfortable, but looks like I put a ton of effort in.
Pulled from the depths of a New Jersey thrift store, I found this cropped trench jacket. It’s Frame, and a cheaper, patchwork-ier version of the Acne cropped trench that I adore. This was much more reasonably priced, so I think I will change out the belt - or at least the buckle (I hate a D-ring) and call it a day. It’s the perfect spring layering piece.
So that’s the recent recap. I apologize for the radio silence, and while I cannot promise I will not disappear again, I am working on queuing up some fun pieces for your enjoyment (i.e. Spring break fashion for a middle aged 20 something).
Love all of the brown! And what neighb are you in? (I’m in fort Greene)