If you’re on Substack you probably were on Tumblr too, so you know that it was basically the only way to show your taste and style before Instagram (aside from my personal fave, Lookbook). My Tumblr was a mixture of runway photos, girls with chapped lips and glittery tongues, my outfits, Photo Booth pics, and references to partying and weed. It’s basically a time capsule of that era.

Fashion between 2010 and 2015 is in this sort of weird limbo, somewhere between almost vintage and still too contemporary. It’s not far away enough that we can appreciate it, and it’s recent enough that it still looks bad (i.e. it hasn’t aged and fermented yet). That’s why every time some magazine predicts a trend from that time is coming back, they’re wrong. We’re not yet ready as a society for the return of the Jeffrey Campbell Lita and I can say that confidently.

For all the talk of Indie Sleaze making a comeback a few years ago, I have yet to see a true 2012 girl walking the streets of New York. The trend forecasters were wrong. (Indie Sleaze Did Not Take Place is a crucial critique on the flattening of that era into a packaged aesthetic, that’s an oversimplification and you should read it). I would describe fashion between 2010-2015 as a convergence of hippie, indie, twee, goth, scene, pastel/soft grunge, and sea punk.

We’re going to need more time until we can wear these trends with historical accuracy and actually like it. We’re still firmly in a minimal, neutral-toned, flat-shoed, “quiet luxury” place, and it’s hard for me to imagine someone wearing Blackmilk galaxy leggings or a Boy London t-shirt today. You may be ready to wear American Apparel disco pants but I know you aren’t ready for a Wildfox tee that says “Shopping is my cardio” on it.

Below is an actual photo of my bedroom in 2011. Eagle eyes will spot Jeffrey Campbell shoes (and a shoe box lid as wall decor), 2 (!!) foxtails, a flower crown, studded bags and bracelets, and a bone necklace from a Flintstones costume that I wore in earnest (there’s a photo of me wearing it later.)

Now I’m not the most astute fashion writer you’ll ever read, but if there’s one thing I can say I’m a fucking expert in, it’s what people wore between the years 2010 and 2015. So you’re really serious about wanting to dress like you’re in the early 20teens, look no further than my outfits and Tumblr reblogs. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can’t just pick and choose! Commit yourself to something for once and stop being a coward.

*Please note: these are not in chronological order, I wrote them down as they came to me. I know I missed some, so I’m requesting you comment below if you remember any.

Jeffrey Campbell shoes

This brand defines the era. Of course there’s the Lita, but who else remembers the Damsel, the Coltrane, or the Nightwalk? JC shoes were chunky, tall, buckled, spikey, and colorful. Rolled ankles were just a part of the game, you suffered for their beauty. Extra points if you wore them with torn tights or socks with a lace trim.

Aggressively Bart Simpson stuff

As a lifelong fan (I end every issue of my Substack with a Simpsons photo), this one hit. Jeremy Scott’s Simpsons collection first came out on the runway of NYFW in February 2012, launching endless dupes and iterations of clothing with Bart on it.

Fun fact about this sweater^: the person who made it for me got a cease and desist in the mail from 20th Century Fox. I wish I still had this.

Foxtails

It might give Furry today but we did in fact clip tails to our stuff. Mine was enormous and actually to scale for my body, which I hate.

Creepers

Creepers are classic and timeless but they had a resurgence during this time. This is the only item from this list I’d unquestionably wear today. Vivienne Westwood released a George Cox collab in April this year, or you could always buy from the source (T.U.K.) like I did.

Galaxy print

There’s a good Reddit thread about this print. This was maybe the most ubiquitous trend of that time, so much so that people superimposed galaxy print on photos of shoes and skirts that didn’t actually have the print. There wasn’t enough galaxy, we needed more galaxy!!!!

Crosses

In hindsight, I guess this was thought of as edgy? You were just as likely to see the cross upside down than right side up.

Skulls and bones

Whether it was a rib cage on your shirt or a skeleton hand wrapped around your finger, bone imagery was everywhere. This was a part of soft grunge—we loved to cute-ify dark subject matter, like a skeleton hand doing a peace sign.

Studs

If an item wasn’t already studded, you studded it yourself. I’m not even being dramatic, I studded my clothes until my fingers bled.

Aliens

If ever you see this tattoo 👽 in the wild you’ve spotted a millennial. This came about around the same time as sea punk.

Round sunglasses

It’s hard to explain but everything during this time had like 6% John Lennon in it, so round glasses were big. I think it was the hippie to hipster pipeline, kind of like forehead bands and War Is Over (if you want it) t-shirts. My favorite top at the time was from Urban Outfitters and it said BRAINS NOT BOMBS on it. Hahahahaha I found it.

Eyeballs

Fortunes were made off the eyeball print, just ask Chiara Ferragni. Discount Universe was everything to me and it was my dream to own one of their dresses with eyeballs on the boobs. This was more 2014-2015.

Balenciaga Ceinture boots

No socks allowed, you must suffer. The only way I can describe the hold this shoe had on us is that it was like the hold Miu Miu had on the girls with their biker boot in 2022.

Flower crowns

This was Lana’s fault. I made my own flower crown with dollar store flowers and thought it made me look gorgeous and ethereal.

Spikey jewelry

Pretty self explanatory, stack them and wear them with spikey boots and spikey jackets, just like studs there can never be enough spikes do you hear me?

AOP bodysuits

All over print bodysuits with animals and skeletons on them were worn with studded booty shorts and Dr Martens. Also we wore AOP leggings with palm trees, french fries, and fireworks on them.

Growling animals

In 2011, Riccardo Tisci introduces the Rottweiler graphic in Givenchy’s Fall/Winter collection, which brings on a windfall of growling animal imagery. Supreme’s FW26 collection that just came out includes a growling wolf sweater, so maybe this one is actually back?

Collar necklaces

These were worn under collared shirts (which we wore a lot, because of the influences of twee), some of them even gave the illusion of a collar. Collars were something we brought attention to in general, we also studded and linked them with chains.

Holographics

Also related to sea punk aesthetics, holographic material (especially in bags and shoes) was really big. This fabric is rigid as fuck so it would tear up your ankles when you wore it. Imagine walking in shoes made of sheet metal.

Big gold chains

Fake, of course. I loved this trend, my necklaces turned my neck green. The combo below was the ultimate It girl look. The Céline and Hermès “Homies” t-shirts were grails.

Dip dyed hair

Like I said before, I’m sure I missed some so please share below so this list is in fact definitive!

Everything else I couldn’t fit in this list: triangles, 5-panel hats, wearing animal masks and stuffed animal heads, the dripping Chanel logo, feather jewelry, Jeremy Scott (and the knockoffs), “tribal” print, acid wash denim, Wildfox, Celine Nano Luggage bag, the HUF pot leaf socks, Boy London, emoji prints, Givenchy’s leaf print, thigh high socks, pizza stuff, donut stuff, cigarettes, and forehead bands.

This trend has several arms that are all taking over simultaneously: we’ve got tights in “off” (or ugly) colors in unusual combinations, bold/unusual patterns, capri-length tights as layering agents, and sock-length tights (AKA stockings). Here’s how to wear them all.

“Off” colors & combinations

Pairing slightly off colors in unexpected combinations is an easy way to create interesting juxtaposition. You can always refer to the Prada color palette if you need inspiration: sludge green and pale pink, acid yellow and purple, turquoise and navy blue. These “wrong” combinations should feel abrupt and weirdly right.

Where to buy “off” color tights:

• Falke ($46)

• Wolford ($42)

• Swedish Stockings ($40)

• Sock Dreams ($28)

• We Love Colors ($25)

• Hue ($20)

• Los Angeles Apparel ($18)

• Calzedonia ($17)

• Tight Spot ($16)

• Amazon ($8.99)

I asked the old clanker to spin up some Prada color palettes from recent collections and their archives. You can use these to create interesting combinations and highlight your tights.

Here I dipped into the Fall/Winter 2021 palette with lilac, off yellow, sludge green, and brown.

Unusual Patterns

Bold graphic tights are also having a moment, best exemplified by this long-sold out collab Leandra Medine had with Swedish Stockings (they’re still available in grey). They’re not your run-of-the-mill floral lace or pinstripes, but something more bold and unexpected.

Honestly, a lot of what’s out there looks like a rash or dips a little too heavy into the Hot Topic realm—but there are also some really good ones, especially when people hand-dye or hand-paint them.

Where to buy tights with unique patterns:

• Tabbisocks (there’s good, bad, and ugly)

• Cosmoslay

• Zepherina

• ap0cene

• Etsy (bugs, trinkets, tie dye)

• Pucci

A more neutral palette from Spring/Summer 2000 was the move for these spiral Chopova Lowena stirrup tights.

Capris & Stockings

These kinds of tights are great for stacking, whether with socks, tube socks, skirts, and shorts.

Where to buy capris, knee-highs and stockings:

• Sandy Liang ($150)

• Miista ($105)

• Wolford (prices vary, filtered for socks only)

• Free People ($68)

• Swedish Stockings ($55)

• We Love Colors ($16)

Here I went with Prada’s “Ethereal Neutrals” color palette from Spring/Summer 2024 with pale blue, red, and silver. Ideally I’d wear a red shoe in the same color as the stockings, but I didn’t have.

PS - They aren’t technically tights, but I need to share these incredible Nastyamasha crochet stockings that I may or may not own by the time you’re reading this.

The casual raglan + nicer skirt combination is everywhere lately—and turns out hers came straight off the runway, from Auralee Spring/Summer 2026.

I have this top from Los Angeles Apparel and a Vince slip that did the trick.

Sidenote: LA Apparel has a Depop where they sell samples and “slightly imperfect pieces” at a big discount.

What makes something a raglan is the sleeves; they’re made of one piece of fabric that goes from the armpit to the collarbone, instead of stopping square at the shoulder. And I found out while writing this that just like sandwiches have the Earl of Sandwich, raglans have the first Baron Raglan. I love this shit!!!!!!!

It all began at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18th 1815. Napoleon was trying to rebuild his empire and other countries came together to defeat him for good.

A British Military officer, Lord FitzRoy Somerset, who was shot by a sniper during this battle, had to have his arm amputated. He hated the stiffness of military tunics and their rigid sleeves, so in 1851 a man named John Emery developed a new type of sleeve for Somerset that allowed for easier movement. This was the beginning of the brand Aquascutum, which still exists.

In 1852, Somerset was elevated to the first Baron Raglan, and that’s how the sleeve got its name.

What started with military jackets and coats moved into everyday outerwear and knitwear, and by the mid 20th century sports apparel brands also discovered the cut.

Raglan sleeves allowed baseball pitchers could throw with a larger range of motion without the fabric bunching up, so they started wearing them under their jerseys. This was the beginning of the 3/4 shirt you see everywhere today, and why a lot of people call them baseball shirts.

I rounded up a few raglans for you to shop, plus some skirts to go with them. There really is no bad combo here, everything works.

Vintage

Contemporary blanks

Some skirt options + ways to style

I tried it with this paillette skirt I got from Zara and lo and behold, it works.

It’s almost Canada Day—do I need this rag?

That’s what my friend Nic (author, booktoker, and bag collector) did.

The “double shirt situation” he landed on:

This styling technique feels new, but from what I’ve gathered the stacking of button ups comes from a long history of people layering things.

It’s origins are clearly preppy; shirts and polos worn under Rugbys and blazers has been a staple of Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren ads for decades. Messy stacked collars are the sign of a frat boy wearing whatever he found on the floor that passed the sniff test.

I found this 1993 J. Crew ad featuring a button up stack that looks like it could be from today—down to the watch worn over the sleeve.

In the late 90s to early 2000s we enter the Abercrombie era, which brought on a sexier neo-preppy look that was adopted by the masses (not just true preps).

The layering of collared shirts continues during this time, particularly with polos (who remembers the double stack with popped collars?) and of course, tank tops with lace trims.

It’s not until the late 2010s that we shift from layering identical tank tops and polos to layering button-ups, creating the modern shirt stack seen today.

Here’s a 2017 runway look from DRESSEDUNDRESSED (where the top layer is a shirt dress, a nice variation), and a shirt stack paired with a tie from Marni Spring 2018.

“And you’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2017, DRESSEDUNDRESSED did a collection featuring shirt stacking. And then I think it was Marni that showed shirt stacking with a tie? And then it quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner…where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.”

Shirt stacking reaches a pinnacle on the runway in the 2020s, trickling into the subconscious of Dua Lipa, which makes it onto Nic’s Instagram feed and eventually onto my back (in some tragic Casual Corner.)

I love anything that looks undone and is comfy. I went with a clashing stripey combo at first, followed by a bunch of mixing and matching over the next few days.

I won’t get into the shirts that create the illusion of a stack, although that’s always an option—but I figure you probably already have the tools to make this happen without having to buy something.

Now you try it. Leaving you with this, from Nic.

I recently scored this 2018 Prada skirt for $400 on eBay (here it is on TRR for $750).

There are three Prada collections that include flames; Spring/Summer 2012, called "Women and Car Engines," which was inspired by 50s hot rods, and both the menswear and womenswear Fall/Winter 2018 collections.

Let me give you a visual breakdown of these collections so you can tell the difference if ever you come across Prada flames in the wild.

This is Spring Summer 2012. There’s retro car motifs, sheer flowy fabrics, bulky bags, heavy embroidery, and lots of pleats. It’s very 50s.

I have this pleated flame skirt from 2012 that I got a few years ago on TRR for $276.

And this is 2018. Neon, rubber, nylon, and sporty are the main themes here.

In 2018, two collections were shown back to back and they were basically two sides of the same coin. According to Dazed, “In January, at the AW18 Prada menswear show, Miuccia Prada revealed her first clue that Prada Linea Rossa – the Italian brand’s defunct, sportswear-inspired line – may be making an imminent comeback.

Not only was the collection nylon-heavy, incorporating padded shirts and bucket hats made from the house’s signature fabric – a precursor to the AW18 Womenswear show that would follow the next month – but, midway through, several pieces of outerwear bearing a familiar red rubber strip made an appearance.”

These 2018 collections are iconic because they not only brought back the flame heels and motif, but also Linea Rossa, their sportswear line from 1997.

I’m always on the hunt for the flame collections, so here’s a few available pieces from both 2012 and 2018.

Some additional things that have nothing to do with the above:

• Look at these Paula Canovas Del Vas shoes I saw at Forecast. The two prong toe looks cool in boot form too.

• Also at Forecast was this really good Amiche Alpine outfit. It’s a cropped rain jacket with a matching pant (there’s also a skirt option) that comes with a fanny pack/belt hybrid in the same rain proof material. The cut is amazing in person.

• The McGolrick Bird Club is rife with outfit inspiration. Caroline (a genius) got a fun bag strap from French-Japanese brand Topologie and clipped it to her binoculars. Her friend was also carrying a bag from the brand (the mini duffel), and later that night I went to a party where someone else was wearing one with a bright orange rope strap. The straps are interchangeable and you can get them braided and knotted in store. Watch this space!!! 🐦‍⬛

• Speaking of Carolines—so much has been said about Caroline Bessette Kennedy…and so little about Tonne Goodman!!!!!

• What I’m taking away from this frenzy around CBK’s style is that head scarves are a good look. I bought a headband one here.

• I’m into Lacoste polos right now and I have Marissa Cooper from The O.C. to thank for that. I got a baby blue one and a yellow one on Depop, for $8 and $11. I think the fit of the Y2K polos are better than today’s.

• Do I need a Tyler McGillivary pirate hat? Yes? That’s what I thought!

• Speaking of statement hats, Magda Butrym’s $4,800 oversized crinkled taffeta hat is sold out! Terrible news for those who wanted 2 months of rent to go towards looking like Toad.

• I want Sabre chopsticks so bad.

• Scenes is a soccer store in Greenpoint that’s only open on Friday. There’s a selection of vintage sportswear, hats, cleats, and they make their own stuff—I got a pair of 3/4 pants that I will be living in and Beau got one of the Turf Rats t-shirts below.

• Another store in Greenpoint worth visiting is Million Goods. I tried on this “double shirt” from LC23 that was too big but I liked her.

• I also like these Diemme slides I saw at Couverture & The Garbstore in London.

• We went to the V&A while in London and saw Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art. It was amazing and my main takeaway is that we need to focus more on buttons and pockets as a society. Elsa Schiaparelli was really into crazy surrealist buttons, there actually was a room in the exhibit dedicated to buttons.

• She also included big functional pockets in a lot of her work, which was way ahead of its time (I don’t think women are being offered good pockets even today). Her “cash and carry” pockets were created for Parisians in 1940—she thought it was practical to give women the option to not have to hold a bulky handbag during wartime.

• My final thought: I’m a little late but I think the Christopher John Rogers X Old Navy collab is ill-fitting and that’s obvious when you avoid campaign images and look at real people wearing it. Some pieces are kinda cute but we didn’t need most of it. I think I have high low collab fatigue. Emilee Russell sacrificed her body for science by trying a lot of it on and wrote a great breakdown.

Never forget the golden rule: if the clothes look shitty on a model, you’re fucked!

The stone/glass/wood/plastic bead is no longer just for the blue hairs and the patchouli-scented—BFB’s (big fuckin’ beads) are my favorite jewelry trend for spring/summer 26. Also, I want to eat them. What’s that all about?

The big beaded necklace is eye candy, it’s a graphic outfit destabilizer and looks really good stacked with mixed metals or in contrast with soft fabrics like cotton and wool. Your accessories can give reiki grandma if the rest of your outfit doesn’t.

Here’s me in my tiger’s eye BFB necklace from A’MISS. This photo is an embarrassing yet necessary reminder that we’re all victims of the trend industrial complex. This faceless mannequin in the window of the Mango store in Williamsburg was wearing the same outfit as me, a living individual, only slightly remixed. Their “maxi ball necklace” is $49.99.

I also got these vintage beads and stacked them all together—so there’s that to live for.

On the runway

Now you

Something old:

Something new:

One last thing—while writing this I found a really cool $25 ring that someone needs: it’s an interchangeable marble ring that comes with 16 glass marbles. (update: this just sold, but I found similar here, here, and here.)

The next issue will be about hair, so keep growing it in the meantime.

The cross and globe were exactly the same, but Saturn’s ring was missing. The tag read; “Hand woven cloth, Harris Tweed, Harris Tweed Authority, Certification Mark, Outer Hebrides of Scotland, 100% pure new wool.”

I have a tattoo of the Vivienne Westwood orb on my forearm, so I was like what the fuck is this? So this is me sharing that I have a permanent mark of a logo I didn’t know the full origins of, and I’m going to share my findings with you (and as always, I included some good stuff to buy).

The Orb

This all starts with an actual orb. The Sovereign’s Orb of England is a hollow gold globe that represents the world, with a diamond and jewel-encrusted cross on top representing Christian sovereignty. It’s held in the hand of every British Monarch at their coronation.

The Logo

The Sovereign’s Orb is the symbol in the Harris Tweed logo. The pure wool fabric, locally known as Clò Mòr (”the big cloth”), originated in the 18th and 19th centuries in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It’s a rough and thick wool that is made locally, and just like Cowichan sweaters, genuine Harris Tweed is trademarked.

Harris Tweed was around for a while before it became more widely known. In the 1800s, the isle of Harris was owned by Alexander Murray, the 6th Earl of Dunmore. During the Highland Potato Famine of 1846, his wife Catherine Murray, the Countess of Dunmore, wanted to help support local weavers. She asked them to copy the Murray family tartan for sportswear suits (for hunting and riding) to be made for their estate.

She then showed the finished tweeds to her aristocratic circle of friends, launching Harris Tweed into Edingburg and London’s high society.

Harris Tweed was popularized for sportswear, evolving over time into a brand known for their high quality suiting.

The Designer

Finally, Vivienne Westwood re-introduces Harris Tweed to the world of high fashion in the late 80s—and in doing so, she also found her logo.

Westwood used the fabric for her Autumn-Winter 1987/88 Harris Tweed collection, which leaned heavily into imagery of the British Monarchy, and she iterated on the orb for the collection’s label. Obviously, it stuck.

Anglophilia and the distortion of tradition were recurring themes in Vivienne Westwood’s work, so the Sovereign’s Orb was the perfect symbol to mess with. Adding Saturn’s ring around it was her way of bringing tradition into the future—mirroring her reworking of the fabric in the collection.

The outfit

This is the aforementioned Bella Freud Harris Tweed blazer, and turns out my Marugo tabis are also made of Harris Tweed.

I wanted to reference the Countess of Dunmore so I wore my Scott clan tartan scarf as a makeshift cummerbund—shoutout to my friend Alan who found it on a recent trip to Scotland.

Necklace is A’MISS (I got it at Original Story), top is Proenza Schouler (they make these in every color and you can find them online for cheap), jeans are Ksubi, and sunglasses are Crap (I hate the name of this brand so much, it’s stupid).

Now you

You can now find a Harris Tweed collaboration with every major brand out there; Supreme, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Vans, Adidas, Dr Marten’s, Beams, Stüssy, Alexander McQueen, North Face Purple Label, I could go on. Even Coco Chanel used the fabric in the 20s for her collarless jackets. You can also buy pieces directly from Harris Tweed.

There’s a ton of it on the secondhand market for really good prices, considering the quality. I rounded up a few of my favorites.

Who will be brave enough to rock the Peaky Blinders hat this spring? It’s trendy in Japan.

A Tim Burton character come alive (she was his muse and they were together for 13 years, so she literally is the blueprint) her day-to-day style is a mix of Victorian, whimsical, gothic, piled on, Vivienne Westwood meets Magnolia Pearl, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind manic pixie dream girl, and just like British.

There’s an amount of not caring that is happening, but she’s not without a point of view. A lot of people try this undone “British bag lady” look but she does it in a way that isn’t contrived, probably because she is a British bag lady.

In her recent episode of Fashion Neurosis, she says that she always dressed for another time. “I thought I was a Bloomsbury,” she says, referring to the group of artists and writers who formed the Bloomsbury Group in in the early 1900s (which included Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, E. M. Forster, etc). They dressed in a way that went against the strict norms of Victorian fashion.

She also describes her costume-like way of dressing and layered vintage style as a kind of armor: “That kind of head to toe camouflage does cover a hell of a lot, and is permission to dream really…I know I do everything to camouflage myself in costume and in real life. I’m not remotely interested in exposing myself, I’m very private and I want to invent myself but not reveal.”

Even though it may appear chaotic, there’s a pattern to her dress that I’ve broken down into 5 principles (and tried to incorporate into my recent outfits).

The 5 Tenets of Helena Bonham Carterism

If you don’t know what to wear, just wear a cloak. Shroud your outfit and add elements of intrigue underneath like a big skirt, a scarf, or a cool shoe. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing when the coat is really good.

Place all the responsibility on your billowing skirt. It’s the star of the show and everything else can be regular. Pair it with a blazer or tube socks and you’re a true practitioner of HBCism.

She doesn’t only layer in obvious ways with skirts, dresses and tops, but also in unexpected ways with gloves and socks (putting tube socks on top of tights or another pair of socks). Things are peaking out of things! She overdoes it with fabric and combines both tight and loose.

Mix prints, textures, colors, genres. Black and brown can and will go together!! “I’ve got too much on usually,” she says. “My ex Tim used to say—was it Coco Chanel who said take something off before you leave? He would say, don’t take one thing off, you gotta take 7 things off.”

It’s so counterintuitive to mismatch that it’s actually kind of hard to do. I took one from her book and started with plaids.

Put on the shoes that are closest to the door, throw on any hat, don’t even change out of your PJs. This is what I mean by rushing. Grab the first of everything you see and keep your brain smooth. Sometimes I overthink what to wear, so this was a good exercise—although I didn’t even come close to nailing HBC’s chaotic style.

The application of everything should be rushed as well. Resist the urge to fix and flatten your hair under your hat, tuck your shirt in, and roll your socks up.

Watch her Fashion Neurosis interview here, it’s great. She has a really good smokers laugh too.

You can buy The Dude’s exact Pendleton Cowichan sweater for $275. According to their website, “this men’s sweater style debuted in 1972, but when The Dude wore an original in the film “The Big Lebowski,” fans clamored for a comeback. Now it’s back by popular demand, down to every last color and detail.” You can even get one for your dog.

Anyway not unlike a Scottish Fair Isle sweater, real Cowichan sweaters are a very specific thing from a specific place (and it’s not Pendleton in the 70s).

History of Cowichan sweaters

They originated in Canada, specifically amongst the Cowichan people of southeastern Vancouver Island—that’s in British Columbia for those of you who aren’t from Heated Rivalrystan.

For the visual people, below is the outline of their traditional territory. They’re a specific nation amongst the larger Coast Salish, which is the Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest. “There is archaeological evidence of 10,000 years of human occupation in this region,” says Marianne P. Stopp in her article about the Coast Salish (read if you want to go really deep).

Pre-European colonization, the Coast Salish made wool out of goat hair, dog hair or plant fibres. They blankets they knit were used in ceremonies and rituals, and they were used for trading.

In the late spring, the men went hunting in the mountains while the women and children would go out to find the shed coats or the birthing beds of mountain goats so they could make their wool. I googled goat birthing bed and found nothing I want to share here. An insane fact I didn’t know is that BC has over half the world’s mountain goat population.

Post-European colonization, Coast Salish knitting traditions were combined with European techniques, and the classic cardigan Cowichan style sweater enters the picture around 1860.

Just like the Faire Isle, it’s since been co-opted and iterated upon endlessly, but there are still authentic Cowichan sweaters out there. There’s a whole lot of “inauthentic” but great ones too, which I’ll share later.

Elements of the Cowichan sweater

This sweater is THICK, sturdy, and even slightly water-repellent due to the high content of natural oil (lanolin) in the raw wool. Up until the 1970s all of their wool was prepared by hand, so not only was the sweater hand made but so was the yarn. No two sweaters are exactly alike.

For a sweater to be considered authentic, it needs to be hand knit, made with natural wool from local sources, featuring geometric and animal designs, and of course, knit by an artisan who is Coast Salish (Genuine Cowichan is also trademarked).

Here is a list of Cowichan knitter’s contact information so you can commission your own (the dream), or you can find them on the secondhand market where they go between several hundred to thousands of dollars depending on the knitter, style, and age of the sweater.

Other things that I found out while writing this:

• It’s the only formally recognized knitting type from North America.

• Authentic ones have no side seams—they knit “on the round,” working forwards and backwards.

• The colors of sheep is the reason for the cream, tan and brown colors of the original sweaters. They made darker colors by staining the yarn with berries.

• In 2011, the Government of Canada designated the Coast Salish Knitters and the Cowichan Sweater as an event of national historic significance.

The Cowichan style sweater has been co-opted and iterated upon by most major brands at some point or another, which I think cements its status as a classic wardrobe piece. How many pieces of clothing from the 1860s can you name that are still worn today?

They were in Ralph Lauren’s men’s runway show in Milan 4 days ago (they’ve been making Cowichans forever) and Sacai’s Men’s 2025 Spring collection. I think that they never left, but they’re also definitely back.

Cowichan-style sweaters on and off the runway:

Hysteric Glamour makes some of my favorites and there’s always a few floating around online.

This Supreme one is going for $675 on eBay.

Even vintage sweaters of unknown origins are going for $700 (I admit this one is really good though).

Kapital sells hand knit ones that go for $1,050.

Prada made a fish scale patterned one for F/W 2016, you can get it for $372 (which is pretty good????!!)

I found a Cowichan and Faire Isle goldmine in Kichijoji, Tokyo. They were all under $100 and I should have gotten one.

Authentic Cowichan sweaters (and accessories) that you can buy now:

Cowichan-style sweaters that you can buy now:

I didn’t even scratch the surface of the shopping I could have done, yet the empty suitcase I arrived with was just shy of overweight by the time I left. We also bought a MUJI duffel bag for overflow because both Beau and I reached capacity. It’s not only the store selection that’s endless, it’s the prices that really shocked me. On one of the last days, I found a JW Anderson dress for $26 that really says it all.

My recommended packing list is underwear, socks, sneakers, 1 pair of pants, 1 jacket, and 2 tops. Any more and you’re packing too much.

If you follow me on IG sorry for the repeats, but here’s what I wore to the wedding I went to in Tokyo (s/o to Emma & Luke). I basically packed this fancy outfit and a casual outfit I wore on repeat until I bought other stuff.

My shopping priorities in order of importance were:

1. Japanese designers and brands including Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, LIMI feu, Kapital, Hysteric Glamour, Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe, Undercover, Marugo Tokyo, BEAMS, Nanamica, and more. This also includes brands with Japanese-exclusive collections, like LL Bean, Nautica, The North Face (Purple Label), Columbia (Black Label), Levi’s, Uniqlo, MUJI, and Asics.

2. Consignment stores like Kindal, Bookoff, Ragtag, Bazzstore, Kinji, and TreFacStyle. There’s one or all of them in almost every neighborhood and the prices are unmatched.

3. Vintage/miscellaneous.

What I got

1. Japanese designers and brands

This wool muffler cap from Kapital, a Nautica Japan coat from FREAK’S STORE, and these Marugo tabiRela Harris Tweed Tartan shoes.

BEAMS is such a good store, I’m surprised by my restraint. I only got this skirt. I scratched my Hysteric Glamour itch with this 3/4 sleeve top and a pair of socks from their store in Kyoto.

This long sleeve I got from The Apartment in Kichijoji sent me down a rabbit hole on Manastash, a brand created in Seattle in the 90s by Robert Jungmann, who was one of the first to experiment with making clothes with hemp and recycled fleece. The brand has since been sold and is now based in Japan (read this interview to learn more).

In this photo I have extremely bad shin splints from walking 20k+ steps a day and I’m fighting for my life on the way to dinner. Show me grace.

Don’t be like me and pack just one pair of uncomfortable sneakers, because you will be forced to panic buy another pair within a day or two of your arrival. Which brings me to my next purchase…

This pair of Atmos x Asics with lock laces. I’ve become addicted to the ease of them. They turn every sneaker into a slip on.

I got this Pleats Please Issey Miyake skirt at their Ginza store (it’s much cheaper over there and I regret not getting the red top to match.)

I saw this pair of ninja tabis at SUMOLAND, then bought a pair at Marugo (they also have the gold closure hooks which I love.)

Both these and the plaid pair cost less than $150 total. They also have high quality leather tabis in a few styles for a fraction of the price (these looked so good on and cost less than $250 USD but they’re made to order and take 3 months to arrive.)

2. Consignment

I found this North Face Purple Label jacket and these Y-3 cargo pants at the 2nd street in Daikanyama for cheap. I got the ear flap cap at a vintage store in Kyoto called Milou (this style of hat is everywhere and so are peaky blinders hats).

The Kindal in Kichijoji is so stuffed with clothes that you have to push your way through the aisles. But within that mess was this glorious $60 Comme des Garçons Shirt blazer. The pockets on the inside and outside are stitched through so you can see their outlines on both sides!!

Here’s the famed $26 JW Anderson dress I found at a Bazzstore in Shibuya. I also found a $40 Jean Paul Gaultier wrap top at the same store that I have no photos of, but trust me.

3. Vintage/miscellaneous

Beau got himself an LL Bean Japan-exclusive chore coat that was maybe the best purchase of the trip, we’re obsessed with the store he got it from, HIGH! STANDARD in Daikanyama. They have a ton of staple wardrobe items from brands like Columbia (Black Label), Gramicci, Walla Walla Sport, Carhartt, Thermal King, Service Works, etc.

Here’s his LL Bean coat (top) beside my American vintage one (bottom), which I found at Pin Nap in Harajuku. I had never seen a baby blue before.

Finally, I got a few t-shirts and crewnecks both old and new. From left: a paper thin one that says “my job is so secret that even I don’t know what I’m doing,” a Romeo + Juliet reprint that I found on Cat Street, an 80s Herbie Fletcher Surfboards crewneck sweater I got at BUD, and a 1991 Lollapalooza tee I got at Laboratory R (a store that looks like a library but instead of books it’s stacks of t-shirts from every band, album, concert or tour you could ever think of, hours could be spent in there alone.)

Other purchase highlights not listed above include the best nail clippers and tweezers ever from Hands (you need to know about Japanese nail clippers), a perfect crewneck sweater that we got at a Family Mart (they have great basics), a green rose hand cream by MARMAR;D, and a ton of tabi socks.

Things I saw repeatedly and enjoyed

• This specific outfit formula: big fuzzy cropped jackets, short skirts or shorts with bare legs, and chunky fold over boots.

• Leg warmers, stacked on top of socks, tights, and boots. They add a ton to an outfit and I regret not getting more.

• Newsboy caps (aka peaky blinders hats).

• Houmongi kimonos, tabi socks and zoris (the sandals).

• Big bitchy bags carried by businessmen-types.

• Super baggy pleated chinos, I found similar pairs here and here. Bonus points if you wear them with a peaky blinders hat.

My list

And finally, what we’re all here for: the public Google doc that contains a list of stores either recommended to me or that I went to, divided by neighborhoods in Tokyo (for now, I will add other cities).

Feel free to send it around, make a copy or combine it with your own list—I only went to a few different areas to shop and there’s an endless amount to cover.

I recently landed on Carlawearsvintage’s show on Whatnot. She was showing some of her handmade pin brooches (which are incredible) and she demonstrated how she recently styled one; she wore a tie like a scarf and fastened it to her blazer with the brooch.

I immediately purchased both the blazer and brooch. Finally, I thought, my ties would get the life that they deserve. I figured if there’s more than one way to wear them, maybe I’ll reach for them more?

Side note: There is of course another well-documented way to wear a tie: the drunk guy at the work happy hour who’s wearing his tie on his head. I was happy to see the internet was rife with stock images of this phenomenon, although I have never seen it IRL.