eBossy tweed blazer on Amazon $42.88
My mailman, UPS, and Amazon delivery people must think I’m crazy. Several times a week they deliver large packages, and several times a week I return them. (It’s part of my job, I explain.) But there are several items I have not returned and I wear them constantly.
You’d think that as someone with a large amount of the Natural style essence I’d just be happy hanging out in sweats and sneakers. But actually, every morning I pick out my entire outfit very intentionally and carefully before I head over to my office.
The reason I take the time to do this is that what I wear sets me up for how I’m feeling for the entire day. If I just throw on something because it’s there, comfortable, and warm, I feel sloppy and my thinking becomes lazy. I have to be very clear focused (with so many project going on right now) and can’t allow my mind to be fuzzy. I act as though every one of my readers can see me sitting at my desk, or out doing errands. So, I have to love what I am wearing as much as I love my work because they are related.
All this brings up an important point. Unless you truly need something for comfort, warmth, or work that isn’t in your style or suitable for your coloring, my advice is, “if you don’t love it, don’t keep it”.
So let’s take a look at what I kept and why.
Everlane Barrel Pants
Everlane barrel jeans $118
Since I barely reach 5’0” I was dubious about whether I’d look like a clown in these pants. But similar to just about everything I’ve purchased form Everlane they really pay attention to the details. These have polish and even sophistication for such a trendy and let’s face it – odd looking style. And they are beyond comfortable.
The image from their site (on the right) shows that they should be worn cropped, so I have to take them to my tailor to get them altered. But for now, I’ll still make them work by wearing them with flats or Mary Janes so the hem doesn’t wrinkle up like they do with my lace up booties on the right.
A recent blog post here describes which shoes to wear with which hemlines for proportional balance.
Mango Boucle Jacket
Mango is Zara’s biggest competitor these days and I find their quality and prices to be fairly similar. They have sales frequently as they turnover inventory frequently. I recently ordered several things including this jacket. The other items in this order were a leopard print tee and a ivory shoulder bag. I thought I would end up keeping the tee and the bag and return the jacket. My hub told me to keep the jacket and return the other two . He was right (he’s my best student, frankly, and he knows me).
The T-shirt had short sleeves. We both realized that the print and color created cool weather vibes, but the short sleeves would make me feel chilly. The bag was just a little too “cute” for me. I need something that is either a little more sophisticated to suit my 25% Classic or maybe more relaxed to suit my 25% Natural.
But the jacket is something I have worn repeatedly this fall and winter. First of all it’s quite warm. I wore it to evening meetings in a chilly room. I’ve worn it with straight leg jeans for a nice “hard/soft” combination (I’m going to do a blog post about that next). I wore it with black pants and my black Madewell Mary Janes (see below). Like a lot of things these days it’s got a fair amount of polyester, but I’m not currently looking to pay several thousand dollars for a similar one from a design house. Besides, too many of the higher end brands are now making much of their clothing out of – or blended with – synthetics.
Madewell Mary Janes
Madewell Greta ballet flat $98
I showed these Madewell “Greta” Mary Janes in that previous post about hemlines and shoes, but wanted to mention them here again because I’ve gotten so much use out of them. They just go with everything: skirts, straight leg jeans, my barrel leg jeans, khakis, and you can dress them up and down. Also, they are extremely comfortable. Is the strap too Youthful for my 5% Youthful? Well, I take them to be my “shoelaces” version of something in 5% that John Kitchener mentioned in this post. I bought them in black and this chocolate brown.
Quince Cotton Cashmere Cardigan
Quince cotton cashmere cardigan $39.90
You can hardly go wrong with Quince, simply because their products are high quality, their prices are amazing and their return policy is terrific – fast, easy, and there is no return fee. I’ve needed that because although I love this company, a few things I tried just didn’t work out for me this year. (I bought a very trendy bag that was nearly impossible to open. It looked really cool, but was highly impractical.)
However, their sweaters and tops of all kinds are pretty terrific. I’ve been wearing my fisherman sweaters all Fall and Winter and will, even into the Spring. But their cotton cashmere is a terrific fabric. I wanted an extra layer to wear under my Amazon blazer and this fit the bill. The amount of cashmere is minimal, but still makes it very soft.
Oh – one other Quince purchase. When we went on vacation last year I got to the hotel and I noticed that one of my forever, always worn, tiny gold hoops was missing from my ear! I ordered another one immediately and it was scheduled to arrive shortly after we got home.
After we returned home something shiny caught my eye on the bathroom floor. Yep, the missing gold hoop. I decided to keep the one they were sending, though, in case I ever do lose one. If you’re looking for fine jewelry, they have some great prices on the real deal.
Amazon Blazer and Sweaters
Chanyarn V-neck merino wool sweater $47
As for that Amazon blazer, I tried on multiple similar ones from mid-priced to very high-priced sites, but settled on this el-cheapo polyester one. I had to have the sleeves taken up and am about to have the hem shortened a bit. Still, I love the colors and the fit is pretty great.
And although I love Quince’s sweaters, I have been looking for a beige V-neck that was a little more feminine than what I found there. I found this merino wool one from Chanyarn on Amazon for $47. I’ve worn it constantly, washed it by hand, did a simple iron out, and am extremely pleased with it. I also bought an ivory round neck one from the same company, and although it’s not as attractive as the V-neck, I have worn it a lot this winter as a layer. Chanyarn also has merino wool turtlenecks, cardigans, hoodies, half zips, short sleeved, and a polo cardigan in several neutrals plus pinks, blues, lilacs, and navy/white stripes.
H&M Faux Leather Bomber Jacket
Now, I can’t yet say if this is one of my favorite purchases of 2024 because of all the things I’ve been returning this year, brown bomber jackets likely rank highest on the list. I have tried on faux leather, real leather, and real suede bomber jackets all year, hoping beyond hope to find something that will replace my beloved bomber jacket that found in a boutique on Kauai 12 years ago and that I wore constantly until the faux coating began to peel off.
This one was on sale from H&M and I paid about $45 for it. In the sunlight it is actually a blackish green, and interestingly enough, is exactly in my “black” range on my John Kitchener palette. (I always wondered where in the world I would ever find anything in that color.) That alone made it worth trying. But it has some pretty serious shoulder pads. Yes, that’s a trend, but on me it just makes me look like David Byrne in “Stop Making Sense”. I don’t see it on their site any longer, but there are some similar ones here and here.
I just took it to my tailor to have the shoulder pads removed and will report back with a photo once I pick it up. (BTW, a good tailor is a godsend and a necessity if you are petite. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area he’s in Berkeley, his name is Zoltan, and his company is Advanced European Tailoring, which he runs with his tailor wife Puje.)
GAP Tank Tops and camisoles
Lastly, I think the majority of my wardrobe is from GAP. Not kidding. Jeans, cotton T-shirts, cotton and/or organic cotton sweaters, hoodies, blouses, pajamas, you name it. But the camis and tank tops from their factory outlet are something I wear daily.
When I finish working and am about to meditate, I swap out whatever I’m wearing as a bra (as the adage goes “home is where the bra isn’t”) because I just want to be completely comfortable. I love the neutral colors and they often have them on a ridiculous sale. I think I paid about $7.99 each for them. As I’ve mentioned before, if you order anything from GAP, Banana Republic or Old Navy or one of their outlets (they are all owned by the same company) you will be bombarded with almost daily “deals”. If you are a shopping addict I would advise not giving them your phone number.
Having said that, when I have a wardrobe need in a basic like T-shirts, camisoles, etc., I often find that they have something that works for me. I also love the fact that they have petite, regular and tall fits and a wide range from XXS to XXL sizes. And if you are wary about fast fashion houses, I wrote an update about that last year here.
Mango Impulse Buy
Mango satin bowling bag $65.99
Oh, one additional one. I haven’t used this yet but am keeping it forever. I bought it on sale as a Christmas present for myself. It’s actually a lovely yellow-green satin. (The photo on the right is from their website and shows the color accurately.)
It’s supposed to be a mini as I’m 5′ tall, it appears small for me but not mini-sized. I will use it but just don’t know when. Maybe for my birthday. Maybe just as a lark when I go out for lunch with a friend. It’s just so pretty!! There are some really well-made and beautiful bags on Mango’s site that mimic a lot of much more expensive brands.
So that’s my wrap up for the year. I’ve been honing my wardrobe and am really happy with everything that remains. I make it a point to use all of them frequently. That “if you don’t love it, don’t keep it” rule is my new motto.
BTW If you haven’t yet checked out my new book “Self-Care: 30 Compelling Life Lessons From Happy, Healthy and Successful Women..and some Men!” (it hit #1 in several Amazon categories!), here is the link. It’s finally available in both Kindle and print and I’m hoping to do the audio version sometime this year. And you can join my Self Care Community here. I’ll be hosting a zoom gathering soon for all our members.
Andrea’s books and new video series:
