My Wardrobe, Myself

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that 2024 is off to a good start for you. I usually like to begin each year on the blog with a few recap posts related to the previous year. I’m not sure how many of these I’ll do this time around since I’ve had trouble blogging as regularly as I’d like, but I want to at least share my thoughts on my best and worst purchases of 2023.

I’ll start off on a high note with a review of my favorite items that I bought over the course of last year. I was going to limit this round-up to just ten pieces, but as it turns out, I experienced quite a bit of shopping success in 2023 and I’d like to celebrate that.

I’ll divide this post into two sections: my favorite at-home/exercise buys and my favorite out-and-about purchases. I’ll share photos of the items, as well as some thoughts about why I consider each piece to be a successful buy. Wherever possible, I’ll link the items I’m reviewing in case any of you are interested in checking them out (FYI – a few of the links are affiliate links, but most are not).

Favorite At-Home and Exercise Purchases of 2023

I spend the bulk of my time at home and enjoy going on regular walks near where I live and by the bay or ocean, so I’m glad that I’m now paying deeper attention to what I wear for these activities. During 2023, I centered my efforts on finding good outerwear and tops, but I also picked up some other great pieces that I’ll share with you here.

Athleta Items

To begin with, let’s look at the great purchases I made at my favorite store for at-home and exercise wear, Athleta. I love this retailer because they offer quality clothing in a wide array of sizing, including lots of tall pieces. This has been a blessing for me, as I previously struggled to find pants and jackets with long enough inseams and sleeves. Jackets were a primary focus area for me at Athleta this year, as you can see in the photo below.

The first two jackets pictured are smaller sizes of favorites from previous years. My older versions of the fleece and down jackets were each worn many times, so I thought it was worth it to acquire those same toppers in my new size. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of end-of-season sales early in 2023 to purchase the jackets at reduced prices. These jackets continue to be favorites for wearing during my cool weather walks.

The third jacket is a perfect topper option for warmer days and evenings, so it came in very handy during the spring and fall months. As I’ve mentioned many times on the blog, my black staples get a lot of wear, so it’s worth it to me to own black toppers in multiple weights and styles.

The fourth jacket shown (bottom left) is a new acquisition as of December. I had been eyeing this Whisper Featherless Parka for several years, but wasn’t sure that I needed yet another black jacket. I already own a black parka, but it’s a much heavier weight piece that’s mostly worn during visits to my family in Lake Tahoe and when I travel to other cold places. This new jacket is much lighter-weight and is perfect for San Diego “winter” temperatures. I plan to wear it with my out-and-about clothing, as well as for walks. I like that the waist can be cinched in to add more shape to the jacket.

The joggers are a navy version of my workhorse black camo Brooklyn joggers and were also purchased on sale early in the year. I don’t wear them quite as often as the black pair, but I often pair them with a black top and like the combination. The print adds fun visual interest and is a nice departure from the mostly solid bottoms that I wear for my casual activities.

Finally, the pink Momentum tee was a fun “wildcard” purchase last spring. I don’t wear a lot of pink, but I think this saturated color looks good against my skin tone and hair color. I own several other Momentum tees and I recommend them for exercise, but they can easily cross over for casual out-and-about wear, too. I always size up in these tops, though, as I like my tops to be fitted but not tight. These tops stay in place well because they have little plastic “grippers” on the inside hem. This top is now available in a beautiful turquoise color that might make its way into my closet this year.

My Favorite V-Neck Tees

I’m always on the lookout for good t-shirts that fit well and hold their shape. I saw a blogger or YouTuber (I don’t remember which one) mention the Daily Ritual tees available via Amazon, so I decided to check them out. I haven’t been disappointed, but I am upset that these tees (which have been renamed as the Amazon Essentials Jersey Tee) seem to be being phased out and are now only available in limited colors and sizes.

I own the above tees in two different sizes, as I like to wear the snugger version on walks and the looser version when I’m hanging out at home. Both sizes surprisingly fit me well, too. If you share my problem of tops being too baggy under the arms when they fit well everywhere else, this tee could be a winner for you. I wish these tops were offered in more colors, as well as some patterns, but I’m grateful for the ones I have and hope they last at least through 2024. So far, so good, although there’s a small bit of pilling on the black and blue tees, as I’ve worn those most often.

Natori Bras

I always take advantage of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale to buy some staple wardrobe items (that’s mostly all I ever buy at the sale anymore following the analysis I did last year), including my favorite bras. I’ve worn Natori bras for years, but I recently switched to the Rose Dream style because I find it more comfortable and better-fitting than the style I wore previously (which I still recommend).

Good-fitting – and comfortable – undergarments are so important to our wardrobe and style, as they form the foundation to everything that we wear. I know that when I’ve worn bras or underwear that were either stretched out or dug into my skin, my outfits have felt “off,” as has my mood! So, I readily devote a decent portion of my clothing budget to undergarments each year. If I can buy these staples on sale, I of course prefer to do so, but I no longer underestimate the power of a good bra to enhance my style, as well as my confidence in what I’m wearing.

I’m still looking for a longer-lasting underwear style than the Jockey No Panty Line Promise bikinis that I’ve worn for years, which fit well but lose their elasticity far too quickly. I continue to buy and wear this style as I work to find a good replacement, but because of the longevity issue, I do my best to purchase them on sale whenever possible.

Favorite Out-and-About Purchases of 2023

The items pictured below are my nine favorite out-and-about purchases from 2023, which will be discussed by category in the following sections.

The good news is that I now have a lot more successful purchases than I used to, in large part due to my identifying and refining my personal style. As long as I trust my gut and stick to what I know works well for me, I happily wear what I buy and rarely regret my purchases. But when I try too hard to follow trends or wear what I think others might approve of, I have a higher likelihood of not feeling satisfied with my closet acquisitions.

It’s usually more fun to buy the pieces that we’re going to wear out and about, but for people with very casual lives like mine, such items just don’t get worn as often. For that reason, I’ve been trying to place more importance on my at-home purchases and allocate a larger proportion of my wardrobe budget to such items. This approach has been serving me well, but I probably still buy more out-and-about pieces than I truly need. I still fall prey to the temptation to buy more, so that’s something that I continue to work on.

Best New Jeans and Pants

While our tops and toppers tend to be more exciting, I’ve experienced far more “outfit fails” as a result of ill-fitting or uncomfortable pants. Pants can be very difficult for me to buy due to my long legs and larger hips and thighs, so it often takes a few rounds of “buy and return” before I find a winning pair. In 2023, I was lucky to find the four pairs of jeans and one pair of cropped pants shown below, which have made a big difference to my wardrobe.

After several years of searching, I finally found black jeans that work well for me. The black wide-leg jeans from J. Jill (also available in a light denim wash) are long enough for me and include enough stretch to be comfortable for all-day wear. They’re a bit challenging for me to style, however, as I’ve mostly been wearing straight-leg jeans for many years. I’ve found that wider-leg pant styles require shorter tops and toppers to create pleasing proportions. I’m still working on this issue with these recently-purchased jeans, but I believe they’ll become a wardrobe workhorse in 2024 and beyond.

The dark-wash Gap jeans also have a wider leg, but to a lesser degree than the black J. Jill pair, so they’re easier for me to wear. The wider hem also works with more of my shoes because it doesn’t “catch” on some footwear the way that narrower hems tend to do. The J. Jill relaxed boyfriend jeans are my absolute favorite 2023 pant purchase, and I wish they would be offered in other colors, too (still holding out hope that they will be this year). I wear these jeans unrolled (unlike in the photo) and they’re long enough and wide enough to work with most of my shoes. They’re also relatively roomy in the hip and thigh area (many so-called “boyfriend” styles almost look like skinnies on me!), so I feel that they’re comfortable and flattering.

The cropped Cabi jeans (currently available in white) are an excellent option for warmer weather, and they work well with most of my summer tops. Like the relaxed boyfriend jeans mentioned above, they’re roomy in the hips and thighs, which I feel is more flattering on my figure. The looser bottoms kind of glide over my body and give me a slimmer silhouette when compared to snug pants that hug my lower half. When pants are super tight, I feel self-conscious and like I need to wear a long topper to hide what I consider my “problem areas.”

The purple Brooklyn ankle pants are a fun variation on the staple pant style that I wear in neutral colors throughout the warmer months of the year. They look good with my many black and black-and-white tops and toppers. I like to wear one bright piece with two neutral items as a go-to outfit formula, but the bright garment is typically a top or topper. It’s nice to be able to switch that up from time to time using a bright or printed bottom piece, and I wore these pants frequently during last summer and fall.

Favorite New Tops and Toppers

As I mentioned in my December “state of the wardrobe” post, I’ve struggled to find good quality, well-fitting short-sleeved tops in recent years. So, there aren’t many tops among my 2023 favorite purchases, and the two that I am featuring are long-sleeved. I also found two great toppers that I’ll highlight in this section.

I probably own more toppers than I truly need in Southern California, but I use toppers even more than tops to add visual interest to my ensembles. I often wear a simple base of a t-shirt and jeans, and switch up my toppers and accessories to give me variety in my looks. I like the drama of a long vest (remember, “dramatic” is one of my style guideposts that I first shared back in 2020), so when I saw the one above offered in the last Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I made a point of ordering it. In fact, it was the one “wildcard” item that I bought in a sale that I mostly use for closet staples these days.

The black longline vest is made from a blazer-type material and offers a different type of look than the long black knit vest from Eileen Fisher that I’ve owned for years. While both vests can’t be worn during the coldest months of the year (only two or three months on average) because they’re longer than most of my coats, they’re great options for spring and fall or on a summer evening.

The black-and-white floral striped top is a duplicate of a previous favorite from a few years ago, but in a smaller size. I loved the old top so much that I missed wearing it after I dropped some weight in 2022. I was fortunate to find this top on sale at Nordstrom, and while I was browsing the brand, I noticed the gray-and-black color-block top as well. I wasn’t sure if the light gray would look good on me, as some shades of gray wash me out, but I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the look. Both tops pair well with either jeans or black pants and can be worn with toppers in various colors. They cost about a combined $50, but I would have bought them at full price had they not been on sale.

I had to call around to a few J. Jill stores to find the green plaid sweater coat, as my size had sold out very quickly once this piece was offered. I was worried that the sleeves might be too short, but they hit me at a good place. I love that the coat is both warm and stretchy. The stretch makes it more comfortable than a woven coat, and I’m always looking for clothes that are as comfy as sweats or pajamas – but don’t look like it.

And a Small Group of Favorite Accessory Purchases…

Last but not least are five accessory buys from 2023 that I was very happy to find. While some of my favorite clothing purchases featured bright colors, all the items below are black and silver.

I have long been impressed with J. Jill’s jewelry offerings, and some of my favorite pieces were purchased at that store for very reasonable prices (often on sale, but the regular prices are still quite low for what you’re getting). The earrings and necklace in the top row are recent acquisitions, but they’ve already been worn multiple times, both together and with other accompaniments. The necklace is adjustable in length and is definitely a dramatic piece.

I saw a woman wearing the black-and-silver print sandals and had to ask her where she got them. Fortunately, she had purchased them recently and they were still available for me to buy. Since I wear so much black clothing and silver jewelry, the shoes coordinate well with a lot of my wardrobe. They also “bookend” my gray hair quite nicely, although I wish my hair could be more of a steely gray like the shoes are. I wore the shoes many times during the summer and fall, and I look forward to putting them on again once the weather warms up in a few months.

The earrings at the bottom left are longer than what I usually wear, but they make for a dramatic look. I don’t wear them as often as the two other pairs in the photo above, as they’re too large and long to pair with most of my necklaces. However, I don’t always wear a necklace with my outfits, and that’s when I tend to wear my longer and bolder earrings.

The final pair of earrings (bottom center) was purchased at my favorite jewelry and specialty store while I was visiting my family last summer. They’re the perfect size to pair with many of my necklaces, as they’re not too large and overpowering. I love the large onyx presence and the texturing of the silver surrounding the store. I have multiple pairs of black and silver earrings, but they all get worn regularly because they coordinate so well with my outfits.

In contrast, I don’t tend to wear my jewelry pieces in other colors nearly as often, but I still like the variety that they provide in my wardrobe. I enjoy mixing up both my jewelry and my clothes and I like variety, so I doubt that I’ll ever truly be a minimalist in either area. However, minimalism is more about value than about owning the fewest number of items possible. So long as a piece is still adding value to my life, I’ll keep it around, whether it be a garment, accessory, or other type of household item. To read more of my thoughts on the topic of minimalism and intentional living, CLICK HERE.

Conclusion – and Your Thoughts?

So, there you have it, what I see as my best purchases of 2023. Of course, there’s always the flip side of the equation, so next week I’ll share my ten worst buys of last year. That won’t be as fun to write about, but there are lessons to be had from reviewing what didn’t work for me, just as there were for recapping my shopping successes in today’s post. Stay tuned…

Now, I’d love to hear from you:

• What were your best purchases of 2023 – and why?
• What patterns did you notice among what worked well for you versus what did not?

I wish it were possible to share images via the comments section of blog posts, but we’ll have to just settle for some good descriptions of your favorites. So, please share away!

Also, what’s on your shopping list for this year? I’ll share my 2024 priorities soon, but I’ve already been working on them as I cautiously take advantage of some of the January sales. Sales can be helpful when we have our priorities straight and we exercise some discipline, but they can also be dangerous when FOMO sets in and erases some of our otherwise good judgment. I’ve been on both sides of the equation for sure, but I’m doing fairly well thus far in 2024. Fingers crossed that it stays that way (for all of us)!

Wishing you all the best in 2024, on both the wardrobe and shopping fronts – and in your lives at large. Thank you for sticking with me through all my ups and downs of blogging, including my sporadic posting of late. As always, I appreciate you and I welcome any suggestions you have for future content.