Wardrobe Rebuild 009 | Barrel jeans & sneaker hunt
Two mistakes and do-overs.
Welcome back to Wardrobe Rebuild, a series documenting my adventures in filling gaps and adding joy to my closet… after the pandemic, after having a baby, forever exploring personal style.
My Q1 in shopping was fruitful—and a bit of a hassle. I only added two things to my wardrobe, but each took a second try to get right.
Here’s what happened.
Shopping intention no. 1: Get a new pair of everyday sneakers
Why: My peachy New Balance 574s have started looking really beat up after near constant wear since 2021, including during pregnancy, which stretched them out quite a bit. I knew this would be the year to replace them and figured I’d just find another pair in a color I like (classic New Balances—first 501 and then 574—have been my sneaker move since 2014...I think of them as my Anna Wintour bob 😛).
What I got first: A pair of 574s at full price from the NB site, in a beige/purple-blue-ish/”butter yellow” colorway…
The mistake: …the “butter yellow” on the tongue was actually exposed foam 🙃 Totally didn’t know this is a thing that some sneakers just do now. Oh well, now I know to zoom in on the tongue when looking at sneakers online. Now the question was: is the foam tongue a deal breaker? To which I decided, no, not necessarily…but then I realized there were a few other strikes against this pair: 1) I didn’t like the high-contrast lace holes at the top (I’m used to the holes being more discreet/not having metal rings) and 2) the color was overall much brighter than I realized I’d wanted (ideally these shoes would play a great supporting role in my everyday outfits and not be so bright that they’d grab attention immediately). So I went back on the hunt!
What I got instead: I didn’t love any of the other 574 colors on the NB site, so I briefly entertained going for the edgier 327 style, which I’ve seen on many others and have always been curious about. I almost went through with it, in a dreamy sage green colorway…but looking more at it, I just couldn’t…It just felt a tad too trendy for me.
Then I got really close to ditching NB for Nike instead, after getting majorly influenced by a Milan street style IG post featuring a pair of lavender-sky blue Field Generals. Now this is a color scheme that I saw and was immediately like I need it. I truly almost pressed “place order” but then realized that another main personal reason I’ve been sticking with the classic NBs was comfort, particularly around the toe area. The toe box on the Field Generals looked tighter to me (not in terms of width, but height). I’m not certain if that’s true but I didn’t want to risk it.
IN THE END… I found a pair of 574s (on sale!) on Zappos. The colorway is officially “incense/black”, but I’ve been fondly referring to it as “earl grey ice cream”. I typically look for something a bit more pastel-y, but I think these, compared to the 574 Core “nimbus cloud” ones that I also considered, are a more opinionated but still versatile neutral that I imagine pairing a lot with blues and pinks this summer.
Shopping intention no.2: Try a pair of looser fitting jeans
Why: I’m still wearing my skinny/straight jeans, but I want to try something different!
What I got first: I came across
’s rave review of the Le Bon Shoppe Arc pant and thought they were promising (well, Lexie said she’s 5’3 in the post and I think I processed that as generally “petite-friendly” even though 5’3 is three whole inches taller than I am, oops). When I found a version in charcoal denim, I felt especially possessed to buy them because I literally dreamed about a pair of loose jeans in this exact wash like two nights before.
The mistake: What felt like destiny was a bit more like wishful thinking. The product details said the inseam was 24.5” which should be okay based on pants I own, but reality was not so. To be honest, I had my doubts about fit while looking at photos on the product page, but this is where the wishful thinking kicked in 🙈 As soon as I started opening the package, my gut knew it wouldn’t work out. It was simply too heavy, too much material to make sense for me. Trying it on, I really loved the elastic waist and unique leg shape/side panels. But it swallowed me, so I had to send it back.
What I got instead: For the third time in the past year, I acquired a new piece of clothing from Old Navy because I was already gonna make an order for my daughter. This time, I encountered this pair of well-reviewed barrel jeans. Given that ON has petite sizing (and there were plenty of good reviews from petites on these), I was much more confident this time around. I felt called to the light wash with darker side panels (was I influenced by the side panels on the Arc pant??) Even though I dreamed about charcoal jeans, these actually are much more needed in my wardrobe right now since my go-to summer jeans didn’t really fit anymore after having a baby.
When I first put these on, I was so pleased with how they fit that I immediately posted pics to r/PetiteStyleAdvice (and Substack Notes) haha. And it was polarizing! Many people thought it looked good but there was also a camp that thought the barrel leg style just doesn’t look good on petites, period.
I think this is where the “do you want your clothes to look ‘flattering’ or do you want to wear whatever you want?” question comes into play. My honest feelings here: I don’t have long legs in either absolute or relative (proportional) terms, and the barrel style only speaks that truth. Like any other piece of clothing, I can have some more flattering and less flattering angles in it. But at the end of the day, I feel content about this purchase because when I put it on:
The length works.
The material/amount of stretch is comfortable.
I love the look of the side panels.
I’m getting to try a looser style like I set out to do.
I don’t feel like I need a whole lot more from these pants. But one cool thing I didn’t expect when I got these was just how different I would feel wearing them. I found myself walking slower, feeling swaggy and freewheeling. It was like I suddenly got sent back to my tomboy phase that lasted all through middle and high school. Personal style time travel? Yes, please.
Till next time,
Jenny
Introducing…something new! ✨
I’ve been pondering for a while how to add a paid component to this newsletter. I wanted to find a way that’s sustainable for my lifestyle and aligns with my honest shopping ethos and rhythms. Recently it occurred to me that I could share the extra tidbits I’ve been inclined to add to the end of each post as a special section just for paid subscribers, and that’s what I’m going to be trying out now.
Everything you’re used to receiving from me will still be available to everyone. But now, at the bottom of each post, paid subscribers will get access to a special section that’s a bit more experimental, personal, miscellaneous…and I hope still fun and helpful. So if you like my shopping sensibilities and want to connect with me more deeply around slow shopping/slow style, I’d love to invite you to become a paid subscriber and support this work.
For this first edition, I’m sharing:
3 non-clothes shopping wins in Q1
a sneak peek of a baby/toddler favorites list I’ll be publishing soon
a couple more of my nascent outfit collages on Indyx ;)