Wardrobe Rebuild 008 | Pearls & necessities

My new most-worn bag is from Costco.

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.

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When I thought about what to talk about next on here, the first thing I wanted to do was say a proper Hello and Welcome to the new subscribers who’ve joined since my November post about curbing clothes shopping. 👋!

I’m encouraged that the piece really resonated because it represents my core belief about shopping, which is that it’s a fact of life, connected to many other facets of life that we have to constantly manage. And being more intentional about each facet helps nurture long-term wellness.

My first post of this year is a special Wardrobe Rebuild, in which I share my final purchases of 2024, a look back at a whole year of intentional shopping, and a few (non-clothes!) favorites too. Let’s get started!

In the last few months of 2024, I bought five things for my wardrobe, most of which I would now feel confident calling essentials because I’ve been using them daily or weekly.

Here’s what I got:

• Gap PJs + crew socks
  
  As the weather cooled, I needed another set of long-sleeve PJs. I was mulling over getting Lake again or LL Bean, but when I saw these on sale at Gap, I jumped on them quickly because when did Gap ever do me wrong? Rarely, because the price is right, the quality is fair, and they have petite sizing. Later over Thanksgiving weekend, I popped into Marshall’s to check out suitcases, but ended up leaving with just a six-pack of Gap crew socks and a bag of hazelnut wafers. Anyway, I’ve worn both things a bunch already, so yay!

• Missoma seed pearl beaded choker
  
  I believe this desire started with wanting a slightly more “ornamental” necklace that I could layer with my simple square snake chain (also from Missoma), but could also easily be worn on its own. I love all things pearl, but usually it’s just a pair of studs or a pendant, so this amount of pearliness is newer territory for me.
  
  One interesting shopping note here: Quince actually sells pretty much the same necklace for half the price. I took a closer look and, indeed, the designs are virtually indistinguishable (and both are 18K plated gold). The big price difference was almost too hard to resist. Almost! I still ended up going with Missoma because it just looks better to me. I’m not certain that this is actually true, but to me, the pearls on the Missoma one look slightly more — let me borrow rice lingo for a sec — short grain — and on the Quince one slightly more long grain. And I wanted them to be stubbier. I have no regrets! I love this piece as much as the snake chain and enjoy wearing them together and separately as I’d hoped! It’s a really easy-to-wear “special” piece.
  
  Have you ever had to choose between a pricier product vs. the Quince version?? How did you decide?? Lmk! I’m very curious about how people are approaching this kind of decision.

L: The two Missoma’s + Crown Affair comb make a pretty pile on my desk. / R: Slowly testing out the pearl necklace with various clothes to see how I like it.

• Old Navy crew neck sweatshirt
  
  File under: another staple acquired while ordering clothes for my daughter. I got me and Jason matching (men’s) dusty blue sweatshirts and we’ve both been wearing them a lot. I picked up this men’s style because I liked the blue color and it was intended to be mostly loungewear so I didn’t think much about the fit. But given how much use I’ve been getting out of this, I think I could benefit from finding another sweatshirt I love with a better/more intentional fit — I expected and wanted this to fit loose, but I noticed some awkward looseness, especially in the collar area (it’s less of a problem when Jason wears his, so I know it’s more of a fit issue). Still gonna wear the heck out of it though.

• Crescent crossbody… from Costco!
  
  I’ve been thinking about getting one of those crescent crossbody bags that have been very popular — see: Baggu and Uniqlo — because they seem like a good balance of capacity and convenience. So when I saw this 32 Degrees version during a routine Costco run, it took me just a minute or two to decide to get it. (The dusty blue also felt like destiny because of that new Old Navy sweatshirt and my similar-colored phone case.) I’ve been using this bag pretty much everyday since.

A bag for all occasions! From L: playground, Shake Shack (ft. Old Navy sweatshirt), and rare in-office day (ft. Old Navy sweatshirt again and the sweater in my most recent 10 Year Closet post — I wanted to layer up because office temps can be unpredictable and I also thought having the speckled sweater show a little at the bottom makes an interesting “trim”).

The past year in Wardrobe Rebuild

As you can see in this composite of Wardrobe Rebuild Matrices from last year, my shopping has been very much focused on staples/”needs”. But I can also feel myself ever so slightly start wading more into the “wants” end of things. I sense this from how often I get tempted by jewelry these days.

I don’t have a ton of jewelry, but I love how much extra ✨ they can add to my day to day. I can wear the same assortment of clothes but feel slightly more put together, slightly more festive, slightly more shiny just by putting on a necklace, earrings, and a few of my rings. It’s a mode of expression I’m excited to explore and invest in more in the coming years.

Et voilà, my wardrobe tracker for 2024. (Read more about this tracker here.)

• Total items: 15

  • Clothing: 9

  • Shoes: 2

  • Accessories: 4

• Total spent: ~ $820

• Best brand discovery: AYR, because I can truly feel the quality in the pieces and that’s encouraging to me as someone aboard the buy less, buy better train.

• Favorite single piece of clothing: Levi’s denim jacket, because I know I’ll wear it for the next 10+ years.

Bonus! 2024 (non-clothes) favorites

• PlanetBox stainless steel snack container — this was a win while shopping for daycare. The compartments here are such a useful and fun constraint. I love trying to mix and match snacks and think about what pairings would go nicely together.

• Laneige sleeping mask — I’d been using the Cerave night cream for a few years when at some point last year I learned about this one (it’s technically a “sleeping mask” that you’re supposed to rinse off in the morning, but I usually wash my face in the morning anyway so 🤷🏻‍♀️). I heard about this product from Chase Amie on Youtube, who raved about it, calling it “the closest alternative” she’s found to the Augustinus Bader cream (which is supposedly very good but also very expensive.) At the time, I was feeling like my skin (especially cheeks/mouth area) felt much bumpier than it did pre-baby. So I decided to give this a try — and I’m in love! Not only does it look and smell nice (I’d say the scent is a light and fresh floral), my skin texture is definitely smoother and softer (How can I tell? Well I’m no longer finding myself wondering in the shower, why does my face feel so bumpy? The difference was immediate and I’m now on my second jar.)

• Ceramic fruit bowl + Korean wooden stand — I got both of these for my daughter’s first birthday celebration. I spent many nights figuring out how to put together a traditional Korean “dol” table that looks abundant but not excessive (final result below!). I found this white bowl on Amazon — it has a good medium size, with the pedestal look I was looking for. I’d actually been in the market for a fruit bowl for a while, but was always deterred by decision fatigue. Funny enough, this “special occasion” purchase helped me finally make a decision. And the stand! It’s very tiny but the curves feel so whimsical (they remind me of clouds in Asian art). As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to work it into our everyday decor somehow. Currently, it’s playing nicely on the mantel as a stand for the Flamingo Estate tomato candle ;)

That’s all I got for now!

Hope you have a good morning, day, or night,
Jenny

Previously…

Wardrobe Rebuild 007 | Clothes for living

Wardrobe Rebuild 006 | Summer this & thats ☀️

Ode to: My 3 most used bags