Cheryl Shops

When I was a kid, I hated shopping for jeans. I would eventually acquiesce to a pair every season...then never wear them. This pattern continued through my adolescence, well into high school, where I found vintage Levi's 501s, which weren't perfect but were better than nothing. When flared, low-rise jeans came into fashion in the late '90s and early '00s, I finally found a fit that I liked, and I've been a jeans person ever since. I may have struggled at first with skinny jeans, but I eventually got used to them—although for the last 15 or so years, my go-to fit has been the straight leg. I will freely admit that since Gen Z declared that skinny jeans were "cheugy" and everyone started seeking out wider, higher-rise, and baggier fits, I have struggled to find a variation of this that works for me. I have a feeling I am not alone. Nowadays, the denim fit options are overwhelming—barrel, kick flare, palazzo, trouser, wide-leg, relaxed, reverse, '90s, whatever—and the sizing is frankly all over the place. It's enough to make a woman want to go back to her trusted skinnies, and if you want to do this (or never left them in the first place), you have my full permission. I still wear my slim-straight jeans all the time. But after a prolonged period of frankly ugly-looking jeans, I feel like denim has found its happy place. Brands have figured out a good balance of high (but not too high) waist, wide (but not too wide) leg, and relaxed (but not too relaxed) fit, and I'm especially liking all of the dark-wash options at the moment. Here's what I've learned in my wide-leg denim research.

Red has been trending for several seasons now—it was my accent color for my Italy trip this summer—which means that according to the whims of fashion, it's time to move on to a new one. For a minute, it looked like we were trying to make chartreuse happen with brat summer, but since that color looks good on 2% of the population, it didn't quite catch on. Thankfully the pendulum has swung in a more democratic direction to burgundy, which feels more natural and logical—this moody hue is red's goth older sister and feels totally right for fall. Deeper, darker, more mysterious, she's like a nice glass of pinot noir...which happens to be the grape in—wait for it—Burgundy (a.k.a. Bourgogne) wine. Since pinot happens to be one of my favorite wine varietals, and because I'm definitely embracing this rich evolution of red, here's how I'm wearing burgundy for fall. 

Ciao! I am back from 12 glorious days in Italy and am full of Aperol spritzes, pasta al frutti di mare, and gelato. (All totally delicious.) I will say, Italy in August is not for the faint of heart—temperatures were in the high 80s or low 90s every day, and I was sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat from, which made rewearing things a bit of a challenge. As I noted in my Substack, I packed for the entire trip in a carry-on, and I'm proud to say I wore everything I brought except one shirt and one skirt; I really should have packed one less pair of shoes (especially since I bought two new pairs, whoops), but overall, I was really pleased with what I brought. I tried to capture photos of all of my outfits, either out and about or in the full-length mirrors in our hotels, so I could show you how careful packing can pay off. Here's everything I wore on my trip to Italy.

I am leaving Wednesday afternoon for Italy and am deep in the throes of trip preparation, so this week's post is a bit on the lightweight side. I am taking the rest of the month off from blogging, however I will be posting up a storm on Instagram and am planning on sending out my Substack newsletter before I leave. In case you're not already subscribed to the Cheryl Shops newsletter, here's more on why I decided to move it to Substack and what you can expect going forward.

This is a photo from the last time I was in Rome, almost exactly 10 years ago!

While I will try everything when it comes to skincare, I tend to be more loyal to my makeup brands, and I really don't switch things up often. But if someone is raving about a certain product or line, I do like to try it for myself. I had heard great things about the clean brand Iris & Romeo—especially their Weekend Skin tinted moisturizer—so I was excited when they sent me a box of products. Iris & Romeo's tagline is "less makeup, more you," which as someone who usually goes for a "no-makeup makeup" look, I can get behind. So far, they have a pretty limited range of makeup, but I like a brand that takes its time and doesn't rush to launch a bunch of stuff just because. While Iris & Romeo gifted me these products without any obligation to post, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. Here's my review of everything I tried from Iris & Romeo. 

I just completed my first-ever No-Buy July and lived to tell the tale, which I'm now going to share with you. It may sound slightly ridiculous that a shopping blogger took a break from shopping for a month, but believe me, I needed it. After an alarmingly high credit card bill in June and with a big trip to Europe coming up later this month, I wanted to make sure I could enjoy my vacation without worrying about overspending. I also, to be honest, wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I will admit, it was not easy, and I got really in my feelings at one point (more on that later). But I learned a lot about myself and my habits, and it enabled me to take a much-needed—and very eye-opening—look at my spending. Here are my key takeaways from No-Buy July and some advice for those of you who want to try a no-buy month. 

It's peak summer in the northern hemisphere at the moment, but in San Francisco, we're approaching the time of year I affectionately call Fogust. (That would be fog + August = Fogust.) Today, it was glorious and sunny; I wore a T-shirt and linen pants. Yesterday, it was drizzling and so chilly, I put on a leather jacket. Long story short, layers are the way to go here. My go-to outfits lately might not look anything like what you've been wearing recently, but they're always an option any time of year in northern California. Here are some of my favorite recent looks. 

I have always had very fine, thin hair, but in the last year or so, I've noticed in photos that it looks even thinner than ever. Thinning hair can happen for a number of reasons—illness, stress, diet, over-styling—but for many of us, it's a natural part of aging. Which doesn't make it any easier. There are a ton of products on the market to address this, with varying degrees of efficacy. The most proven ingredient for hair regrowth is minoxidil, which requires a doctor's prescription and comes with its own set of side effects. The question is, can you rely on more natural, plant-based methods to help address hair loss? Vegamour kindly sent me a package from their highly regarded GRO line to try, and the following are 100% my own unfiltered opinions. Here's my honest review of Vegamour GRO. 

I have a complex relationship with Amazon; I find shopping it to be a frustrating experience if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, because there's so. Much. Stuff. I've also really dialed back the amount of clothing and accessories I buy on the site, because, really, most of it is junk. That said, Amazon sells many legit brands and products that I use on the regular, it's incredibly convenient, and to be honest, I probably order from it two or three times a week. And because I am human—or maybe just because I'm a shopping blogger—I do get a little excited about the deals they offer during Prime Day, which happens to be today and tomorrow. As with shopping any sale, it's best not to get too emotional about it; the thing I always ask myself is whether I'd still buy something if it were full price. Which is why Prime Day is a great time to stock up on staples: beauty products, kitchen items, and gadgets that you need to replenish and won't get all dopamine-boosted about. You can shop all of my Prime Day Picks in my Amazon shop (there are more than what I've listed here), but read on for more on the items I own, use, and would highly recommend. 

It's that time of year again: the time when influencers take a stand about not covering the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale...then a few days later, cave in and share their picks. I, on the other hand, will proudly cover it from the get-go, because, let's face it, I always end up shopping this sale—proudly. First, some key dates to know:

• Icon cardmembers can shop starting today, 7/9
• Ambassador cardmembers can shop starting tomorrow, 7/10
• Influencer cardmembers (that's me!) can shop starting Wednesday, 7/11
• Everyone else can shop starting Monday, 7/15 through Sunday, August 4th. 

Nordstrom seems to have fixed their pandemic-era stock issues, or at least they did last year—I ended up buying most of what I featured—so I'm following the same format this year. First up: my shortlist Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks for 2024. 

The idea of a capsule wardrobe is not new; I was first introduced to them by Lucky Magazine (R.I.P.) which had a recurring feature called the Lucky Closet (or something like that) where they'd mix and match a set number of pieces to create infinite outfits. Bloggers and influencers have embraced the concept in more recent years, but I've found I'm often underwhelmed by the results. Too many "classics" or "essentials" and you've got a bunch of really boring basic outfits. It is quite challenging to pick a very limited number of pieces to mix and match, and that's why I've never featured a capsule wardrobe here before—until now. I am not a stylist, but in the interest of getting more wear out of my closet this month, I challenged myself to come up with 10 outfits using only 10 pieces, and I tried to pick the most interesting (yet versatile) ones I could find. Here's what I came up with.

As longtime readers know, I love shoes, and I am frequently willing to splurge on a really unique pair, like my Chloe Susanna boots or Hermès Oasis sandals. Life is too short—and our feet are too precious—to wear cheap shoes. That said, designer prices have gotten really out of control in the last few years, and I've become very choosy on what's worth the investment or not. Case in point: the Sam Edelman Michaela flats I'm wearing in this post (they were a fraction of the price of a pair of the Alaia studded flats that inspired them), which I love. There have been several pairs that have caught my eye recently, and while they may be worth the sky-high prices in the long run, several felt way too trendy (and way too marked up) for me to commit fully. Thankfully, I found some great dupes. Here are three of my favorite shoe dupes at the moment, just in time for summer. 

I've casually mentioned this a few times in the last several months, but I co-wrote a book and it's finally available today! It's called Live Natural, and on the surface, it's a coffee table book filled with gorgeously photographed West Coast interiors. But if you actually read it—and I hope you do—it's filled with a ton of actionable tips on how to improve your indoor air quality, design and decorate more sustainably, and create a home that's healthier for you and for the planet. The author, Ali Davin, is my longtime client, and more importantly, she's an incredibly talented interior designer with an incredible eye and a deep well of knowledge on natural, nontoxic materials. I am so proud of this book (working on one was a lifetime dream of mine) and I hope you love it as much as I do.

So in honor of Live Natural's publication day—and considering it's peak beach reading season—I thought I'd share my favorite books that I've read recently. I don't talk about books much here outside of gift guides, but I am a voracious reader, mostly literary fiction. I read every night before bed, on planes, at the hair salon, or pretty much any chance I can get. In no particular order, here are my top 10 books from the last 5 years. 

I was incredibly fortunate to attend the Taylor Swift Eras Tour last summer in L.A. (yes, I was there one of the nights that the show was filmed for the Eras Tour movie!) and in spite of seeing the movie twice, I kind of wanted to go see the live concert again this summer. Of course, once I heard that she totally revamped the show and added a new era for The Tortured Poets Department, I REALLY wanted to go again. That's probably not going to happen for me unless I win the lottery, but for those of you who were lucky enough to score tickets this summer, I will live vicariously through you. In the meantime, you need to figure out what to wear. I have some suggestions, starting with this very sparkly blazer. It was sent to me as a gift without any obligations, and the following thoughts are my honest and unfiltered opinions. But first, here's what you need to know about what to wear to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. 

LoveShackFancy is a brand that I tend to shop very sparingly—it's ultra-feminine, in a way that often reads young to me (and I'm not alone)—but they do a boho summer dress like no one else, and when they get it right, they're very very good. Case in point: I still wear this dress, which I featured back in 2018, all the time. That said, their dresses are on the pricey side (usually $300–$400). So when I heard talk of a good dupe from Gap, my ears perked up—given Gap's propensity for sales, chances were I could get one for a song (spoiler alert: I did). So I decided, in the name of journalism, to put it head-to-head with its reported inspiration, the Edie dress. Here's how they compare. 

Conventional wisdom—and a gazillion fashion editors—will tell you a classic white button-front shirt is a wardrobe essential. I agree to an extent; like many essentials, however, it can feel a little...boring. White shirts also tend to be problematic because they're hard to keep clean and can sometimes be see-through. Which is why I prefer a chambray shirt. It has a little more personality than plain white, but it's just as versatile. It leans a little more casual, but we're in a more relaxed day and age, so I think that's quite appropriate. I've featured my chambray shirt many times here over the years, so I thought it was time to put all my best outfit ideas together. Here are my favorite ways to style a chambray button-up shirt. 

For some reason, I didn't do a Mother's Day gift guide last year, but since my holiday gift guide was so popular, I decided to bring it back. I don't happen to be a mother, but I do have one and I'm a woman, so that at least counts for something. These are all gifts I think many women would love to receive, although of course every woman is different (and for the record, my mom wants a reading lamp this year!). Anyway, Mother's Day is less than two weeks away, so let's get to it! 

It's that time of year when the weather keeps taking big, annoying swings in every direction: rain, sun, cold, warm, wind, clouds, you name it. It makes getting dressed so unpredictable—and frustrating, especially when you just want it to be sundress season already. (Seriously, I have so many cute spring and summer clothes that I just can't wait to wear.) Transitional dressing is more of an art than a science, and it relies heavily on layering, especially if you want to start wearing those lighter spring pieces. Thankfully, I've figured out some strategies for adapting my wardrobe to the ever-changing weather. Here are four of my favorite recent spring outfits. 

I am not on TikTok, but thanks to people resharing the most pertinent stuff on Instagram, I tend to find out what's getting a lot of buzz. While there is a lot of dubious information on that platform (ahem, Tide Pods), I appreciate the no-gatekeeping spirit, and once in awhile, you uncover a life-changing gem. Versed is an L.A.-based affordable clean beauty brand that's only been around for a few years but has become incredibly popular on the platform; it's now sold in Target. Most products in Versed's line are under $25, all are vegan and cruelty-free, and they formulate to EU standards, which are the strictest in the world in terms of avoiding potentially harmful chemicals. All of which is great, but that leads us to the all-important question: Is Versed skincare actually effective? I've been using a bunch of their products for the last several weeks and I have some thoughts. While Versed sent all of these products to me for free, the following opinions are 100% my own. Here's my honest review of Versed skincare. 

I saw a meme recently that gently poked fun at Pisces for over-accessorizing, and as a Pisces who loves her accessories, I felt very seen. If had to pick just one accessory, however, I think it would be a belt (although scarves would be a close second, and jewelry doesn't really count as an accessory, does it?). If I'm wearing pants—which I am most days—I'm most likely wearing a belt too. As I've noted before, I have a very short, somewhat thick torso, so they help me balance my proportions and carve out more of a waist. They're one of my favorite things to invest in, and I will gladly splurge on a designer belt (pro tip: they tend to be way more affordable than bags or shoes, and last much longer!). Within the last few years, I've been noticing more and more influencers wearing belts by Khaite, a fairly new New York label that is very successful commercially but maybe not so much critically. I see the appeal—Khaite does classic-with-a-twist very well—but to me, the pieces are incredibly expensive for what they are. Lucky for us, they're getting knocked off left and right, and because there's not anything completely original about the designs (Western-style belts have been around for years!), I don't feel bad about it. Here are my favorite Khaite belt dupes, all under $300. 

I don't know how nearly a month has gone by already, but it feels like just yesterday we went to New Orleans for my birthday. It's always such a fun city to visit, and it had been eight years since my last trip there. While some of my favorite spots were thankfully as lively as ever (the Carousel Bar is one of my favorite places on Earth), we explored some corners of the city I hadn't traveled to before, which was really refreshing. New Orleans is such a gorgeous, unique place, but it's the hospitality that always keeps me coming back—everyone is always so warm and welcoming and friendly. We spent a long weekend in the city in early March; here's what I wore. 

As of Tuesday, it's officially spring, and for once, I feel like the weather is cooperating. This is the time of year when I start to get really tired of my winter clothes, and while that sentiment isn't quite as strong now that I live in California, I still welcome a change of season, especially when that means lighter colors, lighter fabrics, and cuter shoes. I am still working my way through all of the March fashion magazines—yes, I still read them!—but so far, three strong key pieces have emerged for me. And somehow I managed to combine them into one outfit. Here are my must-haves for spring 2024. 

I've never been a sneakerhead, but in the last several years, sneakers have become my most-worn type of shoes. Since I don't go into an office every day anymore—and since I spend most of my day at home, inside—my style has definitely become a little more casual. Thankfully I'm not alone; there seem to be more sneakers on the market than ever, at every price point (even by luxury brands like Dior and Chanel). I've been slowly building up quite a wardrobe of sneakers—everything from classic Vans and New Balance to higher-end designers like Isabel Marant and Chloe—but I hadn't considered Veja until someone in one of my subreddits declared that Golden Goose sneakers were out and Veja sneakers were in. All of a sudden, I kept spotting Veja everywhere, so I decided to see what the hype was all about. Read on for my honest and unfiltered thoughts on the brand. 

Whenever I create my birthday posts, I like to look back on the previous year and see what I ended up getting. (Update on 2023: two of five items received, plus one more in progress.) Turns out these posts have some pretty strong manifesting powers, and who am I to argue with that? In the spirit of abundance, here's what's on my wishlist for this year. 

Of all the famous quotes Coco Chanel dropped in her lifetime, for some reason, people tend to remember this one: "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off." It's solid advice, but if you like accessories as much as I do, it can feel a bit stifling. (And frankly, I prefer "The best things in life are free. The second best are very expensive," which is 1000% spot on.) I truly believe that accessories can make your outfit: a strategically placed belt can transform your entire silhouette, the right earrings can light up your whole face, and never underestimate the power of a chic scarf. I do agree that too much can be...too much, but when you find accessories that you love, a little can go a long way. So with that in mind, here are the 5 accessories I'm wearing the most in 2024 (so far).

As I've noted several times in the last year or so, we're in the middle of a silhouette shift from skinny jeans to wide-leg jeans, and for some of us, it's been a bit rocky. Honestly, I was happy to see skinny jeans go—I owned several pairs over the years but was never a huge fan; I have very bony ankles and if my jeans are too fitted there, they make me look awkwardly out of proportion. I like wide-leg trousers in general (shout out to the Madewell Harlow pant, one of my best buys of 2023), but because denim is such a thick fabric, any sort of slouchy or relaxed jean can be tricky to pull off. That hasn't stopped me from trying (check out this post at your own risk) and still probably won't in the future, but I recently came to the conclusion that straight-leg jeans just work so much better for my body type, so until I find a fit that I like even more, I'm just going to stick with them. I have three go-to cuts from three different brands; read on for my honest opinion on the best straight leg jeans out there.

It's wild to think that a little over 10 years ago, I left NYC after 14 years to move to San Francisco. In those years since, I've been back to visit at least once a year (even in 2020, before the pandemic), although usually in summer or fall; I am the first to say that living in California for the last 10 years has definitely made me much less tolerant of actual winter weather (I do not miss it in the least). That said, I will never turn down a free hotel room in Manhattan, so when Sean had a last-minute work trip come up, I decided to join him. What was meant to be a super-quick 2-day trip turned into a really regenerative 4-night trip (thanks to Alaska Airlines for canceling my flight home!), and in spite of the COLD AF weather, we had one of our best NYC getaways ever. Here's what I wore in New York City in January. 

The concept of clean beauty—products formulated without potentially harmful ingredients—has been around for several decades, and while the market has been flooded in recent years, I always enjoy seeking out new and independent brands that are bringing something fresh (and effective) to the table. One Love Organics is not necessarily new (they've been around since 2010) but unlike some of the bigger brands that have sold out to, say, Unilever, you get the impression that they're still a founder-driven company focused on making really effective, cleanly formulated products. I've had the pleasure to partner with them a few times on social media but wanted to share my frank and unfiltered thoughts on their products. While I received all of the following items for free, this is an unsponsored post, and all of the following opinions are my own. Read on for honest reviews of One Love Organics products. 

Within the last year or so, I started to notice that the color black has begun to look very harsh against my complexion. This is unfortunate because I like wearing black (it goes with nearly everything!) and have a lot of black clothes (it always goes together!). So I've been trying to incorporate lighter, softer colors in my wardrobe—when I'm about to buy anything for my upper half in black, I have to stop and ask myself if it comes in another shade—and thankfully for me, a trend of sorts has taken hold in the last few months, called latte dressing. While I'm generally quite choosy about which trends I do and don't wear, latte dressing is one that I can totally get behind. Here's how to do it.

In starting to plan the year ahead, I decided to take one look back at 2023 and realized there was a new idea there—I've never done a recap of my favorite things that I actually bought. I'm not including anything I received for free; these are things I spent my own hard-earned dollars on, and more importantly, these are things that I wear all the time, use all the time, or simply bring me joy. Here are my best buys of 2023. 

The other day, someone asked about my holiday travel plans, and as I responded that I was leaving "a week from next Saturday" I realized that, no, I was leaving Saturday. As in this week. As in Christmas is now less than a week away. I don't know what happened to my sense of time—maybe it's just that I'm getting older and time seems to be moving more quickly—but yikes, how is it already the end of the year?! I had every intention to break this into several posts, but now that the clock is ticking (and, to be honest, IRL priorities have been taking precedence), here's a look back at the highs, the lows, the best sellers, the worst fails, and more highlights from 2023. 

It was 27 degrees and snowing, and I was coming down with Covid when we shot this photo, as you can probably tell from my face

I am finally at the age where I don't feel compelled to try every trend, however I do give them a whirl when the mood strikes. Earlier this year, red tights staged a comeback—I tend to think of them as very '80s, but they definitely had a Gossip Girl (the original) season 1 moment in the early 2000s—and while I wasn't quite ready then, a display at my local Target caught my eye (I know, right?!) and all of a sudden, they seemed like the perfect thing to wear right now. Here's how I styled my red tights for a holiday party. 

 Yes, it’s yet another Spanx review, but this time with a new twist. Just as Spanx contacted me to see if I’d like to try their new fleece-lined version of their signature Faux Leather Legging (yes, of course), an Amazon brand reached out to me to see if I’d like to try their Spanx dupe. For context, I get contacted a lot by Amazon brands, and I turn most of them down, because in my experience, most of it is total crap. But Spanx leggings aren’t getting any cheaper and inflation doesn’t seem to be improving, so in the name of journalism, I decided to give both a try. While both Spanx and Santiny sent me these leggings for free, the following are my honest and unfiltered thoughts. Here’s a head-to-head comparison of Spanx Faux Leather Fleece-Lined Legging and Santiny Faux Leather Leggings. 

Updated April 5, 2024.

It's that time again for the Sephora Savings Event, which seems to be creeping up earlier and earlier every year. And now that it's been a full year since I left Sephora and am no longer getting showered with new product on a regular basis, I've found I've become much more particular about what I spend my own money on. So instead of recommending a whole bunch of new stuff, I thought I'd focus on my all-time favorite products from Sephora. If you don't know what to buy during the event, hopefully this list will help! The sale started today with 20% off for Rouge members, and VIBs and Insiders get 15% and 10% off respectively starting Tuesday, 10/31. Plus all Sephora Collection is 30% off for the entire event, which runs through 11/6. Here are the products I'd recommend trying.

Hi, my name is Cheryl, and with my right sidebar as proof, I've been writing this blog for 20 years. Here's how it all began: Picture me, a 25-year-old living out her Carrie Bradshaw fantasies in early 2000s New York City and working in magazine publishing as a copy editor who'd rather be writing about fashion than proofreading stories about beer and football (I worked at a men's magazine). I knew people who had LiveJournal pages (remember those?), but then I heard about a platform called Blogger, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't quite know what I was doing at first—to save you the embarrassment (on my part) of having to read my cringey old writing, I'll provide a high-level recap—but after dabbling in commenting on other writers' work and doing TV recaps, I hit my stride listing all of the sample sales in NYC every week, as well as reporting on the ones I went to. I then expanded into shopping guides and halfway through 2006 (lol better late than never) I finally started incorporating photos. In September 2006, I was among the first group of bloggers ever given press passes to New York Fashion Week; I attended every subsequent season until I moved to San Francisco in 2013. I fostered relationships with PR agencies, got invited to all manner of events, and developed somewhat of a following. I started a partnership with The Find, a shopping search engine that was eventually acquired by Facebook. Internet shopping was growing by leaps and bounds, and I was spending hours every week compiling all of the sales, online and in person, and to be honest, I was getting a little burned out, both from the blog and from my day job and from the general battle that is living in New York City. A new social platform called Instagram started to take off. I took a new job in San Francisco, moved across the country, and pretty much blew up my life. When I wrote an ode to a pair of sweatpants, I knew that, after 10 years of blogging, I had lost the spark. I stopped blogging, and I didn't think I'd start again, until I realized I was about to turn 40 and had no idea how I was supposed to dress anymore. I went to Vegas, won big at the blackjack tables, drank far too many vodka-sodas, and decided to stage a comeback. Blogging had changed since I left—it was starting to be called influencing, and it was shifting heavily to video and social media—but I decided to confront my fears, put myself in front of the camera, and get more personal. That was 7 years ago, and now here we are. Being a wise Blogging Elder who's reached the introspective point of her career, I thought I'd share what I've learned in 20 years of blogging. 

I've been feeling a little introspective lately, for good reason: This month marks 20 years (!!!) of Cheryl Shops. I'm planning to go into more detail about this next week, but in the meantime, before I start to look forward, I thought I'd take another look back, this time at my favorite outfits of all time. An important thing to note: I started Cheryl Shops back in 2003 as a way of sharing things that I bought or wanted to buy, as well as sample sales and general thoughts on fashion; back then, this blog didn't have photos, and even so, I didn't start sharing photos of myself until 2017, when I decided to restart it after a three-year break. So while this blog has been around for 20 years, I've only been doing outfit photos for 7 of those years. Now that that's out of the way, I truly enjoyed my walk down memory lane, and I hope you do too. In no particular order, here are my top 10 outfits of all time. 

 It's a new season, and that always seems to bring talk of creating a capsule wardrobe. In theory, I think capsule wardrobes are an excellent idea; we all have way more clothes than we truly need, and there's something so efficient about being able to create a bunch of different outfits out of a handful of pieces. Back in the day, Lucky Magazine truly excelled at this, in an incredibly inspiring way. The reality, however, is when you ask people to commit to a limited number of items they tend to play it safe and go for more classic things. That's not necessarily bad—classics tend to be worth the investment in terms of quality and longevity—but too much tastefulness can be a little...boring. I've never been a maximalist, but I'm a firm believer that every wardrobe—even a capsule—needs a balance between statement pieces and basics. In fact, I have a few go-to statement pieces that are among the most-worn items in my entire closet. So while this post isn't a capsule wardrobe per se, I did want to gather my top 10 most worn items. Some are basic, some definitely not, and not everything goes together, but these are the best buys I've ever made.

Ever since the Gen Z-ers decided that skinny jeans are out and straight-leg jeans are in (kidding! sort of...) I've been on the hunt for the perfect pair of '90s supermodel jeans. (Side note: if you have not yet watched The Supermodels on AppleTV, please do so now. It's well worth the $6.99 you have to pay for your first month.) This is the iconic look I'm going for (thank you, Peter Lindbergh) however it should be noted that my body is nothing close to that of a supermodel. I have tried on so many pairs of straight-leg jeans in the last few years, I can't even begin to tell you, and of those, two have made it to the blog: this Re/Done pair, which I have since sold on Poshmark, and this Agolde pair, which is incredibly comfortable yet does not inspire supermodel feelings. I am not one to give up however, so when I wandered into Madewell recently, I decided to try on all of their straight-leg fits, knowing that their jeans have quite a cult following (I have several pairs myself). One fit emerged triumphant: the '90s Straight Jean. Here's my honest and unfiltered review. 

Saturday is officially the first day of fall, and based on what I've been seeing on social media, it seems like everyone is pretty ready for it. It's definitely my favorite season—what's not to love about sweaters, boots, hot drinks, and a general feeling of coziness that's not being ruined by adverse weather conditions outside? As I've been noting for a few seasons now, the challenge is that we're amidst a major silhouette shift from long over skinny to oversized over wide; I don't know about you, but I admit I haven't completely figured out how to wear it, and I'm ok with that. It's all part of the journey. I am excited about the newer, looser way of dressing, though—as someone who prefers to be more covered up, I love how comfortable wide-leg pants are and I'm always up for cocooning in anything oversized. Wearing all of these things together is a delicate balancing act but I think it somehow works? Here are the five things I'm most excited to wear this fall.

After the hustle and bustle of our 5 days in Tokyo, I was looking forward to taking it down a notch in Kyoto, which while still a city of 1.4 million people, is much smaller and calmer than Tokyo. Kyoto was the capital of Japan until the late 1800s and still remains a spiritual center—there are roughly 2,000 religious sites, several of which are UNESCO heritage sites. What makes Kyoto special in my mind is that it was virtually untouched during World War II, so unlike Tokyo with its gazillion skyscrapers, it feels very traditional, with low wooden buildings and majestic temples that have been around for centuries. Much like Tokyo, Kyoto is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of city: you can spend the entire time temple-hopping, you can eat exclusively in Michelin-starred restaurants, you can tour the imperial palace, you can party with the locals in all manner of nightclubs, you can go hiking in the mountains,  you can go sake- or tea-tasting, you can shop in high-end boutiques....you get the point. We tried to do a little bit of everything, but with not quite three full days, we definitely didn't do it all. (Pro tip: I'd recommend at least three, if not four full days in Kyoto if you can swing it, ideally during the week.) Here's what we did during our 3 days in Kyoto. 

Have you ever traveled somewhere and almost instantly started plotting how and when you can return? That's how I felt about Tokyo. It was not an immediate feeling—Tokyo has 38 million (!!!) residents, and it can seem incredibly overwhelming at first—but halfway through our second day there, I started to get a sense of the different neighborhoods and their unique character, finding the quiet moments of discovery amidst all the hustle and bustle. Having several Japanese (and Japan-loving) friends, we were armed with a wealth of recommendations for where to eat, what to do, and how to get around, and we barely scratched the surface. So obviously a return trip is in order (and next time, maybe not in summer when the temperatures are above 90 degrees every day)! But until then, here's everything we did during our 5-day stay in Tokyo. 

Fashion is always cyclical, and after the maximalism of revenge dressing, dopamine dressing, and Barbiecore, 2023 has felt like a shift back to minimalism. If you want to get deep, part of it can be seen as a reaction to economic trends (high inflation, high interest rates, general panic about signs of a recession, etc.), when people get more conservative about how they dress and tend toward the classics versus pieces that shout luxury. But on a more surface level, I think people just get tired of their clothes and want to try something new. The thing about quiet luxury is that it's positioned as an uber-rich thing, like how the characters on Succession dress. Anecdotally, there is some truth in that; I have known some incredibly wealthy people who exclusively wear threadbare clothes from L.L. Bean and wouldn't be caught dead in a designer logo. I have also known heiresses (I'm talking literal future billionaires) who'd never say no to a rhinestone, bright color, or bandage dress. It's true that money can't buy taste, but taste is also subjective. Quiet luxury is still wealth-signaling; it just depends on what your flavor of wealth-signaling is. That said, my style has always leaned more toward minimalism than maximalism, so if this quiet luxury trend means I have more viable clothing options out there, I'm all for it. Here's what quiet luxury looks like to me. 

It's been awhile since I've done an honest review of any skincare, for several reasons. I got a series of IPL facials earlier this year, which I would not entirely recommend because they've made my already reactive skin sensitive AF, and literally every new product I've tried since then has given me a rash. This bummed me out on many levels, because, one, no one wants to go through life with splotchy, irritated skin, and two, I really enjoy finding skincare products I love and telling you about them. So it was with an understandable amount of trepidation that I cracked into a box that Elemis sent me earlier this year. Elemis is a high-end British skincare brand that's been around for years; while not impossible to find in the U.S., it's a little more under-the-radar, e.g. not in Sephora or most department stores. But it turns out that, like many foreign brands, Elemis feels like a little secret that Britain has been keeping for themselves. In other words, this is a really good skincare line. Here are my honest, unfiltered thoughts about the three products I've been using nonstop lately.

This is my actual skin, in good lighting, with no filter. I am wearing only mascara and lip gloss.

I've lived in my San Francisco apartment for nine years, making it the longest I've ever lived anywhere as an adult. While I've definitely experienced some life changes here—my ex moved out, I lived here alone for several years, then Sean moved in almost five years ago—I hadn't done much to update the décor that entire time. We kind of absorbed much of Sean's furniture and bought some new things over the years, but what really set things in motion was the Jenni Kayne rug I bought myself for my birthday earlier this year. (And yes, you know you're in your 40s when your birthday present to yourself is a rug.) While I had been obsessed with this rug for months, I hadn't considered how it would make everything else in the room look...not quite right. In other words, instead of pulling the room together, it kind of tore it apart. But that turned out to be a good thing. I decided to completely overhaul my living room design and make it the cozy, cohesive, intentional space I've always wanted. Here's a tour of my new and improved living room.

 It's peak summer travel season and hopefully you've got a big trip coming up. (I do next month!) When I vacation in the summer—or anytime I go somewhere warm—I tend to pack mostly dresses. I don't want to think too much about putting outfits together when I'm trying to relax and decompress, so there's something so easy about throwing on a dress and going about your day (or night). I definitely dress a little differently when I'm on vacation, but there's something kind of glamorously escapist about embracing the fabulousness of resort wear. Think more carefree boho vibes, less polished minimalism. I have several go-to brands that capture that sprit so well; here are my 5 favorite dresses to wear on vacation. 

Ok, I really got burned last year with my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks—after hours of poring over everything on the website, making collages, and writing careful assessments, nearly everything I featured sold out on the first day, before I was even allowed to shop. (I guess that means I have good taste?)  I was so irritated that I vowed never to cover the sale again...until the catalogue arrived and I thought, Ok, I'm giving this one last shot, but doing things a little differently this time. Instead of diving deep into every category, I picked my top 8 items that I am actually hoping to buy. And since the NSale is usually a good time to stock up on tried-and-true wardrobe classics and beauty essentials, I'm sharing my top 10 items that I actually own and highly recommend. Icons, Ambassadors, and Influencers (e.g. Nordstrom cardholders) get to shop now through the 16th of July, and the sale opens up to the public on July 17th. Let's hope everything stays in stock until then!