Cheryl Shops

I tend to get into a winter rut of sweaters and jeans (and hoodies and leggings), and while we'll get back to that next week, I took advantage of the unexpected heatwave we've been having and wore a dress—with bare legs, no less! I should probably be alarmed that we're having 70-degree weather in January, but I decided to enjoy it now and go back to fighting global warming tomorrow. Anyway, this outfit is a little random, but so is life nowadays, and thus let's embrace it. 

It's been awhile since I've featured a Get the look post, but you all have definitely been busy pinning! The most-pinned look of the last few months from my Outfit ideas for ageless style Pinterest board is none other than America's Sweetheart, Jennifer Aniston, wearing a very seasonally appropriate look. Aniston has been accused of playing it safe on the red carpet, but clearly she knows what works for her and sticks to it. This is a casual yet classic look that could be several years old—and its timelessness makes it so good. Here's how to re-create it. 

As I was going through a bunch of 10-year-old bills that I found in my storage space this weekend (don't ask why I kept them), it occurred to me how so much of our lives are digital now. I can't even remember the last time I got a paper bill; do you remember the last time you took a non-digital photo? This is a long way of leading up to the fact that we accidentally deleted the original photos of this outfit, which, when you're a blogger, is a devastating loss of several hours' worth of work that makes you curse everything digital and threaten to go analog. Thankfully we re-created the outfit with (hopefully) even better results, and this time I backed them up. 

You, dear readers, seem to love my honest reviews, so I'm pledging to do more of them in 2021—at least one a month. You appear to be particularly curious about luxury items, so first up is my biggest splurge of 2020, my Celine Cabas Phantom tote. As I noted when I first featured it here, I'm generally not a bag person (I'm more of a shoe person), but I'd been in need of a new work tote and was eyeing this one for quite a while. And by quite a while, I mean dragging Sean to every Celine boutique we came across so I could try it on and debate getting the medium size or the small. (I got the medium, obviously, but more on that later.) I finally decided to take the plunge last year in Paris; while that's out of the question for the moment, I wanted to share my experience anyway with the hope that, god willing, we can travel again soon. So here's how I bought my Celine Phantom tote in Paris, why I went with the medium, and how I really feel about it. 

I don't know about you, but I've never been happier to write a new year—hello, 2021! I know it's only a few days into the new year, and considering we're still in lockdown, nothing has exactly changed overnight. But there's something so hopeful and promising about the idea of a new year, plus how could 2021 possibly be worse than 2020, right? (Actually, let's not answer that one, just in case.) The question is, given that it's winter and we're all still staying at home for the most part, what do we wear now? I'm sure we can't wait to dress up once we're allowed to live our lives and be free once again, but is that the most practical thing to do right now? Then again, do we really want to keep wearing our sweatpants in 2021? Part of me thinks we're all going to dress like amped-up flappers when this is all over, and part of me thinks that the pandemic is going to change fashion forever. What if there's a happy medium? It may be a bit too early to commit to a 2021 uniform, but here's my first contender. 

Enough about me—let's talk about you. This blog is called Cheryl Shops, and while shopping is what I do, it's what you do too. Plus, I love getting feedback on what you liked (or didn't like)—it helps me create better content for you. So without further ado, here's a look at what you browsed, clicked, bought, and loved in 2020. 

I know, it's kind of weird to think of 2020 in terms of "the best" or anything great happening, for that matter, but it wasn't all bad. I actually started the year on a good note, with a trip to NYC for my dear friend's 40th birthday, a long weekend in Healdsburg, and I even spent my birthday in Paris and London. Of course, I've pretty much been stuck at home ever since, but hey, at least I created a lot of content (and based on my traffic, y'all have been reading it). Here's a look back at some of my most viewed, most commented-on, and most loved posts of 2020. 

I'm writing this post literally as the sun is setting on the shortest day of the year, and spiritually, I hope today is a turning point. I've seen a lot of people sharing this post on social media, implying that when all of this COVID stuff is over, we're going to have another dressed-up, partied-out, roaring twenties, which I am 100% on board with, so long as it's not followed by a huge stock market crash. I advocated for dressing up a few weeks ago—and I fully plan to do so for Christmas and New Year's Eve—but the reality is that all Californians are in lockdown at least until the 4th of January (and, TBH, probably for several weeks after that as we deal with the fallout from holiday gatherings), not to mention my friends in London, who are on stay-at-home orders that are just as strict as ours. Long story short, I think it's ok to cut yourself some slack and be comforted with some soft, cozy clothes. It's what I'll be wearing for the next few weeks (and possibly beyond), and that's fine, because like all of this, it's only temporary. As soon as I am vaccinated and able to be out in the world again safely, it's going to be all sparkles and heels and freedom. But for now, it's my last outfit post of the year, so I thought I'd sign off with the most 2020 outfit of them all. 

When it comes to last-minute gifts, I have nothing against a carefully selected gift card from a place the recipient actually likes to shop, but let's face it, nothing says "I almost forgot to get you something" like an Amazon gift card that you bought at the grocery-store checkout line. (And in fact, I'm not one to stop you from shopping there either—here are some of my favorite products on Amazon, most of which can be ordered with express Prime shipping.) But even if you're going to show up with or send an e-gift at the 11th hour, you can at least put a little thought into it. So here are some of my favorite last-minute gifts that aren't gift cards—all can be delivered electronically, too, which should come in handy since we're all staying at home this year, right?

As I mentioned in last week's post, San Francisco is in lockdown 2.0, but Napa County isn't yet, so we headed up there on Saturday to pick up wine and enjoy one last meal in a restaurant before the holidays. Things have only been shut down for a week in the city, but it felt glorious to be outdoors in the sunshine, sipping wine and savoring the finer things. Winter tends to be when we get our only rain of the year here in the Bay Area, but if you play your cards right, you can get a gloriously clear, sunny day. It can definitely be on the chillier side, but with some careful layering, you can enjoy a full day of outdoor wine tasting. Here's what to wear in Napa in winter. 

I knew several months ago that, for the first time in my 42 years, I wouldn't be spending Christmas in Chicago with my mom. We had instead made plans to drive down to L.A., rent a house in Venice Beach, and have an outdoor, socially distant Christmas with Sean's family. But earlier this week, after realizing that restaurants are closed for outdoor dining, parks and beaches may be next, hospital ICUs are at capacity, and the governor's orders basically prevent interacting with anyone outside of your immediate household, we decided to postpone our trip to February or March. I had been looking forward to our trip for many reasons—a change of scenery, seeing friends and family, traveling somewheres, anywhere—and I'm surprised I'm not more upset about having to cancel it, but I know that it's the right thing to do, and that this is hopefully a one-time-only concession. This year has definitely had its share of disappointments, but I'm trying to look on the bright side. For one, we don't have to deal with jacked up travel expenses, crowded airports, novice travelers, awkward conversations with relatives who have opposing political viewpoints, and so on. For another, it's an opportunity to create our own new traditions. I'm thinking we'll order extravagant takeout from a local restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner, then open a nice bottle of wine and open presents. And as for what I'll be wearing, it will probably be much more low-key than my usual, but (hopefully) still somewhat festive. Here are some ideas, from dressiest to most casualest. 

Well, friends, we are back in lockdown in San Francisco, which means no outdoor (or indoor) dining, no hair or nail salons, no gathering with people outside of your household, and a bunch of other no-nos. It is, to say the least, a really depressing development in this a dumpster fire of a year, although one that I recognize as necessary to help flatten the spread of COVID and address the ICU capacity issues in hospitals all over the state. My heart really goes out to all of the small businesses who have to lay off workers again (and especially to the workers themselves), right before the holidays; I'm going to take this as an excuse to not cook for the rest of the year and instead order takeout so all of my favorite restaurants don't go out of business. But unlike the first lockdown, I'm not going to retreat into my cozy cocoon of sweatpants. It's the holiday season, goddamnit, and I'm going to dress like it! Here's what I'll be wearing.

Now that you've shopped all of the Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and even Giving Tuesday sales, time to tackle gifts for other people. While I focused on major retailers offering ridiculously good discounts in my sale post last week, for my annual holiday gift guide, I really wanted to highlight small, local, sustainable, woman- and/or POC-owned businesses, because they're the ones who really need (and deserve!) our dollars at the moment. And speaking of money, I know it's been a rough year for a lot of people, and not everyone is in a position to spend a ton on gifts. And that's ok—for me, the most important thing is knowing that my family and friends are happy, healthy, and safe. But if you are in a gifting mood, read on, be thankful, and spend mindfully. (And if you're Sean, feel free to scroll straight to the splurge section. Kidding! Sort of.)

If you are of a certain age like I am, khaki pants (or chinos—they're pretty much the same thing) probably played a prominent role in your adolescent wardrobe, thanks to the Gap. I haven't owned a pair since their peak in the late '90s, but I've started to see them pop up on some of my favorite bloggers over the last several months and thus was influenced to buy a pair (see, it happens to me too). Silhouettes have changed a bit in the last 25 years—we've gone from bootcut to skinny to wide leg to straight—but the pair I went for is pretty timeless: high-waisted, wide-legged, and pretty darn flattering if I do say so myself. Here's how I'm wearing my wide-leg khaki pants. 

I've been giving thanks and practicing gratitude all week and one of the things I'm most grateful for is you, dear readers. Your pageviews and comments keep me going, and I'd like to thank you for your support this year and throughout the years—it means a lot to me! One of the most important ways you help support me is by clicking on and making a purchase from my affiliate links; since I receive a small commission from many of them—at no cost to you—that money helps me provide content to you for free. That said, we're going into the biggest shopping season of the year, and if you're in a position to spend money right now, there are a lot of retailers out there who would appreciate it. I will be featuring small, local, and/or POC-owned businesses in my upcoming gift guide, but for now, I'm focusing on the ah-MAY-zing deals to be found at the larger retailers. These items are things I will likely buy for myself, plus I've listed even more sales below. Read on, click through, and pat yourself on the back for supporting content creators like me and the retail industry as a whole. We appreciate it!

Well, friends, we've (almost) made it to Thanksgiving, which means we have slightly over a month left of this godforsaken year, and for that, I'm thankful. I am also thankful that in spite of the global Covid pandemic, Sean and I are getting out of town (alone!) for a few days; while I am thankful for my beautiful apartment, I really need a break from it. And while our Thanksgiving celebration will look much, much different than normal, I am nonetheless thankful that we are healthy and safe, and that we can afford to put food on the table. Speaking of food, I am wrapping up a three-week detox as we speak, so I am going to go to town on Thanksgiving dinner. Coupled with the fact that this year's event will be a little more casual than in years past, I am planning on dressing down for the occasion. This year, the holidays are about leggings (stretchy!), sweater tunics (camouflage!), and boots (what are heels?). So here's what I'll be wearing. 

I went to Ireland for the first time three years ago, and if you've never been, I highly recommend it. It's a gorgeous country, the food was surprisingly good, the beer was even better, and the people were the kindest I've ever met on vacation. But of all the things that pleasantly surprised me on that trip, I was perhaps most blown away by the sweaters. Which makes sense, because there are sheep literally everywhere in Ireland—you've got to do something with all that wool, so why knot knit a sweater or several thousand? Ireland introduced Aran sweaters to the world—the cable-knit patterns are meant to evoke fishermen's ropes, hence why they're also known as fisherman sweaters—and Grace Kelly really put them on the map by famously wearing one on the cover of Vogue. Like most things associated with Princess Grace, a fisherman sweater is a classic that never goes out of style, but they seem to be especially trending this season, possibly because of their extra coziness and comfort in these up-and-down times. And while I've featured an Aran knit here before (way back in 2018), this time it's the real deal, straight from Ireland. Here's how I'm styling my fisherman sweater. 

Remember when you were a kid and got one of those countdown-to-Christmas advent calendars where you got to open a new door every day and inside there was a piece of chocolate? (Mmm, chocolate.) I used to beg my mom to open more than one per day because clearly I was a sugar addict, but I think the true joy was enjoying a small daily treat leading up to the biggest treat-fest of them all, Christmas. Of course, you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy an advent calendar, and apparently you don't have to be a kid either, because a bunch of beauty brands have started creating their own, after the success of the original Liberty of London advent calendar. (Note: this year's version has sold out twice already, but I am praying it comes back in stock, because it's goooood.)  Speaking of selling out, I had intended to post this next month as part of my gift guide, but since so many beauty advent calendars have sold out already, I thought I'd better jump on it. So while you can spend $200-$300 on a luxury brand's version, there are a bunch of amazing advent calendars out there for under $100. Here are my eight favorites. 

As I noted in Tuesday's post, Spanx sent me two pairs of their famous pants to try, the first being the Perfect Black Pant, 4-Pocket Ankle version. Up next: the Faux Leather Leggings, which nearly every influencer on earth owns. I may be late to the party, but better late than never, right? Keep reading for my honest and unfiltered opinion. 

Like many women, I have worn Spanx undergarments under various clingy dresses and/or when I've needed a little squeeze to feel my best for a special event. And while they're probably best known for their shapewear, Spanx has ventured into clothing, particularly pants, in the last few years, and by all accounts, everyone pretty much loves them. I am generally not a big leggings person—I think I look better in a more tailored silhouette—but when Spanx reached out to me to try their knit pants and leggings, I agreed in the name of service journalism. After all, I'm not dressing up as much as I used to, but while comfort is key, I still want to look good. And who says we can't have it all? Enter the Spanx Perfect Black Pant, 4-Pocket Ankle edition.