5 Great Things / January 2025

Pink Pants! A silver statement necklace. The most important grey ribbed tights. A secret to staying warm. Souer on sale.

Welcome back to 5 Things, albeit a few days late…Norovirus comes for us all at some point, amirite!? But not to worry. I’m alive, well and hydrated again. Thanks to all who upgraded to paid last week. We donated $2,835 to Baby2Baby and the LAFD Foundation, split down the middle. (Email me if you’d like the receipts!) And so a big welcome to the new paid subscribers who get early access to our monthly “5 Great Things”!

Pink Pants…and skirts and things

The effect of last fall’s Prada pink is inescapable. I obviously caved for the pink Kallmeyer pants pictured, and you already knew about from our ode to the V-neck, but Khaite did a really great mini and Maria McManus’s caped sweater is gorge too. Pink on your lower limbs is an ideal way to embrace the color, if you ask me. It keeps the blush shade away from your (my) pasty winter face. And they’re just such great fodder for all the stuff you already have in black and brown and navy.

Pink pants with all the browns and blacks in my closet. Doesn’t it all just look so easy with the pink!? (A slew of pink bottoms below.) Tory Buch blazer (how is styling your oversized blazer going?) a Casasola brown sweater, and stark black patent leather flats. Consider these? So good.

Jacket off so you can see how good these pants are with a simple sweater. You already knew this combo worked, but the touch of brown with the black shoes is lovely. And then I tried on navy and that also looked awesome. Something about the pink really brings out the best in these “neutrals.” My shorter necklace is by Kloto and the chai charm is new from Marlo Laz, a holiday gift. My late father’s Hebrew name was (and my son’s is) Chaim and I’ve long been on the hunt for just the right one. Haven’t taken her off in weeks.

Consider this a tease for February’s Workwear Month. It’s been a year and a half since we committed a full month of letters to getting dressed for work, my greatest passion. So prepare yourselves for lots of fun in two weeks! For now, a note on how I love these pants with sharp black tailoring and shirting and a fab, feminine shoe. I’m wearing a boxy black blazer (I like the shoulder shape of this one for a similar idea), black silk shirt by Giuliva Heritage (this one also looks like the right cut), fishnet socks and Roger Vivers from our original workwear month. Love how the pink softens the severe black/white combo.

A slew of options. One thing I realized while doing some supplemental research for this story given the precarious stock situation at Kallmeyer is that I like the idea of petal pink in a trimmer silhouette. There are tons of baggier pink pants out there, and there is nothing wrong with those, but I feel like the LOOK is a cigarette or narrow pant/skirt that allows you to play with volume in the simpler colors. So a big navy tunic (below) with a slim pant. Or textures in brown (above) or a statement shoe that won’t end up looking messy. From left: Dries Van Noten on sale! Khaite’s relaxed column, Sportmax (final sale so only if you know your size, but such a good cut and color!), Nanushka pants in a fun nubby texture, Kallmeyer mini in the same fabric of my pants. She will be SO good with black tights. And finally the classic Theory Treeca, a fit I know many of you love already.

The pants with my Attersee navy tunic (sold out but the Rodebjer one is still in stock!) and Saint Laurent ankle boots that do not seem to age.

And then just for fun, to make this an evening outfit, I added my fun collar! I couldn’t find my hair tie while shooting this and wanted to make sure you saw the beading so gathered my braid with this bow sitting right on my shelf…and I don’t hate it! The bow is from Maison Caillau in Paris, but just steal your daugther’s. Or your niece. :)

How I want to wear these pants on a Saturday with family. Maybe this one is just for me, but I love her. The pants with an old Polo flannel (they seem to have recut it in a cotton workshirt!) and Eli Zabar x Agnes B. tee from their recent Madison Avenue evening hosted by fellow newsletter writer Emilia Petrarca. I couldn’t make it to the party and they were kind enough to save me one. Thank you guys!!! Oh, and our winter-ish Birkenstocks.

It’s not just the chalky shade that is coming for us this year. It’s going to be pink in all forms. Bright pink, fuchsia…we will even get into rich bold purple by summer, just you wait. I stopped in my tracks upon seeing this neon pink checked suit from St. John at a Jujuvera trunk show in December. The covered buttons and boxy set were giving me early aughts Marc Jacobs meets Empresses of Seventh Avenue. I’m about halfway through, have you started? So good. The brand graciously let me order it and I have already worn it to take my son to see the Magic Flute at the Met (warning there is no intermission in the “family friendly” showing…maybe wait until 7 years old at least? 😆)

St. John jacket and pants. <3

Silver On My Neck

In November I lost an auction for a Hector Aguilar silver collar necklace and it hit deep. I had already been fantasizing about how I would wear it. And how it would become an “important piece” in my very edited jewelry collection. I sent pictures to all of my friends, as if it were already mine. So committed to this idea of a strand of interesting, chunky silver wrapped tightly on my neck that I became addicted to it. I had so much adrenaline watching the auction for an entire day, certain I would win. And then…I didn’t. I am still a bit burnt out by the experience TBH.

The necklace mentioned below layered under lots of denim. JW Anderson x Uniqlo shirt (already sold out, oye, but any one is great!), Cos polo (if you missed this one, I suggest this!), dark rinse jeans. I love the JWxUniqlo ones!

So I was very pleased when I noticed that Mociun, a brand I loved in my early 20s and sort of forgot about, just launched a new line of chunky silver. It was as if the timing was aligned by the gods (of jewelry?). Feeling it was fate, I ordered the big, flat spiral collar in the shortest legnth. I have been enjoying her so much on my skin and as a middle layer between my t-shirt and button down, making the concept a bit more polished for my winter throw on uniform.

How I wore it to a series of 5 year old birthday parties Sunday before last. I was so tired, and I’m convinced it made my sweatpants look…like regular pants?? Suzie Kondi pants, Frances de Lourdes “v-neck”, perfect neckline for this necklace! YMC x Grenson boots.

As an urban cowgirl without getting near fringe!? The necklace with a Souer shirt (which is item #5 today, so more on that below), faded wash Levi’s, here is a similar pair, and western leaning boots

Hector Aguilar was famous for making Georgia O’Keeffe’s belts. And something about this Mociun necklace makes me think of her in the way the necklace I ‘lost’ does. Ms. O’Keeffe makes me want to adorn with statements but still feel subtle and paired back as to focus on my real life and work (although it is not lost on me that getting dressed IS my life’s work!!) O’Keeffe may be a polarizing figure at this point (an interesting read, actually) but her commitment to style and ruthless editing is something I will always come back to.

The Fashion Tights to End All Fashion Tights

I HATE when wooly tights start to expose skin on the leg or at a bent knee, not sweater-y enough to hold their opacity under the pressure of my…thighs? You know what I mean!?!?! I ordered these extremely-expensive-for-a-pair-of-tights tights on Shopbop (first Shopbop purchase in YEARS) after weeks of Google searches. They’re a Korean brand called Recto I’ve since learned…the same brand as my Ssense sequin skirt…which is STILL not here yet BTW!!!! 😡 Anyway, it took me a few days to commit to taking the tags off these given their price tag for something I consider a closet staple. But then I thought: It’s freezing, they’re exactly what I’ve been looking for, and if I commit to one pair and one pair only, I will take good care of them! (More on that in today’s glove topic below.)

This all started with Miu Miu’s FW24 show, broken record, I KNOW! But all the little hemlines with tough shoes/boots and extra thick wooly tights are something I keep coming back to, more and more as the thermometer stays so low in NYC.

The tights in question layered under structured short shorts, a blue button down and nubby grey sweater. the YMC x Grenson boots from this newsletter on my feet. I finally caved on them a few weeks ago. Ordered a UK 6 which are way too big but I wore them already so the return ain’t happening. If anyone is a 38.5 or 39 and wants to order the UK5 and swap let me know! <3

They showed wooly tights with short hemlines and suiting, taking it all squarely into fashion territory and out of the office, mishmashing seasons and styles. I love how these tights act as another layer of the outfit, not just the thing to keep your legs warm while you are wearing shorts and little skirts in the winter.

They are also IDEAL for a day when the coat is the outfit. Such great fodder for a shearling or a big textured coat and boots. Wearing my Me+Em shearling here but Toteme keeps dropping hit after hit if you are still in the market.

Important to note. These tights are one size. They are LONG. They are too long on me creating a bit of bunching around the thighs or ankles. I am ok with this, but you should know before you commit. If you are super tall, what a treat for you. If you are not, you will have some gathers. This is a pro to me, as I appreciate a little bunching. Adds to the heavy duty factor of them. But just making sure you have all. the. facts.

I love this outfit so much. Luckily I have so many work lunches in the next month that she will have an occasion to leave my bedroom studio here multiple times. Vintage YSL jacket which has been on repeat since day one of this newsletter over a Cos polo over an old blue button down (here is a nice shade). Miu Miu skirt scored secondhand with THE tights and the most perfect little Valentino pumps which make everything sweeter.

I recognize that for some of you, this bunching is a turn-off. But for me, it is the selling point! It makes them feel more styled. More like pants. Thicker and more opaque.

Miu Miu FW24 - HOW DID I DO!? :) :) :)

How to ACTUALLY Stay Warm

You might think a hat and scarf are the most essential items to layer on when headed out in the winter, but can I convince you it is actually your hands and wrists that you need to keep warm? Honestly, I can be in shearling + long johns + cashmere head to toe but if my hands are cold I still can’t think. Add a pair of leather and wool mittens and I can barely even feel the wind tunnel on Lexington Avenue. So consider this an invitation to get off your phone when on the move and get those fingers bundled. My favorites are the Hestra Tina mittens, which I’ve had for at least 10 years and they still look gorgeous. But tons of glove options abound if you insist on being slightly more agile. There are multiple from my fave, Hestra. But love the Souer ones (on sale, noted below), and all the current “big box” players have a great pair: Vince, Banana Republic, etc. The key is, similar to sunglasses, to just buy ONE pair. In order to make gloves last longer than one season (meaning you don’t lose one half of the set) is to treat them like gold. If you have multiple, you end up stashing them in a bag, or burying them in a drawer behind the scarves. But one solitary pair will make sure you keep tabs on them - grabbing them as intuitively as your wallet. Let me know how it goes.

My 10 year old Hestra Tina Mittens, out to dinner last Thursday night. No scarf. Feeling good.

The mittens in question, bookending gloves for driving and city commuting. The four gloves clockwise from top left: Theory - these have a tech feature so you can access your phone if you insist (but I still prefer you act as if your gloves are a meditation in letting your brain wander as you get to and from. A Banana Republig pair that has sold out since I’m publishing late, but how about these Hestras?. Souer - on sale and love the long supple leather that will slide under your wool coat keeping your wrists warm (very Hygge) and finally, Vince tan gloves, a great bright color that is still neutral, much like my Tinas above

Souer on Sale

Yes, yes there are a million sales right now. But the one that keeps drawing me back the past few weeks has been Souer. I had been watching this blouse since the fall, finally made it mine at 40% off two weeks ago. But as I had been checking back on this blouse, waiting for markdowns, I was amazed to see such a never ending scroll great things at great prices. So just a note today to check it out. A slew easy to incorporate pieces in a good selection of sizing below. But see for yourself!

My favorite new silk shirt (I’m wearing size 38 bc I like things slouchy, as you know) with a black leather blazer, 40% off now!😭 and my Foshay skirt. The Recto tights from above and velvet Mary Janes from The Row’s first ever shoe collection. A prized possession!! You should see the craftsmanship on the inside.

Also great with pink pants!!! <3 Belt and shoes in case you are interested.

And a great little print to stick out of your sweaters and tunics etc, etc, etc.

The Souer blouse under an Attersee tunic.

The full look so you get the idea. Casual. Dressed. My son has been in and out today, as you can see. And he even put on his suit because he said this is what he wears in pictures. Can you even??

Souer sale stuff that looks good!!! This brown ribbed pullover thing that will lay nicely over a button down and look interesting. A soft shoulder navy coat - I’m going hard on the big soft shoulder til 2026, the bigger the better. More on this to come. Grey socks, also in dark grey! And a nondescript puffer (not for this week’s blast but like for the rest of the time.)

See you next week!

Yours TRULY,

Becky