Thank you for this. Was at Roosevelt field mall in my jeans yesterday and I looked very tired and non-descript. I find my jeans are that length that always seem uncool. Not long enough but not short enough. Kills the entire look.
Many are struggling with the same, I’m hearing from my clients. If I may recommend: look for straight cut, enough length. Never cropped and if you want to breath a bit, go size up :)
They have a 30.5" inseam which is a bit better than the usual 30". For me, 30" is the dud length. I ended up ordering the tall jeans from Madewell which will be too long but i guess i'll get them hemmed.
All these outfits are great! Ugh do I feel this. I took my (almost) 2 and 5 year old to the Liberty Science Center yesterday and it was amazing- highly recommend for a cold weekend activity! The moms were SERVING as well! I think more than a few of them must subscribe here lol. I have been really trying to create outfits that are more in sync with how I feel and I have to say, it really truly makes a difference. I felt pretty “cool mom” at the science center, instead of my normal “envy of the moms who can get it together somehow.” Not super proud to admit that envy takes up so much real estate in my brain, but here we are!
Love this - I never think about wearing my lighter Jeans in the winter (don’t know why!). I put on light colored jeans with black boots and a grey cashmere sweater after reading you today and feel so put together yet weather and activity appropriate. I think Leandra Cohen said something about jeans that fade to white rather than to yellow are easier to match - when I was evaluating my jeans this morning I realized the lighter jeans I reach for most often fade to white.
During the entire holiday season I was trying on all my jeans and all of the dark denim just looked wrong. I wore my light wash straight Mother jeans on the daily and almost always with my taupe birkenstock clogs and socks. Topped with either a black on black Marant logo sweatshirt or a gap tissue turtleneck and fun coat. I'm going into 2024 feeling like I need all new jeans - I thought it was just me - now it all makes sense! Thank you Becky!
I never thought about light jeans with black shoes. I happen to have a pair I was donating but getting them back out to try your idea.
Update: I took your ideas and morphed them into my own style, a mini skirt with black pants, I jazzed up with "big jewelry", another accessory I played with—it was a Christmas party hit, lot's of compliments on "my style" - me, can' you imagine? And, I was gloriously comfortable parading around, being my cheery self, instead of spending time in the bathroom mirror cursing in secret.
On another note. I saw an ice article in the Washington Post, '5 Things You Should Buy' was mentioned... I was preening around the house after reading it... thinking to myself "I know her, even if only by style and grace."
This week's read is a hit, it's forcing me to take a look at wearing jeans again.
Hi Patti, I am doing a mindful purge of my jeans which are either too straight legged or too cropped. The length is key. I wore a dark pair hosting a casual dinner at our home the other night and they kind of crumpled at the bottom so wore a flat loafer with them and felt quite on point!
Hi Leslie, I agree! The key is length. I have one other criteria: they can't be too low slung on my hips. I like high waisted jeans now. (By the way. I found a store 40 miles from here that has some nicer clothing. I spent half the day yesterday trying things on. The name is Von Maur, I'd never heard of them before.)
How funny! I just discovered that the city we moved to three years ago has a Von Maur. Never heard of them, but I Googled, and it looks like many of the locations have great brands. Can't wait to check them out.
What city did you move to? I found mine in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I found out they've been there three years! (I live 45 minutes north, and always breezed past because I thought it was like a Sears chain, I was so wrong.)
Oklahoma City. Which actually has a handful of upscale clothing boutiques in addition to several Dillard's, but this is a new one to me and I've heard it's a nice store.
I wish we had Dillard's! I loved that store. They don't have them, here in Michigan. At the moment I'm thrilled to find something less than three hours away. I wish you the best of luck in your shopping!
Amen re the low rise! That ship sailed decades ago, in my humble opinion. It sounds like you’re back home and you’ve found a great boutique- yay! Happy New Year!
Agree on the length challenge - I keep seeing stylish women running around with jean length a bit more cropped and I’m enticed to get mine hemmed more. But love the post for kicking off the new year with an easy to shop your closet style session that built on your past posts! HNY!
Your link for the Giuliva Heritage jeans goes to the wide-leg Dana and it looks like you have the straight leg Dan. And the Dan are on sale, so extra tempting.
Hahaha Saint Laurent have always made a great, obscenely priced jean(🧿🧿) so we won’t kill you, Becky. I’ve never made the leap, but .. 2024?
Have been meaning to respond to the fantastic (!!!) Ski content. So good. I’m on my ??50th?? Year of skiing w big gaps of NOT (now since 2020) so celebrated upcoming 🎿 winter w the gorgeous Arc’teryx jacket in the ivory (no small ketchup-y children) & the great OR copper bib. O yea & the Arc’teryx lavender stuff.
Excited to try it all. The jacket is sheer beauty & I’m already wearing the Bib for muddy LA days barn chores 🤣❌❌
Also.. my old skier friend..Leslie.. where did you grow up skiing? I’m northeast
Haystack mountain first ski trip.. my parents were very into us skiing. We are 3 (genetically skinny.cold.complainers) girls.. I was eldest at 9. Littlest was FOUR. We just cried & bitched. All of us ended up at some point doing some college in Vermont 🤣🤣🤣 & skiing mostly at smugglers notch when it was MADONNA mountain. 🏔️
Hi, I grew up skiing in North Tahoe resorts. First Sugar Bowl and then Alpine Meadows. I went when I was about 5 or 6 I think. And also have two younger sisters, though one is an angel. I remember my poor father complaining about how cold it was. We were always cold and wet pre proper clothing. I wore White Stag! Inevitably we’d all get dressed and then one would have to wee- lol. I think our snow is easier to ski on than yours! Or so they tell me!
Hahahaha we are SO. o-L-d. I am in touch w a giant group of all my fellow fully unsupervised. Zero bra or make-up wearing.. giving zero fucks friends from my childhood (Scarsdale NY) & just got a big pile of photos one of us is archiving . It’s like full on olden days...from the elementary years.. but the teen ones are so so beautiful because we all LOOk so different from one another.. like.. yes, mainly Caucasian upper middle class kids.. 🧒 🎠.. but WOW .. we were Totally UNInFLUenced..
I grew up in SF when it was fabulous and wild and safe! High school friends are so fun to reconnect with!! I just had lunch last week with one I hadn’t seen in decades and it was a blast. Nothing like old friends, right? I just lost one to PCAN on Christmas Day and I’m still heartbroken and shocked. Her mother is 99! Carpe the diem!!
Thanks Becky! The quest for the perfect jeans seems to never end! I will also suggest AGolde Lana for those amongst us who need a midrise.
Also, what size are you in the Maria McManus blazer? The lack of sizing info on their site is challenging. I’m an XS in Tibi blazers and coats but they are way oversized.
I know it’s not the focus but I have been *dreaming* about stripping my door and window frames (lumpy with too many coats of paint over here in a prewar on the UWS). It’s probably asking too much but would love a little update on how it went when you’re all done. :)
Thank you for this. Was at Roosevelt field mall in my jeans yesterday and I looked very tired and non-descript. I find my jeans are that length that always seem uncool. Not long enough but not short enough. Kills the entire look.
I struggle with this as well-- the right length is so tricky!
This!!! I can’t seem to nail it... maybe tailoring is the answer?
Many are struggling with the same, I’m hearing from my clients. If I may recommend: look for straight cut, enough length. Never cropped and if you want to breath a bit, go size up :)
The Madewell here are exactly that
They have a 30.5" inseam which is a bit better than the usual 30". For me, 30" is the dud length. I ended up ordering the tall jeans from Madewell which will be too long but i guess i'll get them hemmed.
All these outfits are great! Ugh do I feel this. I took my (almost) 2 and 5 year old to the Liberty Science Center yesterday and it was amazing- highly recommend for a cold weekend activity! The moms were SERVING as well! I think more than a few of them must subscribe here lol. I have been really trying to create outfits that are more in sync with how I feel and I have to say, it really truly makes a difference. I felt pretty “cool mom” at the science center, instead of my normal “envy of the moms who can get it together somehow.” Not super proud to admit that envy takes up so much real estate in my brain, but here we are!
My son calls that place the movie theater. LOL! love it there.
lol! Love that!
Love this - I never think about wearing my lighter Jeans in the winter (don’t know why!). I put on light colored jeans with black boots and a grey cashmere sweater after reading you today and feel so put together yet weather and activity appropriate. I think Leandra Cohen said something about jeans that fade to white rather than to yellow are easier to match - when I was evaluating my jeans this morning I realized the lighter jeans I reach for most often fade to white.
Yes LMC wrote about it last week too. We are on the same wavelength for sure!
Thank you for the January uniform round-up. You are helping me get excited about shopping in my closet for the Winter bundle.
I definitely know the feeling of leaving the house in an outfit I don't like and counting the minutes untill I can take it off!
During the entire holiday season I was trying on all my jeans and all of the dark denim just looked wrong. I wore my light wash straight Mother jeans on the daily and almost always with my taupe birkenstock clogs and socks. Topped with either a black on black Marant logo sweatshirt or a gap tissue turtleneck and fun coat. I'm going into 2024 feeling like I need all new jeans - I thought it was just me - now it all makes sense! Thank you Becky!
This missive was sneaky perfection. I started a skeptic and by the end I thought “genius!”
the toteme jeans are my absolute favorite...I bought a second pair and then a pair in black
So glad you're back in our inboxes!
I never thought about light jeans with black shoes. I happen to have a pair I was donating but getting them back out to try your idea.
Update: I took your ideas and morphed them into my own style, a mini skirt with black pants, I jazzed up with "big jewelry", another accessory I played with—it was a Christmas party hit, lot's of compliments on "my style" - me, can' you imagine? And, I was gloriously comfortable parading around, being my cheery self, instead of spending time in the bathroom mirror cursing in secret.
On another note. I saw an ice article in the Washington Post, '5 Things You Should Buy' was mentioned... I was preening around the house after reading it... thinking to myself "I know her, even if only by style and grace."
This week's read is a hit, it's forcing me to take a look at wearing jeans again.
Have a wonderful week!
Hi Patti, I am doing a mindful purge of my jeans which are either too straight legged or too cropped. The length is key. I wore a dark pair hosting a casual dinner at our home the other night and they kind of crumpled at the bottom so wore a flat loafer with them and felt quite on point!
Hi Leslie, I agree! The key is length. I have one other criteria: they can't be too low slung on my hips. I like high waisted jeans now. (By the way. I found a store 40 miles from here that has some nicer clothing. I spent half the day yesterday trying things on. The name is Von Maur, I'd never heard of them before.)
How funny! I just discovered that the city we moved to three years ago has a Von Maur. Never heard of them, but I Googled, and it looks like many of the locations have great brands. Can't wait to check them out.
What city did you move to? I found mine in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I found out they've been there three years! (I live 45 minutes north, and always breezed past because I thought it was like a Sears chain, I was so wrong.)
Oklahoma City. Which actually has a handful of upscale clothing boutiques in addition to several Dillard's, but this is a new one to me and I've heard it's a nice store.
I wish we had Dillard's! I loved that store. They don't have them, here in Michigan. At the moment I'm thrilled to find something less than three hours away. I wish you the best of luck in your shopping!
Amen re the low rise! That ship sailed decades ago, in my humble opinion. It sounds like you’re back home and you’ve found a great boutique- yay! Happy New Year!
I wouldn't call it a boutique, but it is a start! Happy New Year, Leslie!
Agree on the length challenge - I keep seeing stylish women running around with jean length a bit more cropped and I’m enticed to get mine hemmed more. But love the post for kicking off the new year with an easy to shop your closet style session that built on your past posts! HNY!
On the Madewell jeans, can you speak to why the Mercer wash is preferred over the Enmore or Rondell??
The others are not bad, I just like this extremely light wash with the white undertones. It does it for me right now!
Your link for the Giuliva Heritage jeans goes to the wide-leg Dana and it looks like you have the straight leg Dan. And the Dan are on sale, so extra tempting.
Hahaha Saint Laurent have always made a great, obscenely priced jean(🧿🧿) so we won’t kill you, Becky. I’ve never made the leap, but .. 2024?
Have been meaning to respond to the fantastic (!!!) Ski content. So good. I’m on my ??50th?? Year of skiing w big gaps of NOT (now since 2020) so celebrated upcoming 🎿 winter w the gorgeous Arc’teryx jacket in the ivory (no small ketchup-y children) & the great OR copper bib. O yea & the Arc’teryx lavender stuff.
Excited to try it all. The jacket is sheer beauty & I’m already wearing the Bib for muddy LA days barn chores 🤣❌❌
Arcteryx is unstoppable!!!! Enjoy enjoy!
Arcteryx for the win! Love their stuff. Around these parts lots of Helly Hansen also.
I’ve got you beat @debo. Been skiing for closer to 60 years. Lord, how did I get to be this old?
Also.. my old skier friend..Leslie.. where did you grow up skiing? I’m northeast
Haystack mountain first ski trip.. my parents were very into us skiing. We are 3 (genetically skinny.cold.complainers) girls.. I was eldest at 9. Littlest was FOUR. We just cried & bitched. All of us ended up at some point doing some college in Vermont 🤣🤣🤣 & skiing mostly at smugglers notch when it was MADONNA mountain. 🏔️
More.
Hi, I grew up skiing in North Tahoe resorts. First Sugar Bowl and then Alpine Meadows. I went when I was about 5 or 6 I think. And also have two younger sisters, though one is an angel. I remember my poor father complaining about how cold it was. We were always cold and wet pre proper clothing. I wore White Stag! Inevitably we’d all get dressed and then one would have to wee- lol. I think our snow is easier to ski on than yours! Or so they tell me!
Hi @debo! I grew up skiing in North Lake Tahoe
And also genetically skinny and cold!! ⛷️😘
Hahahaha we are SO. o-L-d. I am in touch w a giant group of all my fellow fully unsupervised. Zero bra or make-up wearing.. giving zero fucks friends from my childhood (Scarsdale NY) & just got a big pile of photos one of us is archiving . It’s like full on olden days...from the elementary years.. but the teen ones are so so beautiful because we all LOOk so different from one another.. like.. yes, mainly Caucasian upper middle class kids.. 🧒 🎠.. but WOW .. we were Totally UNInFLUenced..
we are so lucky to have lived this @LESLIE T
I grew up in SF when it was fabulous and wild and safe! High school friends are so fun to reconnect with!! I just had lunch last week with one I hadn’t seen in decades and it was a blast. Nothing like old friends, right? I just lost one to PCAN on Christmas Day and I’m still heartbroken and shocked. Her mother is 99! Carpe the diem!!
Thanks Becky! The quest for the perfect jeans seems to never end! I will also suggest AGolde Lana for those amongst us who need a midrise.
Also, what size are you in the Maria McManus blazer? The lack of sizing info on their site is challenging. I’m an XS in Tibi blazers and coats but they are way oversized.
Literally it's eternal. Ask me again next week, LOL!
I have a 4 in the MM blazer and its slightly big, but how I wanted it...Tibi is an oversized brand for the most part! MM fits true to size.
Thank you! I’m definitely a size larger than you and took a chance of the 6. It’s 50% off and on final sale at La Garconne 🤞🏼
50 off! great! you can always tailor it.
I know it’s not the focus but I have been *dreaming* about stripping my door and window frames (lumpy with too many coats of paint over here in a prewar on the UWS). It’s probably asking too much but would love a little update on how it went when you’re all done. :)
Patience is a virtue