Your Favorite Pieces ≠ Your Most-Worn

We tend to define our personal style aspirationally, when the evidence of what we actually like is in our laundry baskets.

Our most-worn items tell us things our “favorites” don’t: what proportions we instinctively feel good in, which colors we gravitate toward, our favorite silhouettes, and what shoes we feel most ourselves in (walk a mile in them, etc.). It’s what I’ve referred to as your Back Pocket Wardrobe. The glue that holds your outfits together.

And while yes, the Pucci halter will be the perfect top for the picnic, and those wrap-and-tie Chan Luu pants are quite necessary for cocktails at the Pier with friends, it’s choosing the everyday items — the tanks, tees, jeans, loafers, whatever the Back Pocket Wardrobe means to you — that will really make or break how those special pieces fit into your everyday style.

The best outfits are made when our favorite items are paired with our most-worns.

Favorite: Pucci halter
Most-worn: Moussy jeans
Together: My favorite summer top, which I’ve shamefully only worn for The Corner Booth! But it will be worn next week in Los Angeles, and I am going to style it exactly as I did here. Wearing a loud, special top with a very lived-in pair of everyday jeans (rips on rips!) makes for a more digestible outfit. Dare I say, another case for genre-mixing?

Favorite: Chan Luu pants
Most-worn: PVCS oversized tee
Together: These pants are so special, but their volume intimidates me, so I don’t often wear them, even though they’re truly one of my favorite bottoms. With this big tee (which I wear at least 2x a week), though, they feel more relaxed, balanced, and wearable. While I do not agree with all of Jennifer Lawrence’s outfit balance rules in her episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, I do love a big-with-big (ICYMI, she starts talking about this around the 11-minute mark of the episode, which is only one minute into her actual interview). I finished the outfit with a delicate shoe to get the Silhouette balance right.

Favorite: Grandma’s gold blazer
Most-worn: Adidas track shorts (yes, those ones)
Together: My most prized possession is probably this gold Rafael blazer from my grandmother, with a Saks Fifth Avenue label sewn inside. I once spilled olive oil on it at an Italian restaurant, and magically, the following day there was no evidence of the disaster. Truly divine!

It’s a gold blazer, not the easiest thing to wear, so I paired it with my casual staples: a striped tee and track shorts. Wearing such a dressy piece with elements I’d honestly wear to bum around my apartment makes it feel more me. I absolutely love the contrast in this outfit, which is another really good example of — you guessed it! — genre-mixing.

--> I want to style you! <--

And then there are the pieces you barely (or never) wear. My friend and the incredibly talented Liana Satenstein has an entire project called NEVERWORNS dedicated to the things we love enough to own but, for whatever reason, don’t actually wear. (If you love vintage fashion, archival deep-dives, or really fun, playful yet highly educational performances, I suggest both subscribing to her Substack and trying to attend one of her live events.)

Pairing those never-worns with your most-worns is a pretty good test to see if they should be taking up valuable real estate in your wardrobe. Try the designer skirt you bought on a whim and adore but can never figure out with the tee you wear three times a week, or the shoes you’ve been “saving” with the jeans that are always thrown across “The Chair.” If your never-worns are ever going to happen, it’s your most-worns that will get them there.

Your most-worns might not be the most exciting things you own, but they are the ingredients that make your outfits feel really you. They’re worth paying attention to, investing in, and thinking about. Those simple pieces may actually have more impact on the success of your outfits than the statement pieces you spend so much time thinking about. The right tee, tank, jean, or shoe is what lets the special stuff really work. They’re what make your “favorites” less precious, more wearable, and part of your everyday style.

I got a lash lift, and, not to be hyperbolic, but my entire life has changed.

I am not a person to do this kind of thing. I just recently started getting my hair highlighted, I ask them not to cut my cuticles when I get a manicure, and I don’t even do Botox.

I started seeing people post about lash lifts on Instagram in 2025, and they only seemed to become increasingly popular, at least in my algorithm. I use an eyelash curler religiously, but I’ve felt like I’ve been losing some lashes from the physical strain the curler puts on them. So in early 2026, I looked into it and emailed Strauhs Studios, which Google describes as an integrative skincare and custom facial spa near Tribeca/Chinatown at 401 Broadway in NYC. Something about the fact that it’s in a building I’ve been to a million times for press appointments (lol) made me feel safe.

I booked it and forgot about it, so when I got a text asking me to confirm my appointment before a deadline that had already passed by the time I received the text, instead of challenging it, I decided to just go for it.

Having your lashes brushed up feels a little weird, and I guess the chemicals they use kind of smell like Nair, but the entire 30-minute appointment was really a completely pain-free experience. Immediately afterward, I felt like my eyes were so much more open that I had to call my mom and confess my beauty treatment indulgence.

You’re not supposed to wet your lids for 24 hours, and the technician recommended this $40 serum (which I obviously purchased) to keep your eyelashes hydrated, but other than that, there is no real maintenance. The technician says it lasts 6-8 weeks. It’s the best $315 (with tax and tip) I’ve ever spent!

That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend. I may have to skip next week as my best friend is getting married across the country, and I really don’t want to bring my laptop along, but to be determined….

xo,

Eliz