Hello, hello! Hope you’ve had a nice week!
Today’s newsletter is the launch of a brand new monthly series, Purchase History! When I started this newsletter in 2024, basically every post was in this format- I was documenting my Rule of Five journey in real time by sharing the thought process and story of each allotted purchase (five new, four secondhand, over the course of one year). You’ll have to take my word for it, or maybe you remember if you’ve been reading for a long time (thank you!), because a few months ago I archived most of my posts from 2024 and dozens from 2025. Why? Well, quite frankly, my style has evolved and I felt that those posts were no longer serving anyone. Of the seven purchases I made in 2024, only one remains in my closet. I’m not embarrassed to admit that. In fact, quite the opposite. Change is the only constant, and when we know better, we do better. I’ve become more intentional, really pausing when I need to and digging into so much more than wardrobe gaps. This series is a way to bring back the original spirit of this newsletter, and to hopefully help cut through the noise of what’s out there, or at the very least give you some food for thought the next time you find yourself looking for your own next purchase.
Every once and awhile I like to include a refresher on the point of this newsletter for any new readers- the below is from this post, but it’s a good recap of my motivation for writing every week(ish):
And so, I’m going back to basics moving forward and sharing more of what I own and wear on the regular. To work from home, playground visits, running errands, brunch with friends, etc. Wanting to feel as good as possible while still sticking to a budget and making choices that feel good months/years later. Not having so much stuff that I can’t wear it all. Reaching into my closet and finding all keepers, no hesitation or guilt. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on getting to this place, and it brings me a lot of joy to share it with you guys. Am I the most fashionable person? No. Do I regularly like and feel confident/comfortable in my outfits? Yes! I want this to be a place where you can benefit from my obsessive searching and ruthless checklists and walk away thinking “I could/want to wear that.”
Now for a tiny bit of housekeeping, and then I promise we’ll get to the fun stuff. If you had the chance to read my very personal essay last week, I hope it’s pretty clear that I’m dedicated to only bringing items into my home that I’ve really thought about, truly want, and aim to keep for a very long time. High level- I do not want to do a major house/closet clean-out ever again. So I need to be very methodical in my shopping, even more so than I have been the past few years. And that’s saying something. So here are two tangible decisions moving forward.
1) I am no longer accepting any gifting from brands. Not that I was receiving a ton, but I’ve evaluated everything I’ve been gifted over the past year and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s too difficult for me to know if I really want the item when it comes with the excitement of being given to me for free.
2) I’m holding myself accountable with this new monthly installment, especially with the items at the end below the paywall. After the clothes segment, which is free to read for everyone, I’ll be including everything else: home, beauty/body, kids products, and anything else that feels too personal to have floating around on the internet. These are all items I have spent hours sourcing to ensure I’m getting the perfect thing, so I naturally want to share them, but I also feel like it’s too much to divulge publicly (re: household budget, the nature of certain items, etc). I fully understand this is pretty niche, but if you’re invested in my “no more spring cleaning” journey, I think this will be a fun thing to follow for the foreseeable future.
Ok, time to get to it!
Make a mood board!
More and more, I’ve been doing all my monthly shopping at one time. I’ll go weeks without buying anything, then something will hit me and I’m in the zone! When I get this inspiration to shop, I like to sit and make a mood board really quickly. What does this look like? First, I go to my bookmark folder “THE CUT” and “THE DREAM” (read more about that here) and just take screenshots of anything that inspires me. I don’t question this, it’s just fun.
What I grabbed from Celine:
From Jamie Haller:
From Flore Flore:
From Heirlome:
From Nordic Knots:
Think about what I need, and notice any commonalities in my mood board!
A few weeks ago when we were in Nevada visiting family, I noted that I found myself in a much better mood when I was wearing my favorite cotton pants than when I would put on shorts. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the weather calls for shorts and that’s just a fact of life, but when it’s slightly cooler out, cotton pants are just as comfortable- and make me feel a hell of a lot less “itchy.”
P.S. Itchy is my favorite word for when my outfit isn’t quite feeling right. I assume you all get it.
Anyways! I added “more cotton pants - one in navy, one in white” to my list.
Then I threw all my mood board screenshots I had collected into this draft, but canva or even just a fresh note on your phone would work just as well. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to pick up on white button downs, creamy off-white/yellow, and black as a theme throughout my saves. Ok, subconscious! Noted!
As a last step, I skimmed over my running list of gaps/needs/wants that I keep in my notes app in the “Style” folder.
Sourcing!
On this particular shopping journey, I started with a search for cotton pants since that was the true identified need in my everyday wardrobe. In my mind, I wanted to find a good navy pair first, since it’s my favorite color and severely lacking in my closet. I have always liked the CoH Marcelle, but I felt an inner pull to phone a friend. I shot off a text message and was immediately met with “check the inseam” - like, duh, Emily. We know this! But sometimes you need to hear it from someone else. So I did, and - yeah - 27” doesn’t cut it for me (I’m 5’9”).
That same phone a friend conversation led me to check out a pair at Donni. They didn’t look quite like what I had in mind, but then this pair came up while I was on the website, and perhaps it was the striped curtains on my mind from my mood board exercise, but I quickly ran through my shopping checklist and hit “place order.” Cotton pant mission: fail. But such is life. Moving on!
While all this silk pant business was going down, I pivoted tabs and ordered these from my post about Sudoku packing. The inseam is perfect, I already have and love the Ayla silhouette in denim, and the color is exactly what I wanted. And they’re cotton! Back on track, baby!
Ok, back to the navy pair. I did a fresh search on the Citizens website and saw the Esme, which I had not ever clocked before. I love the shape and how saturated the color is, so it was time to check the inseam. 29”! Now we’re talking. I also figured the 28 would be a smidge loose and so they would hang even a bit lower.
After seeing Olivia Knott’s post a few months ago, I had doubled down on my TRR hunt for a small clutch/pouch in the Macadam pattern. So when my mood board included a Celine monogram bag, I took it as a sign from the universe to do another secondhand scan. This one popped up and was the right size (and price) I was looking for, so into the checkout cart it went!
This shirt has been on my running wishlist for a year, and I decided to try it. I believe Angie Uh brought it to my attention originally. It’s in the heavy silk fabrication and looks promising! Now that I have this one from Comme Si in Navy, I realized I needed a dressier black option too.
There’s not much to say on this one- I bought this in white two months ago and have worn it non-stop. I swore off puffy sleeves years ago, but something about this cut just works and doesn’t feel too too. It also just makes me feel pretty. Needed it in black!
Try everything on!
Since I ordered everything above at the same time, I had two days with lots of doorbell ringing. Fine by me! Easier to try it all together anyways.
I had pictured this top and pants being a good outfit, and yay! I was correct. I love this whole vibe. And SO comfortable.
CONSENSUS:
TOP: Love it in black, but I knew I would. I’ve already worn it multiple times. 10/10
PANTS: I’ve never owned silk pants, but consider me a changed woman. The elastic is thin and not tight at all, the material feels amazing, and they look great. 10/10
Earrings are these ones - love them. full disclosure, they were gifted to me a few months ago. But I would buy them again if I lost them. My bag is the Park tote in a large, bought on TRR. And sometimes I get questions on my watch. It’s the Tank Française in stainless in small :)
Again, I thought these two items would make a great pairing, and that the bag would look good against solid black / solid navy. I really like brown/black/navy all together. IMO there’s nothing chicer. P.S. best shoes ever. I’ve worn them all day in a trade show booth, they’re that comfortable.
CONSENSUS:
TOP: The weight of the silk is perfection - it feels like it should cost 3x as much, honestly. I didn’t want to take this off when I was done trying it on. It’s going to be so great for work things, date night, hosting (imagine how chic with a pair of straight leg denim and barefoot…), etc. 10/10
PANTS: Everything I hoped they would be. Great material. Great inseam. Great shape. Cargo elements feel very elevated. I wore them last night with the black Banana top to a work happy hour and felt so deeply comfortable/like the best version of myself. 1000000/10.
CLUTCH: LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I’ve been using it instead of my purse when I run errands or when I drop my kids off at day camp. I keep a chapstick, my ID, and one credit card in it. So then I either house it in my big purse as a wallet of sorts, or just pull it out and use by itself. 10/10.
White on white has been my MO the past week. This combination feels easy and fresh and all the things. Top is this one and the flip flops are these, which I’ve lived in this entire summer.
CONSENSUS:
PANTS: Obsessed with these. I wore them to the zoo last weekend and didn’t get a single smudge, so I am taking that as a sign to go buy a lottery ticket. I’m glad I went with the 28 because they’re a bit oversized just as I pictured. The legs bow the tiniest bit and they feel Matteau fisherman pant adjacent in that way. I love them. 10/10
P.S. the top is a little sheer, but I wear a nude bra and it doesn’t bother me. But I know not everyone would love this. In that case- you know what I’m going to recommend…
Return pile:
I didn’t take a photo, but my one return was another pair of the Aritzia Effortless pants in Light Birch (an off-white color). I have this same color in the shorts version and do not have this issue, but the pants gave serious VPL. They had to go back.
Alright, friends! Time to lift the veil and share everything else I bought this month, including the large baskets I chose for my hall closet makeover after reviewing approximately 1,000 options, the new bath towels I already bought a second set of, everything I purchased as a step one of my shared kids bedroom project… and more!
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