Weekend 9.22

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying something…different. And by “we” I mean the behind-the-scenes Philly team & I. One of my ongoing frustrations has been trying to figure out how to fully answer trickier styling questions. Especially as silhouettes shift, and trends go through an upheaval as large as the one that’s been happening over the last couple of years. It’s one thing to sit alone in my room and try a bunch of stuff on – I typically emerge with an opinion or two – but it’s a whole other ballgame when I pull an entire group of very creative, very talented, and very highly opinionated staff together.

Not only can this group help refine my own opinions (I do love solving for ‘why’), but they’re a constant source of fresh ideas & thoughts. And while they’ve always had input, I decided to try leaning in on our collective power, and have us try and tackle the really tough styling questions in a real way. Come up with a…masterclass, if you will.

Plus, when a group made up of Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X all agree that they’d wear that outfit…its a pretty darn good sign.

For our first attempt, we’re tackling the styling of baggy jeans. And while we’re still developing the “masterclass” (and yes, I cringe whenever I write that word), we did drop a fun little video showcasing a few of our favorite baggy jean outfits. More to come, for sure.

Anyway, it’s been a fun little experiment so far. Now we’re just working through how best to communicate all of our Very Big Thoughts on Baggy Jeans. Always the toughest part!

As always, if you guys have any tricky requests that are also achievable by humans, let me know in the comments. We’ll add them to our list.

Cute shirt for baggy jeans. I’m snapping up this cute, waffle-knit top by Free People to wear with my baggy jeans. I’ll pair it with my favorite Ref flats (in silver) and a silver bag. This bag works, but is too structured for me (or maybe just a *touch* too big), but more on that whole topic later.

Speaking of. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, you already know this, but we’re wild about silver ballet flats. My Ref flats are shockingly comfortable, but we’ve also fully tested this pair from Free People and this pair from Madewell. You won’t go wrong with any of those. We’re still on the hunt for the perfect silver bag, and will send out a newsletter as soon as we figure that one out. (yup yup yup – this is a plug to join our newsletter, but it’s how we keep our independence from social media algorithms & pesky ads, so we tend to treat our newsletter subscribers really well. If you want to join the fun, subscribe here.)

Sweater weather. Madewell is having an insiders sale (25% off), and since I’ve already sent you over there to peek at shoes & bags, here’s two more: this striped sweater is reallllly cute on (size up for a perfectly slouchy look), and their recycled cashmere sweater in ‘heather stout’ is beautiful. It’s thinner, and not as soft out-of-the-box, but will soften up after the first wash. The color makes it really special. Frankly, none of the images on Madewell’s site do either of these sweaters justice – I’ll try to get some selfies up, so you can get a better idea of fit.

Gahhh one more. Someone please go grab this sweatshirt at Madewell. I’m swooning.

Okaaaay. I’ve been eyeing up Vuori’s Cargo Joggers (hazel or black?? gahhh), but was low-key annoyed that they haven’t come out with a good matching sweatshirt. But THEN this popped up on their website. It’s like a fleece jacket, but instead of fleece, it’s made from a quilted version of that bananas-soft Dreamknit fabric. Aaaand, voila: matching colors. So now I just need to decide between that gorgeous hazel and my usual black.

It’s a vibe. Maude, a Latina-owned wellness company, is now being carried at Nordstrom! Previously, I could only find them at this one impossibly cool, natural beauty boutique in Philly, but that’s how I know they were legit. Maude had actually sent me a few, uh, things to try a while back, and I highly recommend Shine, their organic personal lubricant (perfect for post-partum OR perimenopause IYKYK). Also? This. Soooooo fun. 😉

It’s the blue, I think. Saks is having a friends & family sale, and I keep coming back to this Farm Rio set: top, skirt. Instead of the usual swirl of color Farm Rio is known for, this pattern is relatively simple: bright blue & white. The set is adorable together, but I keep picturing the top with black trousers for work, lightwashed baggy jeans for weekend, and the mini skirt with a black hoodie & loafers (or even moto boots). I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities.

Super thick cashmere. Vince is having a sale, which means that Nordstrom is price matching. If you’re in the market for a good cashmere sweater, even the black Vince boiled cashmere sweater is on sale. Which never happens! It’s always the purple that goes on sale, guys – the PURPLE. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because Vince’s boiled cashmere is thick and soft – almost like old-school cashmere sweaters. It’s a good one.

Outfit inspo of the week: This entire outfit from GAP. Seems like such a freaking cool way to put those old gray sweaters to use. And obviously now I want black Sambas, too (even though white would still work with that outfit). But here’s the genius part: those pants are metallic, but the ‘cast iron gray’ is a more subtle take. Instead of reading like metallic pants, they read more like leather pants. It’s a small tweak, but makes a huge difference. They’d also be amazing with black sweaters, too.

Plus size pick: Universal Standard’s High Rise Sailor Jeans. There’s a dropped yoke waistband (looks very Veronica Beard), a nice wide leg, and a perfect, inky-dark wash. Love.

Buying this again. MIKE. I used to have this double-decked cupcake & baked goods carrier and LOVED IT. It has since…disappeared, and I blame Mike (he always hated where I stored it). In any case, mine was easily 10+ years old, so it was probably time for a new one, anyway. But! If you are carting goodies to kid activities or classes, it’s great. Highly recommend.

The fastest (and easiest) weeknight dinner: I cannot recommend Gimme Some Oven’s Lemony Lentil Soup highly enough!!! It’s made from red lentils which cook up in 10 minutes and is absolutely delicious (vegan, too). Her recipe is for the Instapot, but I found it was faster to throw it all together on the stove. I had popped some ready-to-heat sourdough rolls in the oven (like these) and tossed a box of salad with vinaigrette. It was seriously 20 minutes from when I started cooking to food actually on the table.

Well, that’s it from me – enjoy your weekend!

xo,

S