I've spent the last couple of months taking advantage of holiday sales and discounts to fill a variety of basics needs. Unlike some, I *love* shopping for basics and gear. Because I'm usually looking for merino, silk, and technical synthetics, I put a good chunk of my budget into these purchases (they're also the things I'm least likely to buy secondhand). I find these purchases satisfying because they go into rotation immediately and see lots of use.

Bombas merino socks -- knee and crew. I took advantage of a promo code to try out this popular brand. With so many cropped pants and jeans in my wardrobe, I find I’ve been wearing out all my tall socks. The knee socks do a good job of staying up compared to other brands I've tried and are nice and warm. I couldn’t resist the crew socks because the colour is really pretty (the crew version of the burgundy knee socks below) and a good match for my burgundy boots.

Oiselle merino bralette and briefs. I bought a pair of these briefs several years ago and really like the fit, so I was excited when I saw the matching set go on sale and decided to grab it while it was still available in my size.

LL Bean pointelle silk long johns. I looked at these for months before buying them with one of the reams of coupons LL Bean sends me. Only time will tell how well they hold up compared to synthetic and merino, but they are much more tolerable for my eczema-prone arms and legs. And very pretty.

Carve Designs swim separates. I was at a sporting goods store looking for ice skates for DS and found a clearance rack of last year’s swimwear. I’ve been wanting a bikini bottom for a while (to switch things up from my usual boyshorts), and found one in the same print as a racerback bikini top I bought last year. I also picked up a cross-back bikini top in a really pretty bronze colour, so I now have a four-piece mix-and-match swim capsule in colours that I really love (bronze top, black boyshorts, black/white/rust plaid top and bottoms). Incredibly high happiness factor for very little $$.

One of my goals over the past year or two has been to buy basics in the same colour palette as the rest of my wardrobe. I feel much happier and more pulled-together, even though these are often the least visible parts of an outfit.