In the spirit of a more mindful shopping year, I am curious to know how and when you all decide to duplicate wardrobe essentials.

For example: I wear jeans daily, nearly year-round. I recently picked up a magical pair of jeans. They fit right off the rack (which NEVER happens for me), and are in a HEWI silhouette I've been hunting for. After trying them on, I immediately ripped off the tags and wore them for the day - that also NEVER happens! They are current, without being overly trendy and I am really tempted to buy a second (or third?!?!? ) pair.

My hesitations are: the wash is on the lighter side of a medium wash. Not necessarily a deal-breaker for me, since I treat denim as neutral anyway, but still something that gives me pause. And, with denim trends changing so frequently these days, I wonder if I will tire of these sooner than I did skinny jeans (then again, skinnies seemed to be the ONLY cut available for years....)

I have duplicated other essentials, like a shoe or a tee, but those really don't change for me - a pair of cons or vans still looks the same as it did a decade ago. Same with basic tees.

What say you all? How do you know when to dupe an essential?

ETA: find for magical jeans below; available in tall, petite, and regular length