WIW: what I want to stock up on

As I got dressed today, I realized everything I'm wearing, from my top down to my socks, is something I've considered duplicating. It's not the most exciting outfit but it's made of my essentials so it feels very me.

Everlane wool top: this is the perfect essential for my style, but I haven't worn it much recently, maybe because I worry about wearing it out. A second one is on order from Everlane.

Airism seamless tee: I am not one for underlayers and I hate most synthetics against my skin, but this new all-nylon mesh top is perfect for protecting wool tops from sweat. I have it in tee and tank versions and I'll buy more next time I'm at the store.

R13 boy skinny jeans: My perfect slouchy skinnies. When they finally went on sale I bought these, then tried to buy a second pair, but the sale ended before I could commit. I'm glad I didn't, to be honest. I bought three (!!!) pairs of wide-leg jeans recently, with a fourth on order (someone please tell me to stop) and I'm not feeling as excited about skinnies just now.

Smartwool socks: Needs no justification. I buy some whenever Nordstrom Rack has anything in black.

Frye boots: Not so much a duplication as... these are maybe 1/2 a size small, so I bought a different brand of engineer boots to replace them. Which turned out to be worse. And then, these broke in reasonably well and I love them enough to suffer through a bit of pressure on my instep. I still wish I could trade for a larger size, though. But I'm accumulating an embarrassing number of expensive boot failures!

(For completeness, I'm also wearing a bra and underpants that I have in multiples. And I always want more.)

Underlayers make sense to duplicate, for sure. I can't decide about the duplicate sweater top, but it was discounted at Everlane and I had a lot of store credit. Maybe I'll store it in a sealed plastic bag and take it out when the moths get this one -- I saw something fluttering out of my clothes rack when I grabbed this top today. Will the silhouette age well or will I get tired of it? Should I get a larger size just to cover my bases?

(And really I need to stop buying wide-leg jeans. I looked for so long before I found any I liked that now the scarcity mentality kicks in whenever I find another perfect pair. Four is probably the limit. But at least I like them all!)

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Everlane

The Luxe Sweater Mid-Sleeve

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UNIQLO

Women Airism Seamless Short Sleeve T-shirt

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Shopbop

R13 Boy Skinny Jeans

$325.00

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Amazon

SmartWool Smartwool PhD Run Ultra Light Mini Socks

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Zappos

Frye Engineer 8R

$278.00

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7 years ago

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

I love the "slouchy skinnies" but not the price. Ouch!

ashleykaric

Active Member

I love the boots!

Sal

I am wearing an essential look today too with - navy silky tee, blue jeans, white belt and white sneakers.

I like this look and see the tee as a classic essential. It could be layered under or over and is very consistent with your style.

Sorry you are having so many boot failures - annoying.

Jeans here are still skinny dominated. I am more into a slouchy skinny or straight leg but wore my skinnies for the first time this year a couple of days back and enjoyed them a lot. Very few true wide legs around, nor flares.

Greyscale

Emily, I paid waaaaay less for them, don't worry! I'm in love with that brand, but mostly I buy them on deep discount from The Outnet. My first two pairs were consignment store scores.

Suz

Slouchy skinnies are my favourite silhouette ever. LOVE. And these are fabulous on you. I also adore that Everlane sweater on you. Stunning shape. Every item is worth duplication, for sure. You look fab.

Jeanie

It's great to know exactly what you need. You look perfectly you in that outfit! I do feel a shift away from skinnies......I'm seeing pleats and baggie pants and high waisted straight leg crops online but I see cropped skinnies on most people in my neighborhood. Have you ever shifted from skinnies?

ClaraT

So the sweater isn't itchy? I love the silhouette (and really your whole look).

Jaime

The sweater is just right on you and definitely worth duplicating. Love slouchy skinnies also. And thinking that soon I will be retaking the Frye engineer boots my daughter commandeered because her foot is outgrowing mine!

Clara, the sweater isn't itchy for me, but I seem to be weird about textures. I'll wear even the scratchiest wool, but try some soft tencel and I'm miserable. But it's really nice merino, a nice tight-spun yarn so it's smooth and sleek. I'm glad they came out with this silhouette -- they used the same material for two different tops a few years earlier that just didn't look good on me, and I was so sad to miss out. I'd own nothing but merino (and denim) if I could!

Thanks for the input about the merino wool!

RobinF

Great outfit! It lets your beautiful hair stand out!

Bijou

I love everything about this outfit, those jeans are great on you. This outfit really puts the focus on you and your beautiful hair. Whilst this look is fantastic, I think it is great that you are mixing things up a bit with the new wide leg jeans which are great too.

Staysfit

Merino wool and cashmere are two that I can tolerate and if I find a silhouette that I like, I would consider stocking up. I think all these are flattering on you, and I can see why you would want duplicates. I have a tendency to duplicate my jeans also. For whatever reason finding the right fit in any style/cut is particularly difficult, and once you find them, it's such a relief that having duplicates makes sense. It took me forever to find one pair of boyfriend jeans I liked. Flare jeans were also very difficult, and I finally found one pair, and if I could duplicate them I would do it in a heartbeat. A certain brands, Mid-rise, straight leg jeans are my go to, and I went overboard, and made a purchase whenever they were on sale and, and when I had a discount coupon, and now I have possibly stockpiled a lifetime supply! (I think I have close to 16 pairs boxed up somewhere in the caverns of my house).

I echo your sentiment about bras and underwear. I have definite favorites, and I keep a rotating stock on hand. I toss one that is worn out, I add one from the stock, then I hunt down a new one on sale if possible to replace my stock.

LaPed

I love that Everlane sweater on you! You wear it better than the model. Tempted to snap one up for myself...

Anonymous

I'm not always a fan of all black but this looks so perfect for you. Even in basics, you look spectacular.

Joy

Put your sweater in a zip loc bag in the freezer to keep the moths from ruining it. The duplicate too. I agree either you on the fabness of Smart Wool socks. I wear some version year round as they are so breathable and keep flats from slipping off my feet sometimes. I think I'd love a wool tee. You look fabulous.

Beth Ann

Good thoughts, Greyscale. This look is certainly a classic for artists -- black in fabulous fabrics, with a bit of minimalist edge. I don't think any of these items would ever go "out" of style -- the questions is more would you have moved on to another silhouette?

I adore smart wool socks, and have taken to wearing them for all my athletic socks. My favorite is FITS socks.

Runcarla

I admire how you are so true to a severe colour palette and restricted style ethic and yet continue to post compelling and fashionable outfits!
Methinks it is your investment in quality items? Great look here.

This year I started wearing cotton tanks under sweaters, and agree it really does extend the life of clothes. Being able to go longer between washes is kinder on natural fibers. (I feel about cotton the way you feel about wool.).

I'm thinking of running to the store where I got my most recent (cotton mix) turtleneck sweaters and buying dupes because I had a hard time this winter when my faves were worn out and I couldn't find good replacements....

bj1111

ummm...you bring work home with you or you stock single malts in the office. either way, i'm down with it.

Ha! You caught me.

I copied a tradition from older scientists in my field: when my lab accomplishes something (publish a paper, get a grant), we share a small drink of something fancy. Single malt in my case, though my research group in grad school used champagne. And we write the accomplishment on the bottle, to save it as a record. That's actually an empty bottle in the photo.

We get a bottle of plain apple cider too for the non-drinkers so no one feels like there's pressure to have alcohol. My own tolerance is so low that I just have a tiny amount. We keep it low-key and there aren't any campus rules against it, but I suppose there's a lot to discuss around whether drinking at work is a good idea...

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