036. Every Body Gets Dressed 2023 Round-Up

And My Top 3 Purchases This Year.

Two more days until the end of the year. I hope you’ve been able to spend time relaxing, reflecting, and being with loved ones. I said I wouldn’t publish this week, but here’s a round-up of every post published in the last six months for anyone who’s recently subscribed or wants to make the most of the New Year’s Day lull to catch up on old newsletters they may have missed. I also share my favourite purchases of 2023 and a snapshot of the content I have enjoyed consuming in the last few days.

I want to thank each and every single one of you who has subscribed and read this newsletter in 2023. I am blown away that so many of you - smart, interesting, and impeccably dressed people - choose to be on this journey with me. I’m sending you my love and warmest wishes for the new year. I want to say a giant special thanks to those of you who support Every Body Gets Dressed with a paid subscription. Not only do you make this newsletter possible, but you’re also allowing me to do the most fulfilling job I have ever had, and for this, I am grateful beyond words.

In 2024, I want to become even more intentional with the content I publish. My goal is to address your most critical style and wardrobe conundrums so that you may build a healthier relationship with shopping and have fun getting dressed. In 2023, each feature was focused on helping you with one of the following:

1. I want to find my personal style.

2. I want to build a capsule wardrobe that doesn’t look like everyone else’s.

3. I want to make better outfits with the clothes I already have.

4. I want to learn how to invest in better pieces.

5. I am looking to shop and want specific recommendations.

I have marked the most popular posts with a star ⭐️.

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Every Body Gets Dressed 2023 Newsletters

1. I want to find my personal style:

• A framework to find your personal style - Part 1 ⭐️

• A framework to find your personal style - Part 2 ⭐️

• Q+A: ‘The style I want doesn’t look good on my body type’ ⭐️

• Personal style and the different stages of life - Part 1

• Personal style and the different stages of life - Part 2: Motherhood (Guest Column)

• ‘Q+A: What outfit makes you the happiest?’

2. I want to build a capsule wardrobe that doesn’t look like everyone else’s:

• Your 12-piece summer weekend-trip capsule

• Your 12-piece fall capsule ⭐️

• Your 12-piece holiday season capsule ⭐️

• Wanted: classic capsule wardrobe, non-beige, non-boring

3. I want to make better outfits with the clothes I already have:

• Getting your outfits from good to great - Part 1: Contrast

• Getting your outfits from good to great - Part 2: The FLAIR framework ⭐️

• Seasonal color analysis - Part 1

• Seasonal color analysis - Part 2

• Jewelry stacking is an art form

• All about loafers and how to style them

• Q+A: ‘How can I feel like myself in my work/work from home clothes?’

• Making great outfits with clothes you don’t love

• This is how to layer in 86°F

4. I want to learn how to invest in better pieces:

• Shopping resources: all about cashmere

• Shopping resources: The fabrics to buy ⭐️

• Q+A: ‘Investment piece vs. more affordable version: How do I decide?’ ⭐️

• Becoming a skincare girlie ruined my face

• Shopping on secondhand platforms? I spill all my secrets

• My high-low wardrobe: Summer edition

• A definitive guide of what you can and cannot wear as a wedding guest

• How, what, where to shop (and not to shop) for your summer wardrobe

5. I am looking to shop and want specific recommendations:

• Your new favourite small handbag brands

• Stylish and brilliant women and their favourite jeans ⭐️

• Q+A: ‘Favourite sustainable brands and best winter sweaters’

• A highly requested belt shopping guide ⭐️

• A boot shopping guide ⭐️

• The piece of jewelry that takes all my outfits from good to great

• Timeless summer sandals

• Wedding guest dresses

• Timeless summer dresses

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My Favourite Things I Bought in 2023

Perhaps my proudest style and wardrobe achievement this year is that this short list of ‘favourite things I bought’ is very close to becoming one and the same with the full list of things I bought this year. That is, I am buying less and less stuff, and everything I buy is more and more spot on.

• In joint first place is my JW Anderson Twister Bag. The more time I spend in my functional wardrobe (my everyday, work, casual-ish wardrobe), the more I find that getting my accessories right is key. My functional wardrobe leans more classic, sporty, and androgynous than my aspirational wardrobe, so getting bags and shoes that stand out for their bright color or structural design has been the single, most helpful way to elevate these looks. I now known precisely what I need from a bag and any future purchase will have to fit some specific criteria. Being picky is a safety net against regret and impulse buys.

• In joint first place and as a surprise to nobody are my Khaite Dallas boots. I constantly talk about being extra-cautious around trendy, must-have, and it-items (read about it here and here), so I want to make sure I practice what I preach. These boots could definitely be considered trendy, and I’m glad I waited a long time before buying them, making sure they made sense within the ecosystem of my wardrobe. I still make mistakes, but this wasn’t one of them. I have worn them 95% of days since I got them. Note: most people size down in them; I sized up.

• In second place, which will also surprise no one who follows me on Instagram, my Anine Bing cashmere blazers. I loved the olive green one so much that I recently bought it in taupe. They are unlined and super comfortable to wear. If there ever was a boxy blazer perfectly suited to those of us on the shorter side, this would be it. I am 5ft0, and this is the first jacket I have ever bought and not needed to alter.

• Finally, my Studio Nicholson cotton cargos. I owe thanks to the person who submitted a question in an Instagram Q&A that inspired me to lean more into androgynous pieces. I wrote about it here. For a while, I was unhappy with my choice of pants to wear to work from home (which is most days). Jeans were not quite comfortable enough, sweatpants felt too sloppy. These are the perfect in-between, and I have also worn these most days since getting them.

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Things I Have Consumed This Week:

• To prolong the Saltburn fever, I’ve been re-reading Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (Emerald Fennell said it inspired the graveyard scene).

• This Reddit mega-thread where people share their best and worst buys of 2023. The most interesting takeaway is that many people listed their Poshmark or TRR purchases as some of their worst. Shopping secondhand was highly romanticised in 2023. Because it is much more sustainable, we tend to be less mindful when making a secondhand purchase. I have been burnt before, and I no longer buy anything that I haven’t tried on for size and carefully considered. Add this to your 2024 wardrobe resolutions; it will save you pretty penny.

• Lots of great 2023 round-up content on Susbtack: I particularly loved

  The Wardrobe Edit
  ’s analytical piece about her wardrobe. She tracked what she wore for 394 days and shares some useful insights like the cost-per-wear of her most worn pieces and the number of items to own that she considers ideal. This morning,
  laura reilly
  shared an inventory of every single piece she bought this year and the number of times she wore them. I loved this, and I think everyone would benefit from keeping a similar tracker.