The Great Clothing Swap of 2025

      I hosted my first (and up until this year, only) clothing swap back in 2017, absolutely loved it and was clearly overdue for a repeat. In between then and now I’ve moved closets quite a few time, including an international move (there and back) and had my wardrobe change due to a pregnancy and the new normal of where I am now, sartorially, postpartum. I finally sat down for a serious closet clean-out and realized it would be a perfect time to host a swap. I had about 3 plastic bins full of clothes, ranging in size from xs to xl that were yearning for new homes. It’s easier to part with meaningful, “nice”, or “I-paid-too-much-for-this-to-be-something-that-I-didn’t-wear-but-reselling-will-be-a-lot-of-work-and-probably-not-that-satisfying-monetarily” pieces when they are going to friends or friends of friends.

The skirt is Anthropologie and one of the many finds I got 

    So how was it? It was a blast. Which is great, because I had an actual nightmare a few nights prior that there weren’t going to be enough clothes. That everyone would show up and there would be a measly 5 shirts between us to swap. I need not have worried - every lady took home between 5-15 items, a bag of clothes was taken for Dress for Success (a local non-profit that, among other things, takes donations of professional attire to help unemployed or underemployed women find their next job) and we had a few bins/bags/boxes full of leftover clothes that I took to Goodwill.

Sewing my own $500 Matteau Fisherman Pants

     Not bad right? I am seeing this style of fisherman pants pop-up everywhere. They are seemingly a rip-off (or, charitably, an hommage) of a Thai fisherman pant style of pants and are defined by their easy fit, tie-waist and wide fold-over waistband. The ones I’ve seen most frequently are the Matteau version above, but Banana Republic also has their own in their White Lotus branded collaboration (image below). I thought they looked like a fun pant for summer and was pretty darn sure I could sew my own version.

Where have all the outfit photos gone?

Sweater | Tibi
                                   Skirt | Prada (secondhand)

         My instagram algorithm is hellbent on selling me things I don’t want. I understand why it attempts to do so, and why it’ll persist, but recently I’ve been missing good old outfit inspiration. Images that make me excited about the clothes I already have, because, boy, do I have some clothes. Here are some recent pulls from the Archive (which is how I like to refer to my closet). As per usual, it is a mix of secondhand and new. 

      I’ve been looking for sweaters that make this skirt pop and this is a success, I’d say. The skirt is Prada, from their very chic 2017 show, and I got it for a steal! I’ve continued to look for more pieces from that same collection but haven’t yet found the right piece for the right price.

Rose Cafe Bustier + M7971

Shoes | Coclico

      I finally made the very popular Rose Cafe Bustier dress pattern in a gorgeous deadstock Amour Vert silk. A few months back I met up with a lady I know from the sewing internet and she took me to Fabrix, which mostly stocks deadstock/leftover/overstock fabrics, and which I definitely recommend if you are in SF. It is the type of place where you probably never know what you are going to find, but you'll probably always find something good. In this case, this 100% silk (which has an abstract animal print and is such a pretty rich berry color in person) was only $6.99 a yard! I bought 3 yards but wish I had bought a little more. I initially thought about turning it into a slip dress, but the slip dress pattern I have is cut on the bias, and this fabric isn't very wide, so I decided against that because I was worried that there was not enough extra fabric to recover from any mistakes. After seeing a few inspiration photos online, I landed on making a Reformation style dress (sample photo below) by using the RCB pattern for the bodice, mashed up with the McCall's 7971 for the skirt. I also decided not to make a toile, to test the fit, and decided to just cut right into the silk.

Mexico City: Outfits & Shopping

Windbreaker | Oiselle
Pants | Rag & Bone (secondhand)
Purse | Me Made (Free All Well Full Moon Bag)

     I'm a chronic over-packer, but when I went on a recent trip to Mexico City I restricted myself to a carry-on and purposefully left room in the bag, anticipating I was going to do some shopping. I basically wore the same thing everyday but here is a look at those outfits, along with some photos of the shopping (All of the brands are Mexico based brands and I did not get all of these pieces, btw).

     I think the MVP article of clothing was the above windbreaker, which is the Oiselle April Showers Anorak. I bought it on clearance about two years ago and never really needed it in Dubai, so it's been mostly sitting in my closet. It's very lightweight and has a hood and front zipping pocket. The sleeves have elastic ends so they fit snugly and it is very easy to squash into a ball and fit into my purse (the circle purse above) even when it was full with a wallet, phone, keys and hand sanitizer. I would say it is more water resistant than outright waterproof but worked well when we got caught in the daily light rain. (It was of no use in the full-blown thunderstorm.)

Office Attire

     Recently, every time I open Instagram I swipe the app closed about 10 seconds later. It feels noisy and chaotic, which I'm taking as a reminder that if I want good old-fashioned fashion content I should get back to writing and reading blogs. I did some travel in April that involved a week of working in-person in an office - an office that crucially had a pretty good bathroom selfie-mirror. I was equipped with only a very small portion of my wardrobe, so I thought I'd share my actual week of carry-on-suitcase work outfits. To set the stage: it was in the Bay Area, so the weather was temperate (and hot a few days) and the dress code was lax.