Best Clothing Purchases of 2020 (RTW)

Max Mara Blazer & Citizens of Humanity Jeans (both secondhand), Coclico sandals

If you'll kindly allow me to put on my clothing tunnel-vision goggles for a moment, I thought I'd look through my list and see what my favorite clothing purchases of the year were, as divided into two categories: ready-to-wear and me-made. Today is ready-to-wear (and if you want to travel to years past I have best & worst/superlatives from 2019, 2017 and 2016). 

1. Outdoor Voices Hudson Skort (not an affiliate link) 

     Without a doubt my most worn item of the year was this skort, purchased in January 2020 in size small. I have two actually, one in navy and one in black and I wear them weekly, although honestly probably more like 2-3 days a week. I don't have a ton of photos in them, probably because they are a little more understated/everyday, so here's some love to the wardrobe workhorses. The skirt, made out of leggings material, has a pair of attached shorts underneath, with a phone-sized side pocket on the shorts and a zip pocket on the front of the skirt. They are easy to wear in the heat, the built in shorts make me feel comfortable to wear them when I'm out zipping around on my e-scooter or playing golf and with the pockets I can often go purse free to run errands. This is also currently number one with a bullet on the list of things I'd love to be able to sew for myself. 

Left: Levi's jean jacket and Bally purse (both secondhand)
Right: Me made top, Finding Nemo bandaid

2. Coclico Keap Sandal 

     My love of Coclico goes back and (way) back (also seeing my first ever blog post makes me laugh and also cringe a little bit haha). I even wore them when I got married. My go-to summer sandals were getting beat into the ground so I decided to treat myself to an upgrade. I love that the sole on these is a little bit thicker and they have an interesting design to them. The strap around the heels is still a bit tight (I think it'll loosen as time goes on) so if I'm doing a lot of walking I push the strap to the top of my foot and the shoe still remains secure. I took these in a size 37 and the fit is great.

Same jean jacket as above, commissioned dress, Mansur Gavriel clutch

Madewell button-up (secondhand), Amour Vert skirt, me made bucket hat

3. Acne Ethel Tencel Jersey Dress

     Back in 2017 I mused on what my ideal dress was. It was navy, it was monochrome (which 2017 me typo'ed as monotone...sigh), and it was unique. I guess some things never change because when I found this secondhand dress I got very excited and when I put it on it felt like me. (Also shoutout to Retold, a Dubai consignment store that I've come to love.) The jersey is luxuriously soft and the design, which is a split-side longer dress attached to a shorter one, provides some visual interest. The size tag says it is a L, but I didn't realize that until after I bought it and I don't really care, because the fit is what matters. Mostly, I love how it moves when I walk. The only issue is that this dress needs to be photographed while briskly walking, which is hard to do with my tripod, so I'll have to wait for some photography help before I can adequately capture it in all its glory.

Sandals are old from Target

 Also, this is how it looks on the model, so I guess it isn't supposed to be floor length, haha.

4. Oiselle Passport Dress

Oiselle is a women-owned, Seattle based athletics apparel company and this dress really snuck up on me to become a favorite of the year. I bought the size 2 and the fabric is incredibly light yet still opaque, making it ideal for humidity, and I love the practical pockets. I prefer to wear it with a visible bralette (the scoop in the back of the dress is a little lower so it can peak through) and white Birks. 

Close-up of the fabric

5. Honorable Mention: Hoss Intropia Dress

    Found by my mother-in-law, also at Retold, is this stunner of a dress. I'm honestly not sure how many times I'll wear it, going forward, mostly due to a dearth of occasions, but if that's the case at least I can always re-donate it and continue the cycle for someone else.  However, early in the year this dress gave me the perfect opportunity to wear a sequin blazer I'd been dying to wear and I truly felt like a million dollars in this outfit (whereas in reality I think the dress was $50).

Asos Sequin Blazer (that sadly I can't find on their website anymore!)

Well, there you have it. It looks like in 2020 my RTW shopping theme was easy-to-wear athleisure (like many I'd imagine), mixed with secondhand treasure hunting. 

Did you find yourself gravitating toward any particular items this year?  Thanks for stopping by.