March 2022 Shopping Reflections

Oh boy, long time no blog! Like I mentioned in February's shopping reflections, things continued to be extremely hectic at the office after my last post. In fact, I've only just returned from a week-long international business trip. 

I guess I didn't chill out quite as much as I originally envisioned when it comes to this month's shopping. But, as you'll soon see, I was right about one thing: My work-related stress was enough to cause me to make some arguably unwise shopping decisions. I may eventually resell or give away two out of three items this month, which is a rather poor "success rate." I think the likelihood is high that both items could easily find a happy new owner if that's what I choose, so it isn't the worst thing in the world, but I do feel silly about these likely shopping mistakes. 

As for how things are looking in the next month or two, it's hard to say for sure when I'll be back to blogging more regularly. My work schedule is going to be consistently busy for the next three months or so, just with what's currently on my calendar. More depositions and deadlines could always be added on top of what's already there. But I'll do my best to post here as often as I can in the coming months. 

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It's looking like I might defend my first deposition as the first-chair attorney in the next week or two, which I'm cautiously excited about. With this particular client, I'm never sure if they'll change their mind about various things - including very important and inconvenient things - last-minute, so I don't consider this a 100% sure thing yet. Definitely no big milestone gift to myself for this particular work accomplishment, if it happens, though I might be inspired to get myself something much smaller. It could be either the Jennie Kwon Jadeite Equilibrium Ring or the Catbird Ballerina Bracelet, both of which I've been thinking about for a while. 

February 2022 Shopping Reflections

Things have definitely been extremely hectic at the office for me since I last posted, so much so that this monthly shopping reflections post is late! As I previewed a few weeks ago, this month involved more shopping from Tibi, from their ongoing end-of-season sale and also from the secondhand market via TheRealReal ("TRR"). 

Not listed with this month's shopping is my recent milestone gift to myself to celebrate taking my first deposition. With this and last year's milestone gift to commemorate the end of my student loan repayment, I feel it doesn't make sense to list them with the rest of my shopping that month because they're one-time only, special event purchases.

At least for the next month or two, I'm hoping to chill out a lot on shopping. I've definitely indulged - a lot! - in recent months. I generally don't ever actually need anything because my wardrobe is quite robust in size and variety. Things are also busy enough at work that I'm starting to feel like work-related stress might cause me to make unwise shopping decisions if I'm not careful. All things considered, it's best to take a step back from shopping for now.  

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I also tried on a suit from Theory this month, their two-button "Carissa" blazer and basic pencil skirt in "Good Wool." Back when I was a college senior contemplating my future career - while staring into the long aftermath of the 2008 recession - Theory suiting seemed like a completely unattainable luxury, especially because I was not on track to enter a well-paying job at the time. Fast forward several years to law school, and Theory suiting still felt a bit too lofty for me to seriously contemplate. Plus, I didn't yet learn that I would get better performance from wool-blend suits than from all-synthetics (the relatively improved breathability and temperature regulation helps a lot with increasing the amount of times I can wear a suit before dry cleaning; even if linings are all-synthetic across the board at any price point I'm shopping at), so I had so many other options on the market. These days, Theory suiting is in line with what I'm comfortably able to spend on business formal if it's made of at least a wool-blend fabric and fits me reasonably well off the rack. Also, there's less and less competition from relatively lower-priced brands offering any wool-blend suiting at all. 

But alas, now that I could finally bring myself to try on Theory's suiting, I also found it didn't suit my body type at all. Both the jacket and skirt would be better on a less curvy figure, much more so than with J.Crew. Theory doesn't seem to do petite sizing for women's suits now, but I found that the size 10 regular blazer was mostly pretty close to being a good fit on my 5'3'' frame. I very conspicuously need a petite blazer from just about every other brand I've ever tried on, but the shoulders and sleeves of the regular sizing Theory blazer were actually close to right. The body was way too boxy, though, and made the two-button style look super-dowdy.

Fashion - (TOTAL: $489.24)

• Tibi Asymmetrical Hem Merino Wool Sweater, black - $80.95* - I'd been following this sweater on TRR for a while, and was initially undecided. But then someone else bought and returned it, so I figured if I was interested, it was time to order it or else I might regret it if someone else snapped it up and kept it.  Separately, with how unseasonably warm it was in NYC through late December, I'd been thinking my sweater collection is too heavy on medium-weight or thick cashmere and low on thinner merino wool sweaters, the kind that used to be available every year from J.Crew and Uniqlo in a decently wide range of colors and necklines. I browsed J.Crew, and was surprised they didn't currently seem to have anything like that. I ordered a simple black merino wool turtleneck from Banana Republic, but I just didn't like the way it fit or the feel of the material (it wasn't too thin, but something about the texture just didn't seem nice). This used merino wool Tibi sweater on TRR was in great condition. TRR accurately explained that the only visible wear and tear was that the inner tag is partially detached (which doesn't bother me). The material feels nice, well in line with what I was expecting, and the price was definitely right! I've worn this size S sweater quite a few times, it has a fairly relaxed fit that almost feels like a unisex S. 
• Tibi Cashmere Oversized Drawstring Hem Sweater, wheat - $408.29* - Both Shopbop, and Tibi have now discounted this sweater more deeply than when I bought it. This was a more impulsive purchase, as it's a bit more oversized and relaxed than any other sweater I've owned to date, and I would also never have considered it at its original full price of $750. At current sale prices, however, I think this sweater is a fairly good value if it suits your personal style. I've grown to like this sweater a lot, though it definitely has a more casual and "chill" vibe than most of my other knitwear, it falls somewhere between a sweatshirt and a sweater. There's an interesting asymmetrical shoulder seam detail, which I didn't fully notice until the second or third time I wore it. I don't find this sweater too bulky or oversized under my coats, I'd describe it as a medium-weight knit though it looks heavier and thicker than that in some store photographs. I got the size S/M suggested for my measurements on Tibi's official size chart, and I think it fits as intended (actually very similar to how it fits on Tibi's model, even if the model must be a lot taller). The Shopbop store photography shows a model who sized down, I think. 

*Indicates that price includes sales tax and/or shipping fees. 

How are you doing? Things in the world are pretty heavy right now, and I know I don't have the  background knowledge to speak intelligently about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I've donated to World Central Kitchen to assist with relief efforts. 

Still Totally Obsessed with Tibi

In recent months, ever since discovering Tibi founder and creative director Amy Smilovic's Instagram stories about personal style and the brand's Style Class videos, I've become rather obsessed with shopping from Tibi. Spoiler alert for this month's shopping reflections post: I continued my recent trend of shopping heavily from them, this time from the secondhand market and their ongoing sale. It starts to feel a little unbalanced to shop so much from one brand in a fairly short time! 

Before viewing Smilovic's Instagram stories and Tibi's Style Class videos, I don't think I'd have understood the brand's point of view and design choices. Many of their styles initially look far more fashion-forward and adventurous than anything I ever wore, or would have even taken a second look at while browsing online stores. If I just looked through their catalog on my own, my eye would probably have been too distracted by the "Modern" aspects of their designs - which generally isn't a primary style adjective for me - too much to even notice the "Chill" aspect I've come to love, including the more relaxed and intentionally oversized fit of many of their items. 

With the recent release of Tibi's spring/summer collection, I think my pace of shopping from the brand should slow down a bit in the coming months. The new designs and color story are fun, but I've never been a big spring/summer clothing person. Once the weather gets hot and humid in NYC, I gravitate to dresses in summer-friendly fabrics - most, but not all, in simple colors and shapes - and have relatively little patience for making outfits out of separates. In other words, most of the new spring/summer designs don't really suit my style preferences.  (My eye's only really drawn to two pieces in the new collection, one brightly colored silk slip dress with balloon skirt that would never actually work for me because it's not regular bra-friendly and a gauzy cotton blouse with voluminous sleeves.) 

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There are still a number of other Tibi items I have my eye on, both from their seasonless "Fundamentals - WOFs" or "Without Fails" collection.  The first is their classic oversized shirt.  Though I think it might make more sense from a value for money perspective to find an oversized white cotton button down on the secondhand market instead. The second is the Brancusi jean in classic light blue denim wash (also here). I already own the Brancusi jeans in the dark blue indigo wash (also here), and after getting used to the unusual-for-me barrel leg silhouette, I've really come to love them, and I reach for them all the darn time. 

I think the light blue wash lends a substantially different feel to the jeans, so it wouldn't necessarily be duplicative of my other pair of Brancusis. Though the light blue pair would admittedly feel rather duplicative of my Toteme Twisted Seam jeans in a similar blue wash (also here). 

Oh and one other completely unrelated-to-fashion thing I can't help but mention: I recently tried a new-to-me Korean snack food, Orion's "Turtle Chips" in the Chocolate Churro flavor, on the recommendation of someone on Instagram, and I'm now completely obsessed. (I bought mine from H-Mart.) It's sweet, but not too sweet - high praise coming from a fan of East Asian bakery chains. Something about the combination of super-crispy texture (aided by the multiple layers within each chip), the light coating of chocolate, and touch of cinnamon is just a perfect combination. I ate the whole bag with remarkable speed. 

Another Gift to Myself

Ever since I knew I'd soon be taking my first-ever deposition, I couldn't help but start thinking about a gift for myself to commemorate the occasion. That was before even factoring in that this deposition would be in a billable case concerning mid-seven figures, where my opposing counsel would likely be from a top 10 biglaw firms, no less! It may have looked like a bit of a David and Goliath situation because I work somewhere so small and niche  (I'm not sure most other NYC-based litigators have even heard of us.) Quite a set of circumstances for my first bit of "stand-up" litigation experience! 

For more junior litigators in biglaw these days, it's generally not that common to get much "stand-up" experience (whether in court, arbitrations, or depositions), particularly outside of pro-bono work. Many of my closest law school friends are biglaw litigators, and from our collected experience, getting that first piece of stand-up experience outside of one's pro-bono cases by the end of one's fifth year may require a bit of luck. (Though it's also not that uncommon or rare. Once you do get your first one, two, or three instances of stand-up experience in a billable case by around your fifth year, that alone isn't enough to make you a standout associate or particularly special.) 

Things work very differently at my much smaller biglaw-adjacent workplace, so I'm lucky to get my first go now, at the start of my seventh year. It was stressful, but I really enjoyed it and I think I did a reasonably good job thinking on my feet while taking my deposition.