Fall 2022 Wardrobe Additions

Happy Friday, friends! Per usual, I’m sharing lots of thoughts about my latest round of wardrobe additions. I don’t think I will ever be able to keep this post short, ha! Hopefully you find my thought process somewhat interesting (and helpful?) as you go through your own personal style journey.

Here’s my last clothing budget update of 2022: everything I added to my wardrobe this past fall! (I’m slowly adding all of my 2022 clothing purchases to this Pinterest board. Are we friends there yet?!) I also mentioned a couple of items I’m still thinking about, what I tried and returned, and what’s coming up for winter!

READ NEXT: Summer 2022 Wardrobe Additions

Fall 2022 wardrobe additions | how to keep a clothing budget | style on a budget | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Fall 2022 Clothing Budget & Wardrobe Additions

$600 (quarterly budget) = $612.50 ($342.50 September + $212 October + $58 November) - $12.50 earned from Poshmark sales => $0 left over

Items I added to my wardrobe:

The Le Specs Air Heart has been my signature sunglasses style for years now! I’m sure some of you wonder if I own any other styles, haha. The answer is technically yes but I rarely reach for them! When I saw the Air Hearts in green (and on sale), I purchased immediately.

I used a Nordstrom gift card to purchase yet another pair of my signature sunglasses! I can confirm that the polarized sunglasses are different than the regular sunglasses, but they don’t make colors look more saturated so I was disappointed in that lol.

I loved the corduroy shirt jacket I bought last year so much that I got a second one in this gorgeous dark green! It’s so dark it looks almost black. I purchased a size small and I’m kicking myself for not trying the XS in store, but ah well. Oversized is in right now ha! I like how this new shirt jacket has normal shirt cuffs.

I surprised myself by ordering and liking these pants; they’re essentially cargo pants (without the big pockets on the sides of the legs). The fabric is lightweight, so they’re not ideal for the colder months. Reviews recommended sizing down; I ordered size 26 (I’m now a 26 or 27) and they are plenty roomy. I probably could have size down to a 25 but didn’t want to mess with an exchange when the 26 is fine. There are small buttons on the waistband to tighten if necessary.

I loved the shape of this bag and was sold on it once I saw it in store. I debated between the black and the English saddle colors (I loved the English saddle with the all-ivory canvas strap) but decided the black would be most versatile and coordinate with more items in my closet. I’m planning on this being my new travel bag! It’s not super big but I can still fit my large wallet, phone, Kindle with case, and sunglasses with a little bit of room to spare.

I ordered these wide leg crop jeans in two sizes: 27 regular straight style and 27 petite in the curvy style and ended up keeping the petite curvy style. I wish I had tried 27 regular in the curvy style because I liked that length with boots, but I’m happy with petite. This is the first pair of perfect vintage jeans that worked for me! I love the wash and raw hem. Korri calls these my “baggy pants”—he is not a fan of them LOL.

I had a few rewards to burn and used one on these cute shearling mules! I’ve been wanting a pair of house shoes that are nice enough to wear out if necessary (and that have a real sole) but that are comfy for around the house. These need to be broken in a bit around the top of my feet. I went up a half size to 7.5 per reviews and it was the right choice. The shearling is so comfy but I dread the day it’s smooshed down to nothing.

Pretty sure I saw the email introducing this new cardigan and immediately ordered it, haha! I have an old grey chunky knit cardigan that I’ve been wanting to upgrade, and this was the perfect option. I took size small. I could’ve sized down to XS for a less oversized fit but I prefer the oversized fit. Love the pockets!

Is this not the most perfect graphic tee for me?! Haha! I had to have it. I took a size XL (it’s from the boys’ section), which fits similarly to a women’s small.

We love Universal Standard for their size inclusivity! Compared to the other cashmere I own, it’s not the softest sweater, and it’s also long, so it’s perfect for those of you that are taller or that have longer torsos in general. The fit is relaxed, so if you want something more form-fitting I would size down. I own it in oatmeal, and it really isn’t that sheer.

Items I’m still deciding on:

I ordered these jeans in two sizes, 25 and 26, after reading reviews that they ran big/were quite stretchy. The 25s fit but weren’t comfortable to sit in for long periods of time. The 26s are much more comfortable on the waist, but I don’t love the fit through the legs. They also bag out quickly at the knees. Because of the straighter leg, they don’t feel as cozy on the legs as my instacozy skinny jeans. They’re also long on me. Long jeans are easier to tuck into boots, but they’re not skinny and I don’t know that I like the bunchiness around my ankles. Torn on these! UPDATE: Returned.

I love the brown color of this flannel so much and it’s entirely the reason why I bought it in the first place. But then I put it on, and while it’s lovely besides the dropped shoulder seams giving me linebacker shoulders (I ordered size small), I realized that I don’t wear my current flannel shirts as often as I think I do. I like the idea of owning a closet full of flannel shirts, but I just don’t wear them as much as I do sweaters. Madewell’s return policy is extended for the holidays so I’m sitting on this one for a little longer. UPDATE: Returned.

Items I tried and returned:

  • Caslon Miller Water Resistant Chelsea Boots (via Nordstrom; new version)

I’ve only heard great things about these boots from others (it’s a popular Nordstrom Anniversary Sale pick every year), so I ordered them when they went on deeper sale earlier this fall. I really wanted to love these (they’re water resistant!), but there were some issues. I ordered the olive green suede, and they were lighter in color than I was hoping. They also felt really tight around my ankles when wearing thin wool socks. And one of the shoes made a weird squeaking noise lol. I never reached for them so they were sad returns.

I first tried The Bradley Lugsole Loafer in Leather by Madewell in cherry wood, size 7 and returned them because they run a half size big, and I wasn’t a big fan of the color. I tried on the Corinne Lugsole Loafer in store and decided to order them…and I just didn’t love them as much as I was hoping! They fit TTS and I liked the style more than the Bradley (it’s a bit slimmer). They were snug on the top of my feet and needed to be broken in.

I was feeling sad about the fact that I don’t fit into my olive green skinny jeans, so I ordered these to try in two sizes to compare (26 and 27) and 26 was the best fit for me. I ended up returning them because I wasn’t in love with the pleats, and the legs were a little too straight for me. I would’ve like them more if they were tapered at the ankle. The length hit me right at the ankles.

I was drawn to these jeans (had my eyes on them since the spring) and needed to know if they’d work or not. I ordered size 27 in the regular length because the petite length is backordered quite a while, and they were too long, so they were returned and I’ll try reordering them in the petite length. Hopefully a curvy version is released next year!

What’s on deck for winter:

I love this style so much that I ordered it in black! (I already own it in sedona and bone.) I wear a size XS.

I used the last of my rewards on this dress in vintage mulberry. I wanted a new dress for the holidays since my dress collection was basically cut in half due to pandemic-related weight gain (and I also think this might be fun for the cruise too…I hear formal nights are a thing). I ordered size small—fingers crossed it works because it was final sale lol.

Okayyy, how cute is this cardigan?! I LOVE the green color, but the camel is also gorgeous. It’s so different from everything else in my closet. I ordered size small and am excited for the longer sleeve length that some reviewers had mentioned. This cardigan would look so cute with high rise jeans and pants!

I’ve heard great things about these jeans, so I snagged them at 50% off. I ordered two sizes based on what was left in stock at the time: 4 regular and 2 petite. I honestly have no idea what size I am at Old Navy these days. Fingers crossed one size works! I noticed the rise is not super high (I prefer 10” or higher) but I’m excited to see if these really are warm. The black will likely attract all the cat hair, though.

  • Cute cruise wear? Rental clothes?

I’m going on my first cruise in a couple of months and have my eyes peeled for cute cruise wear. I probably won’t end up getting anything (going to try my hardest to resist haha—famous last words). I’ve also been considering trying a rental service like Rent the Runway or Nuuly to keep myself from adding more to my closet…things are feeling overwhelming in there right now! Do you have a favorite?

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