Holy Shit, It's Cold
Cozies to warm you up!
Shitters. I don’t know about you, but 2025 doesn’t exactly feel like it’s off to a great start thanks to… everything? To my friends and our readers in LA, you are still in my thoughts constantly. And to everyone feeling more than a little nervous about what the next four years has in store… I’m right here with you. For now I am burrowing in my apartment until the temps crack 30 degrees again (taking any and all TV recommendations, please). And of course, counting down until the new Paddington movie comes out. A small salve for our dark/frozen times!
Speaking of frozen, if we’ve spent any time together in the daylight hours recently, there is a good chance I was wearing cashmere pants (several colors of my favorite style on varying degrees of sale here). There is simply nothing cozier that’s still presentable enough to wear out and about, and I have a whole drawer in my closet to prove it! But cashmere has its drawbacks. The good stuff is PRICEY. Upkeep isn’t the easiest (you will almost certainly need one of these). And I’m not reaching for my favorite pieces when I’m just lounging around at home (if my good stuff is getting pilled, it’s happening out in the real world!).
I was resigned to an at-home life of cotton and fleece until my sister came to visit last year and changed into this snuggly sweater set from Mango (top here). It’s still cozy and elevated, but it’s not cashmere, so it requires none of the babying that my other sweaters and knit pants do. I can wear it all day (and even to sleep on chilly nights when I’m too warm/lazy to change) without any pills, the matching aspect makes me feel chic and put together, even if I’m just reading a book on the couch (do I need to do a Fourth Wing re-read pre-Onyx Storm, or are we just diving right in?)—I even think the detailing looks luxe (the hem on the pants is my favorite part!).
I’m clearly not above a gem of a Mango or Zara find, but I don’t love the fact that it’s fast fashion. The vast majority of things I’ve tried from these stores in recent years have been skips—they’re ones I know I’ll have issues with (fit, fabric, or feel-wise), or that I’d want to replace with something higher quality the first chance I got, or just something I know I’d probably only wear once or twice. My personal rule for shopping at these stores now is to make sure that any piece I keep is one I really LOVE and will get long term use out of. Seeing as this set has been in the regular winter rotation since that visit from my sister (I’m pretty sure I ordered it five minutes after she put it on…), it passed the test!
In terms of loungewear, I also have to shoutout this pointelle cardigan and pants set! It’s cotton, so not quite as warm as a sweater or fleece style, but still very cute and comfy, and another that you can split up to wear separately (the white also works as something loungey/for getting ready for brides with winter weddings or cold-weather bachelorettes coming up!). It had been on my radar for ages, and I finally got it over Black Friday—don’t wait as long as I did! (I took my usual size in the top but sized up one in the bottoms.)
Other things I’ve been loving, frigid January edition: Cooking! I tried to start the year with less takeout, and have been having so much fun in the kitchen! These chicken meatballs are a new craving of mine—I drizzle with hot honey! My Etsy stationery arrived and I am in love! 7TH STREET BURGER. I finally tried one of their smashburgers (a double with cheese) at my first Knicks game—one of my favorites maybe ever?! Converting my RealReal consignment earnings to store credit… feels like I get to shop for free?? This Westman bronzer/highlight combo is foolproof, and is the only thing breathing life into my face when it’s under 20 degrees. My life post-closet clean out. I took an afternoon to try on all the pieces I don’t reach for anymore to determine what had overstayed its welcome. I ended up rediscovering things I’m excited to wear again, and freeing up a lot of space in my drawers (I even did a little reorganizing while I was at it!).
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Hahaha, I’ve also been wearing exclusively sweater pants on my outside-world ventures, too. The Lisa Yang ones are heaven. Thanks for the Mango set tip! I needed something to fill the void when I can’t waste the LYs on non-top tier outings. * The La Ligne knit Colby, and all versions of the Colby pant, are also amazing.
I was on a call with a coworker who moved to NY from the Bay Area and commiserated how weak I've become in the face of 50 degree weather when I grew up in CT and NY is currently 9 degrees. To be fair though, my hardwood floors are like sheet of ice currently and my toes are crying inside too-thin socks.