First of all- I am triggered every time I see a Gen Z at a bar in sneakers. If they only KNEW the fresh hell us elder millennials had to endure in our clippity clop clop heels….we were like a pack of tortured Clydesdales. Second! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! There’s a reason this is such a classic formula and love that you gave it some attention. 🖤💙
Hahahaha, yes you’re so right! I’m probably still undoing years of damage from stumbling around in heels, and thank goodness I never needed a tetanus shot from giving up and walking home barefoot at the end of the night!
Lindsay; so many thoughts that I'm getting them out in stream of consciousness form....
"Ha! I've heard that A&F used to ban black, perhaps because I couldn't afford A&F as a teen that underlies my obsession with black. Wait, she works at Tommy Hilfiger, how did I not know this? HAHAHA that picture is hilarious. Hold on, jeans and a black tee looks great. I remember seeing that Note from Katie about her outfit and I thought she looked so so chic (her hair! her skin!). Where are these cute kick flare JEANS from (immediately locate and click link). WHAT Lindsay included my post in her round up, she's the best! Ooh a dress suggestion... SANDRO... GORGEOUS!"
Bless you for putting the words around this. I've always just thought of denim+black as kind of a failsafe, low-effort / med-high pay off but now that I feel like it's a THING I am going to get a lot more oomph into it. Need to know what Abercrombie had against purple. Like- was lavender ok? Or was the entire color off limits. This is going to haunt me. I hate purple as a sports team color (Vikings, Furman, ahem) but I love it otherwise.
It’s a thing! And to bring it back to last week’s post, you can go evergreen, key, or big hitter with it to really get the full mileage! It was ALL purple, all shades. It wasn’t “preppy” apparently?? (TBH Tommy H. doesn’t love purple either but it’s not banned lol). Lavender definitely more ok than royal! I’m also not a big purple fan (might have been scarred by my freshman year at Williams College, which was purple and gold, yeesh.) Might this need to be a whole post in the future?
I will never give up my jeans and a going out top!! Love this reframe and how you can play/tweak a classic - going to be stealing "nice but not too flashy"!
Took my daughter to the movies last week. What did I wear: black v-neck gap sweater, wide-leg dark denim, leopard loafers. It always works! Great article!
I’ve been saving this post and it is so spot-on. I love the simplicity of jeans and a black too and I’m obsessed with that black velvet Mango option you shared.
I find lately that my wardrobe takes two divergent paths depending on whether I’m at home in our traditionally Lockjaw town, or if I’m in the city. This is a perfect city formula for me!
One top to add to your list: Frame just sent me a great black tee with lace sleeves that is SO good.
Thank you, Sarah! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! That Frame top sounds delightful, and I love something that will work year round! Festive for now, and just pretty and lighter weight with the lace sleeves for later! Perfect city look!
Love it!!! I love our elder millennial jeans and a going out top. I wish it were easier to find more fun going out tops now!
We contain multitudes. Sometimes we want a playful fun outfit. Sometimes we want to reach for the reliable classics that make us feel confident and comfortable immediately. ❤️
Absolutely! And we should embrace it all. That’s why although I love uniform dressing, I feel like we need myriad uniforms! And yes, it’s hard to find good, going out tops that are well made but not too expensive!
First of all- I am triggered every time I see a Gen Z at a bar in sneakers. If they only KNEW the fresh hell us elder millennials had to endure in our clippity clop clop heels….we were like a pack of tortured Clydesdales. Second! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! There’s a reason this is such a classic formula and love that you gave it some attention. 🖤💙
Hahahaha, yes you’re so right! I’m probably still undoing years of damage from stumbling around in heels, and thank goodness I never needed a tetanus shot from giving up and walking home barefoot at the end of the night!
Lindsay; so many thoughts that I'm getting them out in stream of consciousness form....
"Ha! I've heard that A&F used to ban black, perhaps because I couldn't afford A&F as a teen that underlies my obsession with black. Wait, she works at Tommy Hilfiger, how did I not know this? HAHAHA that picture is hilarious. Hold on, jeans and a black tee looks great. I remember seeing that Note from Katie about her outfit and I thought she looked so so chic (her hair! her skin!). Where are these cute kick flare JEANS from (immediately locate and click link). WHAT Lindsay included my post in her round up, she's the best! Ooh a dress suggestion... SANDRO... GORGEOUS!"
Ok that's all.
ILYSM!! This was the perfect recap of this post lol! I should share as the teaser 😂 Hope you had a fab time at your event!!
😂 I’m glad you liked it. Hopefully it captured how much I LOVE your writing.
Greatest compliment you could give a gal, thank you!!
Bless you for putting the words around this. I've always just thought of denim+black as kind of a failsafe, low-effort / med-high pay off but now that I feel like it's a THING I am going to get a lot more oomph into it. Need to know what Abercrombie had against purple. Like- was lavender ok? Or was the entire color off limits. This is going to haunt me. I hate purple as a sports team color (Vikings, Furman, ahem) but I love it otherwise.
It’s a thing! And to bring it back to last week’s post, you can go evergreen, key, or big hitter with it to really get the full mileage! It was ALL purple, all shades. It wasn’t “preppy” apparently?? (TBH Tommy H. doesn’t love purple either but it’s not banned lol). Lavender definitely more ok than royal! I’m also not a big purple fan (might have been scarred by my freshman year at Williams College, which was purple and gold, yeesh.) Might this need to be a whole post in the future?
“Purple isn’t preppy” feels like a challenge
Let’s do it! New Year’s Resolution 2025 😂
I will never give up my jeans and a going out top!! Love this reframe and how you can play/tweak a classic - going to be stealing "nice but not too flashy"!
Thanks Amanda! Long live jeans and a going out top!
I am in my 50s and have been wearing this combination in various forms since the 90s. So this is nothing new. 🤷🏼♀️
Totally! Those 90s photos of Kate and Carolyn are iconic! I had some images from the 70s I was going to share, too, but needed to edit 😉
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and lived in San Francisco for a while, so that was the uniform since I can remember.
Love it
I wanted to send you a photo of me from 1990 but it looks like there’s no way to do it but I’m dressed with a going out top in black and jeans.
Ah! I wish I could see it - I’m sure it’s fabulous :)
Respond to me on Instagram messages and I’ll send it to you after you respond back.
Took my daughter to the movies last week. What did I wear: black v-neck gap sweater, wide-leg dark denim, leopard loafers. It always works! Great article!
I’m definitely recreating your look! I have all the ingredients! Thank you! (What movie did you guys see?)
Wicked, finally
Oh the irony that you couldn’t wear black to work — I had the opposite; wearing color was considered offensive at Calvin hahaha.
Still is, I think, haha!!
Abso-freaking-lutely!!
So fun! Thanks for the shout out — and for the amazing barrel jeans recs 👀👀👀👀
Thanks, Kate! Love your work!
I’ve been saving this post and it is so spot-on. I love the simplicity of jeans and a black too and I’m obsessed with that black velvet Mango option you shared.
I find lately that my wardrobe takes two divergent paths depending on whether I’m at home in our traditionally Lockjaw town, or if I’m in the city. This is a perfect city formula for me!
One top to add to your list: Frame just sent me a great black tee with lace sleeves that is SO good.
Thank you, Sarah! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! That Frame top sounds delightful, and I love something that will work year round! Festive for now, and just pretty and lighter weight with the lace sleeves for later! Perfect city look!
Omg this is so sweet thank you for the shoutout
I really love your work!
Love it!!! I love our elder millennial jeans and a going out top. I wish it were easier to find more fun going out tops now!
We contain multitudes. Sometimes we want a playful fun outfit. Sometimes we want to reach for the reliable classics that make us feel confident and comfortable immediately. ❤️
Absolutely! And we should embrace it all. That’s why although I love uniform dressing, I feel like we need myriad uniforms! And yes, it’s hard to find good, going out tops that are well made but not too expensive!