Let’s talk about work horses. The pieces, items, products, and things that you’re just glad you own. You use them almost every day. You’re disappointed when they’re in the wash, in a different purse, out in the car, or just unavailable for your use. And if they were lost or broken? Ugh. You’d replace them instantly.
Here are the five things I was glad I owned in 2025 that I’m still loving and planning to use frequently in 2026.
A Cool Winter Coat. Layer on a great coat to jazz up any outfit with ease. Varley sweats for morning drop-off are instantly cooler with a chic coat. A simple work dress looks dressier on your commute with a cool coat. Jeans and a tee get a real boost standing at the playground when the topper is chic.
This J.Crew Toscana Stadium Coat is my current favorite. It’s on deep sale right now, and it’s a great time to buy. I have the olive, but I am contemplating the ivory.
My Noise Cancelling Headphones. Three years in and I still use my Bose headphones almost every day. I love them. They are my gateway to calming the environment around me and taking a breath. Whether I need to turn on the green noise and dial in or I want to listen to a podcast in peace, these are some of the best money that I have ever spent.
My husband prefers the earbuds that allow him to also listen to ambient noise in his workspace. But Bose just makes the best headphones. Full stop.
If you keep the headphones on your desk, do yourself a favor, and invest the $15 in a stand to keep them tidy on your desktop.
The Best Pants. These Faherty pants saved my life. At least, my sanity. Being in perimenopause, it feels like my body changes weekly. I struggle to get dressed almost every day. These pants gave me a safe place, where I could be comfortable in a chic pair of pants that could be dressed up and down. I own them in three colors. They’re perfect for casual offices, casual Fridays, and weekends. They’re even comfortable enough to wear on the plane.
The Coziest Pajamas. These J.Crew Pajamas are a gift I give myself every night. I put them on, I take a deep breath, I relax. They are the best. There are no others.
My Stupidly Expensive Shirt. I’m going to admit something shameful: I impulse bought a $450 silk blouse. I was on a business trip. A big meeting landed on my calendar unexpectedly. I had nothing to wear to that meeting. So I rush purchased a suit and a $450 silk shirt to wear under it, a la Kerri Russell in The Diplomat . I have no regrets.
I wear this Vince shirt for every important Zoom call. I wear it under navy suits, black suits, ivory suits. I wear it with sequin skirts to holiday parties. I’ve worn it weekly for a year. It still looks new. Was it “worth” $450? Ish. It’s held up well. I feel good when I wear it. I haven’t found a less expensive option that rivals it for quality or fit. But $450 for a shirt is still a lot.
Looking for a cheaper option? Nordstrom Rack occasionally has Vince shirts for 1/2 price. Unless you’re size 3X and then it’s inexplicably $16. Some women will tell you the Quince shirt is just as good, I did not find that to be the case. The closest “dupe” for under-$100 is from Spanx. The material is heavier and the drape is good. It’s not quite as good as the Vince, because the material is synthetic, but it’s reasonably close for the price change.
So what were you “glad you owned” in 2025 that you’re carrying into 2026? I’m no longer interested in cheap, temporary thrills, I want sticking power.
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Thank you for this! I’ve been trying to be more mindful about what actually warrants purchasing, and this kind of post was super helpful in helping me build conviction around that J Crew coat! I’ve been eyeing it since you first posted and that sale price was finally what pushed me into purchasing. (Also trying to build a wardrobe of clothes I’m excited to wear/style now that I’m back in the office most of the time!)
I was able to grab that $16 Vince silk shirt for plus sizes. Thank you!!! What an amazing deal.
Momentum short sleeve tops from Athleta
Blundstones – my pair is on year 3 of very heavy usage Oct-March and they look and feel exactly the same as when I bought them
Coffeemaker that is programmable to have a full pot when I wake up every morning
Merino wool base layers
I bought the J.Crew coat on your recommendations. I LOVE it! It is absolutely fabulous and a work horse.
– Lo and Sons OG work bag
– An adorable pencil pouch from target that holds all my personal purse essentials
– Brown booties from Comfort One that accommodate my orthotics and fit my personal style
– brown mascara (never going back to black)
– a waterpik AND a cheap suction shelf I stuck to the shower wall. I use my waterpik in the shower and it’s sooooo much more pleasant and less messy.
I am grateful every day for my Roborock vacuum that runs on a schedule and picks up dog hair and dust bunnies even from the corners of the house. I have an older model (the Q5, no fancy stuff like self-emptying bin or mopping) but it works incredibly well and I lovvvvve it.
I have embraced “wear all the time” earrings that I shower, sleep, and swim in and nearly never change because they are comfortable, high quality, and cute. They are the “U hoops” and “mini-U hoops” from Quince. Highly recommend!
For working out: Teleties. I have medium-thick hair and have tried the small and large sizes; I prefer the large for holding my (very long) hair up in a bouncy ponytail while figure skating. I’ve been gifted dupes and they just don’t work as well.
For fashion items: The Quince 14k gold mini hoop, if you have small earlobes, is the perfect small huggie size. If you have larger earlobes, it’d probably be better for a second piercing. Also, I bought the OluKai La’I T-Bar after realizing I didn’t own any waterproof sandals for a trip — after said trip — and proceeded to wear them all summer as a supportive, casually dressy sandal even when it’s not raining.
As far as replacements go, I DID have to replace my Tumi travel backpack after it burned up in a freak fire. I paid twice as much for my new one, which hurt ($600!), but both have been absolute workhorses as my airplane personal item that fits so much yet can also double as my work bag during the week.
For the Faherty pants- do you recommend ankle length or full length (I’m just shy of 5’4”). And for sizing how do they compare to jcrew? I find the size I am at jcrew is too small from other brands. Thank you!
I am between size 30 and 31, so a little smaller than Jcrew where I am firmly 30. I would get the ankle.
Thanks! Yeah I’m a 29 at jcrew
Also, I have an earlier version of that J.Crew coat in bright magenta and I encourage everyone to get COLORFUL winter coats if you don’t already have one. No better mood booster in the cold and dark. I love my colorful wool coat and I’ve graduated to a sage green puffer coat this year, too, for when real winter hits in Montana.
I appreciate the “shameful” admission. I travel a LOT for work. Incredibly, it never occurred to me to shop while traveling if I misjudged the climate or vibe of the meeting. Nor had I ever considered ordering Amazon to deliver to my hotel for something I forgot. Having permission for those 2 options has really helped my packing stress. Thank you, thank you!
My husband (who HATES shopping) is the one who told me 10+ years ago ‘if you forget it, and it’s really that important, you can buy it when we get there.’ I travel a fair amount and a solid 25% of the time either myself or a colleague has forgotten/needed something and we’ve done an ad hoc shopping trip. I rarely shop in person at home (and I live in the burbs) so sometimes I use work trips to big cities to try on clothing/shoes/makeup IRL. Honestly it’s been a fun bonding activity with the other women I work with!
I bought the J Crew pajamas on your recommendation, when they were on sale. They really ARE that good and that soft. Now considering getting my third color.
The Vince blouse is to-die-for but how do you manage the deep V-neck for business wear? Not sure it would work to add a hook or snap.
The Fold London ‘Bowery’ blouse has a similar vibe but is a little less deep of a V. I have it in pink and it’s truly a gorgeous piece.
Thanks!
Those faherty pants have become my ride or die’s for travel. I can’t tell you how much I love them. I have them in 4 colors. They are also on sale in some colors right now.
Smartwool socks are amazing. Warm soft and cushy but also SIZED so they fit my foot properly.
Darn Tough socks. I had a couple of pairs for hiking, but I realized they’re unmatched for chilly wfh days and the plain black styles are totally wearable with dressier boots. Flash forward to being unreasonably sad when they were in the wash and spending $250 on enough pairs that I never have to wear anything else.
The Dyson Animal Hair stick vacuum models.
Our household has 3 dogs and one long haired cat, plus loads of dirt brought in every day on clothes despite leaving our shoes at the door.
The Dysons are expensive compared to other vacuums, and worth every penny, buy them on sale. I agree with my son-in-law that the dirt cup collectors could be bigger, but part of their usefulness is they are lighter in weight than other vacuums, and are easier to use more often. Our floors and house are cleaner as a result. I will never live without a Dyson vacuum.
Co-sign on the Bose headphones. I don’t keep them on a stand in my desk because I take them home every night. Those on and an audiobook is the only way to fold laundry or do other menial household chores.
Athleta’s Venice Pants – I’ve been dealing with insane GI issues where I’ve been unfathomably distended every day, and these are legitimately the only pants I can wear now that aren’t maternity pants (and I’m not pregnant!). They are glorified sweat pants, but they don’t look like them if you can’t see the waistband
Your cost-per-wear for the Vince blouse was only $8.65!
Hi! I’m a lawyer who makes fashion content (@goodfaithlawyer if you’re curious). Want to say a quick thanks. Wanting to cut down on doom scrolling but learning I genuinely love fashion, even when I’m not being influenced by somebody’s sponsored deal. A lot of my fav fashion influencers have sites that aren’t necessarily current (understandably when many go to their social media platforms). It was nice to see your blog come up and have content as of Jan 2026! Bonus points to me being in DC and appreciating someone who can admit that the $450 is simply better. Great to know (even if it’s not in the budget just yet).
Abra, thank you for linking the Faherty pants! Your code stacks with their discount and I was able to grab 2 pairs in my size. Fingers crossed they work!
A great list! One quick thing to point out: you didn’t pay $450 for a stain blouse, you paid that for 100% SILK. Finding anything that is 100% natural fibers these days feels harder than finding a worthwhile man on dating apps, so while the initial cost likely still stings, I would expect that blouse to be something you can potentially hand down to your daughter. The Vince shirt you linked for less holds 8% spandex, which isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things, but definitely explains at least some of the price differential. The Spanx one is, of course, 100% polyester aka plastic.