issue #93: best and only's, spring 2025

Not that long ago

Kelly Williams

and

Irene Kim (김애린)

did a live here on Substack discussing their “best and only’s” and it has lived rent free in my head ever since.

I find myself thinking about it constantly. When I put on a pair of jeans - is this my best and only? A white tee - is this it? Test a new hand cream - could this be the one?

Of course these will change with time and life, but as I’m working on building a capsule-esque wardrobe for myself in this season of a new-ish/changing body, toddlerhood, and an increasingly demanding schedule, I felt called to start noting the things I have felt are my best and only’s (which could also just be construed as a list of my favorite things).

But it also made me get a little bit more analytical about my clothing and belongings and in thinking about how to choose these items. From the start, favoritism was always key. Did I find myself reaching for a single thing more than others? Did I feel better in one pair over another? That was test one. Test two, for me, was price…