Do you ever take time to look back on the year and reflect on how your style changed? Sometimes not much changed, and sometimes you’d be surprised by how much changed! I took some time to look back at how my style has grown, and today I’m sharing the ways I worked on my style along with some of my favorite items from the year!
In case you missed it, I recently posted the PMT community’s most popular and most purchased items and blog post in The Best of 2025: Your Favorite Pieces and Most Loved Posts From 2025.
SIZING: I’m 5’6″ and usually S/M or 6 in clothes and 8.5 to 9 in shoes.
What I Focused On In My Style for 2025
1. Added more *full-length* wide leg jeans.
Styles trended more towards full-length jeans this year, and while you know I’m not quick to jump on every single trend, I started naturally gravitating towards fuller length styles more and more. It’s especially dominant in my wardrobe now since the months are colder and obviously longer lengths keep you warmer!
My favorite full-length jeans are the Quince Wide Leg Jeans and the Wit & Wisdom Wide Leg Jeans.
2. Focused on adding shorter sweaters that work more effortlessly with wide leg jeans.
While there was a time in my life that I was perfectly fine doing front-tucks with sweaters, those days are fewer. I can hardly be bothered with it now, haha!
There are lots more short sweater options compared to even last year, so it was much easier to fill those wardrobe gaps this year. I added them as soon as I found them!
Some no-tuck sweaters that are in my regular rotation are:
- This one from Target, which is SO soft, cozy, and warm.
- This one from Gap Factory, which I own in lots of colors.
- This one from Banana Republic Factory, which is unfortunately no longer available.
- This one from Quince, which I got last year and am wearing in black in the picture above, but it’s in regular rotation.
- This short sleeve striped one, which I’m wearing above and have had for a long time but found myself wearing a lot this year)
3. Worked on volleyball mom outfits. 😄
Since my oldest started playing club volleyball, our lives include lots of time in the gym at practices and tournaments.
I primarily wear graphic print tees, my super comfy jeans, lifestyle sneakers, sweatshirts, and sporty athleisure pants. But because we’re in the gym so much now, I added a few more of those to my wardrobe.
Also, just like how I updated my sweaters to be shorter this year, I needed shorter sweatshirts to pair better with wide leg pants, so I focused on that this year.
For sweatshirts, I’ve been loving:
I also wear my California sweatshirt a TON. It’s my favorite, though it works better with flares and straight leg pants than wide legs. My exact one is sold out, but it looks identical to this sweatshirt.
For sporty pants, I’ve worn these a lot (in addition to my favorite jeans):
- These Zella pants, which don’t work for winter but were great for the whole rest of the year. They’re my favorite because they’re sporty and hold structure. I love to pair them with these CRZ YOGA workout tees — specifically the crop ones because they look so good with wide leg pants, but there’s also a full-length version here. These are breathable and sporty and feel good.
- Fleece-lined leggings. A favorite, of course!
- Fleece-lined wide leg pants. These are sporty and cozy.
4. Updated my loungewear.
I totally recommend working on your wardrobe in sections according to lifestyles, like athletic, super casual, casual, work, dressy, etc. In addition to working on my athletic/athleisure for my volleyball mom role, I also updated my loungewear this year. I added things like:
- These ribbed wide leg pants
- These (slimmer) wide leg sweater pants
- These wide leg sweats, which might be my favorite. They remind me of my teenage days, haha! They’re definitely sweatpants, and if you want to look a bit more polished in your loungewear, I would recommend the other two options above these. However, personally, for my style which is super relaxed with a little edginess and sporty vibes, this is totally my jam.
5. Leaned even more into my best colors.
I’ve written about how getting my color analysis has helped me, and I continued to lean into those colors — and away from my worst colors — more and more.
For example, while I’ve told you brown is a huge trend this year, I personally haven’t leaned into that trend as much. Besides it being on my short list of colors to avoid, it just doesn’t work as well with the colors that look best on me — which is what my wardrobe is filled with. So, I admired it from afar, have added maybe one or two pieces here or there in brown that I wear once in a while for fun, but have focused more on the colors that enhance my complexion.
These are the main ways I’ve worked on my style this year! Updating and enhancing a few areas of my wardrobe, like athleisure (volleyball mom outfits) and loungewear, updating sweaters to accommodate new pant styles, and continuing to lean into my colors.
My Favorite Items In 2025
Now, if you’re interested, here are some of my favorite items this year!
1. Quince Wide Leg Jeans (left above) — In the PMT Top Sellers post. Love ‘em! Polished and structured but stretchy and comfortable. Available in lots of washes, sizes, and inseam lengths. I wear 6/28 in these.
2. Wit & Wisdom Wide Leg Jeans (middle above) — Also in the PMT Top Sellers. SO COMFY. Soooo soft and stretchy. Elastic waistband for extra comfort. I wear size 4.
3. Madewell Wide Leg Jeans (right above) — Got these during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and love how much of a statement they make. I also love how saturated the blue is. Unfortunately, I think they’re sold out now, but this looks a nearly identical current version.
4. CRZ YOGA Workout Tops — I wear these for workouts and athleisure. Soft and breathable. I especially love the shorter version for easy pairing with wide leg pants. There’s a full-length version here (shown on the right above).
5. Zella Wide Leg Pants — The sporty pants I mentioned earlier when talking about volleyball mom outfits.
6. Short Sleeve Striped Sweater (left above) — This is at least 1-2 years old, but I really loved it this year for some reason. Sometimes it’s not cold enough for a sweater but it’s too cold for just a t-shirt. A short sleeve sweater like this is perfect. Plus, this was super easy to wear with wide leg jeans because it’s shorter.
7. LC Flare Jeans (right above) — You know I love these! Polished, chic, and so stinking affordable.
8. Quince Bucket Bag (left above) — Also in the PMT Top Sellers. Love it! Looks chic and polished without being overdressed. I love that it works with sneakers and sweatshirts AND with dresses and heels.
9. Yellow Sneakers (right above) — Love having these to add a pop of color sometimes. And I loved them even more after adding the elastic shoe laces so I could just slip them on!
10. Nordstrom Water Resistant Boots (left above) — These also made the PMT Top Sellers list, and I love them! I got them during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Their style is SO versatile, the square toe makes them dressy and chic without looking overdressed, and the narrow shaft works under all cuts of jeans. Perfection. Plus, they’re water resistant, so you don’t have to change your shoes and ruin your outfit if it rains!
11. Fleece-Lined Flare Leggings (top left) — Also on the PMT Top Sellers list. Way cozier and warmer than regular leggings! Like I’ve said many times, these are my go-to’s on winter weekends.
12. Gap Factory White Gauze Top (bottom right) — This is definitely a summer piece and unfortunately no longer available, but I love how breathable this is for the summer and how it’s more elevated than a t-shirt or basic tank.
13. Gap Factory Navy Print Flutter Sleeve Top (top right) — Also no longer available (but hopefully it’ll come back next spring because it did this year!!) This is also super duper breathable and more elevated than a t-shirt or basic tank, so it was a go-to for feeling stylish while staying cool.
14. Kohl’s Linen Printed Pants (bottom left) — Decently breathable, didn’t get super duper misshapen, and added a fun print to outfits! Also unfortunately not available anymore.
15. Simply Vera Wang Travel Pants (bottom right) — SO breathable, plus they’re soft, silky, and comfortable. These kept me cool all summer.
If you haven’t yet, I’d totally encourage you to take a few minutes and reflect on how you worked on your style this year. It may seem like a small thing, but I always find it great to know what I focused on, see how I was intentional (or not!) with my style, and figure out how I can become even more intentional with it in the future!
