6 Gems! vol. 23: the closet heroes

desert islanders, shotgun riders, my 6 carryon-only MVPs

I’ve been writing 6 Gems for a while with the intention of sharing six things that won’t let you down in a world full of things (and sometimes humans) that often do. I want to believe in the world! The Gems are things and moments that catch me by surprise in the best way.

I realized suddenly that of all things, I’ve never done a 6 Gems on clothes. Not like a delightful and surprising piece I discovered (I’ve written about those from time to time) but the go-tos, the cherished friends, the workhorses that I can count on day in and day to make me feel amazing. I guess I wasn’t sure what I’m saying with these pieces … like “buy these exact things that I have?” That’s not useful. Maybe I hope you take away how pleasurable it is to find those pieces for you (understanding your uniform feels like a good place to start), how when you do there are endless possibilities for mixing and matching. They are the perfect travel wardrobe. All of them are neutrals. With one wildcard, all of them are menswear or menswear inspired. None of them are new (maybe because I haven’t road tested the new pieces long enough for them to become part of this canon) and none of them are truly “timeless.”

Anyway … here are my 6 heroes: