School starts back for me in less than 10 days. Obviously I've spent time drafting rough lesson plans and updating my materials so that they're fresh for a new year -- that's important considering I'll be teaching the same kids I had last year!

Equally as important, though, has been updating my closet. I spent a decent amount of time over the summer going through everything and donating things I no longer wear or throwing out things that aren't in good condition. That left several holes in my wardrobe that needed to be filled, so over the last several weeks, I've been doing just that.

My main goal was to update my bottoms, particularly my pants with more current styles. However, there are quite a few current styles that you will not be seeing in my closet anytime soon: overly baggy and/or wide-legged styles. That means you won't be seeing cargo pants or barrel jeans here. My body shape just does not work for those silhouettes.

I did add a few updated tops to my closet, though not many. I find myself gravitating to more structured pieces these days, especially short-sleeve sweaters. They work nicely all year long where I live because we don't get many really cold winter days.

One thing you will notice with these try-on photos is that I didn't bother putting on shoes. I apologize in advance for that.

Now, here are the 12 things I've bought to update my closet for the 2024-25 school year.

My pants are the high-waisted crop chinos from Old Navy. I keep seeing these everywhere in the green, but I'm not the biggest fan of that particular shade. I know it's hard to tell in the picture, but these are not super cropped on me. They hit right at the top of my ankle. I'm wearing them in a 6 regular (the inseam in the petite is too short).

This sweater is so gorgeous in person! The embroidered flowers are beautiful, and I love the detail between each line. It's a nice weight, and I really like the sleeve length. It's a good length overall, and the banded bottom will help it to lay flat. I'm wearing the medium (6).

This pairing isn't a great match, but I do really like these high-rise cropped jeans. These are the birchwood color, which I think is a nice alternative to khaki, which I honestly refuse to wear. I ultimately decided against going with anything with a patch pocket, since I feel like they'll go out of style eventually. I'm wearing these in a 6, but I did try them in an 8 as well and didn't feel much of a difference.

These are the same high-rise cropped jeans as the last picture but in the oil green color. I'm also wearing a 6 in these. I like this lighter green color compared to the darker one I showed in my back-to-school teacher picks.

This is the same embroidered sweater from two outfits ago. I actually like this color pairing a little bit better. I think the green in the skirt is a good match for the green in the embroidery. As you can see, the sweater can be tucked in and still look nice.

This utility skirt is a nice alternative to the cargo style that's so popular right now. It's got the same vibe to it without the bulky pockets adding weight to my hips. This is technically a mini skirt, so if you're on the taller side, it may not be appropriate for school. It's knee-length on me and falls past my fingertips. I'm wearing an 8 for more room in the hips. This skirt comes in two other colors: rust and berry.

This is the same striped sweater that I paired with the green cropped pants earlier in this post. I probably won't pair it with this skirt in real life because it's just a touch too thick for a comfortable tuck with this particular waist, but it definitely will work with jeans on casual days.

I had a similar style of skirt several years ago that I absolutely loved. When I got pregnant, my hips got wider, and I couldn't wear it anymore. When I saw this style in the store, I couldn't help myself. It's extremely high-waisted, which doesn't bother me in the slightest. I sized up to an 8 so that the buttons would lay flat.

As an English teacher and book lover, I could not pass up this Belle's Bookshop graphic tee. To be fair, I don't think it's a great match with these floral pants, but the colors were close-enough for the purposes of this post. This t-shirt is a nice soft material, and the design doesn't feel like that plasticky overlay crap that some t-shirts have. I'm wearing a medium so that it fits comfortably over my hips.

The pants are a step up from the linen pants style. They're still an elastic waistband, but it's ruffled so looks a bit fancier. They also have a matching sash tie-belt. The only downside is that they don't have pockets. I'm wearing the medium (6).

How amazing are these flower power pants? I have been going back and forth on ordering these for months now.  You can't tell from the picture, but they have a zipper and button. They're high-waisted and have pockets. The material is a little thin, so I'll definitely have to be cognizant of what I wear underneath them. I will admit that the quality isn't really all there. In fact, these are the poorest quality of everything in this post, but the price kind of offsets that. I'll have fun wearing them while they last at least!