What I Bought Again After the Fire

The non-negotiable STUFF I didn't want to live without

A few months ago (BF: Before Fires), my friend came over to borrow a dress for an event.

“Kira are you…okay?” she asked as she surveyed my combined racks of vintage dresses.

Never better, was obviously the answer. I had achieved a state of closet nirvana thanks to over 20 years of collecting vintage, small independent designers, scoring deals at sample sales and through my hyper-specific Northeast LA Mom Closet Purge group (where I have been awarded the designation of TOP CONTRIBUTOR, natch). I love clothes. My parents are both fans of the finer things in life and much to my husband’s “Savings-Minded” chagrin, passed that gene down to me.

After the Eaton Fire burned down our house, with quite literally everything we owned inside it other than the clothes on our backs, an unreal generosity was bestowed upon us (and every other fire victim we know) by our community. Every day, bags and boxes were dropped off at our friend’s doorstep, containing clothes and toys for us to help us get back on our feet. We wept at the generosity of friends and strangers alike as we came home teary and weary from countless meetings with insurance/fire/FEMA/schools/whatever the fuck, every single day.

Even with all this extraordinary generosity, there were some items of clothing that I simply didn’t want to live without. To me, these are the must-haves of my closet, the foundations of joy and sartorial compasses through which I can find my way in this PFL (Post-Fire Life). It is my hope that this roundup will be useful or interesting or helpful to other fire victims or other lovers of clothing.

The first thing I panic-re-bought on January 10th was the Doen Petra cardigan. I had finally found the perfect cardigan, I wasn’t going to be apart from it through this hellish winter.

“A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water… I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
― T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land aka Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2025

Sometimes horrible things happen, and sometimes in the mostly strep-less beauty that was 2024 you get to introduce your daughter to New York City’s Russ and Daughters lox platter and then take this picture in the bathroom, wearing your brand-new favorite cardigan.

Doen of course doesn’t make it in this p e r f e c t color anymore, but I managed to score one online elsewhere.

I had a truly deranged (read: logical and all got constant use) amount of Doen items, which, terrifyingly, I had to catalog for property evaluation forms. Most of them, I bought for half or less the cost of retail from the MOM PURGE but…still. Gone, all gone. T_T The Marianne Dress is another must-have. You can find good prices for this one on Poshmark, etc! The fit on it is sooo nice and it’s just such a beautiful easy everyday yet easily dressed up dress. I live in this in hot hot LA summer days.

I asked my mom for this Alkemie necklace for my 30th birthday. She balked, insisting it would fall off and I would lose it (???) but I of course instead wore it near-daily for the last DECADE. Somehow, this small LA handmade jewelry brand still makes them, and I was just reunited with it yesterday. It’s different, it doesn’t have the feather on the other end now, but it’s the same idea, so, close enough.

Here I yam, 6 months pregnant with rowie, wearing it to a wedding.

This silk boxy shirt from Everlane is THE perfect blouse - comfortable, flattering, easy fit, comes in a nice array of colors. I’ve been wearing mine to auditions and in commercials for years, now. Total workhorse item! You can find tons of them in other colors and lower prices on Poshmark, like I did.

This is the type of shirt you hope to find vintage somewhere, perfectly worn in, but yet looks fresh. Pearl snap buttons!! I bought it from one of my girl

molly madfis

‘s closet purges a few years ago. This time around, I ordered it new from Sezane and had them embroider the word “altadena” on it. As Zoe’s little best friend Ruby would say about her stuffie, her toys, her drawing materials, and even her toothpaste: “It’s very special to me.”

The MAX shirt.

Then, this carousel of basics. Sorry but once you find the BEST exercise wear and the PERFECT underwear and bra that goes with every night look and sails you through every film shoot fitting with the perfect tits, well, you don’t want to let those things go so easy, do you??

Girlfriend Paloma workout bra, Pansy briefs, Intimissimi lace hipsters, and Pepper bra.

We mustn’t forget about the Tubular Shorts. Shorts so good, when we were working on a Try Guys shoot almost two years ago, I took my beloved friend Rachel aside and in a low tone, told her in no uncertain terms she HAD to tell me where she got the shorts. Shorts that are raised on the side of your thigh but go down further in the back so your ass is fully covered. Shorts so good I immediately re-purchased them days after the fire before Rachel came over that night and gave me HER PERSONAL PAIR because she knew how much I’d miss mine. Whatta pal!

Down to one pair of shoes, my immediate footwear purchase was a pair of Theory black boots that are no longer sold but I somehow found them on Poshmark in my size, and these perfect Hoff sneakers that took me on a six hour hike up and down Hydra’s mountainous terrain and left my feet feeling like they were on Cloud 9. They’ve got so many great colorways!

hey, also wearing the tubular shorts here in Greece!

I have so much more to share, but Substack is telling me it’s going to cut me off due to length?! (rude), so I’ll save art and housewares for another post. Honorable mentions go to Rudy Jude utility jeans (luckily I was wearing a pair the day of the fire), Charlotte Stone Lenu sandals, the best pilates/yoga suit of all time, Roucha drawstring denim jeans, my favorite ribbed knit tank, and anything by Samantha Pleet, whose most special designs I had worn to all my favorite and biggest life occasions (engagement, baby shower, Islands Without Cars shoots…).

Also, not shown above are some really amazing vintage pieces I had thought were lost to the annals of time but I was actually able to score again thanks to the magic of google image reverse search!!! Never underestimate the power of AI (to help you recover a 1960s quilted rhinestone mini-dress, which is the only thing it should be used for imo).

I cannot believe I found this one again!!!!!!!!!

Please, tell me in the comments, what’s the one (or more) things that you would without question re-order, if your house burned down with all your beloved stuff inside it? I want to know! Tell me about your treasures, even if they’re just your everyday treasures.