What’s In: Jordan Santos
On her most worn pieces, creating healthier digital boundaries, and what inspired her to start Seen Library.
What’s in is a recurring series spotlighting the style and stories of Asian women with influence. Get to know who they are, what they’re wearing and what’s in.
Nobody does minimalist chic better than
. The Los Angeles-based Filipina-American creative and founder of Seen Library is someone who has inspired me over the years through her defined sense of style, forgoing trends for a tightly curated wardrobe of elevated classics. Beyond her impeccable style, what drew me to Jordan was her thoughtful approach to everything she does. From creating content to fostering meaningful conversations and connections with Seen Library to self-reflecting in her newsletter (one of my favourites), No one asked.Read on to learn about her most worn pieces, her advice on creating healthier digital boundaries, and what inspired her to start Seen Library.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
My name is Jordan and I am a Filipina-American born and raised in Los Angeles. I started Seen Library, a book community that facilitates connection and conversation through in-person gatherings. I’ve also worked in social media for the past 12 years, consulting with various brands and businesses. I also do a bit of photography and also do content creation on my personal channel.
Where are you from? How has your family and culture shaped who you are today?
I’m from Los Angeles. I come from a big Filipino family, growing up with lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. Filipino culture is centered so much on community, and I think that’s shaped a lot of my values and wants in life. I’ve seen firsthand how simply spending time and showing up for people is so important, and it’s something I try to prioritize now.
“Filipino culture is centered so much on community, and I think that’s shaped a lot of my values and wants in life.”
How would you describe your personal style and approach to getting dressed? What are some of your favourite pieces to wear?
I would say my style these days is classic and minimal. I’ve just found that I’m so much happier simplifying getting ready and having my staple pieces that I reach for over and over rather than a closet full of trendy items. My most worn pieces are all listed out here, but some favorites would include The Row Everyday Bag, Jil Sander secondhand pointy toe pumps in a butter yellow, Chanel slingbacks, a shrunken cashmere cardigan, and a nice pair of bias cut trousers.
“I’ve just found that I’m so much happier simplifying getting ready and having my staple pieces that I reach for over and over rather than a closet full of trendy items.”
I’ve always admired not only your sense of style but also how thoughtful you are in approaching it. You balance a lot of vintage pieces with new ones and often reflect on your shopping habits. How do you decide what to add to your closet? Anything on your wishlist right now?
It takes a lot out of me to buy an item because I truly feel like I have everything I need. If I’m going to add something to my closet, it would have to be something I can see myself wearing for a long time and with lots of other pieces in my closet for various occasions. Currently on my wishlist is a vintage Cartier mini tank, which I’m having sourced through Sourcewhere.
“It takes a lot out of me to buy an item because I truly feel like I have everything I need.”
In your newsletter, you reflect a lot on your relationship with social media. How do you feel about your relationship with it now, and what advice would you give someone seeking healthier digital boundaries?
Because I grew up with social media and have worked in the industry, it was easy for me to be so ingrained in it—often tying my identity to what I shared online. Now, I’ve put more distance between my real life and what I share online. I’m finding that it’s ok to be more “curated”—showing a sliver of myself rather than all of myself, and instead, sharing the best and worst parts of me and my life with those I really trust and have earned that. I think the first step to healthier digital boundaries is really reflecting on your social media use and asking yourself questions—a friend and I shared some of those questions a while back here.
“Because I grew up with social media and have worked in the industry, it was easy for me to be so ingrained in it—often tying my identity to what I shared online. Now, I’ve put more distance between my real life and what I share online.”
Did your feelings towards social media and being online play a role in wanting to foster more in-person connection with Seen Library? Tell us more about Seen Library and what you have coming up for it.
Absolutely. Over the past 10 years in the industry, I really felt that shift from social media being a tool for connection to becoming a tool for self-promotion, whether it's for a brand or an individual—which I, myself, contributed to and still do! At the end of 2021, though, I decided to really cut back on work—I decided to make less money and take on fewer projects and clients—so that I could figure out what I really wanted to do. I realized that I wasn't necessarily sick of social media but that I really missed that feeling of connectivity I enjoyed so much in the early days of social media and wanted to find a way to get that back, which is why I created Seen Library.
Since 2015, I’ve been doing in-person book exchanges with friends, but it wasn't until 2021 that I decided to do them more frequently, as a way to not only get existing friends together but also like-minded people who I may not know as well so that I and those joining in could make new friends. I was just so sick of being on my phone all the time, working in social media, and I really wanted a way to connect with people in person again, especially after finding ourselves so isolated during the lockdowns in 2020.
Since then, Seen Library has evolved the more interest it has received. The book exchanges turned into book givings, where I curate books for people to choose from, and I also began doing pop-ups, book drives, meet-ups, and volunteer days with an organization called Reading to Kids. It’s really important to me that there’s always an in-person aspect of it with the hope that others can meet new people and make new friends. So much of what we do is online that I think it’s nice for people to experience something like this in person.
As for what’s coming, I hope to continue putting on more gatherings where people can do just that—in spaces and cities that inspire me.
“I realized that I wasn't necessarily sick of social media but that I really missed that feeling of connectivity I enjoyed so much in the early days of social media and wanted to find a way to get that back, which is why I created Seen Library.”
I loved reading about your recent trip to the Philippines. I haven’t been back in years, but what you described was a lot of the things I felt when I was there last. Being moved by the warmth of the people. Seeing the wealth disparity and feeling guilty about the challenges people face living there. While also feeling a sense of connection to where your parents were born and finding an appreciation for their sacrifices. It always reminds me of my sheer luck, too, and I love how you were able to articulate those feelings, along with recapping your beautiful experiences on some of the islands. What were the most memorable moments from your trip?
My fondest memory of the whole trip was our last day in Siargao—my husband and I had visited a beach that was more of an enclosed lagoon amongst the mangroves. I was swimming by myself and this little girl, who must have been 4 or 5 came up to me with her sister and 2 cousins. They all played with me—the little girl jumping on my back and telling me she loved me, haha. It was the sweetest moment and one I will remember forever. Also, the sunset in El Nido—it had to be the most beautiful I had ever seen. And the food! I love Filipino breakfast so much.
“…the sunset in El Nido—it had to be the most beautiful I had ever seen. And the food! I love Filipino breakfast so much.”
What’s in right now for you? Whether it has to do with fashion, beauty, wellness, hobbies, books, podcasts, other media you’re consuming, etc.?
Gratitude. Generosity—especially with those who need it most. Aging. Outfit repeating. Bags without a designer logo. Getting clothes & shoes repaired. Reading instead of scrolling. Keeping a book in your purse. Opting for silence instead of automatically turning to Spotify or podcasts. Adopting a stray cat. Going on walks with your elderly neighbor. Unplanned hangouts with friends. Posting and not checking likes. Outgrowing people and places.
“Opting for silence instead of automatically turning to Spotify or podcasts.”
Thanks to
for being part of the series! For more on Jordan, subscribe to No one asked and follow her on Instagram.*This post contains some affiliate links.
Wow "shift from social media being a tool for connection to becoming a tool for self-promotion" feels like Jordan summed it up perfectly. That one is going to take me a few days to process as I want to make sure that my corner of the internet stays as connection-centric as possible. But I'm also highly inspired by the Seen Library!
I’ve loved Jordan’s transparent perspectives on navigating social media in a way that prioritizes what matters. It was really informative for me when I started my business. Great Q&A and I love what she’s doing with Seen Library! 🤍