Building your basic wardrobe

‘ I have NOTHING to wear!’

Now, show me a woman who has never said that?

You know the feeling, the wardrobe in front of you is full of clothes, yet of course, you have ‘nothing’ to wear.

We really only tend to wear 20% of our clothes – and the fact is that this is because we are not adept enough at building a versatile and well balanced wardrobe that makes dressing easier on a day to day basis.

If you follow these guidelines, I’ll show you the wardrobe essentials you need to satisfy your daily dressing requirements.

The basics:

Tanks:

An essential item in your closet. Try to choose neutral colors that go with everything - jeans, pants and skirts. You can always add a blazer, scarf or a necklace to dress up a tank easily and change the look every time you choose to wear it, giving you so many ‘ new outfit’ options.

Jeans:

You need to not just own some, but to make sure you have a pair of jeans that actually fit your figure and flatter it. (go back to the ‘your body shape’ guide and get to know what suits you best). Find stretch jeans with no more than 2% lycra so that the fabric follows your curves and fits well. Choose a light wash jean and a darker wash pair and you are good to go!

Leggings:

Extremely versatile, you can choose printed ones (always go light with prints) leather or even a sporty style for your daily usage. Make sure that the fabric is great quality to flatter and fit well.

The White Shirt:

A fitted White shirt will be worn over and over because it’s easy to tuck in, but will also look neat when left out. If you need to hide your tummy or other areas, make sure that, if the shirt has detail like a ruffle, the shirt is ruffled on the tummy area only and not below your hips.

Denim Jacket:

Literally goes with everything. You can dress a denim jacket with dresses, skirts, shorts and even tanks. Choose a fitted, light wash to flatter all of your chosen outfits. You can always tie it around your hips when it’s too warm to wear.

Short sleeve t-shirts:

Just like tanks, choose a fitted tee, long enough to reach the middle of your waist and hips, easy to tuck in with belts or left out with denim jackets. You can go as creative as you want.

Dresses:

You can choose a maxi dress or a shorter, flowy dress for your day to day wear and it’s great for a quick clothing decision. Don’t forget the “Little black dress” that suits any occasion. Always dress it up with high heels and accessories to lift it up, or with flats and a scarf to keep it simple. All dependent on the occasion of course!

Keep your eye on our basic wardrobe list as it will help you choose the right clothing and not waste money on items that can’t be mixed with other clothes in your wardrobe, or never get worn – and where is the fun in that?