One thing that impresses me about June of Braless in Brasil is how methodical she is about her wardrobe. She has a plan with a budget and a list. Since she lives in Brazil, she must do everything online. This requires a ton of patience, but it certainly cuts down on impulse purchases! Now Holly is also updating her wardrobe, and thanks to Space Librarian’s comments on Holly’s guest post yesterday, I have discovered Space Librarian is updating hers, too.
How about you–are you happy with the foundations of your wardrobe, or are you undergoing a restructuring as well?
Inspired by June’s self-discipline, I pulled everything wearable out of my closet a few weeks ago and spread it out on our bed. I wanted to get a sense of what I have and what I need. From the collage below, you can tell I need some color, can’t you? On the other hand, the good thing about so many neutral pants and skirts is that my wardrobe foundation is pretty solid. What I’m missing are shoes, colorful tops and accessories. (I also needed a few more dresses, but after the finds I reported in Monday’s post, I’m in better shape there.) (My classic white Campbell & Kate shirts didn’t make it onto the bed because they were in the laundry.)
So I’m curious to hear about your closet. I have two questions for you:
- What do you consider foundational to the wardrobe of a full-busted woman of your age, profession and activity level? and
- What are the gaps in your wardrobe, and how do you plan to fill them?
Great question. I am trying to lose a bit of weight, so I feel like my entire wardrobe is in flux right now. So many things don’t fir well right now. And I am entering uncharted territory size wise (I haven’t been where I am at the moment in about 7 years. And the next size puts me at college size, but my style has changed and I trashed/donated much of that stuff.
But here are my staples:
pencil skirts: black, grey, camel, and colored
jeans: at the moment I am more into skinny ones. I should branch out
leggings
dresses: fit and flare, sheath, weekend suitable sundresses and similar
work appropriate knit tops: colorful, not too low, nice fabrics
weekend tops: casual and evening
cardigans: long, short, open, buttoned in all colors neutrals and bright
button up blouses: I like to keep one in my closet for job interviews, just in case, but I don’t like these
1 suit: I never have to wear them to work so one for an interview is plenty
1-2 blazers: suitable to dress up or down for when I want to feel polished
tunics to pair with leggings. Usually I just buy too short dresses made for women with small butts. These are perfect.
blouses in silk or similar
Thanks, Jame! This is super helpful, especially since I no longer need a lot of suits. After I wrote the two questions, I had a mental block on what to put in my own list. You’ve got me going again.
I am sort of stuck right now. I’m leaving undergrad but instead of entering the workforce I’m going into grad school and I’d like to be better dressed than t-shirts everyday even if that is expected. I’ve been meaning to clean out my closet since my husband and I will be moving in a few months but it may just be depressing. Did I ever really need 30+ t-shirts from my university?
I think for the next two years at least I will work more building up my tops as I can still get away with jeans being “good enough” and there’s a chance once I get a full position it will be like my current institution where my area is in jeans/tees most days.
Ideally I would like a couple more tops for layering under cardigans, and a good number of non-knit dressy tops (I’ve learned my lesson about unshaped knits). I have a sewing list of shirts I’d like to make since that allows for FBA. I’ve found sewing fits more in my student budget than buying outright as long as I don’t go crazy with fabric choices.
I’ve been realizing that I can wear jeans in a lot more situations than I thought as long as I take care of details like the top, shoes and accessories. I would love to see the non-knit tops you sew.
Ah, thanks for the mention Darlene!
Answering your questions would be a mine-field for me and take way too long for a comment. 😀 However, my basics have to include work clothes, workout clothes, swimwear, casual clothes, and a couple formal dresses. Whew! I still have to somehow get shoes and a nurse purse amongst all that too (which have both been put on the back burner due to clothes being the priority). My gaps are just about everything, although, I’m starting to get a few good outfits for work now and at least some t-shirts thanks to my BiuBiu order.
Like you I have been focusing on COLOR. Not necessarily so much for work clothes but in my day-to-day clothes I’ve been forcing myself to not just buy black/navy. Actually, I keep putting the black Porto in my basket on BiuBiu and taking it out because I know I don’t need to a black shirt and a colorful one would be more flattering on my skin ton. But it’s hard to break old habits.
Hi Darlene,
I like doing a closet analysis like this at least once each year to make sure I have the basics on hand and don’t end up impulse shopping. For context, I’m middle-aged, self-employed, and live in Austin where it’s warm most of the time. I’m no longer required to dress in a corporate professional manner, so like Jame, I keep only a couple of suits for just in case. So my foundation pieces for daily wear, not athletic activities, look something like this:
I love jeans and wear them most days, so I always keep at least two nice pairs, plus at least one pair in black denim. Currently I have both boot-cut and skinny jeans.
Two pairs of stretch twill pants cut like skinny jeans.
One pair of charcoal grey dress pants.
One charcoal grey straight skirt.
One little black dress.
Two pair close-fitting, longish shorts (hit about 5″ above my knees).
Four adaptable button-front shirts, like the Campbell & Kate shirt, in different colors that coordinate well with the grey and black pants.
Three 3/4 sleeve t-shirts for winter.
Three t-shirts or tank tops for summer.
Five or six jackets in different styles.
A few belts in different widths.
Necklaces I love.
I currently need some nice tank tops since summer is approaching quickly, and I could use a statement necklace. I like to buy my jewelry from local artists, so it usually takes a while to add a new piece.
Keeping these basics on hand seems to save money because I know there’s always something in the closet to wear. And then I feel more comfortable building on the basics with printed tops or occasionally buying a trendy piece to add punch.
What colors of tops are you thinking of adding?
I’m in my thirties and feel like I should start dressing a little more grown-up, but in my line of work, I am not expected to dress business-like. So, I’m just working on replacing half of my t-shirts with slightly dressier tops. I’ve also recently decided to stop buying mini skirts, although I still wear the ones I do have. I’ve been wearing colour for a long time, but mostly the same colours, so they work well together. I’m trying to incorporate more prints now. Being busty, I’ve always found it easier to work with separates, and I only started wearing dresses in my late twenties. Finding skirts and trousers that fit has never been a problem and it makes for a more versatile wardrobe, especially when, like me, you don’t have many clothes. I tend to buy little and wear them to death! The good thing is I don’t have the time to get tired of them.
V-necks. waisted skirts.
A well shaped black blazer. Makes any plain dress see modest and stunning 🙂