Lately I have been obsessed with the whole capsule/minimalist wardrobe idea. I used to have so. Many. Clothes. Like, can't-even-close-my-wardrobe-doors kind of many. But recently, after my graduation, I decided I need to do a wardrobe makeover. I wanted to reinvent my style and most of the stuff that I had back then wasn't the right pieces to represent my current style. So I purged my closet in the beginning of August. I ended up with three huge plastic bags filled with clothes ready to be given away. (By the way, I'm going to do a follow-up purge maybe in late October or early November, do you guys want a post on that? Let me know!)
During the time when I'm purging my closet, I realized that I have a few pieces that I truly love and wear all the time, and I thought, similar to the capsule/minimalist wardrobe idea, maybe these are the key pieces I should build my wardrobe around! I could see that those pieces work perfectly well together, and with other pieces too, so I decided to pick my top 10 wardrobe essentials that I couldn't live without!
Striped Top (no brand, but it's the one I specifically wear for weekend trips...just kidding!)
Basic white tee (no brand, but here's the one I wore in a non-basic sort of way)
White shirt (Colorbox, similar)
Oversized blazer (Pull&Bear, exact)
Black pencil skirt (Lyne Halim, similar)
Little black dress (The Executive, exact)
Slim fit black trousers (The Executive, probably exact)
Light sweater (Marks&Spencer, similar but I'm pretty sure it's exact)
Black flats (Yongki Komaladi, similar)
MY WARDROBE ESSENTIALS TIPS:
Your wardrobe essentials don’t have to look exactly like this
They also don’t have to add up to exactly 10 pieces. They can be 20 or maybe just 5 if it suits you. Consider your own personal taste, the weather where you live, and also your day-to-day lifestyle. The key is to know what you need and what will work for you. If you see something in someone else’s wardrobe essentials that you don’t particularly love, it’s okay to count it out of yours.
Tailor each pieces to fit you perfectly
Tailoring wardrobe pieces always felt like too high maintenance for me before. But now, I realized it can make a world of a difference to wear something that you truly love and fits you really nicely. For example, I’m very short so I struggle when buying jeans and trousers. If I try a size that fits my waistline, the length would sometimes be too long, but if I try a size smaller, I would have to work extra hard to fit my thighs into them! So what I do most of the time is take them to the tailor and ask to get them shorten.
Make sure your essentials can work together, and with everything else in your closet
I would suggest you to get some pieces with neutral colors and basic silhouettes. That being said, I would also suggest you to get items that you truly love! If you love bright colors, mix some in there. If you always find yourself wearing flowy, boho style dresses, you might as well incorporate it to your essentials. But, neutral colors and silhouettes would make it a whole lot easier for you to mix and match everything and create a bunch of outfit possibilities. I do include a bright fuchsia sweater to add a pop of color because otherwise my essentials would be all monochrome (which is fine too, by the way!).
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on your essentials…
…but you DO have to check the quality of each piece you want to buy. I do realize sometimes high price tags actually do mean high quality materials, but I personally don’t always have the funds to buy an expensive wardrobe piece, let alone 10 (sigh). So what I do is to try to find some hidden gems in stores like Forever 21, Uniqlo, or H&M. They always work fine for me, they last a long time and most importantly they’re affordable! I would suggest not over-washing those pieces and always wash with cold water instead of hot. Also, USE them with care! I’m guilty of being so hard on my feet when I walk so I ruined so many shoes in several weeks’ time. Just remember not to be too reckless when wearing your favorite pieces (note to self: don’t wear white when eating spaghetti!).
That's it guys! It's sort of a lengthy one but I do hope it's helpful. If you have any questions about my wardrobe essentials, please let me know in the comment section below. Also, I'm planning on doing some outfit possibilities post with these 10 pieces (last time I checked, I got 15 outfits!), so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Love always, The Fashion Swing
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