Everyone should have a core of clothes they can wear any time with anything. Even Kate Moss does, if you believe this book! I tried to compile a list of key pieces we should all have. Of course, it is totally biased by my own taste, but I tried to remain objective.
Pick a plain-coloured one. I like the American Apparel deep v-neck as round neck tees just don’t suit me. I generally try to choose mine in grey, black, white or a primary colour. Boys t-shirts are great to layer under a girly dress or create a colour block look when paired with a high-waisted skirt or trousers.
Blazer
The black blazer brings instant cool to any outfit. Wear it with jeans and you feel like Jane Birkin or Lou Doillon (to keep it in the family). Wear it with a vintage dress and suddenly the dress gets a tougher edge.
Cardigan
The wool cardigan is your best friend. More flattering and versatile than a normal jumper, it is easy to put on and take off and makes for easy layering. I prefer mine to be cashmere – and it is so easy to find cheap cashmere jumpers in vintage or thrift shops, you don’t even need to be super rich to decide to only wear cashmere.
Killer heels and pretty flats
Good shoes last forever, so it is always worth investing in a cute pair of flats and a great pair of heels. Throughout the years, I collected a gazillion pairs of shoes that I still wear. If you wear a pretty casual outfit composed of say, jeans and a t-shirt, the right pair of shoes can still turn you into a bombshell.
Statement tights
Photos - The Snail & The Cyclops /All This Happiness / Doe Deere
Statement tights are the easy option to add pizazz to a look when you are afraid you wouldn’t pull off a whole outfit. For example, this year tartan is really big but if you are over 20, a whole tartan look might be pushing it, so embracing tartan details is the solution (tartan tights, skirt, scarf, headband, whatever). Lace is the same. Lace tights will give an instant goth twist to an otherwise normal outfit.
Photos - Loou /Mademoiselle Robot / Hel Looks
Once in your life, you deserve to feel like a princess. So far, apart from long dresses with crinolines and bows all over, the only piece of clothing that ever managed to make me feel like a princess is a coat. A nice ample coat you can wrap around you in the winter.
Little black dress
Photos - Skylark & Son / Glam Canyon / Gala Darling
The LBD is the ultimate wardrobe staple that anyone, regardless of their style, should own. It is a style chameleon – if you look above, all three girls have totally different styles and make it work amazingly well. The LBD can be super simple or really intricate, it doesn’t matter because it is BLACK, and goes anywhere, with anything. Slip it on and feel the instant glamour.
Wide belt
Photos - Garance Dore / Facehunter / Altamira NYC
My belts saved many outfits. They help giving shape and structure to men’s shirts and tees, they emphasise the waist on an already waisted skirt and they add detailing to a dress. I prefer my belts very girly in patent leather or with bows or vintage and masculine.
Skinny jeans
I know the bootcut and wide jeans and boyfriend jeans are coming back, but there’s nothing like a pair of skinny jeans to make an outfit work from day to night.
If you own only one of each items on this list, you shouldn’t even need to own anything else. This is the magic of wardrobe staples. They work all by themselves, no need for extras.
Reader Comments
January 14th, 2009
11:53 pm
i love boy shirts