What I Wore (eBook)

Getting StartedTaking Stock of What You've Got and Building a Smarter Closet Between my freshman and sophomore years in college, I took a summer job working in a factory that produced quilted handbags out of a small Midwestern town. Perfect!, I thought, here was my first foray into the fashion industry. I worked on the cutting line-pulling fabric from the bolt onto a long table and stacking it twenty or thirty layers deep in a seven-yard space. I worked with a partner and our favorite things to talk about were variations on If I could only have twelve pieces of clothing, what would they be? and What would you buy with a bajillion dollars? Since then, I've always kept a little running list in the back of my mind of what I'd do in either of those situations-how I could make the most of a closet limited to a dozen items versus what it would be like to completely make over my closet from scratch with a wad full of cash. Let's talk about your actual budget. No matter how much money you have to spend per season, the questions are the same: What to buy? Where to spend? Where to save? For a four-season climate, your yearly budget should be roughly broken down to: 30 percent for spring (This is when you'll buy most of your warm- weather clothing.) 15 percent for summer (Add-on pieces like sundresses, skirts, and blouses in lighter-weight fabric-which also cost less.) 45 percent for fall (Spend now for the majority of your cold- weather clothing, including a coat, shoes, boots, denim, etc.) 10 percent for winter (Spruce things up with a few heavier sweaters and holiday items.) KEY CONCEPTS Basics: classic pieces in core colors that you wear year after year and that work for every season. Core colors: neutral building blocks like black, dark brown, or charcoal gray Secondary colors: bright or bold trendy colors that are season specific (for example, pastels in spring or jewel tones in fall) Add-ons: trendy and seasonal pieces that round out your closet Let's start with the basics and add-ons every woman should have in her closet. Color Story Pick Your Core Color When you're getting started with your year-round basic clothing, it's best to stick to a core color-like black, dark brown, or charcoal gray. A lot of women end up with nothing to wear because they've limited themselves to wearing an item only one way (this happens when you shop for head-to-toe 'looks'). If everything in your closet flows from one piece to the next, from outfit to outfit, you're left with so many more potential combinations. That flow is best achieved by starting with the following basic items in one core color: Once you feel your basics are covered in one core color (and you're buying quality, classic clothes that last more than a single season), expand into a new core color. If you can afford to spend more on the basic part of your closet, do it, especially for investment pieces such as blazers, slacks, skirts, and coats. Although your head-to-toe look doesn't need to cost a fortune, wearing one high-quality (and sometimes more expensive) item can make your entire outfit look more polished. You can get away with spending less on tights, tees, and casual sweaters because these need to be replaced more often and are not usually the focal point of an outfit. Secondary Color Palette Next, start to add diversity and pattern into your closet with a new set of what I'm calling your add-on pieces. While your core colors work year-round, your seasonal add-on pieces will be in secondary colors. For this example, I've started with the blues and purples in the prints of the dress and...