You may look in your closet sometimes and think, “I have nothing to wear.” You may be just bored with your style or you’re missing the right wardrobe essentials to pair with your statement pieces. Maybe you keep buying statement pieces, but can’t mix them together because you don’t have a solid set of timeless clothing pieces.
I am going to show you the best-known wardrobe essentials so that you can have an easy, fun and timeless closet.
This post contains affiliate links. Disclosure here.
What are the basics?
Basics are the clothes that form the foundation of your wardrobe. They are in neutral colors so that you can mix and match them with everything else in your closet. If you have the right basics, you’ll always find something to wear with your other clothes. Basics never go out of style and form the foundation of your wardrobe.
Related: How to Build A Color Palette For Your Wardrobe
Which basics do I need?
Basics are the pieces you wear daily, some more than others depending on certain factors.
You’ll need to consider the weather in the area you live in as well as your activities, but the basics consist of the following pieces:
- White and black t-shirts
- Long-sleeve
- Turtleneck
- Winter coat
- Cardigan
- Denim jacket
- White blouse
- Pair of black pants
- Pair of jeans
These pieces are the foundation of all your outfits and actually pull them together. They can have a more classic or more casual style, depending on your needs.
More basics that serve me all year round
- Bodysuit
- Nude bra (A true life saver)
- Sports Bra
- Good stockings
- Leggings
- Black Turtleneck
- White sneakers
- Sports sneakers
How do I pair my basics?
Your basics should be paired with anything else in your closet. Anything else means key and accent pieces. That’s why your basics should be in neutral colors. For example, an orange t-shirt can’t be considered a basic. Instead, it’s a key or accent piece because it cannot be matched with all the other pieces in your closet.
Key pieces are the ones you wear all the time with your basics. These are sometimes in colors like brown, black or red, etc. Your key pieces are that little black dress you wear to events and on nights out and that red sweater you wear so much.
Accent (or highlight) pieces are statement pieces that spice up your closet. These do not always match with each other and that’s what distinguishes them from your basics. They call attention just by themselves and may be in different textures or patterns. For example, a colorful purse, a golden top, a pink scarf or a graphic tee.
I will come back to these terms further down.
How much money should I spend on my essentials?
Your basics are pieces that you are going to wear all year round, or at least the majority of the year. That’s why you need quality. Invest in the type of basics that I listed above, rather than on statement pieces that you don’t wear daily. I will include links at the end of the post of high-quality essentials. Trend pieces tend to go out of style and aren’t worth investing a lot of money in.
If you cannot afford to buy new high-quality essentials, I suggest you follow my example: I find them in second-hand stores or online platforms. I found one of my winter key pieces at an Italian outlet near my home in Zurich. The store carried old stock collections that sell for very reasonable prices, the same as Fast Fashion. And Fast Fashion will never provide the quality I need.
Tip: Spend more money on basics and save on trendy items found at second-hand stores.
I try to be a more conscious consumer in my path towards a more sustainable lifestyle, but I also like to wear trendy pieces. Therefore, I prefer shopping for them at second-hand stores before deciding to spend a lot of money on them. Trends vanish quickly and buying from Fast Fashion stores is not a consideration for me. See why here.
Where can I buy new wardrobe staples if I can’t find them second hand?
Buy from brands that bet on quality and timeless designs. You’ll use them for a very long time and wear them all the time so it’s important that they don’t go out of style. Sustainable brands bet on quality and classic designs because they want their clothing to last.
Check at the end of the post all the essentials I’m mentioning. The links are all from sustainable and high-quality brands.
Related: 9 Online Platforms To Buy Vintage And Second-Hand Fashion
More Wardrobe Essentials
Previously, I talked about key pieces and accent pieces. Like I explained, you often need key pieces because they give you a personal style and can be paired with your basics.
The clothes you see on the image have a touch of my taste, but I tried to show the most common pieces that should be included in any good wardrobe.
List of key pieces:
- Silk blouse (or one in some other soft material)
- Little black dress
- Biker jacket
- Long coat
- Blazer
- Ankle booties
- Evening dress/event dress
- Classic shoes
- Daily bag
On the key pieces, I would add a bit of color like brown, olive green and red. On accent pieces, I would add a lot of different colors.
What are accent pieces?
Accent pieces are pieces that give your look the final touch, pieces that you don’t use too often or statement pieces that you wear seasonally. Accents pieces draw attention to themselves so it’s good to have a solid set of basics to pair with them.
I like to buy accent pieces with color because my basics and key pieces have more neutral colors. That pop of color will make your look stand out and make you look stylish.
Learn how to build a stylish and cohesive color palette for your wardrobe here.
Now, check these examples of accent pieces making a difference:
And these showing color pairing:
Tip: Add some tops, pants, and dresses in an accent color so you can spice up your look with your wardrobe-essentials.
If you don’t know what colors to choose for your wardrobe staples to download a complete Guide + Workbook for FREE so you can find your best colors through a seasonal color analysis. This eBook includes 12 color palettes and instructions on how to make your own personal color palette. You can do the exercises on your computer.
List of accent pieces:
- Striped Tee
- Graphic tee (I like to wear it with blazers)
- Jewelry set (I wear the same every day, actually)
- Colored trousers
- Belt
- Colored block heels
- Colored purse
- Evening purse (always comes in handy for an event or special occasion)
- Statement or trendy pieces
- Seasonal pieces
My favorite accents: a jumpsuit, a graphic tee, and a colored purse.
Let’s recap the 34 timeless pieces you’ve seen in this article. I will add links to the pieces in case you want to purchase something. I couldn’t find all the clothes shopping links because some are not in stock anymore. I did these graphics with ShopLook and Photoshop. I will add some alternative links. Some are affiliate links some not. If you decide to purchase through the affiliate links you’ll be supporting my work. I only include brands that follow ethical standards and have high quality.
Basics
- White t-shirt: 1 & 2
- Black t-shirt
- Simple long-sleeve, sexy long sleeve, warm long-sleeve
- Beige Turtleneck
- Winter coat: 1 & 2
- Cardigan: 1 & 2
- Denim jacket: 1 & 2
- White blouse
- Pair of black pants: Everlane’s work pant, high rise straight and high rise skinny
- Pair of jeans: 1 & Levi’s 501’s
Activewear basics
- Bodysuit: 1 & 2
- Nude bra
- Multiple Sports Bra
- Black stockings
- Leggings
- Black Turtleneck
- White sneakers
- Sports sneakers
Key pieces
- Silk blouse (or one in some other soft material)
- Little black dress
- Biker jacket
- Long coat
- Blazer
- Black ankle booties: Ref x By Far or Nisolo
- Evening dress/event dress
- Classic shoes
- Daily bag
Accents
- Striped Tee
- Graphic tee: 1 & 2
- Jewelry set
- Colored trousers
- Belt
- Colored block heels
- Colored purse
- Evening purse
- Statement or trendy pieces
- Seasonal pieces
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve seen how a good set of wardrobe essentials can transform your wardrobe. You’ll always have something to wear if you choose some essentials that have a timeless style. You also saw how you can add variety with accents pieces so you never get bored with your own style.
Having more conscious consuming habits it’s not only good for the planet’s resources and people behind our clothes but also makes your life easy and enriches your style.
Reserve some time in your agenda and navigate the essentials I linked in this article to confirm you have the wardrobe essentials you really need. That way you’ll save TONS of time every morning. And if your closet means chaos, start here to reorganize your closet.
Related: How To Create a Capsule Wardrobe + Free Planner
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Thank you so much for these tips! That’s exactly what I needed. Now just need to find some sustainable options of all above mentioned!
Hi Zenja. Thanks for reading. At the end of the post I give for all the pieces a link for a sustainable clothing option. Only include sustainable, ethical and conscious brands that I love. 🙂
This is such a great guide to building a capsule wardrobe! I love my mine, and I’ve noticed that I’m much more satisfied with my clothes the less I have. I’m also a big fan of the KonMarie method and she advocates for smaller wardrobes as well 🙂
Thank you kayla. Thank you for reading. I’m doing a series of articles to help people build better capsules this is one of them. 🙂 I also love the konmari method. I love to open my tshirt drawers and seeing all of them <3 sparks joy eheh <3
Great ideas. I can tell you spent a lot of time on your research. Finding great pieces that are socially conscious can be tricky. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Heather. It’s true, takes more time to dig for sustainable options but it’s worth it. Our planet and our communities will thank us. 🙂 have a lovely day, thanks for reading,
I love the idea of mixing and matching, and I really like your ideas here 🙂
Oh thank you. Means a lot 🙂