Wardrobe basics are items like panties, bras, camisoles, socks, sleepwear, loungewear, hosiery and thermals. If you’re not a sporty and athletic person like me and don’t have a lot of gear, yoga outfits are wardrobe basics too. 

Wardrobe basics are NOT to be confused with wardrobe essentials, which are the simple items that are essential to your particular style.

When I help clients to edit and review their closets, they often think they’re done after we’ve gone through clothing, footwear and accessories. Not so fast! We have to hit wardrobe basics. Some clients are reluctant, but we eventually edit and review that component of their styles, and add important items to a shopping list. It’s always a great feeling when it’s done.

You might not enjoy wearing them or purchasing them, but wardrobe basics are workhorses, and therefore deserve your attention and a portion of your budget. Tackle each of the categories a drawer, bin, or pile at a time, and make a list of what’s missing. Arrange the items you’re keeping neatly back into their storage spaces, and find better storage solutions if you need to. The process is fast, effective, and satisfying.

Underwear and Shapewear

Go through your pile of panties and bras and pass on the items that are worn, ripped, unflattering, pilling, stretched out, don’t fit, or uncomfortable. Do the same for shapewear and camisoles. Take special note of white camisoles and thermals that are stained and greyed.

This is especially important with weight loss or gain when you’ll need to adjust the size and fit of undies. People tend to forget that knickers and bras are an important foundation of one’s style.

Socks and Hosiery

Go through the lot and pass on worn, ripped, ill-fitting, and uncomfortable socks and hosiery. Pass on socks, knee-highs, and footies that have been single for years.

Sleepwear and Loungewear

Attack that forever growing pile of “demoted to sleeping” tees because you don’t need twenty of them. Do the same for sweatpants, sweatshirts and leggings. Check for worn-out fleece and flannel PJs. Check for holes in cotton pyjama sets. Sew on buttons that are missing, and pass on knits that have shrunk or stretched out. Assess your sleepwear capsule and whether you feel good and comfortable wearing it. If not, evolve your sleepwear style.

If you wear loungewear, make sure you look and feel good in it. Can you answer the front door, or nip out into the garden quickly wearing it and not feel embarrassed? Ask the same questions about your PJs and robe. It’s not the best solution to wear ruined, worn, ill-fitting and un-fab clothing around the house just because you don’t want to pass it on. Feel good in your at-home style too.

Workout Wear

Attack that forever growing pile of old tees you’ve decided are good enough to work out in. They might be, but again, you probably don’t need more than seven if you work out daily. Attack that forever growing pile of free tees that you’ve accumulated from completing a sporting event, participating at a work function, or contributing to a charity. Keep the ones that are sentimental in a box out of the way, or take a photo of the important tees and store the sentimental ones digitally.

Check through the rest of your workout wear and make sure it’s dead right for your needs. Many of my clients wear 20% of their workout wear 80% of the time. Pass on the malfunctioning lot and duplicate the winners.

If you’re very sporty and have a lot of specialized sports gear, take the time to go through what you hike, bike, swim, ski, canoe, paddle board, snowboard and belly dance in, and make sure it’s functional, fabulous, and makes you happy.

I edited and reviewed my wardrobe basics a couple of weekends ago. Editing items and neatening up the content of drawers makes my toes tingle. I could do it all day! I passed on some cute but dreadfully ill-fitting socks, old bras, and polyester camisoles that look great but feel awful. I revamped my sleepwear and loungewear last year and feel good in it. My yoga capsule is extremely small but very functional so I’m not adding to it. I ordered some new bras and knee-highs and I’m set for a while.

Over to you. How edited are your wardrobe basics? Do they need to be replenished? I’ll be starting a basics editing & reviewing challenge on our forum soon, which might help with the motivation to get it done.

In my experience, the Zappos online shipping experience cannot be beat which is why they made my list of highlights for 2018 — again! All shipping is free in the US, and it’s FAST. I’ve ordered something at night and received it the next day with no extra charge. Items are well packed, and the boxes are robust (an important factor when packages stand out in the rain here in Seattle). Zappos honours their return policy and refunds are quick. They’ll accept a return a year later, and listen to your quality concerns. I ordered a pair of pricey white designer loafers that I wore with joy for a couple months until they broke. I was very disappointed, and spoke to customer service about it. They were most apologetic and refunded me without question once I’d shipped back the shoes. That’s how it should be.

All this to say that I will often order an item from Zappos because I know shipping will be fast, free, and the return policy is excellent. Here’s a short roundup of winners from the great retailer. Browse the colour options and read the rave reviews.

• Palladium Pampa LDN LP Mid Suede: Adorable hiking boots with a wide toe box. Super comfy and a little playful. The white soles keep the look crisp and pretty. Comes in four colours.
• Mephisto Lili: Inge has these because they fit her orthotics, higher volume feet, and are very comfortable. Pewter metallics are hard to find, and the shine on these is subtle. They look better and a little dressier on the foot.
• Frye Veronica Combat: Casual glitz is fab, and these create a streamlined fit on the foot and ankle. Comfy and well made. Not good on higher volume feet. I like the rose gold and white best, but they come in a fabulous distressed grey, and the usual black and brown. No easy access zipper so you have to be okay with that.
• Frye Carson Piping Bootie: A little cream distressing for those who prefer it to a crisp optical white. Tapered on the ankle, well made and comfy. Comes in five colours.
• Frye Melissa Deco Chelsea: Equestrian Bootie Fabness. A classic that works best on a lower volume foot and ankle. Rich, and well made.
• Maggy London Catalina Crepe Twist Neck Asymmetrical Midi Dress: GORGEOUS elegant dress if you can fill it out. Traditionally flattering and works on a curvier hourglass body type. The neckline is a little high for a short neck, but it can work for a larger bust and longer neck. The fabric glides over the contour of the body and does not cling The crepe is quite luxe, and the romantic sleeves are not overwhelming.
• Donna Morgan Geo Printed Midi Jersey Dress: A classic dress that is very flattering on those with a defined waist. Its structured movement is fabulous and awfully comfortable. It's quite forgiving on the midsection, conceals a good amount of lumpage and bumpage, and packs well for travel. It would have been mine if the colours weren't cool-toned.
• Maggy London Flemish Tile Scuba Crepe Sheath Dress: A fab structured dress that's a little more than a simple sheath. The placement of the pattern creates an extra streamlined effect, and the romantic sleeves are more streamlined than you expect. Best on a smaller bust, straighter hip, and short or regular waist.
• Free People Tough Love Shirtdress: This style of dress silhouette works on a range of body types - from apple and pear shapes, to rectangles, hourglasses and narrow-hipped inverted triangles - because the silhouette moulds to the contour of the body. It hugs you where you're narrowest and glides over the rest. No need for shapewear. It's dramatic to wear over cropped skinnies or straights too. Comes in red, and runs TTS if you like a narrow fit, or a little small if you prefer a fuller fit. Broad shoulders will battle - no zipper and no stretch. My narrow shoulders thanked the narrow fit. You have to figure out whether it's worth climbing in and out of. AMAZING side entry pockets. Fabulously flattering. Beautiful drape. Very nice fabric. I love this dress and one of the colours is sitting in my wardrobe ready for a hot Summer's day.
• Tahari By ASL 3/4 Sleeve Scuba Crepe Sheath with Side Ruching: A punchy classic faux wrap sheath that can work on a curvier or straighter body type.
• Børn Regis: Extremely comfy biker bootie classics that go the distance. The ankle fit is more streamlined in person. Comes in four colours.
• Aquatalia Belle Weatherproof: Beautifully made waterproof booties in a classic style. Works best on low to regular volume feet.
• Franco Sarto Zelda: Classic loafers with a trendy touch. Dramatic on the foot. I love the height of that dear little heel. Refined, comfortable and versatile. I tried very hard to make these work, but they were too wide and I was in between sizes.

Go to the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Zappos

Palladium Pampa LDN LP Mid Suede

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Top Pick

9

Zappos

Mephisto Lili

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Top Pick

9

Zappos

Frye Veronica Combat

$278.00

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Top Pick

10

Zappos

Frye Carson Piping Bootie

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Top Pick

6

Zappos

Frye Melissa Deco Chelsea

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Top Pick

7

Zappos

Maggy London Catalina Crepe Twist Neck Asymmetrical Midi Dress

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Top Pick

4

Zappos

Donna Morgan Geo Printed Midi Jersey Dress

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Top Pick

8

Zappos

Maggy London Flemish Tile Scuba Crepe Sheath Dress

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Top Pick

5

Zappos

Free People Tough Love Shirtdress

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Top Pick

9

Zappos

Tahari By ASL 3/4 Sleeve Scuba Crepe Sheath with Side Ruching

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Top Pick

9

Zappos

Børn Regis

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Top Pick

5

Zappos

Aquatalia Belle Weatherproof

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Top Pick

7

Zappos

Franco Sarto Zelda

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Top Pick

8

A style moniker is a short and punchy phrase that captures your personal style. It’s not essential to have one, and half of my clients don’t give this a second thought. But like choosing a word and colour for the year, the process of reflection can be fun, helpful and therapeutic. 

A style moniker is handy to keep front of mind whenever you’re making decisions about your style, like when you’re editing your closet, planning your wardrobe, purchasing a wardrobe item, or creating an outfit. It keeps you focussed and aligned with your style goals, especially when you have the tendency to stray from them.

The moniker should be accurate and reflect your aspirational style, but really, it’s just a guideline that keeps things light-hearted, individualistic and amusing. Don’t take it too seriously or overthink it. Simply pick a catchy phrase, run with it for a while, and change it when your style evolves.

Over the years, clients, friends and YLF forum members have come up with some clever and funny style monikers. Here are some great examples:

Refined Californian, Arty Glam, Casual Euro Chic, Genuine Composed, Chanel Girl in Red, Playful Classic, Boho Modern Minimalist, Urban Warrior Princess, Urban Knight, Glam Gamine, Urban Luxe, Refined Tomgirl, Romantic Classic, Bohemian Sophisticate, Elegant Thrown-Together Tomboy, Happy Tomboy, The Gentlewoman, Quirky Urban Waif, Farm Fashionista, Folksy Fab, East Coast Eclectic, Playful Dandy, Demure Bombshell, The Duchess Next Door, Casual Kate, Colour Drenched Bohemian Romance, Casual Chic, Flamboyant Natural, Boho Modern Minimalist, Smart Casual Comfort, Avant-Garde Minimalist, Boho Babe, Gothic Chic, Princess of Darkness, Easy Elegance with Edge, Business Bombshell, Casual Urban Glam, Trendy Fashionista, Sporty Elegance, and Arty Eclectic.

My first style moniker was, “Trendy Modern Classic”. When people asked how I would describe my style, my fast reply was, “I’m a classic who enjoys to wear trends and colours”. Twelve years later, trendy and classic still apply, but my style moniker since last year has been “Urban Polish”. The “urban” captures that I live in both grungy, casual Seattle and outdoorsy, hipster Salt Lake City. The “polish” captures the importance of my daily outfits being refined, pretty, structured, tidy, practical, and dressier than the norm. I think I’ll be sticking with this one for a while.

Have a go at creating a new style moniker, and let us know what it is in the comments below. Or share one that’s been working for you for a while. Either way, tell us how you chose it. If you’d like help choosing one, or would like to discuss it in more detail, start a thread in the forum.

It’s not essential to create a list of style goals, but they can serve as a helpful frame of reference as you edit and review your closet, shop for new items, create outfits, and evolve your style. Having FLEXIBLE goals will make your style journey more effective and enjoyable. 

If you have a good handle on your style direction, setting style goals is an intuitive and incremental process of fine-tuning the sartorial fabness that you accomplished last year. On the other hand, if you’ve experienced dramatic changes in your life, or if you’re in a style rut, setting style goals requires time, patience, some soul searching, and an in-depth analysis of the internal and external factors that affect your style.

I prefer the formal approach of writing or typing out style goals because it crystalizes my thoughts and keeps me accountable to attaining them. It’s handy when I want to check in on my goals regularly to asses progress throughout the year, or share them with others. If this sounds overwhelming, just take a moment to reflect on 2018, and think about how you’d like to improve your fashion and style in 2019. 

Anything that relates to your style can go on the list. Style goals can be general or specific, seasonal or annual, abstract or quantified. Remember that style goals can be changed at any time, so don’t overthink the process. You can set as few as one goal.

I changed my style Moniker to “Urban Polish” last year, and am keeping it for 2019. I live in grungy, outdoorsy, hipster and casual cities, and travel a lot. Yet it’s important to me to create daily outfits that are refined, pretty, structured, polished, comfortable, and dressier than the norm because that feels authentic to my style. And when your style feels authentic to you, it’s easy to manage, maintain and feel happy about it.

I’m repeating many of the same goals because I’m in an extremely happy place with my style, and I love my wardrobe. At the moment, what I’m doing is working so there’s no need to fix it! It’s more a question of repeating and fine-tuning my style strategies, and focussing on some specific purchases.

Here are my goals. This year I am structuring them into my style adjectives, general goals, and specific goals.

Style Adjectives

1. Wear outfits that are Modern, Crisp, Retro, Soft and Dressy. I’ve chosen the same five adjectives to describe my ideal style. They’ll serve as a benchmark for assessing outfits and purchases on this leg of my style journey. I won’t achieve all five adjectives for every outfit, but three or four are close enough.

• MODERN because I enjoy injecting a few carefully chosen hot-off-the-press trends into my seasonal look. That’s part of why fashion is fun.
• CRISP because I love wearing shades of white, and have a strong need to create a polished, professional and tidy appearance.
• RETRO because of my fondness for fashion from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, but remixing their sensibilities with a good dose of current.
• SOFT because I do not like wearing hard-edged looks.
• DRESSY because super casual does not make me happy.

General Goals

2. Prioritize quality. My commitment to wearing beautifully constructed and finished items made of gorgeous fabrics that launder well is higher than ever. That means prioritizing the following brands because they keep on impressing me, go the distance in my wardrobe, and generally fit well: Boden, Scotch & Soda, COS, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Sylver, Derek Lam, Theory, Furla, Madewell, Karen Millen, Simkhai, Club Monaco, Helene Berman, Pilcro, GRLFRND, Expresso, Franco Sarto, Naturalizer, Hispanitas, Paul Green, Elie Tahari, Stella McCartney, Soia & Kyo, Kate Spade, Peter Kaiser, Bella Freud, Reiss, L.K. Bennett, Manfield and Levis.
3. Express my style through colour and my favourite patterns. For colours, that means adding a few more new-to-me non-neutrals to my mix of sour brights, pastels, earth tones, and favourite neutrals. To continue remixing the colours in my wardrobe in bold, new and tonal combinations. For patterns that means sticking to the classics like stripes, dots, plaids, some florals and a smattering of animal print because I don’t tire of them.
4. Continue adding elegant touches to my style. My custom-made pearl jewellery, watch and scarves make me feel more elegant and polished, as does wearing midi dresses, midi skirts, Furla handbags, structured looks with ease and movement, refined footwear, pointy-toe ballet flats, and doing my hair and make-up each day.
5. Sport my signature style despite the trends. That means blonde pixie, statement eyewear and handbag, natural make-up, white pearls, white shoes, white jeans, structured outfits, lots of colour, light neutrals, dark blue, flat footwear, and no nail polish.

Specific Goals

6. Add a pair of red pants, orange bottoms or dress, and a red Winter coat.
7. Wear black in small doses.
8. Wear skirts and dresses more frequently year round.
9. Wear casual and dressy trousers more frequently, and blue jeans less frequently.
10. Mix high-end and low-end items in one outfit.
11. Find wardrobe gems on my travels because they are unique and sentimental.

The Most Important Goal of All

12. Have even MORE fun with fashion.

Over to you. Have you thought about your style goals for 2018? Many of the YLF forum members have thought about theirs, and their posts have been a pleasure to read over the last few weeks. Please share your style goals in the comments section. Begin with just two goals if that’s easier, and take it from there. Or simply jot down some rough thoughts about your current and aspirational style direction.