https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 22 May 2026 12:58:28 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-22051 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:04:15 +0000 Nicole 22051@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Nadine, I too work in an office, but dress more business casual than smart casual. I'm not comfortable wearing blue jeans to work on a daily basis. My spring/summer basics for work are a white denim skirt, white jeans, white and green embroidered skirt, light khaki skirt, black skirt, black walk shorts, brown walk shorts, a variety of cardigans including, black, white, green, black and white polka dots, apple green and white polka dots. About 5 white camisoles, a few colorful camisoles and a few short sleeve knit tops.</p> <p>My winter basics are dress slacks in black, grey, olive green, skirts in black, navy and denim. I carry my cardis over thru fall and winter, except for any that are "too summery", and a few long sleeve shirts, blouses and knit sweaters.</p> <p>My non work clothes are jeans and mostly my work shirts.</p> <p>My wishlist for the fall/winter this year includes straight leg dark denim jeans, a trench, some new sweaters/LS knit tops. I purged a few terrible pre YLF pieces ( a denim jacket, a few button down shirts) that I wish to replace if I find some appropriate. I also need to replace my tall dress boots. If I find a winter dress that I like, I'd like to jump on it too. So this is how I am rebuilding my wardrobe. I keep a few things that may not be stellar, until I can replace them. Next summer, I'll need to start replacing my casual walking shorts, because the ones from this summer are a size or two too big.</p> <p>My point is, it's an ongoing cycle of purging and replacing and setting a priority list. I know the pieces I will want to go to over and over again--so those take priority. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-21974 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:59:22 +0000 shiny 21974@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So you have pants that fit - that's a big part of the budget right there! And you have a place to start. </p> <p>What color are your pants? Do you have one pair of fabulous jeans? </p> <p>I'll tell you what my VFBF (a shiny-ism for very fashionable best friend) did when she was starting out building her professional wardrobe. I thought this was very smart of her - it may sound boring, but it worked very very well: </p> <p>She chose to start with a black and white/cream theme first. She built up a basic wardrobe around just those colors. Black dress slacks. Cream dress slacks. B&#38;W tweed dress slacks. Black tops, cream tops, white tops, b&#38;w patterned tops. Black jackets, cream jackets, white jackets, b&#38;w tweed jackets. One black coat that can be dressed up or down, and one fabulous cream coat. And one great fitting pair of jeans. </p> <p>She focused on those items first. It's true there were weeks when she wore black pants more than once - sometimes all 5 days. Nobody notices with pants. Just change up the top and jacket, and you're set. </p> <p>She slowly accumulated each item over time, as budget allowed, picking only fabulously fitting items. Everything worked with everything else - that was the beauty of this simple color palette. For smart casual weekends, she just popped on her jeans and she was set to go. </p> <p>She kept to basic black pumps and a grey &#38; black patterned Coach bag (present from her mother) for a long while. Jewelry: she raided discount places. Fake diamond studs can look real. ;-)</p> <p>Then next she started adding in some fun: I remember when she bought gorgeous red pumps! Then leopard printed pumps! Then metallic heels! We hit DSW every other week together. She went positively shoe crazy for awhile, but every outfit looked fresh and new - just with a simple change in shoes!</p> <p>Her next step was to add in a "signature" color. She's got peachy complexion and is very fair. She thought long and hard about this signature color. It's this very pale shade of green that looks stunning on her. Cardigans, sweaters, scarves... </p> <p>Flash forward years later, she's now a major executive and no longer on a tight budget. But she still has much of the same core wardrobe because she was so careful and picky about what she purchased. She's branched out a lot - she has this one absolutely fab red wool pencil skirt I covet. And gotten big into investment bags like Fendi - while still having fun with H&#38;M and Marshall's. But the core wardrobe still gets a lot of use. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-21971 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:48:53 +0000 Maya 21971@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A wardrobe takes a lot of time to rebuild, so don't worry if it isn't all falling into place at once. I started with some basics. "Basics" is kind of a broad category and will differ for everyone depending on body type, lifestyle, etc. These are the items you'll be coming back to again and again and wear in a million different ways. Jeans, a white button down shirt, a denim skirt, and a black cardigan were a few of my basics. If you were a business exec, you might need a suit as a basic. Like I said, it's very personal and no two lists will probably be alike. These are the items you should be most extravagant with because you'll be using them the most and for the longest period of time, so skimping on quality will not serve you well or be cost effective. I wholeheartedly agree with Angie's cost-to-wear ratio. It might seem like a lot of money upfront, but divide the cost by the amount of times you'll wear it, and you'll see it balances out. Otherwise you'll end up getting a lot of cheap and shoddy items that wear out in less than a year, and the amount of times you end up replacing them will actually cost you more than if you just got one really nice item to begin with.</p> <p>You don't even need to get basics all at once. See what you already have in your wardrobe first. Angie's advice to divide things into categories is very helpful (categories are donate/sell, keep, keep but alter, and there might be another one?). Maybe you have some pieces that are a little bit off, but can be improved with the help of a tailor. That will save time and money. Then see what basics will work with items you already own.</p> <p>Of course a wardrobe full of basics is boring, so that's where cheaper and trendier items might come into play. Hitting up stores like H&#38;M and Forever 21 are good for this purpose. Also if you have a New York &#38; Co nearby, I highly recommend it. The prices are incredible and the quality is actually really good, and they always have some kind of promotion or sale going on. Go to your favorite stores' websites and sign up to get special offers and discounts emailed to you. I have an email account especially for that purpose. That way I can just ignore them whenever I want to, but if I ever need a discount or coupon code, I can just check to see if they emailed me one. </p> <p>A lot of people here have gone through some remarkable transformations. Sarah is looking better every time I see her, and Dani is light years ahead of where she was when she first started posting. This place is really amazing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-21967 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:11:19 +0000 nadinef45 21967@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I work in an office most of the time so I need trendy business casual 5 days a week. For the rest of the time smart casual with a trendy and urban twist would be awesome. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-21966 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:01:32 +0000 julijuli 21966@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I totally second Becky's suggestion. I'm also working on rebuilding on a tight budget and since I mostly wear smart casual, I've started with a fab pair of flats and am working finding a great new pair of jeans. I think Shiny gave the suggestion to get those basics first (shoes/jeans) and then wear them to various stores and start playing with tops that work. THis would allow you to go to some less expensive places like Forever 21 and H&#38;M to build up your wardrobe. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-21965 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:57:41 +0000 Becky 21965@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What is your lifestyle like? Will smart casual be your primary mode of dressing? If so, review Angie's posts on smart casual to see what key pieces will give you the most mileage. I'd say a great pair of jeans would be an excellent place to start. Perhaps you can begin by going to Nordstrom or somewhere similar and trying on lots of different brands/styles of premium jeans to see what is most flattering in regards to brand, style, and size, and then look for discounted denim on bluefly.com, shopbop.com, or at TJ Maxx or Marshall's. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/rebuilding-a-wardrobe#post-21958 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:21:15 +0000 nadinef45 21958@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Okay. Now I know what shape I am and I'm starting to understand what is going to flatter my body the most. (Thanks to much needed feedback and a handy camera!) </p> <p>So the next problem is that much to my chagrin, none of the clothes that I already have really look that good (or as good as they could). Well, most of the bottoms are okay but the tops are all wrong I now realize and I don't have much in the way of accessories, handbags or shoes.</p> <p>How do you build a whole new wardrobe on a tight budget? Any tips?</p> <p>Thank you! </p>