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Checklist for identifying workhorses?

catgirl

Veteran

As long as I've been on YLF, I've been struggling with my own nature, which is to get distracted. For example. Museumgal's color post sent me off on a wild goose chase related to cobalt, which is a fantastic color for me but hard to find in items I would actually wear. As much as I've honed my style, it is still really hard for me to tell what will be a workhorse and why.

Some workhorses in my wardrobe are:

black boots (Gidigios, Ugg Cortonas, and Harley Davidson mid-calf boots)

Kut from the Kloth Jennifer ponte skinnies

Joie cashmere tunics

F21 jersey draped cardigans and black t-shirts

Gap boyfriend jeans

Meanwhile, blazers, dresses, and most skirts are going unworn. And I didn't predict any of these as workhorses - they just kind of happened.

Are you able to logically parse out what will be a workhorse in advance? If so, pray tell!

Dressing

55 replies

Latest reply was from Caro in Oz

Adelfa

Veteran

My workhorses have to be comfortable. So no matter how much I love a style, how appropriate it is, if I don't feel good physically in it it's just not going to happen. I think your workhorses are comfy too!

Deborah

Veteran

I actually find it really difficult. I might think something will be workhorse and then I hardly wear it?!?

Or I might make a spontaneous purchase, and often it will be quite inexpensive, and then wear it til it falls apart.

General tho, when I think about it, my workhorses would be

Garments that are black:)
Skinny leg jeans & pants
Waist surrendering toppers & dresses
Boots (Black)
maybe other things but i would have to think more.

My work / office skirts are languishing in my closet.

The other thing I can say about my workhorse items is that they are easy to wear and comfortable.. so how they feel these days is as important as how they look.

Sunee

(website)

Workhorses are :
Comfortable
Perfectly fitting
Versatile
Usually (but not always) neutral
Classic (not overly trendy) cuts & colours
Easy to care for (if it's always at the cleaners, you can't wear it)
Good quality (or at least looks it)
Reflects your personality and lifestyle

When making purchases for things you expect to have the lowest cost per wear (eg, the things you wear all the time) that should serve as a great checklist.

catgirl

Veteran

Fab list, Sunee! That is really obvious now that you've said it but would never have occurred to me in these terms.

MuseumGal

Veteran

See this is why I'm hesitant to sink money into nice stuff. The expensive stuff that should be perfect doesn't get worn, while some random $17 thing from JCP turns into a workhorse. So frustrating!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Honestly, besides comfort and ease of wear, price is a factor for me. Those $10 steals are very easy to throw on and not worry about. My $8 olive dress from Ross is by far my most worn dress of the last few years. But a runner up is the $50 long sleeve olive shirtdress tunic from UO, so it could be fabrication and color at play too.
Durability is another thing I consider. Delicate feeling fabrics I'm less likely to wear and more likely to save.

Ah, I have a list I scratched down a few months back!

I wear:

what I'm not afraid to ruin or over launder
what's comfortable
what fits perfectly / flatters

I don't wear:

what's too fancy or that I'm afraid to wear it out (as in holes, fading; not as in out of the house, in public)
what's not comfortable - binds, slides, itchy, sweaty
what I'd deem wasteful if only worn alone at home and then over laundered

catgirl

Veteran

Mo, that is very true. I'm often more cautious with my expensive items, and duplicate my cheap faves. On the other hand, if it falls apart after 5 wearings, how much of a workhorse is it (F21 cardi with holes!)...

Sunee

(website)

I don't think price is always a factor here. If you are going to spend a lot of money, make sure its ama-zing! But if I can drop a little wisdom on you for next time you shop, do this:

Put the item on without looking in the mirror.
Turn toward the mirror with your eyes closed.
Open them and make a 3 sec decision. It will either be YES!!! or it's a no. There is no maybe in this system
(unless the hem line needs alteration, which is cheap and easy)
If you only buys items that are YES!!!!!!! you will never waist another shopping penny.
Now, it's frustrating cause sometimes you just want to shop.
In this case, buy accessories.

Dee

Veteran

I think others have covered the comfort and fit factors pretty well. Going back to MuseumGal's power colors post, things in my power color are often pieces that will end up workhorses. It's a combination of a color I know works and that in and of itself makes me feel put together. For me, workhorses are also often things that work well with many other pieces in my closet (in terms of color, and can be dressed up or down), so I know they have the potential to be re-mixed often. That said, sometimes I do pick something up on a whim and end up wearing it all the time, so it's clearly not a perfect system!

catgirl

Veteran

Sunee, I often do that - it also let's me think about how the garment feels on without considering the LOOK, because if it's not comfy with eyes closed, it's not going to get more comfy when I open them!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Una, true, but price is not always a reflection of quality as we all know. Both dresses I mentioned ripped along a seam. The $50 ripped the first wearing! The $8 took almost a dozen wears. (maybe my dresses are telling my hips something, or I'm just not that ladylike when I sit in them, I dunno!)

catgirl

Veteran

Mo, that's true too and then it's even worse!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

For the record, I know that I'm not supposed to say price is a factor, and that CPW trumps it, but I'm a slowly reforming bargain hunter and I can't deny my nature!
That said, I put my white jeans out in wine tasting territory and they got red dripped on them. I put my new shiny metal plate sandals in rough Tahoe sand to dance to the live band and they got dulled. Both were mid range price (for me) but I loved them too much to 'protect' or save them and so there is hope for me yet ha ha.

DonnaF

Veteran

Nope!!! Items I was certain would be workhorses never turn out that way. I also sometimes have a torrid romance with an item for a month or two and then it gets somewhat ignored.

It was quite an AHA moment for me when Suz mentioned that she like button front shirts but not so much when she has to layer them so they don't get much wear in colder months because they feel too restrictive. So I think for me, restrictiveness is a barrier to frequent wear. I have a puffer vest and a military vest, and both have seen a lot of wear because they provide warmth without being restrictive at all.

Any type of fussiness, including DCO, seems to be a barrier to wear for me.

Items that require a bit of styling effort get worn less. I have a shirt with tiny pink dots and another one with a pseudo Liberty print; both feel more femme than I am comfortable with so I feel like I need to wear them with more masculine pieces, and I don't necessarily want to wear those things.

Mine is a rather negative list, isn't it? What I see on your workhorse list is items that work well in a cold climate, including layering. It is hard to be warm enough in skirts and dresses, and layering underneath and on top can be quite a PITA. And blazers can be uncomfortably restrictive. At NAS, I bought a heavy sweater jacket which gives me the shoulder structure I need that cardigans don't provide, but is also stretchy like a cardi. Hope it doesn't get too horribly pilly too soon.

catgirl

Veteran

Of course price is a factor!

Catnip

Veteran

I haven't read all of the replies.

To me, a workhorse has to be comfortable, of very good quality, a color that looks really good on me, and the fit has to be nearly perfect. Not a lot of clothes meet all these requirements, but when I find something that does it's nearly always a workhorse.

Gigi

Veteran

Una, I think you are psychic...I was just thinking about something very much along these lines tonight at dinner. I was thinking about favorite wardrobe items rather than workhorses, but the two are often one and the same thing.

I liked Sunee's list, and she included a lot of things that I had pinpointed when I was musing over my bland vittles. Here's what I came up with:

-Versatile (my workhorses are neutral colors and classic cuts and adaptable for a wide range of situations)
-Well fitting
-Warm for winter, cool for summer (i.e., they work well with the season for which they are intended)
-Good quality
-Comfortable

I will say that my overall style has a good dose of modern classic in it, so that is why classic cuts are workhorses for me--I can pair them with just about anything. But your style is so different from mine. Perhaps for you, a workhorse would be a black, edgy piece that is a more on the "toned-down" side and could be easily paired with a variety of items.

I will also say that price isn't much of a factor for me. In fact, the more expensive an item is (like my Aquatalia boots), the more I try to wear it, as long as I'm not going into clearly dangerous territory (like inches of muddy water).

I will also say that I had to come up with this list because I am like you--I have a hard time pinpointing what's going to be a workhorse. Some of the things I purchased intending to be workhorses (the Aquatalias) became so; other things I purchased to wear once in a while became unexpected workhorses. I think that one of the main reasons expected workhorses don't pan out is the "comfort and fuss" factor, which is often something that takes real-life wearing to figure out. Does this sweater remain comfortable throughout the day? Do I have to keep adjusting the waistband on these pants? etc. So you can't always know. On the other hand, I think that unexpected workhorses will be created any time all of the above criteria that I listed are met, simply because the item works with A LOT in your wardrobe and is therefore an easy thing to reach for when you're getting dressed.

rachylou

Veteran

Huh. That would be a No. And I don't suppose I ever even try to find workhorses. I think I worry more about duds... You think I'd be able to tell that. I can see, looking at my shelves, that everything preppy is a total dud. Lol. But I'm hard coded to have these things...

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Fit, you can try to get right when you buy, but some issues only become evident after wear. Same with durability - sometimes price or brand is a predictor but often not. I think YLF is full of all of us trying to figure out what works with our personal aesthetics and makes sense for our lives, so that's a moving target.

Ok, lets be pedantic for a sec. What counts as a workhorse? Lowest cost per wear? Frequency of use? Amount of time that it continues to be wearable? Easyness of integrating into your wardrobe and making outfits? I think any of those are possibilities but which one you put on top of the priority list will influence what items end up feeling like workhorses.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

This is an excellent question Una and one I need to give some thought to. But, I can already safely say that no.1 criteria for me is comfort. Besides, Coco Chanel said: "Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury."
I think it's safe to swap the word luxury for workhorse.

In my case the next thing would be the colour. I feel and react too strongly to colours to ignore just how big role that factor plays. The most comfortable of items will languish in my wardrobe if the colour is off to my eye and/or mood. The colour is actually the first criteria I scan items by in the brick and mortar shops.

Then there would probably be the recognised need for some item, so I am buying it to fill the wardrobe hole. It patches it immediately, and since it's already passed both comfort and colour criteria, it's in rotation.

Off to read the other answers in the quest for smarter wardrobe management.

catgirl

Veteran

Oh, great answers ( and questions) here. High five, Gigi! We are on the same quest. And O, wise as always. LOL Rachy.

Laura, a workhorse to me is something I can reach for and wear almost anytime well and effortlessly. In my new work world that would be items I can put on in early morning darkness and feel I will be presentable later on....

So a corollary question: what is a workhorse to you?

ramya

Veteran

Comfort and it needs to feel cozy.

I am emotional too. I see at times I wear my recent purchase to pieces and in few months I won't touch it.

Cost is a factor too. No matter how much I like an expensive item it's just not in me to wear it over and over again.

That said my fav jeans are repeated a lot. So fit is an important part.

Color is another thing. I got 2 sweat shirts. One in orchid pink and other slate grey. I reach to my pink one more than grey.

In spite of all this I can't always predict what I would like because my tastes change. I was into fitted items. I just wasn't feeling my dressing right the past few days. In rationalising I realised that I no longer like the bodycon fut. I prefer it fluid.

April

Veteran

Ah, you mean identifying the workhorses in advance? Goodness. I didn't even know that was possible, since it seems like workhorses have a way of declaring themselves over time. And as MG said, the expensive things we were convinced would be workhorses so often go unworn, while the bargain cheapies come out twice a week. (MG, I look on this as a case of "it all evens out" so that I don't go mad.)

The idea that you could know before purchasing whether something will be a workhorse is a new one for me. It brings to mind Wayne Gretzky's observation: "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be."

Joyce B

Veteran

This is a great post. You god very good advice from other fabbers.
Some work horses can be identified immediately like your good basic slacks and tops, mostly in neutral colors so you are safe to match them easily.
I am keeping track if your post to have the good advice handy.

Anonymous

Great post, Una. For some reason I think that if it is black, it will be a workhorse. That is not particularly true, although my wardrobe would not function without black.
Comfort for me is mostly not feeling too warm or too cold and footwear must not pinch. Hot flashes are a factor.
Besides everything on Sunee's great list, the item needs the right supporting pieces. I like to find a top the same color as bottoms to be able to create a column of color or at least low contrast. It makes the outfit easy to grab and go just by adding a topper that can vary in dressy/casualness and weight, depending on the event or season

amiable

Veteran

Comfort, versatility and durability are huge to me actually wearing something lots. I'd wear a black sweater lots if the two that I've bought so far this year weren't both pilling factories (after very few washes)....

I also thing that something that's just a little "out there" for me makes it feel fun, and get worn more (like my velour black/white color blocked 80s sweatshirt) - at least within a particular season....

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I think Sunee and others have great points - in fact, the mirror trick can go a step further for me. Try something on *without* looking in the mirror and try to decide if you're going to likely keep or return before looking, based just on the way the item fits and feels to you. Zip it up, snap it, scrunch the sleeves, move around, etc. Then, after the no mirror test, look in the mirror and see how your judgment is swayed.

I imagine that if a person were visually impaired, this is more of the way they would choose their clothing.

I know I've been focusing on "feel" lately and it's been making it much easier to choose items I will wear.

Aziraphale

Veteran

I'm not great at predicting this kind of thing either. In fact last October I made a list of every item of clothing I wear in order to properly get a handle on what actually was getting worn. Maybe you could try that, and then extrapolate? For example, I know I wear jeans a lot, but I was surprised to discover how often I wear my dark-wash, straight-leg jeans. So then I could ask myself, why do I wear them so much? Answer: (a) they're really comfortable; (b) they offer a flattering shape when paired with most tops in my closet; and (c) they are the best pants to wear with my workhorse booties. The colour is also good, but probably not the reason they are workhorse jeans. I like "normal" blue jeans as much as dark wash. I could therefore surmise that I I bought a second pair of jeans like these but in a regular blue wash, they would probably also be workhorse.

Also, sometimes something's a workhorse because it's a useful item and you only have one of it. I had a charcoal boyfriend cardigan that got a LOT of wear because it was so handy to throw over a tee shirt for warmth, and worked with both pants and skirts. It was also very portable -- just thin cotton, so could be stuffed in a handbag. I finally got a couple more when I realized I was wearing the darned thing every two days.

I realize that this is not a checklist, but might be helpful? Already there's some excellent advice. Sunee's list is great. The only thing I'd add is that the item has to be something you'd wear in your normal lifestyle. You can have a great-fitting, comfortable blazer in a neutral colour, for example, but if you don't have a blazer lifestyle it's not going to be a workhorse.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Wow, what a fantastic thread! I know we've discussed this in the past as well, but the answers this time seem richer and more helpful by far! I also struggle with this -- because for me, it's a cinch to identify CATEGORIES of items that will be workhorses, e.g. jeans, knits in winter, woven tops in summer, skirts in summer. But it's a whole heck of a lot harder to identify the specific item -- in advance -- that will turn out to be the one I reach for again and again within that category.

I think in that case, it comes down to two things:

Fit -- it has to be perfect.
Cut -- it has to be current, and make me feel special somehow -- yet versatile and work well with other stuff in the closet.

I love Sunee's list and Joy's addenda. Very, very helpful. Aziriphale offers a great way of analyzing it, too.

And WOW -- the "close your eyes" test that Sunee gave and Texstyle amended -- I don't know if that will help identify true workhorses but it will certainly make it easier to confine all buying to items that we truly LOVE!! And those have a higher chance of becoming workhorses.

And yet, for all that, there will always be those items that we buy on impulse, that turn out to be incredibly wardrobe warriors that we wonder how we ever lived without. I guess that is part of having fun with fashion. Finding those things is a true joy.

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