For Angie : are your essentials represented across casual/ work/ dressy ? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

For Angie : are your essentials represented across casual/ work/ dressy ?

Anonymous

Angie - I’m wondering if you ensure that you have essentials replicated across all three of casual / weekend wear , work wear , and your dressy capsule . Replicated in terms of having a navy coat in each of those 3 categories ; a striped top in casual , dressy , and work fabrics etc; if that makes sense ?

My perennial downfall in wardrobe management is the category of essentials . I have trouble keeping work/ casual/ going out capsules separate in my mind and don’t address the needs of each one the way I think I should . I’m thinking I should keep my work collection ( all black ) completely separate from the rest of my wardrobe and focus on developing my “ personal “ clothes in colours I’d rather have , like navy , olive , mustard , teal and cognac . Not sure if that’s a great strategy or not.

I welcome your thoughts .

Dressing

34 replies

Latest reply was from

rachylou

Veteran

That is an interesting thought... essentials across major activity categories like this. My dress up clothes are too one-off. My at home clothes fall into pre-packaged outfits and mix and match... All my work clothes are mix and match, but office days allow for more possibilities... my turtlenecks are making a reappearance come to think of it...

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

For me it would depend on how many hours I am in my work "uniform" how often it needs to be washed, and how much I want to preserve those items (black fades easily in some fabrics). In other words, I would probably keep my work stuff separate to make sure I didn't ruin it ! Not at all what Angie and other highly polished people would need to consider.

Deborah

Veteran

For what it's worth, these days I really don't have separate work, casual. dressy capsules. Most of my clothes just go everywhere lol

I have a few items that are definitely dressy (but only a few) and a few things I wouldn't leave the house in lol but I now look at my wardrobe as one big capsule that is versatile to wear almost anywhere for anything.

I quite like your suggested strategy. If you are comfortable that you only want to wear those items for work then yes why not separate them. How often do you wear them? I am not sure how many days you work? But if they are items that you would mix in with your non work outfits I would tend to keep everything together.

Runcarla

Veteran

I thought that you loved black? You know, for that ‘fashion editor’ look. I could see black items working with navy, olive, mustard, teal, and cognac. Invest in black, navy, and cognac essentials, and olive, mustard and teal statement and completer pieces. Do the black on black thing for work, and mix and match those black items with more colourful off duty elements for non-work times. Date night might be regular garments, but elevated footwear and accessories. A (black) pseudo tuxedo of coordinating black trousers and jacket acquired for dressy could be broken up and worn as separates for work, etc. Keep it simple.

From your outfit posts, I would list your essentials as follows:

Black athletic luxe bottoms (joggers, skinnies or leggings, full leg), classic blue jeans, black jackets and cardigan style sweaters, trendy black footwear, oatmeal/off white tops (mostly knits/sweaters).

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think you wear your (non essential) colour and pattern mostly as a top, accessories (scarves) or as outerwear, but, I think you have trendy black outerwear (possible essentials) as well.

Note: I don’t see ‘trendy’ as being the same as ‘statement’. Just as Angie identifies jeans in trendy silhouettes as an essential for her, I see trendy black footwear as essential for you.

slim cat

Veteran

I separate some of my work essentials from the rest of wardrobe - like black and navy jackets, black and navy pants, some knitwear and black flats ( only used for work ).
Some essentials like my graphic tees used daily for work and for casual outfits. Same goes for shoes/sneakers, scarfs, bags, jewelry, belts.
One of my co-workers mentioned to me that my after work look was much more colorful than work outfit ( she haven't seen me in summer time when our dress code was more relaxed ).
I'm planing on developing more colorful side of my wardrobe - pretty much like you described it ( although I'm not limited to black pieces at current dress code - it's just easier to find ).
You wear black pieces really well and some of your work essentials could be combined with more colorful pieces - like @Runcarla was suggesting.

Helena

Veteran

Lisa, I think this makes sense ... that's not to say that items wouldn't necessarily work in multiple capsules, but if they have sort of a 'homeroom' capsule, then you can be sure all your bases are covered.

Not that I have much distinction in my lifestyle categories, but a couple of times a year I do write down my different roles/activities, roughly how much time I spend in each and therefore roughly how many outfits I need for each, and then slot in what I've got into the categories - this makes it easy to see if there's a wardrobe hole somewhere.

I think it's possible that the same essentials could work across all categories, with accessories and statement pieces being the changing factor ... but that's a matter of personal preference I would say. Might be more important with an essential-heavy style vs. a statement-heavy style?

Not sure if that addresses what you meant or not!

Anonymous

Thank you all for commenting. I'm really curious how Angie herself addresses this . I guess my question could have been better posed as: should I have the same colour palette across all 3 categories (dressier/work/casual) and thus ensure each one has the appropriate essentials? Even though we don't share a style sensibility, I felt that I could take all of her essentials, pop them into my own closet, and have a great foundation for dressing.

Anonymous

Carla - thank you for providing useful and thoughtful insight and suggestions. I *do* like wearing black, but because it's mandatory for my work days (about 22 hours right now) , I never wear any of my black pieces outside of work (with the exception of tights, leggings and jeans) . My OTF's for example , have lasted so long because I only wear them a couple of times month at most. There is some sort of mental block I need to get past there in order to make more efficient use of the clothes I have. (and this block , per se, is why I have too many clothes ) .

Helena

Veteran

Lisa, just popping back to add, given your work wardrobe is (I think?) at least partially mandated in terms of the colours, etc., I think I would treat that as a separate category altogether ... just because no matter where your style takes you, it is always going to impose a hard line beyond your control (even though it's not a 'uniform' per se) ... as to the other sections though, looking forward to Angie's take!

LaPed

Veteran

I'm curious about this too, as I'm bad about having pieces I *could* wear but set aside to save for some imagined purpose/event.

Having a dress code to deal with definitely throws a wrench in things, and I can understand wanting a break from black if you associate it with being at work. But I wouldn't set a strict rule; maybe just give yourself permission to wear whatever strikes your fancy on your days off and see if a pattern emerges? If you reach for some black pieces some of the time, so be it. If not, that's fine too.

(I say all this, but I'm terrible about it myself. I *could* wear a tweed suit on an at-home day, but I definitely don't do it. Angie might though. )

nemosmom

Veteran

Although I am not Angie, I think your strategy of separating work black from life black makes perfect sense. You could always borrow a piece from one to create an outfit for another, but maybe treating work clothes as a uniform is a great solution (not unlike any other professional who maintains a specific set of clothing for their job, like attorneys, restaurant workers, or nurses).

A waitress who is required to wear black pants for work would possibly choose DIFFERENT black pants for her OITW life - maybe a different fabrication or silhouette or whatever, but black pants would still be an essential item, if that makes sense.

Runcarla

Veteran

@ Lisap - Can you create 3 distinctly different capsules from the garments and accessories that you currently have on hand without any crossover? It would be an interesting experiment. Then you could retrospectively assess what are the essentials in each, and whether or not you need to ‘borrow some glue’ from one capsule for use in another, or whether you want to actually buy an essential that might be missing.

I would be interested in learning what neutral/colour you currently use the most in your everyday capsule and in your dressy capsule. Other than blue jeans, I don’t see much blue or navy in your OOTD pics.

Anonymous

I like the concept because it allows for the application of orderly thinking to all categories of dress and a broader interpretation of the headings, essentials can be part of dressy wear and statement pieces aren't just dressy, etc.

I got a little hung up by the idea of three navy coats because it veers towards excessive duplication. Maybe what qualifies as an essential in one category would be significantly different in another?

Jules

Veteran

Not Angie obviously, but I feel a modern classic trench coat, pea coat, or wool dress coat in one's neutral of choice should work for most people's work and dressy capsules - one of the benefits of having classic pieces in neutrals, and having a larger, comprehensive wardrobe in general. And looking at Angie's essential coat picks I think several of her coats would work as both.
For example I've identified that since puffers became trendy and more nicely designed, I really don't have need for a wool coat, which aren't that functional in my climate anyway - but part of that decision was the realization that I don't work in a business dress setting or go to any dressy events that require a "proper coat". Even funerals in my community don't require such. I've also decided to focus on a smaller, functional wardrobe geared to my lifestyle rather than things I might have assumed were essentials in the past (trench coats and wool coats being two prime examples). If I did want or need a less casual wardrobe I would buy each of these in a fairly classic version in my neutral of choice first and expect them to do double duty (work and dressy), and only then expand from there into fun colours, interesting details, dressier versions...

LaPed

Veteran

Jules and Phoebe -- I struggle with coats too, and how much duplication I should be comfortable with. I feel like outerwear and footwear are really a special case, because for a lot of us style is a secondary consideration, taking a backseat to climate. If I really paired down from a style perspective it would be: long puffer, short puffer, long wool, short wool. Dark/medium neutrals, not light. And I do have those covered!

But the reality is that if I were forced to keep only four pieces of outerwear, they'd all be technical, with varying degrees of insulation/breathability/waterproofness. So the wool coats are purely for style points, not because I actually need them or reach for them daily. I don't think I wear them often enough for anyone in my life to associate them with my style. I'm not gonna lead a preschool nature walk in my funeral coat you know. There was a time (most of my 20s) when all I had was a really cool wool duffel coat, and I was always cold, but boy did I feel like my true self.

Jules

Veteran

It might be fun to go back and look at Angie's holiday outfit posts from years past... because they are fun to look at! And might sometimes show which coat she paired with them?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

LisaP, good question. Short answer - YES. Especially in these essential categories:

FOOTWEAR

OUTERWEAR

JEANS

TOPS

I err on the side of dressy so my essentials tend to be dressier when compared to the essentials of others. I remix my dressy with casual in almost every outfit. I hike with my pearls, for example. I do not have casual jewellery.

I LIKE your strategy A LOT! It sounds like you could benefit from creating a separate set of capsules/ensembles for “work only”, which is a required almost all-black uniform. Keep this separate in your closet too, if you can. I have clients who keep their work and non-work wardrobe items completely separate, and it helps them focus, and choose an outfit in the morning. This will also allow you to see exactly what you have, at a glance! Build the collections with FINDS too, if you like.

And do you know MM La Fleur? I think their stuff could work well for you. Lots of beautiful quality essentials in capsule form, which some of my clients swear by. Even if you just browse the site, you might be inspired.

https://mmlafleur.com/

Suz

(website)

Veteran

It seems to me the strategy of making up work exclusive capsules could be useful to you -- definitely worth a try.

But it seems it's lifestyle dependent and role dependent, right? In my own case, in the "before" times -- a dressy navy blazer and a dressy navy dresses for each season would have been essentials. But nothing dressy is essential for me during the pandemic. It's just not. My roles have changed. So many of my dressier items were for presentations, events, and going out.

Anonymous

Yes, Suz, those items have certainly changed for me too. I still want to have a collection of pieces for going out to restaurants, bars, dinners etc , because I"m hopeful that that part of my social life will return later this year. When I posed the question, I had a very specific thing in mind, and now find it hard to articulate. In a dressy/social life capsule, for example, one still needs a coat , bag, footwear etc that could be the essentials in that capsule. Assigning each of the three categories (dressy, work, casual/everyday) their own essentials is a goal that makes sense to me. This way I can make sure I'm not over "stocked" in certain areas and "understocked" in others.

Angie - yes, I know MMlafleur and agree it's wonderful for work capsules. I've never seen any of the items in person though. I have enough black work clothes to last the rest of my life - seriously - and need to focus my attention on the rest of my everyday clothes, which are so uninspired and all-over-the-place. I appreciate your sharing your own essentials management strategies - I can use it as a benchmark .

Lucy

Veteran

I must say I do have quite separate work wardrobes and weekend clothes. I basically have three separate wardrobes, with some but not a lot of crossover.
My work clothes are still quite dressy. I really do wear the same stuff as pre-COVID, as we are fortunate to have been back in the university campus since last July (bar one three day lockdown a couple of weeks ago). I mainly wear fairly formal dresses, and I have a few pants and skirts, but mainly dresses. These don't cross over much at all. A few jackets do cross over, and some tops.
And on the weekend, I have casual outfits for days, mainly denim but also some cooler cottons for hot weather. A lot of these are nice enough for a lunch out or an evening BBQ. I have some clothes for going out to dinner or to somewhere fancier than usual.
When I had a less formal work attire, I had lots of things that moved between, ie I might wear a dressy top with a denim skirt (this was a while back, lol!), or a fancier tshirt with a dressy skirt. But now I've found that trying to mix things up too much gets stressful, and it is easier to just know there are limitations. I don't really worry about it, as long as they are all getting worn in their own way.

Anonymous

I wrote a bunch about formality levels on my thread, but personally like to keep at least a similar color scheme across my capsules.

That said, the main thing (to me) with the activity capsules is that the things go together within that capsule and can be identified quickly. You could think of it like Mad Libs
The (capsule) has (colors/prints) and (types of pieces).
The "casual dinner" capsule has navy, teal, mustard, cognac and jeans, denim skirts, loafers, and silky blouses- that sort of thing.
Disclaimer- I haven't managed all my capsules at that level!

It's not necessarily adding anything new, just organizing what pieces you like for what activity. Maybe a color scheme emerges naturally. Maybe some of those pieces for work need to be "borrowed" cause they turn out to be essentials.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Lisa, I get it, and it does make sense to me. Here's an example from my own life. Years ago, I had such a spotty wardrobe (no. money, no shopping savvy, no sense of how you build a wardrobe) but I did know enough to know I'd need a dressy outfit for XYZ (although often I had to run out and buy same at the last minute, LOL.) Anyway, I'd get the dress and the shoes...and then feel awful because the only coat I had was an old brown puffer that looked horrible on top of the dress. GAH. Like Cinderella except it was all turning to rags before I even got to the ball!

So, absolutely -- you need a coat that is going to work with the outfit if you live in a cold climate, or you don't really have an outfit at all, and you're clearly missing a key essential (or at least, I was!)

Some people have the same problem in reverse -- they don't have the essentials to build decent casual outfits.

So I really think it's worth considering in these terms. I definitely did so when I was just starting to get a handle on my closet. I decided that I wanted certain items in my key neutrals and my first goal was to buy those, along with good footwear and scarves and the odd top or jacket as a statement. I only began adding more completers and statements after I'd amassed what I considered a good complement of essentials across all main roles and all main seasons.

Now, my essentials are really pared back, but it's honestly a function of lifestyle. It will change whenever we get released from this hellish pandemic.

In Finds, I have a few items that would have been dressy essentials for me a few years back...

David Meister Side Pleat Woven Sheath Dress

View Info

Top Pick

13

Nicole Miller Lauren Stretch Linen Dress

View Info

Top Pick

9

Collection floral jacquard top

View Info

Top Pick

8

Belmonte Dark Navy Tuxedo Jacket

View Info

Top Pick

16

Eileen Fisher Eileen Fisher Tilda Stacked Heel Pump (Women) | Nordstrom

View Info

Top Pick

17

Anonymous

Thanks again Suz . I think one of my ( current , ha) problems is not knowing what I want for these essential pieces - especially for casual/everyday wear . Everything online is about the sweatsuit right now , and I’m uninterested in that . It’s going to take some time to sort this out , and for once in my life I’d like to relax into the process , as Angie says , and not just buy stuff out of frustration .

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

LisaP, don't buy anything yet! We can help you create a wardrobe essentials plan together, if you like. We can brainstorm together, create structure, focus, and completely relax into it. Make sure the items are in the right categories, dress codes, and seasons for your evolving personal style - which is now semi-retirement. It can be a fun process! No rush.

And we will start by shopping your closet for the essentials. Then we figure out the gaps, and fill them.

Anonymous

I’m going to take you up on this !

anchie

Veteran

Glad that Angie will help you sort it. Just wanted to share my situation. I have different essentials in my work and casual capsules because I have different requirements for those. For example, because I wear blazers to work, my essential coats in that capsule need to fit over blazers and are more dressy, usually raglan sleeves wool coats in light and dark neutrals. Essential coats in my casual capsule are puffers that are more fitted because no need to layer over blazers. Same thing with my essential sweaters - work sweaters are thin layering type to fit under blazers, while my casual essential sweaters are more bulky stand alone type. My work capsule has navy pants as essential while my casual capsule have dark wash jeans instead. My work essential bags are bigger than my casual essential bags. There is no overlap actually
when I think about it. Not sure if this helps.

Anonymous

This is what my wardrobe looks like too, anchie. I don't think I currently own a coat that would fit over a blazer - but that isn't really a priority anymore . I was really just curious how Angie herself handled her wardrobe .

Liz

Veteran

Lisap, quite selfishly I hope you do take Angie up on her offer! : )

You always start interesting discussions, and I feel like I would get to learn a lot by getting to eavesdrop as Angie guides you. What fun! (at least for us -- hopefully for you, too.)

Jenni NZ

Veteran

No surprise that I’m with Phoebe? 3 navy coats definitely veering towards excessive duplication to me?
But then I don’t live with a cold Canadian winter

12