Jenn, so well put. That is why I am going to decide what my Essentials really are next year January, as I am tracking wears for the first time as of 1 Jan. I think the tracking of wears will tell a (slightly different) story every year.

I really like how Suntiger, RunCarla, Christina, JenniNZ, Rachy and Jenn explained things.

SarahD8, I see essentials come through quite strongly in your style. Almost all your dark neutral pants/jeans, coats, and boots are essentials. Some of your neutral cardigans too. And your bohemian white blouses you like to layer with almost year round. Perhaps this was an intuitive thing for you, and it all came together organically. But there are the essentials!

FashIntern, from what I've seen, you are an eclectic, arty and maximal dresser. You usually like to create a high contrast somewhere in your outfit. You wear a lot of pattern, and there are many more statement items in your wardrobe than you think. Your statement pieces are not essentials - and there in lies the confusion. As for non-neutrals, items in very quiet berries can be essentials - much like my own blush items, and deep burgundy/eggplant items for others. Your red boots are not essentials - they are a statement item.

The navy and cream tops you linked to another thread are great examples of essentials. Maybe the ice pink cardigan, burgundy cardigan, black moto, navy coat, and black combat boots too.

Angie, thank you for helping to clear things up! Could you please also comment on essentials vs completers?

LaPed, the way you describe your non-essentials as things you wear often but could replace sounds just like the way I think of it. Not the plaid/stripes examples, but cranberry/pink pants, and lots of other things. Like you and Sarah, I didn’t intend to get caught up in this, but here I am. My son has been laughing at how much effort I’m putting into the training sessions for my entry-level job, even though the instructor says I’m doing great. I just can’t approach anything school-like any other way. Sounds like you’re the same, at least with this, as am I.

Star, I get caught up in all the defining and categorizing without really knowing why I’m doing it. Can you explain what you think it will help with?

Nemosmom, that is awesome and I entirely missed it, lol!

Jenn, your Mr. Bean example is great! Neither you nor LaPed are thread-jacking—your comments are right on the money. The whole “not the platonic ideal wardrobe” subtopic is great. For now, I think I’m over that.

RL, yes, you said the Corps was essentials, and soloists were completers. In Angie’s metaphor, supporting roles are essentials and extras are completers. So, by the communicative property, you’re equating the corps with supporting roles and soloists with extras.

FI, I will try to explain how I understand statements/completers/essentials. Sorry for the awful quality of my pictures but it’s easier to explain with visuals.

pic 1 statement sweater. Not the most versatile piece, oversized and requires dry cleaning. Will not be replaced with something similar.

pic 2 essential, cashmere crew neck sweater. I’ve been buying the same style for 6 or so years, have them in all my main colors. I call them my “winter t-shirts”, they work with everything in my closet. Will replace once worn out.

pic 3 completer, wool cardigan. I needed a cardigan, this one works for most of my tops. I don’t know if I will replace it, by the time this one is old, I might like a different style of cardigans or will need another color.

I absolutely LOVE this explanation Irina - perfectly clear to me now!! Thank you

That’s a great illustration, Irina!

Irina, thanks for posting. I’m coming to realize that this is much more about the attitude we take to essentials and completers than any intrinsic qualities of the garments themselves. What you say about your cardi—it works just fine, goes with most things in your closet, and you don’t plan to get a replacement when it wears out—is what I’d say about pretty much all my clothes. Some of them are “bolder” than others, so I guess they are statements. They won’t be replaced 1:1 either. Even the Intimissimi tops I’m so happy about will just last as long as they last. I need to have something to fill that spot, but it doesn’t have to be them any more than these specific pants need to be the ones on my legs right now. I assume that when the cardi is worn, you will eventually get something else, because you need clothes to cover your body in the winter, but it won’t necessarily be a cardi just that color and cut. So it sounds like the “plasma” I was talking about are completers. Now I know.

Hi FI, to answer your question, the reason I am tracking wears and analysing pieces is so that in the future I can reduce the number of items in my closet and to be sure they actually have a function (not just that I like them). I am on a No Buy and will only replace essentials.

leaning a lot on this post! thanks Irina for the pictures, very helpful!

Star, thanks! I hadn’t thought of the whole categorization exercise as part of shopping plans.

Minaminu, agreed—pretty awesome how people are explaining and demonstrating!

My latest take on this is that statement pieces are essential to my style, no matter what the “extras” are.

Okay, Jenn's point is really interesting. It never occurred to me that one could use the activity of identifying essentials as a "state of the wardrobe" check-in. This might be something I do intuitively and have a hard time translating into analytical/categorical terms?

And yes, FI, this is the plight of the straight-A student in the real world, determined to excel at even the most inconsequential things.

Ha! Yes to Star, that’s what I’ve been doing these past 4 years. Not a no-buy, but a less-buy ( or to the straight-A student mindset, should that be a fewer-buy? ) I also school intensively on certain things but there are many I don’t even try as I can recognise they will be beyond my capabilities.

... I’ve never been able to take a class to ‘meet people’ because I sit in the front row with laser focus on the teacher like the pencil squib I am...

Eh... thought better of it

Sarah, are you trying to get out of nerdom? We know better!