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Dressing

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My Essentials

Anonymous

I'd say that the following items are what I absolutely need:

Ponte pants in navy and charcoal
Jeans - dark blue and white
Printed tops (rarely do I wear a solid top)
Pullover sweaters
Dresses (wrap and sheath)
Footwear for fussy feet (must have arch support; Dansko is my fav)
Warm cardigans and jackets
Summer clothes for the vacations we take - shorts, sleeveless tops, and cropped pants; lightweight cardigans

Dressing

20 replies

Latest reply was from

RobinF

Veteran

This is all new to me, but it seems like your list isn't specific enough. Like, you have dresses on the list but wouldn't at least some of these be statement pieces? And then the footwear and maybe a jacket or whatever you wear with it the essential? It might be more useful if you were able to narrow it down. Just some of my thoughts but like I said, I'm still trying to figure this all out so I could be way off

Anonymous

Thanks. I was trying to be more general and only list what absolutely needs to be in my closet. If I decide to be specific, that list will get a lot longer, lol. I do think you have a good point, though.

Ginger

Veteran

Hmm, this looks to me more like a summary of your entire wardrobe. The "essentials" that Angie talks about are more narrowly defined than that. Basics + essentials + statements all together make your wardrobe.

It helped me to list specific items first. Like your ponte pants. Those aren't the focal point of your outfits, are they? You would have a hard time getting dressed without them, and you like to have multiples, right? They sound like good essentials. For me, various skirts in black and white are my equivalent of this essentials category.

But the printed tops. Those sound like your typical statement items. They're what give the punch or pretty or fun to your outfits, right? That makes them statements. I have pretty much no tops in my list of essentials, because that's often where the statement comes from. Same for dresses. The dress is the statement for me, whereas Staysfit wears an essential dress with a statement scarf or shoes.

Same for shoes. Are they important because they add interest, or are they important because you need to have something on your feet? Dark, comfortable footwear may be an essential for you.

Hope that may help some!

Anonymous

I get what you're saying, but that doesn't change my list that much. Yes, the tops are statements, and so are the dresses. They're still essentials because I need tops and dresses. In this instance, my tops and dresses are both essentials and statements. Shoes can be statements, but most of the time they're not. I prefer for the focus to be above my waist. I forgot to add jewelry to my list. Most of my jewelry is worn as statement; not essential.

Style Fan

Veteran

I am still trying to figure this out BC. When I read what you just wrote about wanting to keep the focus above your waist then it makes me wonder if you are using statement tops to do that. You may be wearing a statement top everyday. I wear statement earrings everyday (I had put them in essentials but Angie told me they were statements).

rachylou

Veteran

This seems right to me - but I over think this concept and muddle my own list.

I think Essentials are, in my own words, what you need to get dressed in the main. Get dressed, be happy, and in your style. You might have one or two stand out pieces that are unique, but they don't get you dressed. Unless maybe if they're a onesie...

And Essentials don't have to be quiet and neutral. That's why for example patterned leggings can be Essentials for me and patterned tops Essentials for you.

On the other hand, I've probably gotten something wrong here, lol!

anchie

Veteran

I would disagree with the concept that if you need something to get dressed that this must be essential. I need outerwear in my climate, but they are not on my essential list because I preferre statement outerwear. You don't have to have essentials in every category. Essentials are more like supporting act to your other items, without them you will not be able to create outfits, but they are not central piece in your outfit either.

Anonymous

You make perfect sense to me, Rachylou, and funny about the onesie.

If "essential" isn't what you need to get dressed for your lifestyle and climate, then what word would you use? I'm just curious because, like everyone else, I'm trying to figure this out.

rachylou

Veteran

My thinking is, it depends how you draw the lines, and how general one draws the categories. I mean, sometimes I think, I need a top, bottom, and shoes... and that's way too simplistic. I really need specific types of each both to function and be happy stylewise.

Also: I'm not sure that Essentials are always interest free, plain, and/or quiet. Like I think red shoes could be an essential for someone, even if they stand out and provide a focal point often times.

Also: Statements, I'm starting to think are really singular. An outfit doesn't have to have a statement in it to be complete. But your wardrobe has to have all your essentials covered, or there will be ... suffering, lol.

Anonymous

Maybe it helps some of us to be general, and others to be specific. I just know what I need for my job, leisure activities, and vacations--my lifestyle, if you will. I'm sure my tops make statements, but I don't have very many solid-color tops because I happen to love prints. It stands to reason that while the tops could be considered statement pieces, they are also essentials because I can't complete my outfits without them unless I choose to wear dresses all the time. Notice I didn't include skirts in my list because I don't own any skirts and honestly don't need them.

shedev

Veteran

I second Anchie, your printed tops form the backbone of your style, but the pants and shoes that make them work are essential to getting dressed in a cohesive matter.

rachylou

Veteran

Ok ok. I read something else that Angie said to back up Anchie. Staysfit's specs (and Angie's come to think) are statements, not Essentials - even tho, of course, corrective lenses aren't an option.

I think what gets me is that a striking part of your outfit is not automatically a statement, I don't think.

Anonymous

It just seems to me that if something is necessary, it's automatically an essential, though I also think that an essential can also make a statement. I'm not going to take tops off my list because I have to wear them, lol. Just because they're printed and make a statement doesn't mean they're not essential. I hope this makes sense to someone besides me.

Ginger

Veteran

I think you're defining "essential" in a different way from what Angie is using. Angie's using it as a specific, almost technical term in relation to different elements of a wardrobe (basics + essentials + statements = wardrobe). She's not using it in the literal it's-essential-if-I'll-be-arrested-without-it sense.

Anonymous

That's right. As Angie wrote, "Essentials are the things that allow statement pieces to take center stage."

Anonymous

I don't think of my tops as statement pieces. They're just printed tops.

Anonymous

OK, so what do you like to be "center stage" with your outfit? Jewelry maybe?

Anonymous

Jewelry is about the only thing left.

Anonymous

Bingo!

Anonymous

I guess people think I'm making a statement when in my mind I'm just wearing clothes.