From ‘Project Runway’s’ Tim Gunn, here are the 10 essentials every woman needs in her wardrobe:
o Basic black dress.
o Trench coat.
o Classic dress pants.
o Classic white shirt.
o Versatile skirt.
o Blazer or jacket.
o Day dress.
o Cashmere sweater or any occasion top.
o Jeans.
o A comfortable sweatsuit alternative.
— Chicago Tribune
This all started because I was too lazy to hang up my clothes.
A few weeks ago, I was changing my clothes after work and tossed my pants on a bedroom chair. Actually, I dropped them on the floor.
The next morning, the pants were right there — how convenient — just a few steps from the bed where I’d left them. So, why bother thinking about what to wear? I just picked up the pants, put them right back on and headed for work.
Pants, Day 2: Nobody seemed to notice that I was wearing the same thing. Not my spouse. Not my cubicle mates.
That’s when I decided on my little experiment. I’d change my top, my jewelry and shoes but I’d wear the same pants every day. I figured it was only a matter of time until someone suggested it was time for a change.
It never happened.
For two weeks I wore the same dark gray pants. There was not so much as a raised eyebrow from the people who saw me every day. Pants, Day 3 was the same as Pants, Days 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. No reaction. Nothing.
Remember, I work at a newspaper. My co-workers are trained observers. Many of them are in the visual part of the business. Some edit the style and fashion pages. Nothing.
I’m pretty sure I could have continued my trousers test for months but it got boring, putting on the same thing every day.
Wardrobe workhorses
What I learned is a lesson for us all. We don’t need a closet packed with stuff. A few wardrobe workhorses will go a long way to building a stylish look. And basics don’t have to be expensive.
I bought these particular pants, unlined wool by MaxMara, for $60 at a consignment store. And I’ve seen $10 suits for men and women at Goodwill that could be the backbone of a versatile and varied personal fashion statement.
Think of dark pants — or a simple black dress or skirt — as your backdrop. Scarves, jewelry, a simple shirt, a jacket, a sweater, a belt, some interesting shoes — they’ll completely change your look as they did mine during my two-week experiment.
In the past few years there have been a variety of well-publicized wardrobe simplification movements like Six Items or Less, sixitemsorless.com, where participants pick a half-dozen basic items and wear only those for a month (with lots of exclusions like underwear, shoes, heavy coats, accessories, workout wear). Or, the Great American Apparel Diet, thegreatamericanappareldiet.com, whose participants vow to buy nothing for a year (exceptions here, too, like shoes, underwear, accessories).
I don’t like rules and I’m not much of a joiner, so those exercises don’t appeal to me. But what does appeal is the idea of making maximum use of the money I spend and the space in my closet. That’s why putting my clothes spending on a diet and instead relying on a handful of core items seems so smart.
With that in mind and to get you thinking, I paired my well-worn pants with items I already had in my closet to create this trio of totally different looks that assure that no one will guess you’re wearing the same thing over and over again.
