Building a classic wardrobe – the concept is great, but where do you start? Good clothes are expensive and then there are the trends, and what about the seasons?? Not to mention the items you already own, can you incorporate some of those pieces into a ‘classic wardrobe’?
In this series of articles we’re going to conquer this together.
The goal: To build a classic wardrobe of fashionable, reasonably priced, functional, good quality, clothes that will be stylish, no matter the season or current trend, that will last for years to come.
OK, so where do you start? Let’s start with what makes a garment ‘classic’. A piece of clothing is classic if it can ‘stand the test of time’. This covers both color and clothing. A few examples of classics pieces are black suits, white button-downs, wool sweaters, denim jeans and jackets, leather shoes, polo shirts, and trench coats.
Another factor in a classic wardrobe is material. You want to stick natural fibers as much as possible. Read the labels and find out the percentage of fiber content go with natural fibers as much as possible: cottons and wools are your best bet. Natural fibers breathe better and if the fabrics are good quality they’ll last a long time, if properly taken care of.
So, next let’s talk about how much to pay for clothes. Start looking at your wardrobe as an investment. The money you spend on a garment should give you an ROI (return on investment) of many, many wearings [I don't think that is a real word, but you know what I mean]. If it doesn’t last a long time or goes out of style quickly, then you just wasted your money. Some clothes you will splurge on and others you won’t.
Your wardrobe is an investment in yourself. If you don’t love it, don’t buy it! My rule is: if I’m not absolutely thrilled with how the clothes look on me, I don’t buy it because I know I won’t wear it. Take a little time when trying something on look in a mirror where you can see your self from all angles. Does it lay well? Does it fit properly? Does it make you feel great? Take it home and try it on again – do you still have a ‘yes’ for all the questions above? This might seem silly at first, but remember clothing is an investment that should pay off for a long time.
A classic wardrobe is also functional wardrobe. Functional means that each piece will mix and match together. You want each item to be able to be paired up with at least three others. This way you are not spending more money on other new clothes to have something to wear with a new purchase. When you are considering buying a new garment think about your wardrobe and how that piece will work with what you already own.
The last area we’ll cover is trendy clothing. If you spend a lot on an item that is fashionable ‘right now’, next month when the trends have gone in another direction you’ll probably not want to wear your ‘dated’ garment. Trends are hard and expensive to keep up with that’s why you build a classic wardrobe that will work for you for a long, long time. If you want to buy an item that is trendy, don’t invest a lot of money into it and realize that you’ll probably only wear it a couple of times before it end up in the back of the closet.
In Men’s Clothing: How to Build a Classic Wardrobe Part 2 we’ll start working on what are some basic pieces to start building that classic wardrobe.
Thank you for reading and if you would like a specific topic covered in this series please leave a comment below or send an email.
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