This wardrobe will take you through a whole season, and beyond if you're creative!
It's based on seven dresses, but I will show you how to add shoes, separates, and accessories to make you look fabulously feminine and put-together with minimal effort.
Monday-Friday: Working/your normal daily life...you want to look pretty and professional, but be comfortable too.
Saturday: Relaxing-- a day to express your fun individual style while still looking beautiful
Sunday: Dressy-- perhaps you go to church, or to brunch with extended family; or this might be the dress you wear out on Saturday night.
The examples I choose are for a spring/fall wardrobe of temperate climate; you will also make adjustments for the season. The nice thing about dresses is that adding tights and sweaters easily transitions them to colder weather.
Planning your Wardrobe:
(1) Identify your color season. While this blog will delve further into these topics later, The Chic Fashionista does a great job with personalized style guides. Look at your color palette. For example, mine is Cool Summer, and my color palette looks like this:(2) Choose your favorite colors.
Using the options given from your palette, list the following for yourself (note that you can lighten or darken any color as you wish)
Favorite light neutral: light grey
Favorite dark neutral: navy
Favorite color: periwinkle
2nd Favorite color: raspberry
3rd Favorite color: sea-green
(3) Identify your body-type, from a style guide. The Chic Fashionista, again, is a wonderful resource. It is definitely possible to have a mixed type: for example, I tend to be an hourglass leaning towards a pear-shape. The type of dress you want depends on your body type: so choose a favorite or two styles of dress that will favor your body.
For an hourglass/pear combination: I prefer wrap dresses and nip-waisted/shirt waisted vintage styles that accentuate a slim waist and curves.
(4) Find your Monday-Friday wardrobe: five dresses you can wear to work or anywhere else. These should be dresses you love.
a. A light-neutral dress
b. A dark-neutral dress
c. A dress in your absolute favorite color
d. A dress in your second-favorite color
e. A dress in your third-favorite color
For example, I might choose the following frocks. All of them are conservative enough to wear to a workplace, but comfortable enough that I won't get tired of wearing them all day. And I'm totally in love with all of them.
(5) Find your "weekend dresses." I challenge you to stretch yourself here: choose two colors or patterns from your color palette a little bolder or lighter than you're used to wearing, something really expressive. One should be on the casual side, the other on the formal side.
For mine, I rarely wear light pink, but find that people compliment me when I do. So I choose something like this pale pink dress, which is cute and casual. I might also choose to try a dressy pine-green piece, another color I rarely wear.(6) Choose your shoes
You will need at least two pairs of shoes to complete your looks. Petite women (5'5" and below) look best in heels, as they elongate the legs, adding to the appeal of a dress. Tall women can get away with ballet flats.
If you can have only two pairs, choose comfortable medium-height heels that are the same colors of the neutral dresses you chose. If you have the budget for more, go for heeled boots in dark brown or black (which always look classy, and are far enough from your face that it doesn't matter if brown/black is "your color"), and then a pair of heels that matches one of your favorite-color dresses.
For my wardrobe, I would choose the following:
(7) Add in other pieces: This is a spring or fall wardrobe, so I will need some covering over the dresses when I'm outside. Accessories and jewelry make an outfit "click" and give you many varieties so you don't get bored.
- Light Coat: Choose one of your neutrals; it does not need to be the same as your dresses. The cut should be flattering to your figure.
This trench coat is belted at the waist for a feminine silhouette and is in a neutral steel-grey from my color palette.
- Blazers or Cardigans: Choose two neutrals and one favorite color from your palette that coordinates with all your dresses.
- Scarves: Our grandmothers used scarves all the time to liven up their small number of dresses. Choose one neutral and one in any other color from your palette; but don't limit yourself to two; look for them in ethnic and thrift stores for an inexpensive way to create new outfits!
- Tights: For chilly days, choose a pair of tights in a light neutral and dark neutral, same as your dresses.
- Jewelry: If your skin is cool-toned, go with silver; if warm-toned, gold or copper. If there are colors, make sure they are within your palette, and try to go with the color of your eyes (this will make your eyes look stunning). Wood, pearl and stone are lovely accents that can be worn by anyone. It is nice to have a small number of "signature" pieces that are meaningful to you.
.
The Extended Feminine Wardrobe
Does all this mean you can't wear jeans or other separates?
No, of course not! Jeans, pants, shorts, (and of course skirts) can be part of a feminine lady's wardrobe. You just have to be sure to coordinate the pieces well, and save the pants for more casual occasions.
- A pair of fitted jeans. These should be in a shape that flatters your body, perfectly fitted to show off the curve of your hips. It is generally best to wear a heeled shoe with jeans.
- Two skirts that flatter your body type. A-line is universally flattering, but hourglass and pear shapes look great in fitted pencil skirts. One should be in a neutral color, the other can be any color from your palette.
- Tops: As a rule of thumb, you should have two tops that work with each skirt or pair of pants: one to dress it up, and one to dress it down. However, even your most casual tops need to look well-fitted and neat.
Now look at all the gorgeous outfits you have!
What about thrift store shopping?
Thrift and vintage shopping is a fun and inexpensive way to build your wardrobe. Some of my very favorite items of clothing were purchased for under $10 at a thrift store. Thrift stores are a much better use of your money than shopping at low-end chains!
If you choose (or are financially constrained to) thrift shopping, you won't be able to completely plan your wardrobe beforehand. However never buy something that is not your color or not your shape.
You'll probably need to be flexible about your favorite colors, as it's unlikely you'll find exactly the one you're looking for! But as long as you stick to your color palette, you may end up with something even better.
No comments:
Post a Comment