Unless you live in a nudist colony, you're pretty much going to need clothes to wear. Dozens of 'must-have' lists populate fashion magazines, with 'essential' this and that. Unfortunately, these lists don't make a lot of room for individual expression. The idea that "every woman needs a little black dress" or "every woman needs a tailored white shirt" is a bit ridiculous.
What we consider to be a functional wardrobe isn't built on a 'must-have' list; it's built on your lifestyle requirements. Here’s an example:
Let's say you're a professional woman, working in an office downtown and commuting to work on transit. You sometimes attend after work parties in the evening and you love to do active things on the weekend. A functional wardrobe for you will need to include professional items such as jackets or cardigans, tops with sleeves (unless you’re never going to take off your jacket or cardigan) and more tailored skirts or pants. It might also include dresses (if you like them) and ideally, you’ll want items that all work with one another so you’ve got maximum mix and match opportunities. You’ll also need a cocktail outfit (which doesn’t have to be black) or two for those after work parties and some yoga jeans, casual tops and bottoms for your active weekends. How many of each kind of item you’ll need is based on how many hours you spend working, socializing or doing other activities. Throw in as many accessories as you like (scarves, jewellery, belts and bags) to complete the outfits and you’re good to go. Then you can always add in items for fun, things that are new or trendy to try, things with pattern or texture, or things that are more occasion specific, like a fun piece of jewellery or a fun top or dress for a special occasion. You can have fun with your day to day items too by adding more colour or pattern, but we want to make sure that everything you buy is something you’ll actually wear and enjoy wearing.
Most people have far more items than they need to have a complete wardrobe and many people have items that don’t go with anything else in their wardrobe, or that don’t quite fit or don’t suit them. We’re learning the skills (check out what we’re up to on our website) to match the colour and style of pieces with your colouring and personal style to make sure that what you buy suits you well and has a purpose in your closet. You may find you can buy better clothing and still save some money.
