One big thing about getting older and starting a career is having the wardrobe to do it. I’ve talked about dressing for professional success before, but never really talked about how to build your wardrobe properly. It’s a hard thing to find pieces that are fashionable, but still work in you’re everyday life to go from work to play (note: not every piece should be able to go from work to play in your wardrobe, some should be one or the other!)
1. Less is more. One of the mistakes I think people make is thinking they need hundreds of pieces to have a good wardrobe and they end up with things they don’t love or wear often enough. It’s much better to have fewer high quality pieces that you want to wear every single day and can mix and match to create different looks.
2. Start early. When you’re starting to interview for internships and will be starting your career, start investing in some pieces. Step out of the Forever 21 skin tight dresses and start looking at more sophisticated pieces. Think about the staples that you will need in your wardrobe that will last you forever. I’m talking nude pumps, navy blazer, a pair of jeans that makes your backside look great, work bag and a sweater you could live in. It does take time to build your wardrobe, because finding the best pieces takes time, so don’t panic and think you have to buy everything at once.
3. If you can’t drop the big 4 letter word, you shouldn’t be buying it. Think of this as a commitment, if you can’t honestly say you absolutely LOVE it, then you shouldn’t be buying it. This was a big problem for me for a while, I would buy things that I didn’t love and they just sat in my closet and later I would kick myself for wasting the money. I’ve really tried to only buy things if I can use the big L word.
4. Don’t buy things for the name. We all love to have the big designer names, and don’t get me wrong, I’m no different. But that’s not always realistic or practical. Just because it is made by one of your favorite designers doesn’t mean it’s perfect. There are lots of pieces in my wardrobe that I love and they’re not made by anyone special. I used to “love” everything designer but as I grew up and was able to form a real opinion, I was able to see what I actually loved and what was just made by a designer I liked.
5. Pick pieces you can use over and over again. Take a black cami for example, you can wear it with a great pair of jeans and heels for dinner, or put it under a blazer for work (depending on where you work of course!) It’s a total staple in my wardrobe because there are a million ways and places to wear it. While I was on vacation I think I wore either my black or cream cami nearly everyday.
Here are a few of my picks for key pieces for your wardrobe with some fun trendy items that can be worked in, just click the images to shop:
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Last little tip- buy what you actually like, not just what’s “on trend”!
