Start With The Basics

Your questions give me the inspiration to go more in-depth and cover specific subjects in blog posts. The following was an excellent inquiry. “I was wondering about the number of garments you have. Do you keep a fairly minimal wardrobe? For example, do you keep just one white tank, or do you have several?”

I almost always wear only solid colors and use accessories such as scarves to add vibrant prints and rich patterns to my look. White, black, navy, denim blue, and gray with occasional pops of red or royal blue serve all of my needs. With a few essential pieces, I can mix and match to create looks from very casual to dressed for a black-tie event.

Regarding color, I would recommend starting with a dark, a light, and a bright. If you look better in warm colors, your choices might be brown, cream, and olive, for example. You can pull in accent colors such as coral, turquoise, or navy, but you need to build upon various tops and a couple of bottoms with your basic pieces.

There are more tanks in my wardrobe than any other item because I wear them several times each week. I wear cotton loose-fitting casual tanks with wide straps when I am walking for exercise. I add a light windbreaker jacket, which I remove when I get warmed up. There are wrap front styles with layers that I can wear alone with a lightweight pull-on style of a pant with a wide waistband when it is sweltering during the summer. I do not show my waistline, so the loose-fitting flowing styles are the only ones I will wear alone. There are fitted scoop neck tanks such as the sleek microfiber tanks from Chico’s, which I wear to fill in a neckline, and front of an open jacket or sweater. I never remove my jacket or sweater.

I have several Covered Perfectly tops with long sleeves. They are perfect to wear with jackets and sweaters. The Simple Comfort Top is the one I am wearing here. We were on our way out to dinner, so the evening was cool. It was the perfect first layer.

I have found that if I have the correct shape of basic first layers, I can add jackets, sweaters, a vest, or a fabulous scarf draped over my shoulders to create an uncomplicated look that will take me anywhere in style and comfort. The first layer should never add any bulk. For example, I would never wear a thick cotton knit long sleeve tee under a sweater because I would look ten pounds heavier. The same sweater over a sleek-fitting tank would be a much better choice.

The red trench sweater duster I am wearing here is from Chico’s, as is the necklace. The trench comes with a matching belt, but it felt too heavy with this look, so I left it at home. When I wear this trench with a white tank and jeans, I will wear the belt either hanging loose or tied low in the back. I will never tie or buckle it in the front because of my thick waistline. The pants are from White House|Black Market last year. The short boots are from last year by Saks 5th Avenue via the Saks Off 5th Store. The clutch is about three years old by Kenneth Cole via T.J.Maxx.