The hunt for a simple wardrobe

The hunt for a simple wardrobe

I’m known for being somewhat tough on myself when it comes to style.

When I look back on my younger years I realise clearly that I’ve had periods where I preferred quantity over quality, which implied going to the shops just to buy ‘something’ for a dinner date or any other specific event. I had a wardrobe that was bulging and at the same time a chronic feeling of dissatisfaction on not knowing what to wear. When I’d buy a magazine I’d encircle the trends that I liked, or perhaps only colours and styles and I would kind of namelessly go on the hunt for a similar item, while I would forget about it one month later.

The second time in my life I had to move places (I moved to Madrid, Spain for a job) I was given the hard choice of only packing one suitcase for a (minimum of a) one-year period. Knowing myself (and therefore knowing the fact that my style changes as my mood…a couple of times per day) I zipped in a coat, a scarf, a bunch of shirts, one pair of jeans, a pair of black slacks and three pairs of shoes. A decision I haven’t regretted since.

Even though I was seen as a serious outfit repeater in Madrid (sorry, stylish Madrileno friends!) I did have the most consistent, easy to assemble and matching wardrobe I ever owned. Those pieces were simple, sleek and of good quality and were so easy to put together in the morning that I even had time to treat myself to a cup of coffee AT HOME (goodbye spilling coffee over your all-white ensemble in the metro on your way to work-kind of mornings).

Moving to France however made things a little trickier. Where Madrid was the easiest place to not be tempted into buying-madness (although ZARA did unfortunately pull me in a couple of times) France was a little different. Being constantly surrounded by all the beautiful clothes, style and charm of the French I felt a sudden need to ‘refresh’ and ‘update’ my wardrobe. That’s when I decided that a little list would bring order in my life.

Hence my little list of so-called ‘must-have’ basics. I will always, however, insist on finding basics that work for your style – and even more important your figure, so a little experimenting is at its place. Call me compulsive, but I think that sticking to a list can help getting a grip on your buying impulses and even on your spending habits. And everyone likes to work towards a goal, don’t they?