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Hello my beauties! I know I’m late, but if I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, HAPPY NEW YEARRRR! I’m back focused and back on the blog, so let’s get into some new content for 2020.
Speaking of FOCUS – that’s my word for the year. To really focus on my goals and streamline all aspects of my life, including my wardrobe!
I go through these phases of refining my personal style and well...that’s how I'm feeling again. It started with an extreme decluttering of my closet which made me realize that I don’t really have a lot of pieces that I love anymore. I find myself grabbing the same things over and over again or having to buy whatever it is that I need and don’t have at the moment. And that’s getting really old, really fast.
So while I take the time to rebuild my own wardrobe, I figured I’d bring you guys along the journey so that if you need to do the same, you can join me!
Beginning with this post, I’ll be starting a new series called ESSENTIALS x SYN CITY, where we’ll focus on building our wardrobes from scratch with everything that’s essential to having a BOMB, functional closet.
To kick it off, let’s set the foundation with the basics.
THE BASICS
Basics are THE most essential pieces to any wardrobe, no matter what your personal style is. They’re the things that keep people like me with a closet full of clothes claiming, “I have nothing to wear.” In the purging of my closet, I came to the conclusion that I constantly have nothing to wear because I don’t have good, quality basics.
But what exactly am I referring to when I use the term ‘basic’?
Basics are like blank canvases of everything we wear. A plain grey tee, a white button-down blouse, regular wash denim jeans, a neutral-colored blazer — all of these things are what I consider to be basics because they can be used over and over in your rotation and still give you different looks every time, depending on how you style them.
A FEW POINTERS
Most mass retailers carry all kinds of basic pieces, and you can tailor them to whatever aesthetic you’re looking to have. Here are a few pointers to help you carve through all the options:
1. Quality > Price
Basics are one of the things in your wardrobe that I’d actually encourage you to splurge on. Considering the fact that you’ll be wearing them over and over again, you want to make sure they're sturdy enough to hold up through a lot of wear and tear. Otherwise, they’ll end up ruined and there you are, spending money again. Think about how many times you’ve bought cheap camis only to find little holes in them when you look down? Or that raggedy strap that you can’t seem to fix? It would be worth your while to splurge upfront to keep your basic pieces forever rather than getting cheap ones that you don’t get a lot of wear out of.
2. Treat your basics as delicates.
If you’re going to splurge on quality items, you should treat them as such. Of course, try not to ruin them with stains and whatnot. That’s a no brainer. But more than that, you should be careful with how you wash and clean your basics. Whether people want to admit it or not – nobody washes their denim jeans unless they absolutely have to (because I sure don’t). With every wash, your denim will deteriorate and eventually fade, especially if it's dark or black denim. If dry cleaning is affordable in your area, I’d recommend making that investment (because preserving your clothes is absolutely an investment). If that’s a little pricey for you, hand washing your clothes is always better than machine washing, and DEFINITELY don’t tumble dry. Get a drying rack or find somewhere to hang them out to dry. The same goes for your camis, blazers, dresses, etc.
3. Basic, but make it personal.
If you want to elevate your basics or give them a fresh look, choose different textures, colors, or a different take on a classic design that works for you. For example, instead of a boring cotton fabric cami, you might opt for a satin or silk fabric. Someone who does this well is Zara – my favorite place to get basics. Their white button-down shirts are the perfect examples of a different take on a classic design. They always carry the regular white button-down shirts, and they also have different variations of it with exaggerated puff shoulders, extended length hems, oversized fits, and everything else in between. You can get this same variation with their coats and blazers as well.
If you're a fan of Zara or want to check out some of their pieces, I created a FREE e-book to serve as your guide to finding the perfect styles. In this e-book, you'll find all the essential pieces you need to build a strong foundation for your wardrobe.
*READ THIS BEFORE DOWNLOADING THE E-BOOK*
This e-book is meant to simply serve as a GUIDE and nothing more. Feel free to tailor it to your liking with your personal favorite neutral palette, styles, designs, brands, and pieces. This post nor the e-book is in any way sponsored by Zara – it's just one of my favorite places to shop, lol. Use this same practice at your preferred place to shop!
I hope you guys enjoy! Leave a comment and tell me what you think.
See you on the next post!
xo,
Syn