Bare Necessities

My sister and her family visited town last weekend and Andrea and I got a little chance to go shopping saturday morning. She has recently lost quite a bit of weight and needed new clothes for her new body, and was basically starting her closet from scratch since she is a couple sizes smaller than what she was. Therefore, she was my first client! I helped her pick out flattering pieces that are necessities for a woman's closet. My sister is the complete opposite of me, fashionably speaking. She loves clean lines, structure, and matching, so it was a fun challenge for me to pick out pops of 'my style' with some structure. 


Our shopping spree got me thinking, what does every woman need in her closet? So I jotted down 7 things I feel are bare necessities for every woman, no matter what her style is. 


1. Black pants
- a nice, tailored pair of basic black pants that fit well! Black pants are everywhere so you don't have to spend a fortune, but make sure that the material is durable and will hold up over a long period of time.


2. LBD/ LWD (little black dress/little white dress)
- nice enough to wear to work, but can be dressed up with accessories for evening wear. 


3. Blouses
- I believe you really only need 5 or 6 blouses to survive. The key to this is buying different arm lengths, material, patterns so that you can mix and match with pants or skirts that you already have to create a new look.


4. Cardigans
- wear them over a blouse, a dress, or buttoned up with a pair of pants, It's the perfect piece for a year long look.


5. Pencil Skirt
- I would choose a black or grey color so that it is more versatile, but this little item is the answer to a lot of my 'what should I wear today' questions.


6. Boots
- I can't say enough about a good pair of boots. I realize that we southerners only really have about 4 good months to wear these, but it is worth the investment! Boots go with dresses, skirts, pants, leggings, jeans... the possibilities are endless. 


7. Jeans
- No matter what the fit (skinny, boot cut, flare, trouser) every girl needs a good pair of jeans.  


If you're starting from scratch or re-expanding your wardrobe, I suggest looking into a few of these key essentials that will never leave you standing in front of your closet aimlessly looking at your clothes.


This sums it all up:

http://www.anntaylor.com/ann/outfit/outfit%3Acat50008/ANN-Must-Have-Outfits/cat50008?supCat=cata00002


Happy Labor Day!