It’s time to learn to plan your wardrobe. I’m going to start with the radical (for this genre of writing) assumption that you actually own clothing. However, I’m going to assume that most of it doesn’t quite suit you and wants upgrading. Maybe you have a few awesome items, but the rest of it is just *meh*.

Step 1: Make a budget.

Oh wait, I’m sorry, wasn’t this supposed to be fun? Yeah. I know. This is not the “fun” place to start. However, I’m old-school, and we don’t shop until we know how much we can spend.

If you don’t have a budget for clothes, you won’t shop well. You won’t shop mindfully. You will go cheap or you will go wild. Everyone does, including me. This leads to guilt and waste.

“They” say that you should budget about 5% of your take-home pay on clothing and shoes. That’s a good starting point… if your bills are paid and you aren’t drowning in debt. If things are tight, and you still need to do some clothes shopping, make a budget anyway. If it’s $10 this month, well – that’s what it is.

Step 2: Determine your colors, work through your style, get your destination in mind.

Like Step 1, this is time consuming. But if you don’t know where you’re going, how can you get there? Look, I don’t know if you need to buy brown shoes or black ones. I don’t know if you need to save your pennies for really comfortable tennis shoes because you’re a nurse and your feet are your foundation, or if you sit on Zoom calls all day and what you need is a great haircut and some amazing earrings. Maybe you’re a housewife… I don’t know. But YOU know, and you need to get this down on paper, please.

The days where we all more-or-less had the same outfit expectations are long gone.

Step 3: Start with foundations.

Wardrobe Foundations means the building blocks of your wardrobe. These items are likely to be boring and/or invisible and some of your more expensive items.

• Bra: Buy one that fits. Be fit, quite probably. Skin tone and smooth. If you haven’t replaced your bras in a year, this may be what’s meh-ing up your wardrobe. Bras stretch, and they have a short life-span. You will be hand-washing this bra and air-drying it in order to have it last for you as long as possible.
• Shoes: Buy a pair of shoes that are fit-for-purpose (comfortable enough to do life without thinking about your feet) in your base dark color. This is likely to be your largest foundational investment.
• Bottoms: Buy a pair of pants or a skirt in a basic color for you, in a fairly durable fabric.

If you need to budget one item per month, put these into your wardrobe budget in order of need. But be honest with yourself. If you haven’t bought a bra in five years, that IS the first thing you need to buy. (Again, I am not assuming that you’re naked – I’m assuming your wardrobe isn’t serving you well). It will change the look of every garment you wear.

Shoes are similar. I have badly injured feet and my shoes are expensive. I don’t have a choice about that. I have to invest in shoes that aren’t nearly as interesting as I’d like them to be. But if I’m limping, the rest of my outfit is completely irrelevant. I’ll hold my body awkwardly and throw off the line of my clothes, make faces, get tired early… nope, it’s better to wear the shoes that work for me, even if I’d really like a pair of stilettos. Upgrading your shoes upgrades your entire outfit.

Finding a nice pair of slacks or skirt in a color and style that suit you, well fit to your body will be an adventure – and we’ll talk more about the adventure of acquisition as we go along. But that’s your third wardrobe foundation, because it simultaneously fades into the background and gives you something to build on.

Imagine………

Let’s pretend you have a collection of print polyester blouses and polyester black stretch-slacks as your starting place. That seems to be the default wardrobe. All of this is a bit worn. First, you change out your bra. Well, a new bra can help you stand straighter and nearly always makes you look as if you’ve lost a bit of weight. Still got the worn clothes, but you’re holding yourself better. Good.

Next, you switch out your shoes for something basic, comfortable – but nice. I’ll assume that you’re changing your base color to brown. Let’s change that out in the mind’s eye from the scuffed, uncomfortable shoes you were wearing. Oh. Okay, looking better.

Now, we’re going to change one pair of those black stretch-slacks out for a pair of chocolate brown wool slacks with a pleated front. Suddenly you have the opportunity to tuck in your blouses.

Can you see it, in your mind’s eye? Great.

And now you know why they call these items “Wardrobe Foundations”. These boring items can make or break your entire outfit. These three basics will get you holding yourself better and in the mindset to make incremental change.