It can be nice exploring clothing types and fashion styles, and one of the most common here would have to be the classics. You just can’t go wrong with gravitating towards the classics. In fact, a classic wardrobe sounds very low-effort when people describe it. Usually, you can expect a nice coat, good trousers, decent shoes, a bag that still looks expensive, maybe a watch, maybe a bit of jewellery, and apparently that’s enough to look put together forever.
Which, sure, is simple enough, but it’s not quite like that either. Actually, a wardrobe doesn’t keep that polished look just because the pieces started off nice. That would be convenient, of course, but clothes just don’t care about anybody’s aspirations. All it takes is a bit of mismanagement, like leaving them hanging about, cramming them into bad storage, ignoring little repairs, keeping wearing the same tired shoes with everything, and it of course just gets to the point where the whole wardrobe starts looking a bit flat, right?
That’s usually how it happens, too. Just a few times, things get a bit rough, like a frayed hem, scratches on leather shoes, a dead and scratched-up watch; these are probably related enough to you, right? But with a classic wardrobe, well, you need to keep in mind that the work is never done if you want to look good.
It’s About How You Keep the Fit
This is such a big one, and people still brush past it like it’s no big deal. A piece can be beautiful, expensive, classic, timeless, all of that, and still look a bit off if the fit’s gone weird. That’s usually where the decline starts. Sometimes, it’s all due to someone being made of poor quality, but that’s fast fashion for you. But that’s not always to blame here. Sometimes, it can be a fantastic piece made with good quality, and time just does its thing.
For example, maybe you used to wear a lot of heels, but with age, your heel size is shrinking, therefore your trousers are too long or just don’t fit the same due to the heel sizes changing. Maybe you just lost some weight, and so a dress of yours just isn’t wearable anymore. These are common.
So, the biggest piece of advice here is to accept that your body and your choices will change, but if you want to keep those exact same pieces, then you need to go to a tailor. Some people can’t afford that, so you can learn to tailor your own clothes or even use “hacks” online (like the safety pins and string hack) to make clothes look more fitting.
It’s About the Accessories Too
One of the fun things about a classic wardrobe would be the fact that you can add trendy accessories, and the outfit doesn’t look “out there” or “too on trend,” and it won’t look outdated (well, usually) in a few years. Sure, theres some pieces that will forever be blatant, like the Gucci belt trend a few years back or micro bags. But no matter what accessories you have, no matter how much you’re spending, they tend to be well taken care of, just like your clothes.
Sometimes, this could mean needing to do a watch battery replacement, as a dead watch is a pretty useless watch; sometimes, shining shoes isn’t enough, and they might actually need a cobbler. Sometimes, a leather belt can be mended, and the same goes for regular glasses, sunglasses, and jewellery too. All of this was common at one point in time, at least before that whole throwaway culture became a thing.
But it helps to be picky about what accessories you get. While it doesn’t need to be a luxury brand, you do need to make sure that whatever you buy can be maintained, like buying a watch where you can replace the battery, for example.
Don’t Let Good Fabric Start Looking Tired
Please just keep in mind here that when it comes to building up a capsule wardrobe, it just can’t be stressed enough that it’s all about the fabrics. You usually see people tell you to stick to natural fabrics, but whatever fabrics you choose, you’ll have to really make sure to take good care of them (which can sometimes be hard with fast fashion).
Basically, fabric tells on people. It really does. A nice knit covered in bobbles, a coat full of lint, a shirt that’s gone limp (theres a look to it), well, it all shows. So it’s about how to wash your clothes, it’s the detergent you use, you need to steam them, it’s how they’re hung, be-bobbling the knitwear, it’s those sorts of things to keep in mind.
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