Outfit Ideas: The Basics

"How to Plan Your Wardrobe with
Organizing Ideas & A Shopping Plan"

Like I mentioned in the main Guide to Outfit Ideas - before we start learning how to put together outfits, it's important to go review your wardrobe so that you'll have an overview of what you have, what pieces are missing and what you need more of.

Woman trying to come up with outfit ideas in front of her closet

Woman trying to come up with outfit ideas in front of her closet

Look at this as securing all of the ingredients you need to make your outfits. Wardrobe Essentials cover the base of your outfits, and make it easier to mix and match. Think of them as the kitchen essentials - flour, salt and sugar!

Step 1: Organize
- Organize Your Closet

Before you'll be able to get something out of the outfit ideas - all pieces should first be visible and readily available to you.

Now imagine drawing a picture in the living room with your crayons scattered all over your house. You need red but aren't sure if it's somewhere in the kitchen. You want blue but it's under your bed. You could really use some brown but you're not sure where it is.

Now the most common reaction to this is to go out and buy new crayons.. even though you already have them somewhere in your house!

My point is that having an organized wardrobe is very important when putting together an outfit. Everything should be organized so that you can easily take out clothes and accessories when you need them.

Woman looking through her well-organized closet

You'll get easy access to your garments and a clear picture of your options and the items you don't have (and may need) in your wardrobe!

How to Organize Your Closet

One of the best ways to organize your closet is to keep all of your tops together - followed by pants, jeans, skirts and dresses.

Keep your shoes in one place. Tights and socks in a drawer. Jewelry on a stand or in a compartment drawer. Scarves and belts on racks.

And then sort them by color.

Get more ideas on how to organize your wardrobe.

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Step 2: Plan
- Have a Shopping Plan

Without a shopping plan, you'll keep going around in a loop because the clothes and accessories you need are missing from your wardrobe! Most of the outfit ideas consist of basics and essentials that any fashionista needs in her closet - so should secure them before getting started!

It's easy to get side tracked when going shopping. Despite being an image consultant, I'm not perfect (I don't feel the need to be anyway!) and tend to occasionally stray from what I really need!

But I find having a shopping plan - or simply a list - helps putting on some leash on my impulses! It simply keeps you focused :)

Now after organizing your closet, it's time to sit and rationally write down what you need and don't need, and really start filling you newly-organized closet with clothes that are the backbone of your style. This is going to be your shopping plan.

How to Create a Shopping Plan

Do you have the Wardrobe Essentials covered?

With that being said, go through the list and buy the garments that are missing from your closet first before you indulge in other trendy pieces.

The magic with these basic items is that they can be worn with absolutely anything and they're trend-proof!

More fashion advice on closet essentials:

Define and develop your Personal Fashion Style

.. and invest in clothes and accessories that define YOUR personal clothing style. But do this after you've covered the basics of the basics.

More fashion advice on creating your signature style:

Can you multiply the outfits?

How many outfits can you make out of one garment with the rest of your closet?

When shopping for a not-so-basic piece make sure you know how many outfits you can pull off from it with what's already in your closet before deciding on purchasing it.

A minimum of 3 outfits is a must. I like 5 though.

Assess your lifestyle

This is important to make sure that you invest most of your money in the right type of clothes.

I mean, if you're an office worker then your closet should consist of mostly dressy and sophisticated clothes such as blouses, suits and dress pants. But of course, this completely depends on the dress code.

How to assess your lifestyle:

Have a weekly planner in front of you and look at where you spend most of your time from day to day (even weekends). Set up your typical schedule. Where are you in the weekends, daytime on weekdays, evenings on weekdays, etc.

Creating a pie chart helps getting a visual look of how a week looks.

Does your closet go hand in hand with your activities? If it doesn't I suggest to cut down on the type of clothes you have too many of and put more of your money on clothes that cover your major daily activities.