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Original poster

2011 - the year of quality classics...

51 replies

Meggles76 · 29/12/2010 12:01

DH has returned to work today and I am home alone with vomitting DS and non vomitting DD who I have just found trying to gel the cat's fur in to a mohican [hmmm]

Anyway, I have turned my attentions to a wardrobe clearout, having decided that I want a wardrobe of quality classics - so what should I have in my wardrobe - suggestions please!

OP posts:
CybilScissorhands · 30/12/2010 15:35

Gordian-are you who I think you are

traceybath · 30/12/2010 15:36

I think she's who you think she is.

CybilScissorhands · 30/12/2010 15:37

Oh cripes

acumenin · 30/12/2010 15:52

PMSL

I guess I'm not old enough to have to worry about looking old. I'll take my insights and my ball (you can keep the dummy).

traceybath · 30/12/2010 15:59

Well thats it acumenin. When you're in your 20's you can wear a pretty floral knee lenght skirt and it looks quirky in that alexa chung way.

However as one heads towards 40 it can look a bit librarian like Grin

dexter73 · 30/12/2010 16:00

It was just a joke acumenin - someone else had said that your list sounded ancient or old-fashioned so it was referring to that. Not meant to be cruel or mocking. I think it can be easy to take offence at things written down as there is no way of telling how they are meant to sound. Sorry to have offended you.

acumenin · 30/12/2010 16:16

(It's okay, dexter, not offended.)

/me grins at tracey

A floral skirt! How very dare you! But I am digging this in the All Saints sale, I gotta say and this at Reiss

Avert your eyes, fearers of black.

Original poster
Meggles76 · 30/12/2010 20:19

I'm with you acumen Smile. We also live in a lovely, but modest, house and I get tired of tripping over stuff we don't need / use.

I am also tired of wasting money on clothes that I never wear or get bored with - stuff that I buy on impulse.

I am not worried about being 'cutting edge'. I just want to have nice quality things in my wardrobe that I enjoy wearing. I prefer to use accessories for trends.

I work in the public sector and never really need to wear a suit so my wardrobe can work 7 days a week.

Things seem to be selling on ebay so will use the money towards new things.

I have also made a start on my shoe collection - tatty and broken are in the bin and ill fitting are going to the charity shop.

I am left with - tan knee high riding boots, black heeled boots, black courts, silver pumps, back suede slingbacks, leopard print heels, pumps, wedges

Please talk to me about ankle boots - feel I should have a pair but what would I wear them with??

OP posts:
eshermummy · 30/12/2010 20:59

I'm with Tracey on the no such thing as classic.

I think it is well worth looking at what you have thrown away too as most of us have a bit of a default buying mechanism which means we end up buying variations on a theme much of the time. My achilles heel is to buy a long sleeve fine jersey top from somewhere like Kew or Toast when I feel the need for a retail fix Blush. The other thing I cannot resist is black leggings or leggings type trousers, so now I've got a wardrobe full of tight bottoms requiring arse and thigh coverage and a load of waist length tops to wear them with Hmm.
My new year's resolution is to buy some longer tops.....

I really don't know what it is that people find so difficult about ankle boots btw. I wear them with everything - leggings/jeans/skirts/dresses.
I think it's just that you need to make a visual adjustment to them as you are so long conditioned to the knee high boots look but, once you do, you're away Smile

tattycoram · 30/12/2010 21:35

I have found getting away from the idea of the investment quality thing quite liberating.

Instead of looking for the perfect eg coat that will last forever I now look at what I have got and what I need and buy the best I can at the time.

I take/send a lot back and my general rule is, if I don't want to wear it straight away I don't keep it. That's the theory anyway

Original poster
Meggles76 · 30/12/2010 21:51

The initial idea of this was that I want to spend less in 2011 but still look and feel good. But, as a friend pointed out, I run this risk on buying lots of expensive things in stead of lots of cheap things!!

OP posts:
GordianKnot · 31/12/2010 02:28

Agree. Ankle boots far more interesting than tedious knee ones

MayorNaze · 31/12/2010 03:14

i suddenyl NEED a straw hat Shock

will read past second entry and see if there is anything else i crave...

whoneedssleepanyway · 31/12/2010 08:10

I am with Cybil on the colour thing.

When I went back to work last summer after having DD2 I invested in a new work wardrobe and quite a bit of new casual pieces, I discovered navy and suddenly i liked wearing everything i had and everything co-ordinated. I think if you have clothes in colours that suit you that is more important. Black does me no favours at all and since i have axed this from the wardrobe I always feel like I have something to wear.

I think as well the list thing is great in principle but it does totally depend on your lifestyle and what you like wearing.

Menagerie · 31/12/2010 10:10

Not sure traceyb - I have a Hobbs suit that's 12 years old and still looks like I bought it yesterday, though I wore it all the time when I worked. And a black biker jacket that gets compliments when I have the guts to wear it that's 20 years old, and a plain classic leather jacket that's 12 years old and looks new. These were some of the most expensive things I've ever bought but they have really lasted despite being worn a lot.

I'd add a perfect white tee-shirt, a cashmere sweater and wrap dress to that list. But wrap dress can depend on your build.

deaddei · 31/12/2010 11:54

I have grey as my staple colour, so I can buy lots from Mint Velvet Grin
I am planning a morning in Kingston next week once dcs are back, and see what is what in new collections.
Oh and I may squeeze in a coffee Smile

higgle · 31/12/2010 12:12

Yes, traceybath, I agree. I have just ebayed and charity shopped a load of quite expensive things I had kept for 3 years to slim into - expensive and rather conservative but when I tried them on again just wrong in detail. Of course we all have the odd wardrobe item we have worn for years and years and never tire of but sadly those precious things seem totally impossible to detect in advance.

madammecholet · 31/12/2010 12:22

Are we not all forgetting the classic handbag?

A bag can make any outfit look marvellous imo....as I have a bag fetish and this is my way of justifying more bags in my wardrobe than is decent..

:)

CybilScissorhands · 31/12/2010 12:43

see, bags do nothing for me

I think a good hairdo and a good pair of shoes the key to a good outfit

HarkTheHeraldEverything · 31/12/2010 12:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

blossoming · 31/12/2010 12:57

The only thing I've had for years which is still in my wardrobe are a pair of flipflops!
tracey's right, everything dates. Just buy the best quality basics you can afford (for me jeans, knitwear, jersey/knitted dresses jeggings) and replace every season! Coats last and boots if you take care of them. Know what suits you and know your colours. It's not all about the clothes. Get a good haircut and wear makeup.

tulpe · 31/12/2010 13:17

Agree with Blossoming - for "classic" I would read not only quality but things you feel you would love to wear day in-day out - not just what the "style bibles" tell you that you should have.

About 8 years ago, I spent a fortune on "classic" pieces - very chic, lots of MaxMara - but actually they just hung in the wardrobe because they were not practical for my lifestyle (SAHM with a then 2 year old). I have finally, after much trial and error, found my own style groove which is definitely a Toast/Anthropologie/posh boho style, incorporating colour without garishness.

For me then, buying a classic dress would mean a gorgeous print tea dress from Anthropologie which I will either layer with a long sleeve tee and boots for daytime or opaques and heels for evening.

traceybath · 31/12/2010 13:42

Oh I love a nice handbag but don't kid myself that I'll love it forever. I still have gucci/lv ones I bought years ago but I never use them.

I'll just pass them onto my DD Wink Well isn't that what all the celebs say Grin Sure she'll be very grateful in 20 years for a stained/worn out gucci bag.

madammecholet · 31/12/2010 14:01

I agree tracey, however I do have a favourite black clutch bag i've had for about 10 years which I still trot out regularly..its simple but very gorgeous, and seems to have just the right amount of glam to it. I do keep it in a dustbag so it's pristine still..

lovelyopaque · 31/12/2010 14:58

Agree with a few on here. If I spent a fortune on things I would still rip/stain/dribble on them I am sure Grin.
However there is a different feel to buying slightly more expensive rather than dirt cheap (so £40 on a skirt rather than £15 iyswim).

Also the colour thing makes a difference. I decided to stick with black, pale grey, red, purples, white, bit of mid blue a while back. I completely avoid navy, brown, cream as staples. It means I need fewer clothes, shoes and bags, as everything goes.