Tell me what is the most useful item in your wardrobe?

[anorak]

For me it has to be a thin, plain black cardi that goes with everything, washes up beautifully, never creases and is small enough to stuff into my capacious handbag.

a beige leather jacket - similar in style to the one Brad Pitt wore in Fight Club. I bought it from Next Staff shop for £10 about 7 years ago.

The older it gets the more I love it.

Ditto black cardi

jeans

Come on, tell me please - I really want to know as I need to get some new stuff and I want ideas.

right now? maternity braces to hold jeans up!

but from my non-pg clothing, it would have to be seven for all mankind jeans

Gap jeans.
Black 3/4 length sleeve cardi

The spare set of mugs and the wrapping paper.

similar to you anorak
mine is looking a bit old now though, can't find another one that I like

Oh, you meant clothes ...

Black high-heeled boots. Do shoes count? I wear them with everything.

With all these black cardi votes, we should do an online search for nice ones currently available (with links) for those who might fancy adding one to our wardrobes...

Oh gamegirly thought you were going to suggest the naked man hiding or something like that

My greeny wrap dress. Have worn it to constantly since November. It's just about too warm to wear it now
right now, it's a red and white halterneck dress from Topshop. It's easy to wear, I wear it over jeans, shorts, on it's own or, as now, linen trews. If it's cold, on goes a black wrap. I love it!

Currently my 2 tunic/dresses from Jigsaw, one a charcoaly navy, one white.
Over trousers, jeans or 3/4 length trousers, or as little dresses when v hot.

Maternity jumper which I still wear even though ds is 3.5 - fine black knit, 3/4 length sleeves, boatish neck, tunic style. Unfortunately it is actually falling to pieces now.

Really pretty fawn linen skirt with lots of turquoise and chocolate sequins and ribbon applique and nice defined A-line shape - East, about 2 years ago. Quite 'specific' but I feel good every time I put it on so it always 'lifts' the day a bit.

Very plain washable fawn macintosh from M&S 5 years ago.

Proper outdoorsy waterproof from Sprayaway with hood 4 years ago.

Plain black heavy jersey bootleg trousers, M&S 5 years ago.

Guess when I last had some money!

all my shoes !
no matter what i'm wearing good shoes can make mutton out of lamb

Oh, best of all, sexy but bizarrely comfortable black suede boots with heels and laces up the back. Can't remember where from but quite cheap and at least 10 years ago.

Very useful for the summer is a long, black linen skirt with panels. I got it from Gap but it is much like the Boden one here.

www.boden.co.uk/col.asp?segname=Women&styid=WG247 &segid=6&gpname=Skirts&desname=Long+Swishy+Linen +Skirt&gpid=26&gen=

Terrible photo from Boden.

It somehow manages to be both smart and cool (in both senses of the word) and gets round the white leg issue.

tan corduroy fitted jacket

sooooo much smarter than a cardigan but just as little effort to put on.

makes it look like you made an effort.

I need somthing like that

have a brown cord jacket but hate it, makes me feel like a frumpy old maths teacher

Hmmmm, good question...

Prob my birkie style flipflop

I had a black velvet blazer type fitted jacket that I wore to death. That was prob my most useful item ever

Chunky pendants and necklaces in various styles and colours. They can really jazz up the plainest of outfits and change the look.

I also have a plain, black, lightweight cardigan (in fact about 3 )that can be worn with everything.

Really decent linen trousers that can both do the formal and the informal (black of course!)

A buff. Perfect for those bad hair days and makes you look really trendy when really you just can't be arsed doing anything with your hair because you're knackered from running after two wilful toddlers.