Please recommend boring but essential things to "hack" your wardrobe

[wildery]

Sorry, I do hate the word "hack" but this is basically what I mean. So this spring, I discovered I could wear leggings under jeans and I was so much warmer. This was a revelation! I was wondering what other tips and tricks I'm missing. I feel like I only wear about a quarter of my clothes because they're just not practical/comfy enough, but now I'm wondering what I could do. Thermals? Insoles to make shoes more comfortable? What basics could I start amassing? Thanks in advance, new to these boards.

Uniqlo Heat Tech thermal base layers are amazing. They come in lots of styles and colours - I wear them under everything!

Scarves! if your neck/chest area is warm, the rest of you feels warm.
Either incorporate in your outfit anyway or buy some lightweight chiffony type that will fold up small in your handbag to bring out when needed. Neutral colours and plain scarves (black, navy, white, ivory) that go with lots of things are ideal but not always easy to find.

I have merino thermals, which were a revelation to me too!

My tip / "hack" might be a bit boring, but it's that I try to stick to a really small colour palette and refuse to buy anything which isn't one of those colours.

For me, it's navy, mustard, teal and grey. Shoes are all either brown, burgundy or navy. I used to have black and white as well, but found I couldn't get black to work with 'my' other colours, and white needed a specific bra or vest underneath and needed to go in its own wash, so I stopped buying black and white.

It's good as everything more or less goes together and I also save money as if I see a beautiful, white or coral dress or something, I 'can't' buy it because it isn't one of my colours.

Vests. I'd never wear most of my clothes without a vest underneath.
Wool/wool-mix socks.

Fashion tape (aka tit tape) is useful for many things. I've used it before to stick a low cut wrap top to my bra, so that it doesn't move around and expose the bra. It's also good for closing gaps on buttoned shirts/blouses, that don't gape exactly but just have badly positioned buttons which give a little window view to the bra.

Will have a think for more.

Probably not a popular hack here.

I find that wearing a face mask has been a great way to shield me from the wind and cold weather. However it will probably have the opposite effect come warmer climes.

Crop leggings on midi and maxi dresses also good. Can't be seen but ups the chances to wear your summer dresses.

^^

M and s thermals the thicker ones great for winter, and the thiner ones all year round, except two or three hot days we get. They come in sleeveless, long sleeved, I also have a long t shirt style one, its sleeveless and comes to above my knees, I sometimes wear it under dresses.

Men’s t shirts for exercising or gardening.

Much better length than women’s and the relaxed fit is better for moving around and the longer, loose arms offer more sun protection and keep you nice and cool.

Invest in a silk thermal vest. They are thin and lightweight but very warm, so you can extend the seasons on tops.

Oh interesting @Chatanooga1! I am a fan of men's jumpers actually. I find the length better and also the sleeves. Hadn't thought of trying men's tshirts as well.

I also love how most of us are talking about how we keep warm - my people . I'm always fecking cold and I live in an allegedly warm part of the UK.

Chub rub shorts from Snag for the summer if you are of the curvier persuasion like me. They somehow don't get as hot as if you had cycling shorts on under. I wore a skirt without yesterday and 10 mins into my walk very much regretted it!

I didn't replace any of my shoes last year. I had my leather ankle boots re-heeled, and bought new insoles for them, my mary janes, and sheepskin insoles for my leather ugg boots. They are all now good as new.

Jumper debobbler - verdict is still out on this one as I've only just got it, looking promising so far though. I've debobbled a couple of jumpers but they are bobbling again very quickly, I think I need to buy better quality when I replace really.

I also wanted to dye my fav jeans black again as they have faded, unfortunately they are not 100% cotton so it's not going to work. In future no polyester mix jeans, but I do really love the cut of these :(

@thedevilinablackdress

Vests. I'd never wear most of my clothes without a vest underneath. Wool/wool-mix socks.

I was just going to post these 2 items too! Wool/wool mix socks were a revelation, my feet are always cosy.

These are amazing, thank you, just what I'm looking for. Will def get thermal vests. Any recommendations for silk ones @BreakfastOfWaffles?

Also will look into a debobbler and love the idea of men's T-shirts - never thought of that before though I, too, like a man's jumper.

Wool socks, yes! I always buy cheap socks but I think I'm going to invest in decent ones.

@lindyloo57

M and s thermals the thicker ones great for winter, and the thiner ones all year round, except two or three hot days we get. They come in sleeveless, long sleeved, I also have a long t shirt style one, its sleeveless and comes to above my knees, I sometimes wear it under dresses.

Wow, a thermal "dress". I definitely need one of these. Does it get caught (if the right word) on tights, or do you wear it with bare legs?

Good socks, good vest and good thermals for me too.
I wear a lot of hats too. Berets and beanies.

Chatanooga and NoSiree, can I ask what shops you find good for men's tops? I tried some lovely Meriono Wool type jumpers from M & S men's in a small last winter thinking they'd be perfect for work and a decent price point and whilst I appreciated the toros being longer it was actually a bit too long and the sleeves ridiculously so.

Having said that I did get some lovely although quite thin plain round neck men's sweaters from Muji last year and I've lived in those last winter.

Should say torso

Mens/boys trainer socks tend to be higher at the back and thicker quality. Not only useful for trainers but also very good for when you wear ankle boots with bare legs.

Also buy mens boot socks for the winter. They're always better. Same with mens/older boys plain white t shirts.

Always buy male shorts for the gym. They have good bum coverage and deep pockets.

Always always always have thermal tops. I buy the M&S Heattech + ones. Always size up as these things are always tight. That way you can be one of those people who waft around looking breezy in floaty blouses. And nobody knows how snug you are underneath.

Do you wear the thermals under sun dresses? I'm always freezing

Yeah, that's the secret. Otherwise you end up wearing fleeces 10 months out of the year. You can get them with different sleeve lengths.

People wear long knickers under them as well - those ones that look like cycling shorts but aren't.

@NoSiree

I have merino thermals, which were a revelation to me too!

My tip / "hack" might be a bit boring, but it's that I try to stick to a really small colour palette and refuse to buy anything which isn't one of those colours.

For me, it's navy, mustard, teal and grey. Shoes are all either brown, burgundy or navy. I used to have black and white as well, but found I couldn't get black to work with 'my' other colours, and white needed a specific bra or vest underneath and needed to go in its own wash, so I stopped buying black and white.

It's good as everything more or less goes together and I also save money as if I see a beautiful, white or coral dress or something, I 'can't' buy it because it isn't one of my colours.

I do this too, especially for work.

Black, white, navy, camel/beige clothing.
Shoes & bags - black, tan or nude (or white trainers for casual).

I add colour with the odd top, scarves, lipstick & nail polish.

Makes it SO much easier to put outfits together and look smart,

wilder, I wear it with leggings in winter, summer bare legged it's like a long vest style thermal dress.