Investment wardrobe

[Bimblebombzle]

Inspired by another thread but not a TAAT.

If I had a budget of £750-£1000 a year how long would a basic 'investment wardrobe take to build? I realise that's relative to how much I spend on one piece.

Or to put it another way, if I wanted to have a basic investment wardrobe in 3 years and my budget was £750-£1000 (so £3k total)...what to buy and where from?

How to go about planning an investment capsule wardrobe?

I don’t think I understand the question - or, if I do, I’m failing to see the point of the question.

You have no idea where you’ll be in three years. It’s good to look forward and to hope that you’ll still be wearing your nicest clothes then - but maybe in six months you’ll be living a nomadic life in the Sahara … Even if that doesn’t happen, some of your expensive buys may just look wrong suddenly, so you won’t want to wear them. Maybe you’ll change your hair colour or lose weight, or whatever. There are no guarantees.

Also, clothing and fashion evolve - even for people (on MN) who sincerely believe they don’t follow fashion. What will be valuable to you in three years is clothes that look cool and current and zeitgeist-y, and that suit your lifestyle at that point. Maybe in three years you’ll own three £1,000 suits and then move into your dream job where everyone wears shorts and t shirts and an apron every day …

On the other thread I mentioned that I’d bought a jumper this week that will work perfectly with a skirt bought three years ago. But it wasn’t a plan; I didn’t know I’d want the jumper back then. It’s happenstance, or serendipity.

My advice (after over fifty years of choosing my own clothes) - get to know what determines quality in clothes so you can separate the good from the awful; invest a bit of time regularly to look at the best of what’s available - online is probably easiest unless you’re in a capital city; buy what you love and want to wear, either for years or just for now. And look after your clothes, so they’ll last.

What to buy, and from where, are a separate question, depending entirely on your lifestyle and clothing requirements.

.

I don’t know how to answer how long would it take to ‘build’ a capsule wardrobe. It depends on entirely on the person.

How to go about planning it - I would watch YouTube videos. There’s lots on this topic that go through the whole process.

Great advice from @TheGlamour

I don’t plan my wardrobe. Partly because I think that turns something enjoyable into something truly bloody tedious and partly because it’s incredibly difficult unless you design and make your own clothes (how I wish I was capable!)

I just focus on what I like (which is constantly evolving and frequently makes zero sense even to me) and quality and cut. With a handful of sustainability thrown in.

I guess go through what you currently have. See what your keeping.

Then write a list of how many of each item you think you need.
ie
2 lightweight summer trousers
4 jeans, chinos, cords or whatever other trousers.

If you already have 1 nice pair summery trousers and 2 pairs regular trousers or jeans your keeping, then your list to look at buying is:
1 lightweight trouser
2 jeans/ other trouser

what style or colours will depend on your preferences and lifestyle

I think this is my favourite option.

It's just a long process, because let's say I have a) a lot of gaps as I ditched 85% of my wardrobe during the pandemic (a sea of lycra and Primark) so I'm not building on what I have, I lack so many things, and b) if I know I'm looking for, for example, a pair of wide leg jeans, there's lots of places and budgets I could shop for these - I could start at Tu, maybe New Look and Hennes at the lower end, if I don't find the right pair then maybe M&S, John Lewis, then you have various stores like Other Stories or maybe somewhere else entirely. Even if I say order 5 pairs online that's a week to arrive, a weekend to decide, return unwanted pairs the next weekend, so that's two weeks for one item. I'll be about 100 by the time I have a good wardrobe. I know sometimes it goes in bursts so I might go on a browsing shopping trip and pick up a few things I hadn't expected.

Also agree fashion evolves and there should always be space for that. And I like the idea of browsing. But also want to spend most of my time outdoors not shopping.

I think this is where you need to distinguish between "fashion and trends" and personal style. Personal style is something that you develop over many years by living in your ever changing body. Fashion is now and maybe next season and then it's gone.

I know that certain aspects of my body will not change, I'm pear-shaped with narrow shoulders and short legs. That means that my personal style has developed to take account of that. Some years I buy very little, skinny jeans make me look like a parsnip and some years I buy a lot, wide leg corduroy or wool trousers that drape and skim depending on what is available. Some years I'm "fashionable" but I am constantly stylish according to my personal style.

If you go out and buy everything is a rush now, you will look very trend led but maybe not very stylish. Are you going to buy pale yellow, balloon trousers and a trench? Even though pale yellow makes you look sallow, the balloon legs make you feel like a clown and the trench makes you look like a 70s flasher! You will certainly be very on trend for 2025 but will you still want to wear the same clothes in a year's time?

So, look at your wardrobe, identify the gaps. It takes time online or in person to build a wardrobe of clothes that suit you and your lifestyle. There's no point in buying an "investment piece" e.g. a Max Mara camel coat if you'll never wear it because you're outside traipsing across a muddy field with a dog! Personally, I do a lot of research online, looking at a lot of different retailers, some for inspiration and some for actual buying. Some days I grit my teeth, wear comfortable clothes and go and try stuff on in a physical shop, department store or equivalent of Bicester village.

I buy a lot from European brands, my last coat was from Demobaza in Bulgaria. It looks like something from Dune, but I get compliments wearing it and I know it suits my personal style.

I don't think that's a huge budget for an investment wardrobe, particularly as you say you don't actually have a lot of clothes right now, so what you do buy will be worn quite frequently, at least to start with, until you have more to rotate.
Keep an eye on sales, places like Seasalt are selling wool jumpers at substantially reduced prices, though there's probably not much choice left.
If you are size 8-14, you might find decent secondhand clothes in charity shops, it's always worth keeping an eye out for cashmere jumpers.
But you know what you like to wear, and presumably what suits you. Spend the most money on things you will get a lot of wear from - you say you like being outside, so decent boots and weatherproof coat/jacket.
I am always tempted by expensive dressy clothes, going out outfits, but I very rarely go anywhere where I couldn't get away with black jeans and a silk shirt.. a gold sequin dress would just hang unworn in my wardrobe, along with suede strappy heels - gorgeous but would probably only be worn once a year, so not worth spending big bucks on, for me. What I do wear most days is jeans, a cashmere jumper, a big scarf, and flat boots. The jumper and boots are top quality, the t-shirts underneath are Primark.
In summer I wear loose cotton dresses and flat sandals, and I get nice quality ones. I swim regularly so I've got a couple of decent swimming costumes.
Most people would get good use from a a denim or other short jacket, a trenchcoat style raincoat, a leather jacket and a longish wool coat. I'd spend good money on those, apart from the denim jacket which you can pick up cheaply anywhere. The trench could be M&S, but look around for the leather jacket and wool coat, it is worth spending bigger bucks on those.
I'd put money into nice natural fabrics, silk and linen and wool, which are all more expensive than polyester and acrylics.
The thing is that t does take time to build up a decent wardrobe, and it keeps evolving. There are certain things I am continuously on the lookout for in sales, just to replace old ones or to refresh my look. It does take time.
If you are not keen on spending time shopping, maybe it is worth trying a personal stylist at a big department store and buy the foundations all in go.

Tk maxx is ideal for woolen items. Most of my cashmere or merino jumpers over the years have been from there. It’s a longer process though as they might not have anything when you look, so you have to keep going in.
Tkmaxx in ‘wealthier’ areas have a more premium range in general. If you go to London at all, the one on High Street Kensington is often good, far better than one near Covent Garden ( as that caters more for tourists)