Classic wardrobe items To save up for and invest in

[Moneynoob]

Brands and item recommendations please! Capsule wardrobe kind of look, for smart ish day to day

An All Saints leather jacket

Longchamp le Pliage bag

Classic DM boots or lace up shoes

Whistles jersey blazer if the sizing works for you (it doesn’t for me)

Trench coat

Since you are asking for things to save up for I assume you are talking about the more expensive items (not the t shirts for example that always appear in capsule wardrobe lists), so coats, jackets, bags and shoes.
What you choose to buy depends on what you need for your lifestyle. If I made suggestions for office wear (black blazer for eg) and you don’t work in an office then that’s a waste of your money. With that caveat in mind, here’s what I found the most useful as someone who needs smart casual clothes only.
A midi length wool coat
A midi length belted trench coat
Knee high black low healed leather boots
Black ankle boots for wearing with trousers
Medium sized black bag with top handle and removable cross body strap
A pair of low heel black shoes - I have kitten heel sling backs that can be worn day or evening
A black dress that can be worn for evenings out and also funerals

Colour wise it does depend on what works with your wardrobe and what you enjoy wearing. My basics are in camel and black. I also accessories in tan as well as the black and for summer I have shoes and bag in cream, as well as trainers. My boots are low heeled so I can walk all day in them as that’s my lifestyle.
As for brands, again I think buy what you can afford. You want reasonable quality but not things that you should worry about using. I have some things that fall into that category ( would you sit on grimy public transport in a dry clean only pale colour coat?)

thansk both and some very good points. Yes smart professional wear ideas please . Blazers and flats only

I’ve just re read your post and I see you do want brands so here goes
Mid price- I have a coat from Mango and mac is vintage
Boots - Barbour and Dune
Shoes _ Mango and M&S
Bags - Gucci and Rouje
Dress French Connection and vintage Prada

Then I probably can’t be much help as it’s been a long time since I’ve needed office wear and when I did I worked in a very formal environment. So I bought suits and blouses.

I got an All Saints leather jacket for less than £20 in a charity shop and think the quality is far superior than the ones they produce now in terms of the leather. I’d recommend considering the pre loved route.

I have a wide selection of Le Pliages and a couple are nearing twenty years old and are still growing strong even with the corners having holes in. It’s worth trying to buy them in the sale if you are OK with not have a classic colour like black or worth checking out the outlet at Bicester Village if you are ever near there.

Charity shops are worth checking out for coats too as I have had good experiences in finding 100 percent wool coats in good condition for good prices. One of my winter coats is from a good brand and was less than £10 and is 100% wool.

I also found a Whistles jersey blazer for less than £10 I think from a charity shop.

If you look down the pre loved route and can find some of what you are looking for then it will allow you to spend more on the items you can’t find pre loved or that are just extra like a nice woolly hat from a designer brand etc.

In terms of brands I would say Me and Em, Reiss, Max Mara Weekend, Jaeger, Esska shoes, Russell and Bromley

I’d say pay attention to the materials no matter what the label as signer polyester is still polyester etc.

I’ve bought 3 All Saints leather jackets in the past 7 or so years and I’d say the quality is still excellent unless things have changed in the last couple of years. If you like the style, I’d say they’re an excellent investment and they sometimes have at least 20% off. I didn’t pay full price for any of mine.

Another thing I’ve got that I think was a good investment is a designer scarf, that makes boots and a coat that bit more special- mine is Vivienne Westwood but it depends on your style.