Building a Wardrobe Week 2: Seeing the Gaps in Your Closet

Now that you’ve set yourself a budget and figured out your colors, it is time to start looking for the “holes” in your wardrobe. What basics are you missing?

For the past weekend, I have been performing an analysis of my summer wardrobe (I know, I know, there are 2-1/2 feet of snow outside) so I can get a start on warm-weather shopping before prices skyrocket. Thus I will set out some general questions and tips for working on your wardrobe, by using mine as a particular example. Obviously my preferences will be different from others’ likes/dislikes.

What do you like to wear? Do you feel more comfortable in pants, dresses, or skirts on a daily basis?

I love to wear dresses and (sometimes) skirts.

What do you dress for on a daily basis? Do you work outside? Do you work in a dusty library? Do you work in an office environment? Do you teach? Do you have a dress code?

In the mornings, I work in an office environment, and then I work in a lab with nasty chemicals and black lab benches every afternoon. Thus, my wardrobe needs to both be ready for foreign dignitaries, and conform to basic lab safety requirements (closed-toed shoes, skirts/dresses at least knee-length).

What is your daily environment like? Is it normally cold in your workspace? Hot? Dirty?

Both my lab and my office are freezing cold on a daily basis, so I need sweaters and scarves whether it be winter or summer.

A brief perusal of my current wardrobe from summer 2009 shows me that I have three dresses, four skirts, two pairs of cargo pants, and a pair of jeans. My collection of shirts to go with these (I find summer shirts wear out so much faster!) is scanty. I own three summer scarves, three sweaters in basic colors (cream, black, and brown) and two pairs of flat shoes (black and brown).

For a decent wardrobe, you should have enough outfits to wear for ten days without repeating.

While the pants are awesome for casual weekends, obviously I have some work to do when it comes to dresses and skirts. At this point I have seven outfits, and need three more. I will definitely need some more summer shirts and accessories (scarves!) to change things up. Time to do some eBay shopping and get to Goodwill when the snow melts!

What about you? If you prefer pants, how many pairs do you own? Some basic short-sleeved shirts in several colors and well-chosen accessories (statement necklaces, scarves) will take you a long way and save you $$$ on a bunch of fancy blouses that only match one outfit.

Now, make a list of what you need for summer!