Finding your core wardrobe
A core wardrobe is a wardrobe of basics that you can wear repeatedly without having to spend a fortune. You can start a core wardrobe plan at any time with any budget.
For inspiration, find the things you love. Look at your favorite clothing items, your personal choices in your life and home, and your favorite pictures. Are you on Pinterest? What colors or pictures are you drawn to over and over? What color do you wear that makes you look vibrant and stunning? Go to those colors, pick your two favorites to start and get two bottoms and two tops.
Where should you find these? HOW? Many of us have very little money to spare for extraneous things. OK, first, shop your closet. Literally. Go through your clothing, find two bottoms and two tops that you love. Are they in the colors you chose? Probably not. If they are, bonus, if not we can keep those colors for our next purchases.
Now take those four items, and make outfits with them. You chose things that don't go together? I should have specified, pick 4 items that will go with each other. Now find a jacket or cardigan or outer layer that will go with these outfits. If there are two, yeah! Accessorize and you now have possibly unlimited combinations.
Divide the clothing you have into groupings and see how they mix and match with what you have. Get rid of stained, worn, yucky clothes you no longer wear but keep in your closet for "maybe I will need it" days. Clothing has the power to lift you up or drag you down.....don't keep the yuck!
Now that you know what you have, you may not need to shop. If you do, decide on a budget. Basics can be found everywhere. I prefer to thrift shop my basics, and I include the giants of thrift, Ebay and Posh as part of thrifting. You can also go to basic stores such as Ross, TJ Maxx, Walmart or Target. Step up in the world, try higher end stores without buying anything to see what the quality is, how it feels, and to check out newer styles and trends to find elsewhere.
However, as I said, you can pay full price and still get a good buy, especially if it's a basic, you plan to wear it often, and it suits you. I consider the cost per wear. I wear jeans multiple times a week, I will get more expensive jeans than a pair of dress pants I wear two or three times annually. It just makes more sense for my lifestyle. You may need to get better dress pants or even skirts and dresses.
You are dressed in your favorite colors, you feel terrific, you know how much you can spend. You choose. If you want to spend the entire amount at Nordstroms, that's totally up to you. If you choose to go to a consignment or thrift store, you can get more of the items you need with the budget you have.
When I lose weight, I choose items that can follow me down. If your body is changing, age, pregnancy, weight loss or gain, pick items that can be taken in or let out. Look at the inner seams. Jeans are a tough one, especially if you enjoy a snugger fit. Some of the stretch jeans have enough give to follow any changes.
For complete instructions and a huge amount of inspiration, you cannot go wrong following https://www.theviviennefiles.com. She provides color ideas, inspiration and shopping information. I take her ideas when I "shop" my closet and expand them to what I own. Now if I could only cut back the number of shoes and purses I have!