putting together outfits is effortless WITH THIS TIP
Why Is This So Hard?
“How do I create outfits with what I have? I’m embarrassed that I have so many clothes and putting together outfits is still so hard! How do I get effortless style?”
Most of us have more clothes than we need, and yet, putting together outfits is still a challenge. It feels like it shouldn’t be, and that fills us with frustration, shame, and overwhelm. I hear from you all the time, and I know exactly how they are feeling because I’ve been there!
There is a secret to easily putting together effortless outfits, and it doesn’t get talked about much. You might hear tips like, “You need to accessorize!”
“Add that third piece and you’ll have a perfect outfit!”
“You need four points of interest in your outfit!”
And those are all good tips, but they are all secondary to this most important tip, and it’s probably sitting right in your closet going unnoticed, unloved, unappreciated.
In the Stunning Style Society we know all about this tip because I talk about it all the time, and not only that, I provide the inspiration to do this for you.
Let’s talk about the unsung heroes of the closet, the behind-the-scenes wardrobe warriors, the foundations upon which we build our fashion. They get no credit, not love, no accolades, but they should, because they are the key to effortless style and creating easy outfits!
Let’s Build a Foundation
When shopping for a new home, you notice the architectural features like beautiful windows that reach for the sky, domed ceilings that soar above, and open spaces that make everything feel so large. These are the features that sell a house.
The only thing you want to know about the foundation is it’s not cracked, sinking, leaking, or crumbling. It’s not pretty, and usually goes unnoticed until it’s a problem, but the foundation of your house is what the windows, ceilings and open rooms rest upon. These windows on my front staircase made me go all heart eyes when I first saw them, but what would happen to them in my foundation failed?
Likewise, your wardrobe needs a foundation of basic pieces that support all the eye-catching pieces that make you swoon in the store. Without them you can’t build outfits that can support and display those pieces.
If I had to divide my wardrobe into two sections, it would be basic foundation pieces and special pieces. Both have an important role in creating a wardrobe and an outfit, but the most important one is usually overlooked because talking about them and shopping for them is as fun as reading an inspection report of the house you’re buying. What many don’t realize is they are the secret to effortless style and effortlessly putting together outfits.
So… “Where should I start?”
I hear this question come up a lot at the beginning of each season in the Society, and so I’ve created a roadmap to help you check off each piece that leads to building a seasonal wardrobe that you love. This is a favorite annual member bonus, and if you’re a visual learner like I am, it can really help you see the path to build a complete year-round wardrobe that you love. We focus on one season at a time and we release a new download each season.
The Step-By-Step Guide to Create the Perfect Classic Winter Wardrobe will help you map out your style journey and track your progress along the way. For each season, there are 6 stages of your journey that lead you towards creating a complete seasonal wardrobe. For each stage there is a page that explains what to focus on, plus a checklist with action items that will help you reach the next stage.
There is plenty more information inside, and this is just one of the many bonus resources you can take advantage of as an annual member.
One of our members Gloria used this bonus and said, “Thank you soooo much for this guide. It is helping me to focus on and complete one step at a time before I move on to something else. Looking at each piece with a more critical eye before putting it in my closet!”
Basic Foundation Wardrobe Items
What is a basic foundation wardrobe item? They tend to be classic styles and silhouettes, solid or classic patterns that suit your style, in neutral colors, and really unremarkable…or so they seem.
Items like jeans, basic tees or tops, pencil skirts, flats, a jacket, and ankle pants, in solid neutrals create a foundation for every outfit you wear. They are the items you wear over and over, your go-tos, your wardrobe work horses that go with everything, and yet they rarely get the compliments, the attention, or the love.
And that’s the point! THEY GO WITH EVERYTHING! There isn’t a single top in my closet I can’t pair with my dark wash classic jeans. Not one! So if you could up my tops, that’s how many effortless outfits I can start with. Then add in my black jeans. And pair them with all my tops and we just doubled my effortless outfits.
My neutral tops go with every skirt and pair of pants I own. More effortless outfits.
Black turtleneck sweaters never get a compliment, a question, or a text. But those blue pants and houndstooth skirt have, they do, and they will. They get all the attention, but if you had to guess which items in my wardrobe get the most wear, which would it be? You got it – the basics. And what frames the special pieces so beautifully? The basics! And yet we don’t get excited about finding them or buying them, but we SHOULD.
Overthinking Outfits
My wardrobe has always been mostly black, white, and blue, which a college roommate once pointed out to me. When I decided I needed to find my style again after the lost years of motherhood gave me memory loss of what I loved to wear, I went a little crazy.
Every outfit needed to be A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Beyond awesome! They were going to be fresh! Fashion forward! Ahead of their time! Making. Fashion. History. And…I looked ridiculous.
I wore ALL THE THINGS in all the outfits. I had colors, patterns, textures, accessories, third pieces, big hair, lots of makeup. I HAD IT ALL!!! But rather than looking stylish, I looked like a Ringling Brothers runaway. Everything in these outfits is shouting, and there is nowhere to let the eye rest.
What makes it effortless is the effort you put in beforehand of having the right foundation pieces in place to make these outfits come together easily.
But…basics are boring. No one wants to shop for them or talk about them, but they are the foundation for successful style and outfits.
Without them you wouldn’t have a functional wardrobe. Wardrobe basics are a foundation, just like a house has a foundation. Without the proper structure in place, the beautiful home you build will fall apart because there is no stability. The foundation pieces support the special items and allow them to shine.
Basics Don’t Have to Be Boring
The truth is, boring is kind of my favorite. Sure I’ll bust out a colorful combination when I’m feeling it, or get so fancy with my combinations sometimes, but honestly, my very most favorite outfits are made of basic, boring pieces.
Any outfit described as effortless is subtle, casual, cohesive in a way that’s hard to explain because we can’t reconcile that boring basics are chic.
Even though basics are…basic, they can have special details and elements that elevate them, and if those details reflect your Classic Style Twist, you get a double benefit of extra chic and telling your style story.
Unsung Heroes
It’s not as fun to go in search of the perfect jeans. Being totally honest it ranks right below swimsuit shopping. But the value of a pair of perfect jeans – the ones that fit you like a glove, stretch but don’t stretch out, lift and separate your bum (no more mooshy mommy bottom!) in the perfect color – is priceless. They make all your special tops look that much better.
Compare that to jeans that squeeze your belly out and over the waistband like a tube of toothpaste, cut into your hips, lose their shape by lunch time, and smash your tush into an unidentifiable mass? How great will your awesome top look now? Not that great.
Because I’m a Minimal Classic, many of my favorite outfits are made up entirely of foundation pieces, and if I had to choose one category or the other to keep, I’d keep only my basics and part with the specials.
When I go shopping for the Stunning Style Classic Wardrobe Guides, I try on SO many jeans and pants to find the perfect ones for your winter wardrobe!
You can get access to the member-exclusive shopping portal when you join today – and some of the Black Friday sales have already begun so you can take advantage of those too.
Every Outfit Starts with the Basics
Shopping for basics isn’t sexy, fun, or Insta-worthy, but you need them. It’s worth the time to figure out what you are missing and find the right ones because it will open up so many more outfits when you find the basics that go with your special pieces.
If you are struggling to create outfits, reconsider the basics. Do you have the foundation pieces you need? Or do you have a closet full of special items and nothing to wear?
Just like every outfit starts with the basics, so do the Stunning Style Classic Wardrobe Guides. They are intentionally based on classic, foundational items you probably already have in your closet. Then I add in a few special pieces to refresh and update your seasonal wardrobe. Each Wardrobe Guide is a collection of 30-40 pieces that create a cohesive, effortless wardrobe, and I create 100 outfits from those pieces, put them on a monthly calendar so you don’t have to choose your outfit, and provide you with a shopping portal to buy anything you might need or want, from basics to special pieces.
The doors to the Society are open right now, and you can learn more and join us here!
Stunner of the Week
Each week we like to share more about a member of the Stunning Style Society so you can hear their story.
This week we’re featuring Katie M., she joined the Society in 2021.
“My favorite thing about being a Stunner is the personal relationships I’ve built with other women who are also on their style journey.
I’m passionate about understanding my style preferences and sharing what I learn with others in hopes that they learn something about themselves too.
Having a deeper understanding of my personal style has helped make shopping more enjoyable and has also helped me to limit the items in my wardrobe to only those that I truly love.”
14 thoughts on “Cover Your Basics For Easy Outfits”
Wonderful post! And thank you, thank you for sharing the pictures of you from the “lost years.” It gives me hope. You’ve come a long way, April!
Thank you, and you’re welcome! I’m far from perfect, and I have come a long way! I’ll continue to refine my own style, and I’ll share the process along the way. Thanks for joining me!
YOU are my kind of girl.
BASIC foundations, I call my uniform. I love these. Always feel “put together”. I can add color as ‘I FEEL’ or as the ‘event determines’. A jacket, a scarf, a belt, or jewelry.
Now as a retired 82 year old business woman, life is easy but always in good taste. Many days I stay at home all day but always ready for company. Classic clean look, where people say, ” You always look so beautiful”. Short stylish hair, earrings and lipstick are part of my everyday uniform.
Dessa, it’s like we are twins or something! I agree with everything you just wrote!
You look great in all your outfits. But I have a big stomach. So they won’t look as good on me. Thanks for your ideas.
Cathy, I know how frustrating that can be. I had a severe diastasis for several years and looked 4-5 months pregnant all the time. Every woman’s body is different and comes with its own challenges to find figure-flattering clothes. I had 5 kids in 3 years, and a sixth a few years later, and it took a big toll on my body. I decided long ago to dress and love the body I have/had, no matter how it looked – pregnant, post-partum, pregnant again, etc. It was so freeing. You deserve to love what you are wearing, and I hope you can love yourself just as you are.
I have three daughters, and they all have very different body types and proportions. I am doing everything I can to teach them that every body is beautiful, and there is no ideal size, shape, or proportion that’s better than another. They are each perfect, and so are you.
April, Thanks for another powerfully simple insight. It seems obvious when you break it down like this, but It reinforced an A-ha moment I had while perusing one of my favorite store catalogs. (Soft Surroundings) I’m a soft classic with subtle touches of edgy and just love so many of the Stand out pieces I was drawn to. The problem I found was because they stand out so much I just knew I wouldn’t wear them as often as I could if they were just a bit less memorable.
Cathy, you’re welcome, and I’m glad it helped you figure out the problem. I have the same issue. I just don’t wear those super memorable pieces as often, even though I love them, and I don’t need as many in my wardrobe as I thought I did. Being totally honest, even though they make me swoon, I rarely reach for them. It’s usually the idea of them I’m drawn to.
Good Afternoon,
I am currently a stunning society member -Last winter was my first season. How do i sign up for another year?
thank you
Liz
I so enjoyed this style snack today. You are so authentic and fun to listen to. I look forward to it every week. I always learn something about why I do or don’t like something in my closet. It is helping me curate my closet. Thank you! Your stairs and ceiling are gorgeous! Congratulations!
Good morning!
I am currently taking The perfectly put together course and enjoying it very much. What exactly is The Society and what happens there? Does it cost money to join? If so, how much? How many people are part of it?
Thank you
Mary
Hi Mary, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the Perfectly Put Together course! You can find more information about the Society here stunningstyle.com/society. If you join the waiting list you’ll be the first to know when the doors to the Society open!
This video makes sooo much sense! An “aha! moment” for me too.
And, you know what,… packing for travel instantly becomes so much easier!
I’m so glad! And yes, packing is so much easier now.