ig 📸: @analearmann
Because the best wardrobes aren’t built on trends, they’re built on really good basics.
There are some people who always seem to look put together. They’re wearing jeans and a tank, somehow it looks chic. They throw on trousers and flats, and suddenly you’re mentally recreating the entire outfit.
The secret usually isn’t a closet overflowing with designer clothes. It’s actually much simpler: really good basics, worn really well.
Fashion moves fast. One minute we’re collectively obsessed with a microtrend, and the next it’s sitting untouched in the back of our closets. But certain pieces never really leave the rotation. The oversized button-down. The perfect white tank. Jeans that actually fit. The everyday bag that somehow works with everything.
They’re not necessarily the most exciting purchases, but they’re the pieces quietly doing all the work.
So if your closet currently feels full yet you’re still standing in front of it thinking, I literally have nothing to wear, consider this your wardrobe reset.
These are the 10 basics fashion girls never stop wearing, and a few of our favorite places to find them.
The Oversized Button-Down
If there’s one piece capable of making you look put together in approximately 30 seconds, it’s an oversized button-down.
Wear it tucked into trousers for work, unbuttoned over a white tank and denim, thrown over a swimsuit on vacation, or paired with linen pants for an easy Sunday morning situation.
White will always be classic, but pale blue and menswear-inspired stripes deserve a place in the rotation too. The trick is finding one that’s slightly oversized without completely swallowing you.
The ones we love:
J.Crew’s Étienne Oversized Shirt
Gap’s oversized cotton shirts
The formula: Button-down + straight-leg denim + ballet flats + gold hoops.
Simple, but somehow always good.
The Perfect White Tank
A white tank sounds almost too basic, until you realize how many good outfits start with one.
It’s what you wear underneath your blazer. It’s the top that saves you when you don’t know what goes with your jeans. It’s what you throw on with linen pants when it’s 85 degrees outside and constructing an elaborate outfit simply isn’t happening.
Look for substantial fabric, flattering straps, and a neckline you genuinely love. The difference between a random white tank and your perfect white tank is surprisingly significant.
The ones we love:
The formula: White tank + black trousers + belt + sunglasses.
Add a bag and you’re out the door.
Black Tailored Trousers
If denim is your everyday uniform, black trousers are its slightly more sophisticated older sister.
They’re one of those rare pieces that can go from office to dinner without requiring an outfit change. Pair them with a button-down when you need to look polished, then swap it for a fitted tank and flats when you want something more relaxed.
Wide-leg and slightly relaxed silhouettes feel especially effortless, but don’t get too caught up in whatever trouser shape is trending. The best pair is the one that fits you beautifully.
The ones we love:
Abercrombie’s Sloane Tailored Pant
The formula: Black trousers + white tank + Mary Janes + everyday bag.
Timeless Denim
Every fashion girl has the jeans.
Not necessarily the newest pair. Not necessarily the most expensive pair. Just the ones that fit exactly how you want and somehow work with almost every top in your closet.
Maybe yours are vintage Levi’s. Maybe they’re relaxed and slightly baggy. Maybe you’ll forever be loyal to straight-leg denim.
The point isn’t finding the jeans everyone else is wearing. It’s finding the pair you repeatedly reach for without thinking.
The ones we love:
Abercrombie’s Curve Love denim
The formula: Great denim + white tank + oversized blazer + ballet flats.
It’s basically impossible to mess up.
Linen Pants
The unofficial uniform of pretending you’re somewhere on the Mediterranean, even when you’re actually heading to Trader Joe’s.
Linen pants are relaxed, breathable, and somehow always manage to look expensive when styled simply. Cream, white, beige, black, and chocolate brown are the colors you’ll continue pulling out summer after summer.
Pair them with a fitted tank and sandals on the hottest days or add an oversized button-down when you want something a little more polished.
And yes, linen wrinkles.
We’ve decided that’s part of the charm.
The ones we love:
Abercrombie linen-blend trousers
Old Navy’s linen-blend wide-leg pants
The formula: Linen pants + fitted tank + everyday bag + minimal jewelry.
Ballet Flats & Mary Janes
Ballet flats and Mary Janes have officially moved beyond comeback territory. At this point, they’re simply part of the wardrobe again.
They’re feminine without feeling overly sweet, polished without feeling formal, and capable of making even the simplest jeans-and-T-shirt situation look incredibly considered.
Classic black is nearly impossible to get wrong, but we’re equally into chocolate brown, burgundy, cream, mesh, and an occasional pop of red.
And if you’ve spent the past few years exclusively rotating sneakers? Consider this your sign to switch things up.
The ones we love:
The formula: Relaxed denim + white tank + oversized button-down + Mary Janes.
Very I didn’t try that hard, even if you absolutely did.
Gold Hoop Earrings
There are mornings when you have approximately five minutes to make yourself look presentable.
This is when the gold hoops come out.
They’re subtle enough to wear every day but have just enough impact to make an otherwise simple outfit feel finished. Small and chunky, oversized and thin, sculptural or classic, find the shape that feels like you and you’ll probably wear them more than anything else in your jewelry collection.
The ones we love:
Gorjana’s everyday gold styles
The formula: Honestly? Everything.
White shirt? Gold hoops.
Sweater? Gold hoops.
Hair slicked back because washing it wasn’t on today’s agenda? You already know.
Clean White Sneakers
Even with ballet flats, retro trainers, colorful sneakers, and whatever shoe the internet collectively decides we’re obsessed with next, a clean white sneaker isn’t going anywhere.
They’re comfortable. They’re practical. More importantly, they work with practically everything.
Wear them with denim, trousers, dresses, linen pants, or a blazer when you want to make something polished feel slightly more relaxed.
The ones we love:
The only real rule?
Keep them relatively clean.
Slightly worn-in is cool. Completely destroyed is a different conversation.
The Blazer You Throw Over Everything
The best blazer in your closet shouldn’t only make an appearance during job interviews.
A slightly oversized blazer is one of those magical pieces that can completely change the energy of an outfit. Throw it over jeans and a tank and suddenly you’re dressed. Wear it with trousers and sneakers and corporate becomes cool. Pair it with a mini skirt and Mary Janes and you’ve entered your I just casually know how to dress era.
Black will always be forever, but charcoal gray, chocolate brown, navy, and cream deserve some attention too.
The ones we love:
The formula: Blazer + white tee + vintage denim + flats + a great bag.
Save it. Repeat it.
The Everyday Bag
Every fashion girl has the bag.
You know the one. The purse you grab without even thinking because somehow it works with almost everything in your closet.
And no, it doesn’t have to be one specific silhouette.
Maybe yours is a structured shoulder bag. Maybe it’s a slouchy suede carryall, a vintage-inspired top-handle, a roomy tote, or that perfectly worn-in purse you’ve owned for years that somehow looks better with age.
The best everyday bags balance style with actual life. They fit your wallet, sunglasses, charger, keys, hand sanitizer, snacks, and the five lip products we apparently need to carry at all times without making you feel like you’re hauling luggage around.
Black and chocolate brown will always be safe bets, but burgundy, cognac, cream, and rich suede textures can add a little more personality without becoming difficult to style.
The ones we love:
The formula: White tank + denim + ballet flats + a really good bag.
Sometimes the accessory is the outfit.
The Fashion-Girl Formula Is Actually Pretty Simple
The funny thing about developing personal style is that the better you understand what you actually like, the less you feel like you constantly need something new.
You start developing formulas.
White tank + jeans + blazer.
Oversized button-down + trousers + Mary Janes.
Linen pants + tank + gold hoops.
Denim + white sneakers + your favorite bag.
Suddenly, getting dressed doesn’t require staring into your closet for 20 minutes waiting for inspiration to strike.
And that’s really the point of a good wardrobe.
We’re never going to tell you to stop participating in trends. Fashion is supposed to be fun. Buy the weird shoe. Try the color everyone is suddenly obsessed with. Wear the trend that might make you cringe at yourself five years from now. That’s part of it.
But your basics are what make those pieces wearable.
Invest in what you genuinely reach for. Find the jeans that make you feel good. Buy the tank in another color when you realize you’ve worn it three times this week. Get the blazer tailored if the fit isn’t quite right. Wear your Mary Janes until they’re practically molded to your feet.
Because the coolest wardrobes aren’t necessarily the biggest ones. They’re the ones that feel unmistakably like the person wearing them.
The Relatable Edit
If you’re starting from scratch, don’t buy all ten pieces at once.
Start with the three things your current wardrobe is missing most. Wear them. Figure out what works with the clothes you already own. Then slowly fill in the gaps.
Personal style isn’t something you order in one shipment.
It’s something you collect.
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