An Ordinary Girl's World: Fashion, Love, Life

Now that I can finally get round to following up on the previous post in this series How to Budget: The Rules, I hope that I can completely cover all the bases on the mastery of budget shopping. As I said in the previous post in the series, when budget shopping you should be willing to spend the most money on the 'investment pieces' of your wardrobe. In case you were wondering, an investment piece is any piece that forms the basic foundation of your wardrobe and that you can mix-n-match with several other pieces in your wardrobe in order to make an outfit. While these pieces should still have a bit of your personal style in them and should fit you, this should be generally be toned down as much as possible so that it does not compromise their versatility. I believe that there are two major categories of investment pieces: basics and classics.

Basics
These are articles that every woman cannot and should not go without regardless of age, lifestyle, and personal style. They form the basic support of your outfits, and the skeleton of your wardrobe. Although, people's ideas of what constitute the basics varies, there are a few things that are constant from list to list they are:

• a winter hat, scarf and gloves, and coat (climate sensitive)



• a good strong umbrella and rainboots (partially climate sensitive)



• comfy, but cute flats and flip flops



• gorgeous yet workable heels in a neutral colour



• blazer/hoodie/ cute light jacket and sweater in a neutral colour



• bras of 3 types: push-up, sports and t-shirt



• seamless underwear



• simple tanks in neutral colours



• simple t-shirts in neutral colours (short and long sleeve)



• jeans preferably in a dark wash and a pair of normal pants



• sneakers, socks and neutral toned pants



• a simple but durable bag and wallet
  

Classics:
These are clothes that have survived the test of time and therefore have incredibly low cost-per-wear because you will be able to use them for as long as they survive. They are seen as important pieces to achieve the simple but polished look and usually have infinite possibilities in terms of when and where you can wear them. They also do not have to be bought in a haste and can be acquired as you become more financially stable. They include:

• A little black dress



• A white 'mens' shirt



• bootcut or straight legged jeans



• a gold or silver jewelry set



• pearls and or diamonds



• black tailored pants



• a trench coat



• black pumps



• a flattering skirt of medium length



• a cashmere sweater



• your perfect bag



• a pair of black sunglasses
  

Please Note: When buying your investment pieces remember the following:

• They must suit your body type and represent you without being trendy.



• You must love it. If you are going to invest in something, it being just 'alright' is not going to cut it.



• If you have to choose, make sure you spend money on your basics before you invest in your classics simply because they are more capital intensive initially and less urgent. But that depends on you.

(Picture from: Anahitox at Flickr)

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. What are your investment pieces? Do you own any classics yet? Which is your favorite? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.