A full wardrobe, three familiar favorites
I have a full wardrobe and still reach for the same few things. I used to think this is ridiculous, and that surely, with so much choice, I should be making more adventurous decisions before breakfast, but no. There's comfort in choosing what has become my uniform.
There is a particular pleasure in knowing what you want to wear. Some mornings, I want to experiment. On others, I want to get dressed, feel good, and get on with the day. Having favorites makes room for both.
Lately, three pieces have been doing much of the work: my Celine striped shirt, Celine Margaret jeans, and Saint Laurent burgundy soft loafers. Together, they make an outfit I’m happy to repeat, and separately, they give me somewhere to begin. It also helps that the items are timeless and can be worn across seasons - add or subtract a sweater, a cardigan, a trench, a blazer, or any other item of choice to layer to your particular style.
My wardrobe staples
The striped shirt
A striped shirt has enough going on that I don’t feel I need to add very much. The pattern brings interest, while the familiarity of a shirt keeps the whole thing easy to wear.
What I like most is how much the styling can change its mood. A little tuck, an open collar, sleeves pushed up: small decisions, but they make a difference. With jeans, I prefer a slightly relaxed approach. I want to look dressed without feeling as though I’ve arranged myself too carefully.
It also gives me a starting point for color. I can pick up a shade from the stripes or introduce something unexpected through shoes or a bag. There is plenty to play with before I even think about buying another piece.
The Margaret jeans
Denim occupies a considerable amount of space in my wardrobe, so these jeans have competition.
Yet my Celine Margaret jeans keep finding their way back into the rotation. I enjoy the combination of a shirt and denim: familiar, certainly, but never quite the same once you change the proportions, the shoes, or how you wear the shirt.
The jeans also make it easier to use some of the more pretentious things I own. A blouse that feels a little too dressed up, a particularly good jacket, a bag with plenty of personality—denim gives those pieces somewhere to go on an ordinary day.
That matters to me. I want to wear the things I love, including when the occasion is simply leaving the house.
Why I’m happy to repeat them
I still love variety. I’m hardly about to reduce my wardrobe to three pieces and declare the project complete.
But wearing favorites repeatedly helps me understand what I enjoy: the relationship between a shirt and denim, a little color at my feet, and enough flexibility to change the details.
It also reminds me to look properly at what I already have. Sometimes, the next outfit begins with a familiar piece worn a slightly different way.
For now, these three are a very good place to start.
Dea xx
The burgundy loafers
The Saint Laurent burgundy soft loafers bring the color I keep coming back to.
Burgundy works beautifully with denim and adds depth to a shirt-and-jeans combination. I like that it feels rich without taking over the outfit, and it also gives me an alternative to automatically reaching for black.
With these three pieces together, the shoes are often the detail that makes the combination feel finished. I don’t need to match the bag exactly. I’d rather let the burgundy have its own place in the outfit and see what else works alongside it.