You may have heard the term capsule wardrobe tossed around a lot the last couple of years. A wardrobe with mix and match pieces to create endless outfits and keep your life simple. For me that sounded utterly boring.

I recently was a virtual student to Tan Frances’s MasterClass on style, where he talked about creating your capsule wardrobe. My view changed regarding this issue because he discussed how a capsule wardrobe serves as a base for your closet, not as a complete be all end all to your style. That’s more my speed!

From here on out I will refer to this as a base wardrobe, not capsule, which to me means all encompassing. Base wardrobe, one that serves as a platform for my closet, is what I want to accomplish.

First off, not a single person has the same look and shape as the one next to her. A base wardrobe for me shouldn’t look just like yours. The clothing items below are what work for me and my body type. For reference I’m 5’3 and generally wear a size small/4.

Here are my base wardrobe items for winter, items I can style alone together or serve as the bottom layer to what I want to wear:

Tops:

~ black long sleeve bodysuit to wear under everything

~ a knit with a pattern that matches all my pants

~ neutral knit/sweater

Bottoms:

~ straight leg medium blue jeans

~ a dark skinny jean

~ black leggings

Accessories:

~ neutral warm coat that can be dressed up or down

~ winter beanie

Shoes:

~ black loafers

~ white sneakers

~ all weather boots

Obviously I wear other clothes. When there are days that I don’t know what to wear or don’t care (gasp!) I grab these items. Simple, no thinking. Here’s my style recipe card for my base winter wardrobe ~

Does the idea of a base wardrobe for each season work for you too?