The Basics: The Foundation Pieces Everyone Needs in Their Closet (Part 2)

This is a continuation of “The Basics: The Foundation Pieces Everyone Needs in Their Closet (Part 1)”.

6. Tank Tops (in lots of colors)

So this is more so just a “duh” basic that I’m fairly sure everyone has. But are you covering all your bases? There’s no real guideline for buying tanks, just make sure you have your white, black, gray, and nude covered, then you can get whatever else you want. As you can see, I’m the fan of the “better-have-it-and-not-need-it” principle when it comes to tank tops–these are only half of my collection.

7. The Cardigan

I really had to restrain myself for this basic! As you will soon learn, I have an unhealthy obsession with sweaters. Sweaters take up a good 20% of the space in my closet, and you will often find me in the fall or winter (and sometimes spring and summer–I can’t help it!) wearing a sweater of some sort.

One of the greatest fashion inventions of mankind in my opinion (besides skinny jeans) is the cardigan. Here is…one…of my many, many, MANY cardigans. I chose this one because it not only is neutral, but somewhat of an interesting piece itself. You can throw a cardigan over anything without much thought and it will look fantastic, if you have the right ones. I always carry a cardigan with me wherever I go.

Man, I really love sweaters. But you know what else I love?

8. The Blazer

Ah, the blazer. I had to restrain myself for this one too, as my closet has a corner dedicated to both sweaters and blazers, and it’s kind of overflowing at the moment. I am known for having quite a few (but never too many) blazers as the focal point in my outfits, so I picked this blazer as my basic example. The thing about the blazer–its more of a transformation piece than a foundation piece. While this blazer is rather plain, adding it to jeans and a white v-neck instantly morphs the entire outfit from lounge to street chic. All you had to do was add a basic blazer.

9. The Feel-Good Shirt

Let me set up a scenario for you. You just woke up to your mom screaming your name at the bottom of the stairs that your bus is arriving in less than 5 minutes. You feel like crap, you sort of look like crap, and don’t have the time or energy to put any effort into anything. You have to do what you can in those 5–wait–4 minutes to look presentable at school so people don’t mistake you for a science experiment gone wrong when you stumble through the halls. What do you grab? The Feel-Good-Shirt.

The Feel-Good-Shirt (or FGS) is something I thought of on a day much like the one described above. The FGS is a shirt that a) Looks good, b) is casual, and c) fits you impeccably well. My FGS is this scoop neck 3/4 sleeve tee from Old Navy. It just lies on my body perfectly and can be worn with just about anything. I wear it so much it’s hard to find it in a clean state (I pulled it out of the laundry to take this photo last night). So go out and get yourself an FGS, or, if you already have one, put it in a special and easily accessable area in your closet. Trust me, you’ll thank me for it later.

10. The Lucky Jacket

I guess this isn’t really an essential for everyone, but it sure is for me. I started the whole lucky jacket thing when I was in 6th grade, almost 5 years ago. I got a feeling of security from being able to go back to one jacket and wear it constantly. Now I’m not suggesting you go buy a jacket and wear it all the time until it reeks, no. That’s not cool. But get a jacket that you love, is casual, and you think would work well with most of the rest of your closet. My lucky jacket always has to be an olive military style jacket. The anorak pictured above is my second lucky jacket, and I still have my first (and both desperately need a wash).

That’s everything on my list! Thank you so much for making it this far! I hope that these tips help you great a basis for your closet that makes getting reading in the morning way easier. And I promise that not all my clothing is Forever21–they’re just my go-to store for basics.

Keep checking out Project Maganda for more posts! New Style Blogs every Sunday (I know it’s Wednesday, I just wanted to get het ball rolling) and Monthly favorites debut on the last day of the month.

Thanks Again!

Much love,

Erin