Raiding My Sisters Closet: Wardrobe Building Blocks

These are the items I wear on a daily basis that really work for my lifestyle (aka, snuggling on the couch with a stack of picture books).

I’ve had periods of my life where I bought a lot of heels, but. . . I basically only wear those on Sunday and even then, only to church for a few hours, so that’s not really the most practical place to send my money.

I’ve also realized that I’m lousy at wearing dresses or skirts during the week for regular mom life. They just never seem that comfortable to me and I spend all my time trying to keep it from riding up. Pass.

Here’s what works best for me and what makes up 90% of my wardrobe and daily outfits:

1. Neutral Skinny Jeans. I am a serious jeans wearer and always have been. Even in the middle of summer in Las Vegas, it’s my favorite thing to wear – they always look put together, practically every top looks good with them, and it’s not hard to find a pair. I own a few colored pairs, but mainly I like dark denim, black, gray, and white.
2. Button Downs. I’ve never really liked button down shirts before, but now I have several that I really love – I like that they are flattering, that they’re easy to nurse in, and that they look a little more dressed-up than a t-shirt.  Bart bought me this yellow one for Mother’s Day and I love it. It’s a fun color, has a subtle pattern, and didn’t cost a fortune.
3. Good Tee Shirts. At Alt Summit last year, I got a Pickwick & Weller t-shirt and I wore it in to the ground. I loved that it never pilled, even after washing it a thousand times, that it held its shape, and that it didn’t look like I got it for free at a 5K. I meant to buy a couple more and then when I got around to it, Pickwick & Weller had gone under so now I’m on the hunt for a new source. If you have any suggestions for good places to get solid t-shirts, I am ALLLLLL ears.
4. Short-Sleeved Blouses. I’ve owned basically zero of these for years, but I’m slowly building up a little collection. Something like this is as easy to wear as a t-shirt, but looks a thousand times more dressy.
5. Flat Shoes. Most of the time, I’m go-go-going all day long, so it’s really useful for me to have shoes that are comfortable. I also feel like shoes are the most likely item to make or break an outfit, so when I buy shoes, I try to focus on pairs that are both super comfortable and look really good. I bought a pair of black Kork-Ease sandals a few weeks ago, and I’ve worn them almost daily. They look fantastic and they’re comfortable enough to wear for hours and hours and hours. And, of course, I love my white Converse sneakers. I’m still on the hunt for a good flat sandal. The pair I ordered last week were a total bust.
6. Wedges. And then, of course, sometimes you want something more dressy than a flat shoe, so I also have a few pairs of wedges that I can actually walk in.
7. Bonus Accessories: Stud earrings (I bought these pearl earrings for 50 cents at Claire’s years ago and I’ve worn them approximately 1500 times), lipstick (I swear by Bare Minerals), painting my nails, and a good looking diaper bag (I love both of my Lily Jade bags and I also have my eye on one of these tote diaper bags because. . . hey, I have three children now. I should have three diaper bags, right?).