I am not the typical ‘girl’ in the sense that I really do not like shopping. I know I am always talking about being at CVS or at Walmart but I go there mainly to get food or smell bath gels because I love scented stuff. The things I hate shopping for are SHOES and CLOTHES as I am not fashion forward at all.
I grew up a bit of tomboy and would gladly live the rest of my life in jeans and a tee shirt if I could. Of course I managed to get away with this for most of my college life but now I am Twenty-Plenty and have a grown up job as a teacher I really need to have some suitable clothing for work. Due to the nature of my students I prefer to wear pants to work instead of skirts so I decided to get the basic black pants in full length and also in capri length.
I love capri pants because they are appropriate for work under our dress code and I can wear them during the warm days then switch to longer pants on the colder school days as it gets closer to winter. In addition to plain black pants I also got plain brown pants and decided that if I could get one pair of long and one pair of capris in each color then I would be all set for work.
So far I managed to get the following pants:
Solid colors:
-dark brown long pants
-light brown long pants
-dark brown capris
-black long pants
-black capris
-light grey long pants
Stripes:
-black long pants with blue pinstripes
-black capris with white pinstripes
-light grey capris with white pinstripes
Other:
-dark grey/white houndstooth long pants
You would think that with a total of 10 pairs of pants I would be able to find something to wear every day but sometimes it is a struggle because I find myself wearing the same thing over and over. I guess I am just not very good at coordinating different tops to go with the pants and usually fall back on wearing the black pants over and over.
I got a few polo shirts in different colors for casual Fridays and I am rounding out the budget with buying some quality tops on sale so that I have something different to wear every day. I think I want at least 12 different shirts so that I do not look like I am wearing the same thing every week. I already have about 7 shirts that I wear that look good with all the pants that I have but I do realize that I have been wearing some of those for the last three years and I would like a little update.
My goal is to buy one shirt that I really love and not get it in multiple colors so that I can really have a different look. I will be taking the money for these purchases out of the Splurge Fund so I think I can get one shirt every month and be well on the way to building a good wardrobe without breaking my budget.
I don’t know but I like your choices. I stick with the basic colors as well. I dont think im good with coordinating colorful clothes so I stick with black, brown, white, grey and other ‘earth-like’ colors. they’re safe to wear and im comfortable wearing them..
Over the years I have found that skirts are much cheaper than pants. You don’t need to wash them very often and that saves tons on washing and/or dry cleaning. Also, you can throw on a plain tee shirt with a sweater and some jewelry and look very professional for far less than pants. I also wear a garter belt with thigh highs. Nothing is more embarrassing then being in a meeting and having your stocking start rolling down your leg – therefore, the garter belt. I find that most tights cause static cling and make the skirt bunch around your legs as you walk. I mostly wear knee length pencil skirts – so maybe this isn’t an issue with mini – but they are not very professional. Also, with the thigh highs – if one gets a run you only have to replace one leg and not both. A pencil jean skirt, a white shirt, black boots and a cardigan on Friday sure beats the heck out of most women wearing jeans.
It is hard for me to try and find things are that are less t-shirt and jeans. I am as you said like a tomboy. I have the habit of finding something I like and replicating it through out my wardrobe. I generally ask my friends to help my in the fashion department. Slowly but surely I am getting better.