How To Choose Wardrobe Pieces To Invest In

In the past few years I’ve focused my shopping on finding high-quality classic pieces that I love! I’ve been purchasing versatile wardrobe staples that are an investment in my wardrobe. Investment pieces are high-quality clothing that are versatile and will withstand time and changing styles. These are the classic items that are the basic building blocks of your wardrobes. Upfront, investment pieces will be more expensive so it is important to carefully consider them before you buy. In the long run, you will save money because you are filling your wardrobe with items you will have for a long time. In today’s post, I am sharing tips on how to choose wardrobe pieces to invest in.

The investment pieces in your wardrobe will create a capsule wardrobe that you can build around. These items will elevate the trendy, fast fashion items you buy. In this post, I put together a full Winter Capsule Wardrobe.

How To Choose Wardrobe Pieces To Invest In

When investing in an item there are many things to consider. One of the most important is that the item feels comfortable. No matter how beautiful or fashionable something is, if it doesn’t feel comfortable you won’t wear it often or at all! Below are my tips on considering whether to invest in an item.

Calculate Cost per Wear

Cost per wear is a crucial factor when deciding whether something is worth the cost. How you calculate cost per wear is to take the cost of an item divided by the number of times you will wear it. For example: You spend $400 on a high quality blazer. The blazer is a classic style that you can wear year-round and to work or casually. You will probably wear it once a month. Since it is high quality let’s estimate that you have it for at least 8 years, so 96 wears. The cost per wear is $4.16. Once you know cost per wear you can better assess whether a piece is worth investing in for the price. A piece that is a wardrobe staple will generally have a low cost per wear.

Consider Your Lifestyle & Personal Style

When making decisions on a good investment piece take into consideration your lifestyle. What is your dress code for work? How do you like to dress on the weekends? What type of activities do you do on the nights or weekends? The types of items you wear the most often are the wardrobe staple items that will be worth the splurge.

If you have a business casual or business professional dress code, a good investment would be in dressier pieces like heels, blazers or a purse. If your life is more casual or you dress more casual on the weekends a leather jacket, flats and boots may be wardrobe items you get more use out of.

Once you have considered your lifestyle, think about your personal style. Wardrobe pieces you invest in should reflect your style. Otherwise, you won’t wear them nearly as much. Do you like more classic pieces? Do you wear more prints or solids? What style are your favorite wardrobe items you have already in your closet? Yes, a timeless piece will always be in style but if it doesn’t fit your personal style then it doesn’t make sense for you to invest in them.

Consider your Current Wardrobe

A very important point in knowing how to choose wardrobe pieces to invest in, is knowing your current wardrobe. Any wardrobe item you invest in should integrate into your wardrobe as soon as you have it. While considering an item think about the different ways you can style it. When you know your current wardrobe well you’ll be able to know what items you have that will go with it. I like to come up with at least 4 outfits while I’m thinking about a purchase. If you can’t come up with many outfits, consider whether they work in a different color, cut, or print?

Think Quality Over Quantity

When investing in your wardrobe you may have to change your shopping perspective a bit. Your focus is on acquiring fewer items that are of higher quality. Yes you will pay more for these items but you are paying for items that will last and look better. Quality products have better fabrics and construction so they will fit and look better. And who doesn’t want to look expensive? One stylish, quality and well-fitting blazer will take you thru years and years of wear. When you buy

To find quality items focus on natural fabrics and quality stitching. There should be a lot of stitches per inch and buttons should be securely attached. Metal zippers and heavy buttons are also good indicators of quality. For dresses and skirts, make sure the hem is finished with stitching and not lacking thread. Jackets, blazers and coats should have a high-quality lining. Once you shop a bit for quality in mind, you’ll learn what brands have great quality!

Less items won’t mean a limited closet. In fact, you’ll have more items that you love and have carefully purchased. This makes getting dressed so much easier because you have better items to build outfits with! Sometimes less is better than more.

Think About Color

Obviously color is a huge part of any clothing choice but it’s even more crucial when you are investing in a purchase. Overall it is best to invest in neutral colors but you can think outside of just black and white. Camel, cream, grey, brown, champagne and all colors in between can be great neutrals for your wardrobe. Think about whether you like warm or cool colors better and get neutrals in those tones. The importance of neutrals is that they can be mixed and matched more than bright statement colors. You can wear them with more items you already have and will coordinate with new items that you buy. Neutral pieces are also less likely to go out of style or look dated after a few years.

Now I’m going to contradict myself here and say that sometimes a statement color can work for an investment piece! If you really know you’re style and are certain you’ll love a certain color or print long term, you can get away with it. Just keep the rest of One of my nicest purses that I splurged on a few years ago is lipstick red. Since it is such a bright loud color everything else about it is classic. The style of purse and the shape is something that will be in style for a long time. I know my wardrobe pretty well and wear a lot of neutral outfits so I knew I would get a lot of use out of a bright red purse.

Best Fashion Investment Pieces

What constitutes as an “investment” amount is different for everyone. To me, an investment piece is a piece that is the top of the price range that you can afford. Typically it is an item that I have had to save up for and not just an on a whim purchase. The items below are all my suggestions for the best fashion investment pieces.

Blazers

If your work dress code is professional or business casual a great blazer is one of the first items I recommend investing in. You will get so much wear out of it. Wear with dress pants for work. An amazing blazer will even make a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt look expensive!

Fit is crucial to a blazer. It not only gives you shape but determines whether you’ll feel comfortable wearing it. If you don’t know the style of blazer you like best try a few on and see what works best for your body type. This is an item that it pays to get tailored. Personally I like a “boyfriend” fit on my blazers: a slightly oversized cut that is a little longer than a typical blazer. Once you have a neutral color, feel free to have fun with the print or color of your blazers. My blush pink blazer is my most worn one.

I have many great blazers linked below but my top recommendation would be a William & Lauren one (see more here).

Wool Winter Coat

Although they can’t be worn year-round in most places, a great winter coat is a wardrobe staple and a worthy investment. Look for a simple classic style in a warm fabric. The lining is important too! Consider what you’ll wear under a coat when you pick the size. For my casual winter coat I went a size up because I like to wear a lot of chunky sweaters. As for my dress coat, I went true to size because I’m typically wearing dresses or non-bulky items with it.

Leather Jacket

If your lifestyle is a little more casual, I recommend investing in a leather jacket. Like a blazer, they are incredibly versatile. Look for ones with details that reflect your personal style. Zippers, buttons etc can all make a leather jacket feel unique.

Leather jackets style well with jeans and other more casual items. But you can add even more vesatility to it but wearing it with dressier items. I love the soft and hard look of a leather jacket and slip dress.

Pointy Toe Pumps

Many heel styles come in and out of style thru the years but a pointed toe pump always looks stylish. I wear mine at work and date night. The pointy toe is also incredibly flattering on all body types. The point elongates your legs and who doesn’t love that? Pointy toe heels also can be style with almost any pant leg. They will work with skinny, wide or straight leg items.

Tall Boots

I wear tall heeled boots through the Fall, Winter and Spring. It’s a boot that is always in style. For maximum versatility, find a pair that you can tuck jeans or other pants into and also wear with dresses. Most tall boots will allow skinny jeans to be tucked in but many with the right amount of room will also work with straight leg pants.

Sweaters

There is nothing I love more than a beautiful soft sweater. I think I am drawn to them because they are effortless outfit makers. A gorgeous sweater with denim and boots instantly looks pulled together. You can also really tell the difference in higher quality sweaters, they don’t pill as easily and keep their shape much better. As far as shape goes, buy ones that reflect your style and you feel comfortable in. I personally love crew or turtleneck styles.

Little Black Dress

This really doesn’t even need to be explained. We all know a classic black dress can be worn in so many situations. Weddings, showers, church, work, dates and so many other events. Having a great black dress or two in your closet will mean you are prepared for so many events. I have black dresses that I’ve worn for years, I just change the accessories and shoes to change the look.

Black dresses are also one of those items to turn to when you don’t know what to wear or just need something that feels comfortable.

Classic Purse

When considering wardrobe pieces to invest in a purse is a no-brainer for me, because they are one of my favorite things! They are a real weakness. There are so many purse types and every season or two new styles became the “it” bag. Both shoulder bags and crossbodies seem to stand the test of time. So those are types that I invest in. A purse can make an outfit! Like a blazer, they can make even a t-shirt and jeans look special and expensive.

Something I have done with my purse purchases is to save up for them and then buy them when I travel somewhere fun. It makes a great souvenir! Since I’ve saved up for it, it’s not an impulse purchase but something I have researched and know I’ll love.

Disclosure: I may earn an affiliate commission on any purchases or clicks thru the links in this post. This is no cost to you and I only share things I love.