pictured: sunglasses / silver star necklace / black dress / silver station bracelet / silver bar bracelet / m frame handbag / nail polish / black suede boots (similar here) /

What is investment dressing? You may have heard people talking about investing in a handbag or a piece of jewelry, but have you heard of investment dressing? This is something I have toggled back and forth with since I entered college and started shopping on my own. Investment dressing is purchasing clothing and accessories to create a long-term wardrobe. It transcends trends and seasonal pieces allowing you to build a full wardrobe you can wear for years and years.

The concept of investment dressing allows you to build a timeless wardrobe which avoids fleeting trends, and helps you save money in the long term. Instead of buying trendy items every year, you can wear the same trousers, blazers, shirts, sweaters, etc. for years and years without spending money on new items. This also allows you to invest in higher quality items since you will have more money to spend on one item instead of an entire wardrobe.

You may have noticed bloggers and online magazines talking about capsule wardrobes; both seasonal and classic. Even I have jumped on the capsule bandwagon! The capsule itself is a concept which helps you trim down your wardrobe to basics which can be used over and over again, season after season. It is a lesson in mixing and matching so you can create countless outfits out of a few articles of clothing. Of course, when you read about these capsules, they always show new items, including my capsules!

The point of a capsule, as well as investment dressing, is not to purchase new items every season, but to be able to reuse what you have in your closet. Shopping your closet is part of investment dressing! When you see a capsule, look at what is in it. Is the writer showing straight leg jeans? Wear the pair you already own, you don’t need to purchase the new pair pictured in the article. Are they showing a black blazer? Use the one you already own, if it’s vintage, even better! So on and so forth, you get the idea.

It can be tricky to stick to investment dressing. When I started this blog, I was still a faithful investment dresser who concentrated on building a timeless wardrobe. Once I started to get more into blogging, it was really hard to stay timeless. I fell into a trendy trap and started overbuying items which did not stand the test of time. Now, I look at my closet and I am sad to see things I cannot wear anymore. So, I took a deep breath last spring and decided to go back to my wardrobing roots and stay on course with investment dressing.

What if you like trends? You can still invest in your wardrobe and reflect certain trends. One of the easiest ways to stay on trend while building a timeless wardrobe is to look at current color trends. You can invest in a classic sweater for fall which transcends time yet purchase it in a current color. Stay away from overly trendy colors such as lime. You will see colors in the color palette which transcend time and can be worn during the year. Those are the colors to invest in each season.

When it comes to colors, don’t be afraid! I know some people live in a beige and white world, please don’t! Colors keep things interesting and can even evoke emotions! For example, yellow makes people happy and blue creates calm. Red keeps you moving and green evokes feelings of peace.

Sometimes it is fun to add a trendy item to a classic wardrobe. When you do this, don’t spend a ton of money on it. Look for something on sale or at a reasonable price. Try not to succumb to a trend and overbuy it. Remember, you want to build a wardrobe with classic pieces, not cycle through it every season or two.

Investment dressing is also a fabulous way to build a wardrobe when a recession is looming. Yup, I said it! While we may not fall into a big one, we are experiencing inflation and a rise in interest rates. This is a good time to invest in a timeless wardrobe so you don’t feel the need to spend on clothing and accessories if we do head in that direction. Love that about investing in a timeless wardrobe!

What is your current style mood? Are you feeling like trends are your thing? Or are you in the mood to create a timeless closet?

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for more investment dressing type articles this year!

XOXO
Cathy