Wardrobe Essential – Basic Black Tee

Since graduating from college, I’ve been trying to slim down my wardrobe to essentials. I can’t lie, it’s been hard! It needs to happen though! City living is not conducive to plentiful closet space. There’s something super difficult about getting rid of clothing that’s perfectly fine and was purchased by my own/my parent’s money. My rule for putting clothes in the donation pile is asking myself, “When was the last time you wore that?” Last week, I was able to donate four grocery sacks worth of old clothing. SO cathartic.

I’ve also been more careful about what clothing purchases I make. Whenever I’m at a store or shopping online, I now spend more time thinking through what other clothes the purchase would match and the quality too. At this moment, I’m into classic pieces and simply patterned textiles and relying more on flattering silhouettes and bright colors to make my outfits unique to my style. The two pieces of clothing I’m spotlighting as wardrobe essentials are my Uniqlo Supima Cotton T-Shirts.

I’m obsessed with Uniqlo’s Supima Cotton line. It’s super soft and great quality. The fit is perfect on me. Not too tight but hugs in the right places on my upper body. I’ve purchased multiple white tanks that are great for layering under winter sweaters and love the t-shirts (long and short sleeved) to mellow out a very colorful pair of cords or keep an outfit with jeans polished. My most recent acquired piece is the Supima Cotton Crewneck Long Sleeve T-Shirt in black. I am obsessed! I want it in white and heather grey now. The material of these tees is thick enough so my bra, no matter how bright (i.e. neon pink), doesn’t show through.

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As you can see, the fit is how I described, not too tight but not baggy. True to size and perfect! Yes, I am wearing my PJ pants in the picture :)

I haven’t washed the long sleeve tee yet, but I have for the tanks and short sleeve– they hold up great and do not shrink. Highly recommend this line at Uniqlo if you’re looking to replace or build your basics.

Thanks for reading, x.

Current Stylings

Since entering college, I’ve come to appreciate a more conservative/”less is more” look. I have become more attentive to colours and accessories to amp up an outfit. Pieces of clothing in drab cuts can be instantly transformed by patterns and colour. Some might label my style as “preppy,” but I prefer “classic.” I look to influential, fashionable women of a bygone era such as Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O. Additionally, surprising touches such as an open or low back to a shirt or dress are definitely classier than a piece of clothing that reduces to exposing the chest far too much for attention. Demure and classy is what I strive for in style- with sneaky, sophisticated surprises of course!

The collage below is an example of an outfit I wore yesterday, with the exception for the bracelet and the jeans (I wore Forever 21 jeggings in a similar wash). The bracelet in the collage is the J Crew Classic Pavé Link bracelet, which I refused to pay $125 for, but purchased from the Etsy shop YuniKelley. Her price for a replica of the bracelet is more than half and looks remarkably the same! In the picture below, I’m wearing the bracelet! Doesn’t it look basically the same? At the J Crew the other day, a woman asked to see the pavé bracelet and the sales associate said to her that the bracelet was really popular and was actually backordered online. I laughed a little inside!

I really liked pairing my ballerina pink TOMS with my outfit, because it allowed for the outfit to be comfortable and fun and avoided a stuffy, super-prep look a pair of pointy-toed colorblock flats could have created. The grosgrain material of the TOMS and the color is a nice tongue in cheek tribute to the classic ballet flat, and I absolutely adore it!

12/19/12
 Shirt: J Crew; Bracelet: J Crew (the YuniKelley one can be purchased here); Jeans: GAP; Purse: Coach “Candace”; Shoes: TOMS


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On a culinary note, I baked gingerbread and sugar cookies today! My sister and brother helped me decorate them :) Christmas definitely feels near now!

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Lace & Pleats

Lace & Pleats

The only things I own are the dress, blush and sunglasses. I think I need to find similar brown flats and get those unicorn earrings though. I am OBSESSED with unicorns. Yup. I could help but fall in love with this dress. I’ve been gravitating towards creams and pale pinks lately. It’s a far cry from my days of owning a fair amount of black and navy in my wardrobe.

Also, this is my first little Polyvore “set”. I hope I did it right?

Forever21 dress
$30 – forever21.com

Lillybee brown ballerina flat
$168 – simplysoles.com

Spiral jewelry
$12 – modcloth.com

NARS Blush – Angelika
$27 – barneys.com