Building Your Wardrobe

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Dress: Nordstrom [wearing size S] | Flats: Valentino, Similar | Bag: Chloe, Similar | Lipstick: Sweet & Sour

Photography by: Angie Garcia


It can be so easy to fall in love with affordable, trendy items! Trust me, that is what 70% of my closet is made of! But in order to not have an over-accessoried, trendy wardrobe that could get kitschy really fast, I add in a few planned contemporary staples.

I have to conscientiously remind myself of this because if left to my own devices at the mall I’ll come home with a lipstick and a statement necklace. However, I want to make sure that I’m adding just as much longevity to my closet as I am statement pieces. Because we all know 6 months in after we fall in love with $20 tops we are sometimes rethinking them! When building your wardrobe you want to introduce just as many base pieces as you do current trends. The trouble can sometimes be balancing both and not making those two wardrobe essentials feel like stark opposites when paired together.

I have a little trick for doing so, which I can’t even take credit for! In general, I typically shop the Nordstrom Contemporary Trend department [see the section here!] but what I love most is the mix of brands and prices. I can get my trendy fix, while adding in staples. My trick is to aim for two “new-to-me” staple designers a season. In doing so, sometimes I might be investing a bit more in terms of price, but I find they last season after season! Joie is one of my go-to window shopping brands but I definitely haven’t purchased much from the line! One of my girlfriends is a buyer and years ago she would always send us pictures of new Joie pieces which left all of us with the heart eye emojis! haha. This dress is by Joie and I decided to purchase it knowing that it would work now and a few more months into pregnancy and next spring as well! I can easily throw a blazer over it for work meetings, but I still feel really polished in it running errands. It has a soft pink tint to it which this girly girl loves!

This was the first item I picked for the season and I’ll share the next one I purchased soon as well! Do you have any tricks for adding in contemporary “base pieces” to your wardrobe?! I’ll add more of my favorites below from Nordstrom! They also have free shipping for those that are curious! 🙂

XOXOKatey-2

In partnership with Nordstrom. All opinions are my own.

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8 Comments

  1. This is the first I’ve ever heard of the contemporary trend department on Nordstrom’s site but that’s such a cool idea! Im guilty of sometimes over doing it with trendy pieces and then I look in my closet months later wondering why I have all this crap and nothing to wear lol

    Thanks for sharing this with us! I love this dress on you.

    Morgan Paige
    http://www.mygorgeouschaos.com

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  2. Hannah wrote:

    I basically treat cheetah as a neutral! Love this dress!
    Hannah
    glamlifeliving.com

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  3. Katey, this dress is so stinkin cute!! I have the same problem with being attracted to fun prints and forget to buy the basics- for fall I’m trying to stock up on black and neutrals to try to balance it all out!
    xox Tess | Sequins are the New Black

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  4. Courtney wrote:

    I have totally been in a wardrobe rut lately and i want to change my mindset about how i buy clothes. i have piles of clothes i bought because they were cheap or i needed them for one instance (stupid!) and failed to think about longevity. i want to build my wardrobe and make it last season over season. of course buying a few trendy items is okay, but i want to focus on the staple pieces, and spend my money there.

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  5. #1. you look amazing #2. cheatah/leopard is for sure a neutral in my book #3. I LOVE JOIE! Their line is soooo beautiful, always. Love this post! XO

    @stylemelauren
    http://www.stylemelauren.com

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  6. Morgan wrote:

    Can’t wait to see this on you with a cute little baby bump! I love the shoes too!

    -Morgan
    How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  7. This dress is the cutest! <3

    BlondieInTheCity.com

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply
  8. Amy wrote:

    Ahh, you are SO right! I am one of those people who get so excited about a purchase, but end up wearing it only a few times! Love your tips!

    xoxo,
    Amy

    http://www.styleandsequins.com

    Published 18 Aug 16Reply