What are the items that every woman should probably have in her wardrobe regardless of who she is or where she lives? Before I created my own list, which you’ll see below, I searched online and came up with several lists of 10 to 25 items. I was astonished to see what some women consider essential. A leopard print midi skirt? A striped sweater? A wrap dress? On the other hand, there was a lot of agreement on some very basic items.

For the purposes of this post, I’m not going to include underwear, socks, sleepwear, or overcoats. It goes without saying that we all need good undergarments. I’m reminded of my grandmother who always told us to make sure that our underwear was clean and in good condition in case we were in an accident. I sincerely doubt that that’s a high priority for first responders, but good undergarments do provide the best foundation to build an outfit on. What we wear to bed, or if we wear anything at all, is a matter of personal choice and varies greatly, and what kind of outerwear we need really depends on the climate where we live.

So, aside from those items, here’s my list of essentials:

1. A little black dress. Of course, if you’ve read this post, you know that it doesn’t actually have to be black. 
2. A basic knee length skirt. You can’t go wrong with a pencil skirt in a neutral colour. 
3. A basic cardigan.
4. A classic, go-to blazer.
5. A jean jacket.
6. A pair of black dress pants.
7. A pair of blue jeans in the cut of your choice. If I had to have only one pair, they would be dark wash, bootcut, but who ever has only one pair of jeans? 
8. A long sleeve t-shirt. My absolute favourite is my grey and white Breton tee. 
9. A basic white V or crew neck t-shirt. I don’t actually wear mine very often, but I’m including it because it was on every list I read! 
10. A button-up shirt. Most of the lists that I read suggested that this should be white, but too much white close to my face totally washes me out. For the photo below, I included my black and white plaid shirt, but I have a light blue one on my wish list. 
11. A dressy blouse.
12. White sneakers. 
13. A pair of black ballet flats. If you prefer heels, you could replace the flats with black pumps, or you might consider both essential. 
14. A pair of basic loafers or similar shoes that are comfortable to walk in. Menswear inspired loafers are on trend for 2021, so this would be a good time to pick up a pair. 

After compiling my list, I went through my closets and assembled the “essentials collection”. 

This is not to say, of course, that this is all you ought to have in your closet, but most or all of these items should probably be there. These pieces, all in neutral colours, build the foundation of a wardrobe. If I had nothing else to wear, think of how many combinations I could create. The outfits would be somewhat drab or boring though. The real fun comes in adding creativity and individuality through colour, pattern, and perhaps some interesting shapes. Finish it all off with some great accessories and you have a complete wardrobe.

Is there anything else that you would add to your list of essentials? Anything you’d delete from the list above?