If You Were to Build A Wardrobe From Scratch, This Is What to Buy First

At Who What Wear we always have a theme for each month that reflects what our readers are buying and thinking about when it comes to their wardrobes. January is often seen as a 'reset' moment in many aspects of our lives, and this mentality certainly applies to our fashion choices too. Many choose to start the year with a cull of those pieces that sit unloved at the back of a cupboard or slowly begin researching the new trends for the year ahead. A fashion audit if you will. The theme for this month, therefore, was an easy one for our editors to land on—classics. Matches Fashion has also started the year with a focus on timeless staples, as it has just launched its edit Wardrobe Foundations. It's a sharp edit of simple basics that I think could persuade even the most flamboyant dressers to consider the joys of a capsule wardrobe. 

There can be the assumption that wearing minimal, classic pieces is the easy option, but this muted way of dressing means you have to pay more attention to silhouettes and fit, which means it can often require quite a bit of thought and really considered purchases. When you're building a collection of timeless pieces, you want to get it right and for them to be pieces that are resistant to trends and will actually last. 

To understand how to find the best of the best, I spoke to Natalie Kingham, Global Fashion Officer at MATCHESFASHION about what to consider when shopping for classics. "We focused on fit, form, function, silhouette and fabrication. We felt it was important to address both quality and longevity by including items in the edit which are crafted from luxe fabrications and natural materials so we know that these items will last in our customer’s forever wardrobe. If you were to clear out your wardrobe and start again, these are the pieces you would buy first. They are the versatile building block pieces that can easily be styled up adding personality with accessories, jewellery or more fun fashion pieces."

They approached the edit by creating a checklist of the 12 items that should belong in every wardrobe. "We started with twelve categories; the jeans, the t-shirt, the trench, the knit, the shirt, the suit, the slip dress, the sweatshirt, the briefs, the blazer and the shirtdress—each one a starting point for our customer’s everyday uniform to ensure that they can build their perfect wardrobe from the ground up. Since lockdown we have noticed an increase in customers making more considered purchases of investment items, such as beautiful cashmere, the classic trench and the heritage bag so it felt very relevant to launch the edit in reflection to the new way in which we are living."

In terms of brands, Kingham notes that Jil Sander, The Row and Raey excel in this space, but when it comes to new brands she also recommends: "Tu Es Mon Tresor who offer great fitting denim, shirting from Bourrienne Paris X and beautiful cashmere from Lisa Yang." Keep scrolling to see some of the foundations.

Shop the Wardrobe Foundations:

Next up, see our guide to the key trends for spring summer 2021.