10 Classic Pieces If You’re Sick To Death Of Your Wardrobe But Want To Look Instantly Put Together With No Effort
by The Candidly Team
What we really want in life is a wardrobe that does all the work for us … meaning we can pretty much pull any piece of clothing out with our eyes closed, toss it on, and know we’ll look chic.
But to achieve this elusive dream, we need to have those perfect pieces on hand. To fill our closets with what we believe the fashiony people refer to as “elevated basics.” Every single thing should fit and flatter us like our own personal supersuit. But it should all feel as comfortable and easy as our house clothes.
It’s pretty much our life’s work to source such items. And recently, we found exactly 10 that have made our sartorial lives 27X better. Easier.
By swapping in any one of these pieces in place of plain, old, boring, imperfect-fitting clothes, our outfits suddenly look put together. Chicer. Cooler. And honestly, even younger - not because they’re trendy but because they’re not schlubby and lazy and half-hearted.
But by God, are they comfortable. So, let’s get to them!
1. The Ideal Maxi Skirt
We’ve recently had the revelation that a maxi skirt might just be the laziest way to instantly look “styled.” No one wears a long, chic skirt without looking like they have some quiet mastery of the world. And also, it just feels wildly good to have this kind of hip coverage while still getting our most gorj silhouette. This skirt from Marcella is the quintessential neutral maxi. It comes in black as well and sizes up to XXXL. It’s one of those pieces you can slip on instead of pants and watch the compliments roll in throughout the day.
Price: $110
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
2. The Classic French Girl Tee
J. Crew Classic Mariner Cloth Boatneck T-Shirt
A staple in the closet of every elegant, French woman, a mariniére is really just a striped boatneck tee, but something about it immediately up-levels your whole look. Pair this perfect-fitting version from J. Crew with any of your pants or jeans, and you may as well be strolling the banks of the Rive Gauche. The power of a stripe, we suppose.
Price: $49.50
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
3. The Perfect Linen Cropped Pant
Anthropologie The Colette Cropped Wide-Leg Pants by Maeve: Linen Edition
Come spring/ summer, those of us who aren’t huge fans of shorts and still want a nipped, tailored look often turn to linen. The problem is a lot of linen pants look like something you should only be wearing to the beach or to bed. Not so with these “magic pants,” which will easily be your smartest (as the Brits say) and most flattering, linen pants. If you’ve spent more than 8 seconds on this site, you may have heard us go on and on about the non-linen version of these pants. The reason is the fit is good: curve-complementing, bump-smoothing, just all-around good. But in linen, they make the best everyday warm-weather pant imaginable. They come in plus and petite and 102 colors. Plus, they’re that ideal ankle length we’re always looking for that makes us look taller.
Price: $130
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
PANTS | TANK | BUTTON-DOWN | MARY JANE FLATS
4. The Easiest Sundress
J. Crew Clio Dress In Textured Gauze
A simple black dress should be easy to find, no? But here’s why it isn’t. Very few dresses have cracked the code of how we want (and need) them to fit our non-model, non-6ft, non-22-year-old bodies. But this dress has. It’s smocked so it flatters curves. It’s spacious but also minimalist and sleek enough to not just look like a sack. It’s even a wee bit sexy, showing a sliver of skin up top, but it still just feels like we’re in pajamas.
Price: $138
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
5. The Chic Shorts Set
Favorite Daughter Slip It On Shorts
We’re not known to put the words “shorts” and “chic” in the same sentence. But we will admit, by making them part of a matching set, suddenly our lazy shorts and tank become something much more classic and neutral and bearable. But also soooo effortless. We LOVE that the shorts and button-down in this set are wildly comfortable and give us a little coverage, which is great for a belly pooch or thicker thighs. Pair it with a $20 tank and flat sandals for the full master-of-summer uniform.
Price: $98
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6. The Breathable Ballet Flat
Ballet flats are never going to stop bringing an Audrey Hepburn level of loveliness to anything we wear. And this is without question the most walkable, breathable, sneaker-like ballet flat out there. And it still has that graceful shape. We know the Mary Jane strap is a trend right now, but ugh, we’re mad about it. The only challenge is choosing a color. Black, tan, and the cream pictured here are all amazing neutrals, but we have our eye on the lollipop red for a fun way to make our outfits sing, as they say.
Price: $159
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
7. The Softest Summer Button-Down
J. Crew Garçon Classic Double-Gauze Shirt
If you take nothing else from this article, at least leave with this: a button-down is not boring. In fact, it is probably the most versatile object in your closet. We made a whole, kinda fun case about this HERE. This one from J. Crew is the softest gauze so it’s incredible for hot weather, tied with a skirt, half-tucked into your jeans, left open over shorts. Excellent for those of us who don’t love going sleeveless or who just want to look put-together without melting into a puddle on a July sidewalk on our way to work.
Price: $89.50
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
SHIRT (TIED AT WAIST) | SKIMMING SILK SKIRT | HEELED SANDAL
8. The Wide-Leg Ankle Jeans We Dream Of
Madewell The Curvy Perfect Vintage Wide-Leg Crop Jean
We say a lot of things about a lot of jeans. But we will not call a pair out like this unless it has done that magical, sisterhood-of-the- traveling-pants thing where we gasped when we slipped them on. Behold, the wide-leg, ankle version of those jeans. Find a pair that fits like this, and poof, all your outfits look worlds better. If you’ve been seeking such a pair and see your size, run, before they sell out.
Price: $128
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
9. The Floral Event Dress
Favorite Daughter The Standout Dress
Two quick questions:
1. How many weddings have you been invited to this year?
2. How many dresses have you not been able to find to wear to said weddings?
Welp, we think we found THE one. The comfort of the waistband. The flattering bias cut. It’s just mindlessly pretty. And does all the work for us.
Price: $278
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
DRESS | HEELED SANDAL | WRAP
10. The Strappy Yet Comfy Heeled Sandal
Nisolo Stella Go-To Block Heel Sandal
We have written entire tributes to this sandal. First, because we are finished with blisters and foot pain and skinny heels that make us want to limp home 3 hours early. And second, because we still want to look taller and more dressed up and not give up on heels completely. These shoes are on another planet in terms of comfort, but they’re so neutral and timeless, we wear them with EVERYTHING. And because they’re strappy heels, we look like we really put in the effort. The dream.
We loved them so much, we asked Nisolo for a code and they were kind enough to give us one for 20% off! Use code CANDIDLY20.
Price: $170
MAKE IT AN OUTFIT
WEAR WITH EVERY. SINGLE. THING ON THIS LIST/ YOUR CLOSET
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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