15 Fashion Essentials That Are 100% Worth The Splurge When You're Over 40
Did they require a bit of saving? Yes. Did they change our literal lives? Also, yes.
by The Candidly Team
If you’ve been hanging out with us here on The Candidly, you’ll know we believe in two things where getting dressed in concerned:
You don’t need to spend like the Roy (or royal) family to look chic.
If you do invest in something you deem worthy, you only do so because it’s classic and lasting, and because it elevates everything else you wear to look like it was also equally expensive.
It’s a form of math. But the fun kind. And it’s led to us dressing a million times better than when we were in our 20s when all we did was throw our salaries at trends only to eventually try to sell off our shame in thrift stores.
Nowadays, when we invest, we do so in things that meet a highly specific criteria pertaining to fit, feel, and like we said, how powerfully that thing ties together and improves everything else we wear. Basically, each piece needs to make getting dressed less difficult while making us look like we put in more effort.
And out of that criteria, this list was born. A list of 14 very specific pieces that are worthy of a splurge. Each one saves us time. And stress. And self-consciousness. And boredom. And blisters.
We wholeheartedly love every single one. And we really hope you do, too. At least enough to not yell at us in comments.
1. The Heirloom Coat
We start, naturally, with a necessity. A warm, winter coat is something we need but that can conveniently turn whatever schlumpy thing we’re wearing into a “look.” The thing is, we can’t keep buying the boring, shapeless, scratchy boxes that have been passing as our coats. We need to invest in just one perfect, timeless version, and this, my friends, is that coat. Why? It’s cut from luxe Italian wool, is spacious enough to layer, comes in every neutral shade we could want, and is tailored to look eternally good on us. We call it a splurge because it’s not $100, but most coats of this quality cost 2-3x as much. So we spend once and never buy another coat again. Unless we get this one in cream. We reeeeally want it in cream.
Price: $325
2. The Perfect Nude Heel
Wearing a heel in nude is a miraculous way to make your legs look twice as long, especially when wearing all-black or another solid color. We alllllll rely too heavily on our black shoes but, in fact, they usually cut our feet/legs in ways that make us look stumpier. Nude, on the contrary, is fully elongating. BUT we aren’t willing to sacrifice comfort, which is why we got very enthused about Inez. The brand is making shoes so stunning, you’d never know that their entire mission is to make them artfully comfortable for ladies like us who will no longer tolerate an ounce of foot pain.
AND, most excitingly, you can use our very own special code CANDIDLY15 to get 15% off.
Price: $258
3. The Most Flattering Wide-Leg Jeans
Paige Anessa Crop Wide-Leg Jeans
We don’t typically spend on jeans, but sometimes you try on a pair that fits you in all the ways you’ve always held out hope for and been let down by, and suddenly, we’d trade our couch for them. Honestly, these jeans are so soft, smoothing and flattering to our curves that we felt a little emotional trying them on. And because we wear them 87% of the time we wear jeans, the cost per wear has already diminished to like 7 cents.
Price: $225
4. The Statement Belt
We know we’re gonna hear words for this one, but before you come at us, we have a case to layout. Brands like Gucci ask that we dish out thousands of dollars for bags and shoes, but the thing that elevates whatever we’re wearing more than anything else, that transforms whatever jeans and tee ensemble we’ve thrown on into something really, really chic, is a belt. Not just any belt. A belt that stands out all on its own. That you don’t put down like a purse but stays on you like jewelry, making everything you wear shine. It costs a lot, but not thousands of dollars. And it changes the game. See photos of how buying this belt transformed our own lives HERE. We’re not overstating. Transformed. Our. Lives.
And here is one of us wearing the belt with the above jeans.
Price: $520
5. The Walkable Black Bootie
Is there nothing more capable of making you look instantly “styled” than a comfy black boot? A block heel is key to actually wearing all your long trousers and jeans. And a buttery leather pair such as this instantly dresses up your skirts. Make it a short skirt and tights, and your legs will look a mile long.
Price: $125
6. The Gorgeous, Flawless Handbag
If you only buy one thing from this list or anything this season, make it this. It really is life’s best bag. Yes, it’s the ideal size and shape and divine material, but it also fits all your shit like a clown car somehow while still being compact enough for dressier occasions. It can be carried as a crossbody or a shoulder bag. It literally never falls apart. And the strap is removable, and comes in different designs, which makes it feel like you have 5 bags in one. We love the bag itself in tan but the woven version in black is also a next-level everyday bag.
Price: $445
7. The Denim Button-Down
Frank & Eileen The Eileen Relaxed Button-Up Shirt
A button-down is one of those crisp, classic things that never fails to make us look put-together and extremely flattered. But a denim button-down has a whole new level of versatility, because it matches absolutely everything we wear it with. It works for every occasion. And this one from Frank & Eileen is just the gold standard in denim shirts. It’s soft, the perfect cool blue hue. You can tie it at the waist for a nipped look with your high-waist pants and skirts or wear it open over a tank for a little extra coverage round our middles when we’re just not feeling our lower belly pooch that day. Because we wear ours SO frequently, we wanted to own one that lasts and that looks better than any of the others we’ve tried, And this is THE one.
Price: $278
8. The Luxurious Sweater-Coat
Our most core desire is to be cozy on a level only characters in a wintery Nancy Meyers movie ever appear to be. And, of course, to look as quietly glam and put-together as those very characters. This sweater is a splurge splurge, but it will also be among the top 3 most precious items in your closet - the item you pull out and hold up to your face just to remember its unearthly softness in the summer when it’s too warm to wear. The one you put on the first day you feel a nip in the air and don’t remove til spring, because it’s one of those rare things that makes you look as good as it makes you feel. And yes, this is all a great big justification for the spend, but considering it also makes all the $15 leggings we wear it with look like they coast $100 apiece, we’re pretty sure it all levels out in the end.
Price: $475
9. The Long Slip Skirt
By Anthropologie The Tilda Maxi Slip Skirt
This isn’t the splurgiest thing on the list, but let’s face it, no one needs a silky white maxi skirt. But oh, does it epitomize elegance when we wear one. And it’s the genius solution for holiday dressing. You’ll never look like anyone else. Just follow this formula: long slip skirt in white, black blazer on top, dressed-up flats, some kind of big bold jewel, and a fun bag. Done.
Price: $98
10. The Perfect-Fit Blazer
Spanx The Perfect Oversized Blazer
We cannot stand constriction. But we fundamentally desire the crisp, clean, tailored, “quiet luxury” look that you can only get from a blazer. When done correctly, it nips our waist and gives us our best silhouette. It dresses up our dumb jeans and like we said looks profoundly chic over the above slip skirt. The true mark of excellence in this particular blazer is that it’s magically stretchy, oversized, and cut to be layered over shirts and sweaters without feeling squeezed, BUT, and this is a critical “but,” it still has a fitted, flattering look we need from a blazer. Oh, and it runs to a 3X!
Price: $168
11. The Flats that are also fancy
We are such comfort people that we find ourselves actually dreading the party and event circuit during fall and winter just because we don’t want to wear palindrome shoes. True story. So a fancy flat that you can wear with trousers and skirts is key. And it is trend-proof. Our favorite is Margaux’s Mary Jane flat in black, but silver mirror is beyond.
Price: $295
12. The Creamy Cashmere Turtleneck
Lilysilk Turtleneck Relaxed-Fit Cashmere Sweater
If you’re wondering what one piece all the iconic, classically chic women we’ve always wanted to emulate have in common, it’s probably a knit turtleneck. We’re not joking. We could pause to provide a collage, but instead we’ll just let you take a moment to conjure up your own image of Audrey or Meg or Diane or Diana. It’s one of those things that makes clothes into outfits, defying trends, matching everything, and lasting forever. This one is our current favorite.
Price: $245
13. The Widly Soft, Coccooning Scarf
This is just the absolute most insanely comfortable cozy scarf. It wraps for days and instantly makes everything you wear look 9 billion times more expensive. The TENCEL fabric is so unbelievably soft, warm, and cozy, but it’s also breathable so you never feel that overheated urge to strip it from your neck and “air out.” And even though it feels like it’s made of some luxe material that’s sure to be a pain in the ass to care for, it’s actually machine washable and can be thrown in the dryer.
Price: $150
14. The Solid Gold Every. Single. Day. Earrings
Mejuri Pavé Diamond Huggie Hoops
Like no make-up makeup or a good haircut, a gorgeous huggie earring has a way of making us look like ourselves but better. Chicer. More lit up. And since solid gold is really the only thing that won’t fuck up your ears, investing in a single pair we can wear every day is one of those things we feel nervous about in the moment, but the minute we’ve done it, we cannot believe we didn’t do it sooner. This is the pair we find to be most impervious to regrets. And the one we’ll personally be wearing well into when we’re writing blogs about “The Only Pieces Worth The Splurge In Our 90s.”
Curious how we plan to live that long? Go HERE.
Price: $268
15. The Sexy-Chic Undie Set
Negative Sieve Triangle Bra and Sieve High-Waist Brief
We’re simply too old to be shopping for flimsy bras in the bargain bin or to be clinging to the one decent one we have that fits us well but is being held together by a thread after 7,326 wears. We’ve done enough time on this planet to deserve bras that feel amazing and give us complete and total support, but that don’t remind us of our grandmother and make us feel 72% less sexy with our clothes off. Instead of buying our usual 14 pairs a year from Target, we finally invested in the “good underwear.” The best in fact. And we’ve never regretted anything less.
Price: $70 for the bra, $45 for the brief
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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