Monday, August 30, 2010

Introducing: Wardrobe Workhorse Week!


Recently, reader Jill posed the question, "What are some essential wardrobe 'must haves' that won't make me look like a Plain-Jane?"  Meanwhile, Katie has purged her closet of the clothes she doesn't wear and is looking to rebuild her wardrobe in preparation for her teaching assignment.  We've all read published lists of "wardrobe basics," which proclaim the classic white button-down, the essential trouser, the quality cardigan, and more as "essential" to an adult wardrobe.  But we got to thinking about what is, for us, a more interesting question:
What items of apparel and accessories do people who are concerned with style most frequently wear?  
What do we keep reaching for when we want to feel great?  What are the items without which we'd consider our wardrobes incomplete?  In the past, you've noticed that we (and plenty of other style bloggers) call these types of items "wardrobe workhorses."  A wardrobe workhorse might be a shoe that goes with everything, a dress that can be worn a hundred ways, or a jacket that makes a great sartorial opening statement.

So we're deeming September 6-10 "Wardrobe Workhorse Week."  Between now and then, we'll think critically about our dressing habits and decide which 4-6 items we consider to be our most important wardrobe workhorses.  During that week, we'll publish posts in which we identify those items, talk about why we find ourselves reaching for them most frequently, and include photos that show you how we wear them.

We also want to enlist a little help from our friends!  If you're willing to participate in WWW, please leave a comment here with a link to your blog by 9/5, and feel free to spread the word on your blog ahead of time by linking back to this post.  We'll post a list of all participants with links on 9/6.  During that week, we'll look to your blogs to read your posts that identify and celebrate your wardrobe workhorses.  If you'd like to copy the banner above and include it in your post, please feel free!  And if you don't keep a blog but would still like to participate, please email us your wardrobe workhorse list with any accompanying descriptions and photos to submissions{at}scholarstyleguide{dot}com by 9/4.  We'd be happy to feature them in a series of reader submission posts during the week.

When all is said and done, we'll compile a wrap-up post that we hope will bring everyone's ideas about wardrobe workhorses together.  We're optimistic that this experiment will help give us all a better idea of which clothes and accessories are truly staples of our stylish wardrobes.  We also hope it will provide us with a great resource to consider whenever we're ready to add items to our closets.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a brilliant idea - I'd love to participate!

Scholar Style Guide said...

Thanks, Sara! We're looking forward to your WWW post!

Unknown said...

I would love to participate as well! I have been waiting for someone to do another theme week :)

260daysnorepeats.blogspot.com

Scholar Style Guide said...

Great, Iris! You've surely found different ways to utilize the same pieces in your no-repeats approach, so we're sure your WWW posts will be helpful to us all!

E-Jo said...

I'm in as well!

Miss. Studios said...

I'd like to participate! Please count me in:)

Plummy said...

I just found your blog and have read many of your back entries. I love how you talk about what went into the outfits, as well as giving more food for thought! I would love to participate. plummyplum.blogspot.com

-Plummy

Katie, Interrobangs Anonymous said...

I think I'll give you two entries, if you've no objections. One is clothing, the other an accessory.

Scholar Style Guide said...

Can't wait, ladies!

Rebecca said...

Just found your blog. Alas, the WWW falls so close to the beginning of the semester that I'm too crazy to deal with the monster that my closet has become. However, I did have one suggestion. Have a clothing swap party with the stuff you don't wear any more. I went to one last year and about 10 women brought their "extras" and we set up by size, then shopped each other's clothes. It was fantastic. And free. And all of us were betw 2-8, so it worked well.

The funniest part was that a few of us came home with an item from our own contribution. Somehow seeing it objectively made a difference in how we perceived it. The host volunteered to take anything left to Goodwill and we all got tax deduction/donation slips a few days later.

Anna said...

I'm going to give this a try as well, though I haven't posted to my blog in over a year. This is just too interesting to pass up!
http://thebelleandthebear.blogspot.com/

Plummy said...

I did my workhorse post already! During the week I'm usually pretty busy, so I wanted to make sure I did it over the weekend. The post is here:
http://plummyplum.blogspot.com/2010/09/wardrobe-workhorse-count-up.html

I'm excited to see everyone else's posts!

Rad said...

I'm late to this party, but I'd like to participate on my blog (even if it's too late for this blog). Great idea!

Anonymous said...

I'm definitely going to have to identify mine. In October for one of my classes I have to pick six garments to mix and match for the entire week. I can only wear those six things. So identifying the ones that I wear a lot anyway won't be as difficult to stretch my styling capabilities.

Ana said...

I'm late in joining the party, but this was a great idea! It's a great way to look at some of the pieces in our closets in a different light.

- Ana
http://www.ToilTroubleStyle.com