Today is Fashion Friday with a Mini-Wardrobe Fave post.
A white blouse is a known must-have for any capsule wardrobe, but I always considered it to be too preppy for my personal style. This season I however decided to welcome it into my closet and give it a try. Here are 13 of the ways that I can wear it:
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| Under my black cashmere sweater |
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| with my leather mini |
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| topped with my white blazer |
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| underneath my LBD |
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| with my grey shorts and heels for a party |
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| with my black trousers |
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| under my leather jacket |
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| tied over my brown dress |
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| underneath my overcoat, paired with an animal print scarf |
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| with a belt -and Max's red knit cap;) |
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| under my striped long sleeve -you knew I was going to bring it up;) |
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| Underneath my black tank top -and with Leo's knit hat;) |
$5 at the local thrift store and many outfits later, I no longer think that a button-down shirt is too preppy for me. I find that it perfectly complements my minimalist wardrobe after all. Do you own one?
WOW! amazing you can teach the world fashion ,you must do a book on these wardrobe ideas.
ReplyDeleteNo. I really wish I did, I have been looking for a long time for the right one. Your looks are fabulous not too Preppy at all. Just very stylish.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't, for the same reason that you didn't. Lately I've been thinking about its potential, and you've certainly driven that point home here!
ReplyDeleteHow do you manage to find things that are just right for you at the thrift store, especially with going so rarely? I have trouble finding items that fit me, especially specific items (e.g. a white shirt), and great fit is obviously an important part of a small wardrobe.
This is a post worthy question that I will soon address.
DeleteHey Bea,
ReplyDeleteLove the creativity and the aura of joy coming out of your pictures. I'm really looking forward to your book in April!
Are you familiar with the French brand Ekyog? The way you transformed the men's shirt in your other article made me think of their "métamorphose" series: one item of clothing, 3 ways to use it. Jette-y un oeil!
Bon baisers de Paris où d'autres aspirants "Zero Waste" te suivent avec attention.
Hi Bea,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fabulous. You have proven that we don't need a full closet to be fashionable. Love all the looks.
love this post! i own 2 white button ups but your post has given me some ideas on how to get an even lower 'cost per wear' for them
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work, i always get excited when i see a new post in my 'in box'
oohh-la-la....you look fabulous in ALL the photos. I feel a white shirt is too preppy for me also and my bust always busts out the buttons. I do have ONE white Peruvian cotton blouse that's more exotic with no front buttons that works....but YOU, my dear, look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Bea will do an "essentials" post on her favorite tailor/seamstress.
DeleteBea, I am wondering if you search out specific items when you do your shopping or if you look for pieces that fit and then decide what you think will work in your wardrobe?
Wow you certainly get style value from your shirt and you have stunning legs
ReplyDeleteYour next book should be The Zero Waste Wardrobe (if it isn't already)! I would buy an advance copy :) xo from Canada
ReplyDeleteHi Bea,
ReplyDeleteYou look faboulous… You are so inspiring and so amazing ! I’ve discovered you a few days ago thanks to lemonde.fr and I’m conquered ! I’ve already read all your blog J
I begin to write (in French – I’m from Belgium) about my minimalist experience and I will write a special post very soon about my own“zero waste” experience in Belgium. I hope I can reach your level . Thank you so much !
I love all the items of clothing epecially the white jacket and animal print scarf,did you purchase them on your recent thrift spree,do you buy any clothes new?
ReplyDeleteWhite jacket and animal print scarf were purchased at the thrift store.
DeleteHi Bea! Thanks for another look at your wardrobe. It's interesting, when I first started adopting your Zero Waste model and I really started to consider my fashion choices, I immediately adopted a very preppy look because all of the different moving parts (white button down shirts, tweed/wool skirts, one nice-quality blue blazer, basic ballet flats) seemed so interchangeable and easy -- seven pieces could have a ton of possibilities with the right accessories! The resulting look is pretty collegiate, I admit, but I AM a professor! Anyway, thanks, as always, for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the inspiration Bea. I am still in the process but I have shrunk the size of my wardrobe considerably thanks to you. I am almost to where I want to be. I think a zero waste wardrobe book is a great idea as well!
ReplyDeleteHi Bea,
ReplyDeleteThank you for fashion Friday post. I would love to see your whole wardrobe! Can you share that with us? How many items do you add each season? Do you get rid of the same number of items that you acquire? Do you find it hard to part with something that is still usable?
Have you ever had a trip to thrift shops and had to come home empty handed? I find it so difficult to find a clean and decent looking one that fits me. I even get an allergic reaction sometimes from dust, mold, dander.... who knows what else. Sorry to be down on thrift shopping, and believe me, I am trying, but sometimes I feel.... 'just go to a store and purchase a darn shirt already!'
I think/ hope she has put this into the book!
DeleteI do go into great detail about how to build a capsule wardrobe in the book ;)
DeleteTo maximize my time, my focus now is to provide you with content that is not covered in the book.
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ReplyDeleteI don't own one, but I love these photos! Thanks!
ReplyDeletedon't own one but used to. it was so much work for me to keep it clean. part of being minimalist for me is living simply. having to keep washing stains out of a shirt wasn't simple :) perhaps i'm just too messy of an eater.
ReplyDeleteI think a button-down doesn't have to be white, and if you are very likely to attract stains and spots - just go for a checkered one in colours that fit your complexionǃ My pale skin doesn't allow me to wear white without looking like a sick ghost, so I love warm colours and sometimes black, and if the colour or pattern doesn't pop out too much, it can be worn with many many different other items of clothingǃ
DeleteI don't have a white button down, but I do have one oxford blue button down that I've been wearing for a couple years in similar ways. It's on its last legs, so I think the next time I'm at the thrift shop I will look for a white one. Love all these styles!
ReplyDeleteBea were you this well dressed before your zw days? When you bought full priced store clothes did you feel as put together in your outfits ,or has thrifting enabled you to be more creative in your choices?
ReplyDeleteI had fun with my outfits before, but most of my wardrobe was new and I had way more than I do today. A secondhand capsule wardrobe has allowed me to be more creative with only a few pieces.
DeleteI am a slightly larger lady and finding thrift shop items is extremly difficult.Therefore I adopt your principles of shopping in the mainstream stores. It still enables me to maintain a capsule wardrobe with styles that suit and flatter my figure.Do you think this is still ok when trying to maintain a zero waste lifestyle?
ReplyDeleteI like your question, it's post worthy ;) and I'll be able to answer it more in depth in a post...
DeleteYou look fab! I don't know how you stay so darn thin with all that cheese and those amazing quiches you make! Not fair!
ReplyDeleteI like looking preppy and it suits my job and life well. I do have a white button down blouse but I really am in desperate need of a new one. :)
Ironically, I owe the size of my waist to Zero Waste ;) Being outside more, riding my bike to make up for our one car, cooking from scratch, and of course eating simple food from the bulk and produce aisles -my choice is limited to minimally processed foods, you can't find junk food in the bulk aisles;)
DeleteYes!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring! I have too much clothing and I want to live a simpler life by cutting down on what I have, but enjoying everything more. I also showed your blog to my brother,
ReplyDeleteand he was wondering if you could make a blogpost for men about this. How would your husband wear one item of clothing in as many different ways as possible? For women it seems easier to be versatile because of accessorizing, but for men it can be a real challenge I guess. Keep up the good work, I'll keep on showing your blog to my friends and family. You're such an inspiration!
That's a great suggestion, Karianne! I'd love to hear Bea (or, her husband, rather) offer advice on this too!
DeleteThanks so much! Cheers!
A white shirt seems like THE piece to own in a minimalist wardrobe... I felt I was not ready yet (too preppy for me, too?), but you make me feel like trying.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see more of this brown dress!!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't do the white shirt. Looks gray or yellow-cast overtime .... BUT i do love chambray shirts. And I can do a lot of different looks with my chambray shirt. I hope people aren't scrambling to find the white shirt just because that is what is being shown. Look in your closer and see what you have.... and then see how you can adapt similar variations with your shirt, whether it's white, green, chambray denim, etc...
ReplyDelete