Build a strong core.
No, I'm not talking about abs...
A strong core is the most important part of a wardrobe. We're talking high-quality, timeless, versatile basics. This is where expertly made, expertly cut, expertly designed, and quality fabrics are essential.
Let me tell you a story…
I never wore a pair of jeans until I was 20. I didn’t think I had the right body for them. It wasn’t until I was on a work trip to Hong Kong that I realised this was bullsh*#t. It was the first time I had access to luxury brands, and therefore high-quality, expertly-crafted clothing. I went to a warehouse sale full of designer brands you couldn’t get in Australia. I was in heaven. I tried on at least 40 things. I was in that warehouse for 8 hours. One of the items was a pair of Stella McCartney jeans. The minute I closed the zip, my mouth fell open. I felt amazing. They held me in all the right places, and made my curves look fantastic. This experience gave me a deeper understanding of the importance of experts along the supply chain. You need expert designers, expert pattern makers, expert fabric-cutters, expert seamstresses to make a good piece of clothing. This is not cheap. Nor should it be.
Before you can build your core foundation, you need to follow the first two steps in my '5 Steps to a Sustainable Wardrobe' (available exclusively to newsletter subscribers) 1. Know thy self, and 2. Celebrate what you've got.
These (in a nut shell) show you the importance of getting to know your buying habits, and walks you through a wardrobe audit so you're not doubling up on items you already have. After all...
the most sustainable clothes are the ones already hanging in your closet
So once you've done these steps it's time for step No. 3 : Build a strong core.
The aim with our core is to have pieces that can be styled back together in multiple ways. These pieces should be easy to throw on at any given time, and make you feel great wearing them. These will be the hardest working clothes you will ever own. This is also why quality is so important. They need to be durable. Creating this core is the easiest hack to feeling ‘put together’ every time you leave the house. Invest in the time it takes to create this and save time and money long term.
Yes, this may take a while to create, and so it should. Sourcing the perfect pieces isn’t easy and as we are looking for high-quality, nor is it cheap. There are ways to build the perfect core that are financially smart and best for the planet.
The way to do this is to remember the mantra: Second-hand, first.
Let’s acknowledge that second-hand clothing has a PR problem. It can be viewed as dirty, or people feel wearing it signals the unwanted image of being poor. But we live in a very exciting world these days, where we can get pre-loved designer pieces that still have tags on, or are very lightly worn. Now that it's so accessible to get what you want, the brand you want, the cut, fit and colour you want, we can easily source new pieces second-hand first.
There is no exact maths of what it should be, because everyone is different
You need to take into consideration your style, your body shape, your habits, your day-to-day activities and what makes you feel good. But as an example, my core wardrobe consists of 10 pieces including pieces similar to these luxe essentials from Sonzai Studios client, Jac+Jack.
It’s also good to note that just because this is your core, it doesn’t mean you have to have it all for decades. Some of it you may grow out of, stain or need to replace, but the premise of our core is that it doesn’t need to change as often as trend-driven pieces.
Enjoy your core workout!