Wardrobe Building: Capsule Foundation Dresses & Outerwear

Welcome to the fourth post in our series on building a capsule wardrobe.  Today’s focus is on dresses and outerwear.  We’ll wrap up the foundation pieces next week with shoes and with a strong foundation in place, we’ll move on to the fun stuff!

Spring/Summer Casual Capsule Foundation Dresses

• Dark Neutral T-shirt Dress
  • Budget: Old Navy jersey swing or fitted v-neck tee dress
  • Mid-Range: Gap Softspun A-line tank or tee dress
  • High: Eileen Fisher ballet neck dress

• Shirt Dress in a solid, denim or stripe.  NOTE: A style that buttons all the way down (as opposed to a popover) increases versatility by letting you style it as a dress or unbuttoned as a layering piece over trousers.
  • Budget: Lulu’s chambray shirt dress or Target Merona shirt dress
  • Mid-Range: Madewell striped shirt dress, J. Crew shirt dress, Everlane striped shirt dress, Mango cotton shirt dress
  • High: Velvet by Graham & Spencer shirt dress

Spring/Summer Office Capsule Foundation Dresses

• Neutral Sheath Dress (a fit & flare style works if you find sheaths a difficult silhouette to wear)
  • Budget: Liz Claiborne sheath and NY & Company 7th Avenue sheath, Target Merona sheath and Old Navy sleeveless sheath
  • Mid-Range: J. Crew offers several good options including the cap-sleeve v-neck, the buckle dress, the portfolio dress and the resume dress
  • High: Theory Eano sheath, Theory Betty sheath, Boss Dirusa sheath and Kate Spade Sicily sheath

Spring/Summer Capsule Foundation Outerwear

• A sporty, lightweight jacket.  This could be a denim jacket, lightweight moto or bomber in either a cropped or just-at-the-waist length for layering over tees and dresses.

• 
• Neutral Trench in black or tan/taupe.  Mid to upper thigh lengths are most versatile.
  • Budget: Old Navy trench
  • Mid-Range: London Fog Heritage trench, Michael Kors hooded trench or Calvin Klein trench
  • High: Burberry Kensington or Sandringham

Friendly Reminders for Capsule Foundation Pieces

• You don’t need every recommended piece but should work toward  collecting at least a few of them.
• For most foundation items, buy the best you can afford.  These will be the workhorse pieces that get a lot of repeat wear.
• Keep foundation piece silhouettes clean and minimal.  Decorative details are fun but limit versatility.
• Commit to a primary color palette for the season – a dark base of either black/charcoal, navy or brown with a light base of either light grey, white or ivory for black/charcoal and navy or either tan or ivory for those choosing a brown dark base.