Perfect “basics” for every style essence?
The first in a series on how to build a capsule wardrobe based on your style type. Learn how to find the perfect white Tee for every essence.
Creating a capsule wardrobe—a wardrobe centered around timeless, classic basics—can make you look stylish and put-together for almost any occasion.
The problem: if your face doesn’t have the Classic style essence, then creating a capsule wardrobe will result in a closet brimming with Classic clothes that don’t actually flatter you.
So you probably don’t want to do that.
But even if you don’t have much or any Classic, you can still use principles of capsule dressing to build your ideal closet.
How to create a capsule wardrobe if you’re not highly Classic
If you’re not highly Classic but still want the benefits of capsule dressing, a perfect solution is this: base your wardrobe around pieces that simultaneously embody your style type and mimic the look of Classic basics.
In other words, you can choose clothes that approximate Classic basics without bringing in much or any actual Classic essence.
Is this possible? Yes!
The Classic White Tee
This is the first in a series about pieces to include in a capsule wardrobe based on your style essences. We’ll start with one of the simplest clothing items that exists—the Classic white tee.
Here’s how to make this basic work for every essence.
Classic Basic Tee—crisp and polished
A crisp, polished Classic white tee. Not groundbreaking, but gorgeous in its simplicity.
This one has a crew-neck neckline, standard short-sleeve length, a fit that’s not particularly tight or loose, and no embellishment besides a subtle front-pocket. Even it wasn’t classily tucked in, this tee would be completely Classic.
Here’s how to make it completely Natural:
Natural Basic Tee—casual and loose
This Natural white tee is the chiller sibling of the Classic white tee. There’s a lot of family resemblance, but the Natural tee grew slightly longer, roomier sleeves, a more open neckline, and a looser overall fit.
Tucked-in shirts aren’t iconically Natural, but here the tuck maintains the shirt’s overall relaxed silhouette—so this tuck still fits the Natural vibe. You could also wear it long and loose for a more conventionally Natural look.
Gamine Basic Tee—sporty
This top breaks the rules by adding black to our basic white tee. But Gamine’s vibe is rebellious, so the rule-breaking is pretty on-brand.
The athletic stripe detail also reads as playful and energetic—key Gamine qualities.
And by sticking to neutral accent colors, this tee can still be mixed and matched with a variety of pieces.
Don’t want to wear a crop-top? A full-length version would still be fully Gamine, assuming it maintains a narrow silhouette and doesn’t become extremely long.
A different Gamine basic tee:
Again we’re breaking rules by adding an accent color. But the black athletic stripe detail, mock neck, and fitted silhouette are all extremely Gamine.
This top also technically isn’t a tee, but you could find a version with short, fitted Gamine sleeves.
Ingenue Basic Tee—babydoll
From what we can see of it, this top is fully Ingenue, with a modest circle neckline and delicate ruffle sleeve detail.
But it doesn’t really fit Ingenue’s vibe to only wear half a shirt, so let’s see what the rest of it might look like:
This babydoll silhouette is very Ingenue. What isn’t ideal: the deep V-neckline and angular sleeves add Dramatic. (This top is perfect for a Dramatic Ingenue!)
But if you find a shirt that combines a babydoll silhouette with the simple circle neckline and delicate sleeves above, then you’d have a perfect Ingenue top.
Here’s a different version:
Everything about this flatters Ingenue—eyelet lace, short puff sleeve effect, not super plunging neckline, and (from what we can see) a babydoll-ish silhouette.
Dramatic Basic Tee—angular and unusual
To make your tee fully Dramatic, the neckline and silhouette should overall be long and narrow.
Bonus if the tee has something striking and unusual about it, like this asymmetrical, off-the-shoulder neckline.
But if this neckline feels too bold to work as a basic, you definitely have other options.
As noted when discussing Ingenue above, a deep, angular V-neckline is an easy way to add Dramatic—just make sure the rest of the tee reads as long and narrow.
Romantic Basic Tee—elaborate and sexy
Is “elaborate basic” contradictory? Maybe. But looking your best as a Romantic sometimes means looking a little more dressed up than everyone else.
What makes this tee fully Romantic is the tight fit, plunging neckline, and lace-up detail. Lace-up detail is often Romantic because the complexity of overlapping lines creates a revealing cutout effect—so it reads as both elaborate and sexy, two key Romantic qualities.
Other Romantic options include a fitted white tee with a sweetheart neckline, or a fitted white tee with a very deep, plunging scoop-neck.
Ethereal Basic Tee—flowy and sheer
An Ethereal lightweight, somewhat narrow but not tight top, tucked in just in the front to create an Ethereal hi-low effect. Hi-low silhouettes are often Ethereal because they create gentle, cascading visual flow.
This also flatters Ethereal because the fabric appears very delicate.
Sheer or semi-sheer fabric is ideal for Ethereal, but opaque versions also work if the fabric is lightweight. And if you do choose a sheer top, you can layer another top underneath and still have a fully Ethereal look.
You could also find a version of this top with sleeves—look for “flutter sleeves” or “short bell sleeves.”
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Basics for every essence, part 2: Questions about capsule dressing based on your style essences
What about color season?
The Ethereal top above is more of a pale pink or blush. And you could certainly look for a version of it in true white.
But I also don’t think you need to be super strict about only choosing certain colors as you create a capsule wardrobe.
While black and white might be considered the ultimate basic colors, and while this post focuses on the “basic white tee,” the truth is that not all color seasons are their best in a bright, stark white. Your color season’s version of white may actually be more of an off-white.
So you definitely shouldn’t feel that you have to stick rigidly to including certain specific colors in your closet. Your best neutrals are going to be the ones that flatter your skin tone. So an off-white tee might be your version of a “classic white tee.”
Should you actually create a capsule wardrobe?
Maybe it’s controversial, but in my view, creating a traditional capsule wardrobe filled with highly Classic basics isn’t ideal for most people.
This is simply because most people don’t have dominantly the Classic style essence, so a very Classic wardrobe isn’t going to be that flattering.
But I do think you can get all the central benefits of capsule dressing by curating a wardrobe filled with pieces that are basic and versatile and that simultaneously flatter your style essences.
Doing this will give you many benefits, like:
It’s much easier to find clothing items that match when your wardrobe heavily consists of basics and neutrals, versus loud colors or prints.
Relying on basics (or your style type’s version of basics) means you’ll have lots of pieces that can be easily dressed up or dressed down. So you’ll be able to create outfits that work for a variety of occasions.
Capsule dressing can make you a more mindful shopper by prompting you to question, with each new potential purchase, how much you’re actually going to use it. (The bright orange sparkly sequined tank top is really cool, but will it really be worn?)
Do the above white Tees really count as “basics?”
In a technical sense, I’m not sure. I’m also not sure it really matters.
If you want to look your best, you’ll wear fashion that flatters your style type. So while the unusual Dramatic top above might not technically be a basic, if you have a lot of Dramatic in your face, it will look harmonious on you. And it’ll also go with lots of pieces in your wardrobe, assuming much of your wardrobe is highly Dramatic.
The point of capsule dressing isn’t to buy the most basic looking things possible for the sake of looking basic. The point of having a wardrobe full of basics is being able to get lots of use out of them, because they go with lots of other pieces in your wardrobe, and they work for a variety of occasions.
If you’re highly Dramatic, and have a highly Dramatic wardrobe, then a white Tee with an unusual Dramatic neckline will be harmonious both with you and with a lot of pieces in your closet. And it’s also simple enough in color and overall vibe that you can get a ton of wear out of it.
So when it comes to creating a flattering wardrobe that’s also highly practical, functional, and versatile, I don’t think it really matters if your style type’s version of basics aren’t technically basics. The point of capsule dressing isn’t to look like a Classic clone but to have many pieces in your wardrobe that are highly versatile, and that look great on you.
What about dress codes?
One way I can see the Dramatic top posing an issue is if you’re working within a somewhat strict dress code, like you can’t show your shoulders. But in that case, you could layer something over the Dramatic top, or even something under it, or choose a different version that’s more covered.
The same goes for all the style essences—if these silhouettes aren’t appropriate for your environment, you can use layering to make them work, or find versions that are acceptable.
Does anyone really look “bad” in Classic clothes?
Classic clothes are so simple and minimalist, it’s arguably hard to look bad in them. What many non-Classics may see when they wear highly Classic clothes is not that they look bad but rather boring.
But this isn’t true of people with highly Classic faces—people with a lot of Classic are breathtaking in Classic clothes. It kind of feels like a visual trick when you see a highly Classic face in highly Classic clothes, because they look so gorgeous in something so simple. The beauty of harmony.
For faces without a lot of Classic, you don’t get that incredible, transformative beauty from wearing Classic fashion. You will get that type of beauty if you wear clothes that harmonize with your face.
So Classic clothes don’t necessarily make non-Classics look bad—they just don’t optimally enhance your beauty.
In my view, people are also often mistyped as having Classic, because many people have faces that almost but don’t quite have Classic proportions. Sometimes when we’re struggling to tell what essences a person has, Classic is an easy default answer—because sometimes, Classic is what you’re seeing when a face isn’t giving you obvious other vibes.
I’d be especially skeptical if you’ve heard that Classic is your dominant essence.
Summary
Creating a capsule wardrobe—a wardrobe centered around timeless basics—can result in a highly functional closet with pieces that can be easily mixed and matched to work for a variety of occasions
But if you don’t have much Classic style essence, then you won’t look your best in traditional capsule wardrobe items
To get the benefits of capsule dressing, non-Classics can choose fashion that mimics or approximates the look of Classic basics without actually having the Classic essence
The basic white Tee is stereotypically Classic, but you can find versions of it that work perfectly for every style type
Future posts will discuss other pieces to include in a capsule wardrobe for each essence
