Learn How to Build a Wardrobe:
The 12-Piece Professional Women’s
Basic Wardrobe

Learning how to build a wardrobe, from selecting womens business suits to blouses, is doable when you understand the Artistry & Strategy Tips and Strategies. Now that you know what cuts, colors, patterns, textures, lines, etc. to wear where, let’s take a closer look at some pictures of foundational professional wardrobe pieces.

Beyond the Tips & Strategies, this SO key, when you’re building a basic wardrobe, your colors should coordinate.

What are your neutrals (e.g., colors you can wear with any other color)? (Pick 1-3). The ones for the wardrobe we’re working on below are charcoal grey, black and white.

What are your coordinating colors? (Pick 2-5). Ours are red/crimson and multi-color (combinations of red, white, and/or charcoal gray/black).

Reminder…the neutrals should work well with the coordinating colors and each other (kind of de facto) and they should compliment your complexion. The coordinating colors should also match the neutrals (also pretty much a given), as well as each other (VERY important), and again, they should compliment your complexion.

The Basic Women’s Business Clothes Wardrobe

Following are photos of a sample 12-piece women’s professional wardrobe for a relatively traditional/conservative industry for a woman with a somewhat classic style. It may be surprising how many different looks you can put together with only 12 clothing items in a basic wardrobe.

The photos also include a “look book” to give you an idea of how you can mix and match the pieces to obtain a number of different combinations when you’re pulling together your wardrobe basics.

The concepts for the 12-piece wardrobe are similar for all industries, however, the cuts, colors and styles of the pieces may vary by industry and the personal style of the woman wearing it.

For instance, if you were in the fashion industry, your basic suit would likely have a bit more flair to it than the one shown below for a more conservative industry.

If your industry is traditional, but you have more of a romantic style, you might choose a women’s business suit similar to the one below, however instead of a tailored blouse, you might wear blouses with ruffles, or some other feminine detailing, underneath your womens business suits.

You may also take in to account the Artistry & Strategy Body Shape Fashion Tips when you’re choosing your perfect basic ladies business suit, blouse, skirt or pants.

If you want to minimize the appearance of your hips, you might choose a suit with a wider trouser leg than the one shown below and a jacket that sits just below your natural waistline instead of at the widest part of your hips. You may also decide that your coordinating blouse colors will be lighter than the color of your pants and skirts.

Okay…so, here’s the basic wardrobe that we've put together:

The Basic Two-Piece Women’s Business Suit

The Five Blouses

The Three Bottoms

The Black Pump

Womens Professional Outerwear:
The Classic Trench Coat

The Look Book