Building A Wardrobe: Shoes and Accessories

I'm excited to be continuing my Building A Wardrobe Series again today. One the first day of the series I shared Essential Blazers and Jackets, one day two I shared Essential Cardigans, on day three I shared Essential Skirts, and on day four I shared Essential Jeans and Dress Pants.  Today I'm going to be sharing essential shoes and accessories with you.  The choices for shoes and accessories is vertically limitless, so today I'm going to simply share my recommendations for essentials with you.


First up I'll discuss essential shoes and boots with you.  Although I am definitely one to shop the sale, I think it's definitely important to buy quality when it comes to shoes.  Here are my recommendations:

• For boots I recommend both a black and brown leather riding boot.  These can be pricey and big shopping days like Black Friday are a good time to buy.  Last year I got my black leather boots for less than $50 on a Black Friday special.  These are definitely investment pieces and worth the money, as they will last for years, but shopping the sales is definitely a great option
• For ballet flats, I think a black and leopard option are essential.  Both are great basic, and like everything else, Target has some great affordable options.
• As for heels, I recommend a black, nude, leopard, and gold option.  These four options will go with vertically everything, so they are definitely worth the money. Also, an important tip:  I tend to be very hard on my heels, as I wear them all the time and the heel tips seems break off or wear out quickly.  This is quickly and inexpensively fixed by a shoe repair shop for about  $10, seriously the best way to add longevity to your heels.
• Gold might seem like a silly color to invest in, but I LOVE mine and they are the perfect addition to an outfit to dress it up in a way a basic black heel can't.
• I didn't include booties on my essential list, as I'm not sure how much longevity they'll have.  I love mine, but I definitely don't think it's one of the first shoes you should invest in.

Here's a visual of the essentials to help you out:

 black riding boot / brown riding boot / leopard flat / black flat /  black heel / gold heel / nude heel /  leopard heel 

Jewelry: 

Next up today I'll be discussing essential jewelry.  I love jewelry and feel it's the perfect way to make any outfit feel special.  Within my closet I have a mixture of both affordable and investment pieces.  Here are my thoughts on where to begin when building a wardrobe:

• Statement necklaces and bracelets are a huge trend right now.  It's important to decide what will fit your wardrobe best.  I like to have a mix of both gold and silver and mixed metals are huge this year, making that option the best of both worlds.  
• Spending more that $20 on a piece of jewelry might not be an option for you.  Luckily Target has tons of great affordable options.  All the affordable options below are from Target.
• Spending more on jewelry can pay off in the long run.  All the investment pieces are from Stella and Dot, and yes, they are more expensive.  However, they are all 12k gold and sterling silver, meaning they won't discolor your skin or wear out after a season.
• Bright bold statement necklaces are also great options, but when beginning to buy jewelry stick to more basic like the neutral options below, as they'll be more versatile and more easily worn and utilized.
• Jewelry can easily be the the "show stopper" of any look, so take some time to find a few pieces you love to make every outfit stand out.

Here's a visual of all the jewelry essentials:

Affordable Jewelry
 gold pave necklace /gold earrings /silver earrings / silver pave necklace /  gold jeweled bracelet / gold pave bracelet /  gold crystal necklace /silver jeweled bangle / silver cuff /  silver jeweled necklace 

Investment Jewelry
sutton, mixed metal necklace / silver necklace /  renegade bracelet in gold and silver /  urbane silver bracelet / moxie mixed metal bracelet / kahlo mixed metal bracelet /   phoenix mixed metal necklace / eden bangle in gold /    rebel pendant gold necklace /   

Scarves:

Lastly today I'll be sharing some scarf essentials.  Scarves are by far the easiest and least expensive way to accessorize any look, so they are definitely worth adding them to your wardrobe.  Here are my thoughts on purchasing these wardrobe essentials:

• Get a few bright colored scarves, these are great for layering with print tops and can be less "messy" looking then adding a necklace.
• Find some great prints in colors you love.  I love floral, polka dots, stripes, and cheveron.
• Shop the sales, Kolh's for one has great deals on scarves and Target frequently puts their scarves on special at 25% off.
• It can be easy to catch a case of "buy all the scarves."  As great as they are at making an outfit look special, no one wears scarves everyday.  You'll probably only utilize a scarf a few times a week, so having 5-6 is definitely enough.

Here's a visual on essential scarves:

 blue / purple polka dot / blue polka dot /  red /  zig-zag / paisley and stripe 

Come back tomorrow to hear about my shirt essentials!