Ever scoured Google for someone—just someone!—who actually knows the answer to the all-pervading question, “What wardrobe basics never go out of style?” but find that the answers they give you rub you the wrong way? Or even if they did indicate great, even intuitive pieces, they just don’t tell you where to find them and what to look out for in them.

Like, meh, this isn’t exactly what I’m looking for, because deep down inside, you know—you just know but don’t want to admit it—that you want those people to somehow mention your style, that the clothing choices you’ve made so far were actually the right answers and that you had them in the palm of your hands the whole time.

Fear not, because I am exactly in the same boat as you.

I’ve tried all kinds of titles and keywords, especially basics and essentials, even capsule, but I haven’t found an exact list of essentials on the Internet that I felt comfortable with to depend on for the rest of my life. (And yes, wardrobe essentials are pieces you want to keep with you to your grave because they will always be around, never disappearing—like the bones in your body.) Save for some pieces they mentioned that were actually already in my wardrobe. Like the small black handbag, the plain white tee and the classic denim jeans.

To solve this foundational dilemma, which is to say the building block of all things fashion, I have taken some bit of my time to re-scour the Internet (i.e. Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, some fashion blogs) for pieces that I keep going back to or, more specifically, pieces that I use to #1 complete my look or #2 build my look upon. I think these two criteria are the all-important points to remember when shopping for basics because your final look could either make it or break it based on these.

With that, I have come up with pieces that I feel are true essential pieces to have in your closet. The awesome thing about essential pieces are also that they can be worn in any season—the only work you have to do is find pieces made of materials that are suitable for all seasons. I know it’s hard and there’s probably no such item in the world of clothes that allows one to wear a plain white tee from spring/summer to autumn/winter and back again, but no one ever said you can’t have more than one essential item type, right? Or put it differently: buy essentials made of materials that fit your climate type. This again means that, unfortunately, for those of us who live in temperate regions, you’ll need two pieces for some of the items I’ve listed below (unless, of course, you have an insulating system under your skin that keeps you warm in winter and is in summer).

Besides the material type, the other awesome thing about essentials is that they come in basic, monochrome, neutral colours so that they can be worn with anything that you build your outfit on. In the list below, I have chosen mainly black, white, grey and brown to work with. They also come in solid colours with minimal decoration so as to not pull away from the focus of more fashionable pieces to your basics. And just in case you were wondering, you can actually create an outfit entirely out of basics and they could be the coolest clothes on those cobblestone streets.

I have decided to divide this list of 15 wardrobe essentials into three separate posts because I don’t want to bore you with all the extensive details I will be throwing all out at you. So, without further ado, let’s get discoverin’ the first five!

#1 Black Cardigan

The very first thing that I thought of when I think of the words ‘wardrobe essentials’ is my black cardigan. Or black cardigans. I have one typical crew neck cardigan that I got from Uniqlo about 2 years ago (which you can still find them there in certain seasons, as well as at Muji, another one of my go-to basics-shopping stores.) The other cardigan, a long wool-polyester blend one I got from H&M last year, is actually more of a marl grey colour than black. But seeing as it is close to black I have decided to add that in here.

The reason why I thought of the black cardigan is because of my love for layering. I have always loved layering my clothes with outerwear because they give extra personality to my clothes and helps channel even more of the kind of person that I am, or the kind of person that I want to exude on a certain day, through the choices I make with my outerwear. And unapologetically, I love layering my clothes with (especially) my long marl grey cardigan because it gives off a sort of classy feel. It’s not a coat (because it’s too hot in my country to be wearing a coat, plus, it’s not the norm here to wear coats, which will definitely attract unwanted attention), but because the cardigan is so well structured and heavy and weight-y to the feel, it sits well around my shoulders and drapes further down nicely like a proper coat would. Perhaps you might find it contradicting that I mentioned that my country is warm (not to mention terribly humid on some days) and I still wear this wool-blend long cardigan. Truth be told, anyone in Singapore who wears a second layer is probably out of their mind. But the great thing about being out of your mind is that it gives you the freedom to do what you want. So, not alone, I have volunteered myself to the judgement of the citizens of Singapore by wearing one of my favourite pieces of clothing.

#2 White Crew Neck Short-sleeve T-shirt

The white crew neck t-shirt, or more commonly dubbed as the plain white tee (think rock band Plain White T’s), is the most basic of basics. It is probably the queen/king of basics and can’t be dethroned because of how basic its form and colour is. It’s so simple you can wear it with anything and won’t look like a fool trying to cross-match clothing types.

Some people may have a personal vendetta for plain white tees, especially those that come in crew neck styles, all because it is so closely related to the boy next door who’s actually the neighbourhood’s resident punk. But, like all swooning girls, ladies, women, and more, I cannot agree more with the fact that the plain white tee is the thing that sticks—that is, of course, if you have the right kind of plain white tee. And by kind, I mean measurements.

For me, personally, and for the fit of my body type (petite build), I like my t-shirts, not just white ones, to not be tight and body-hugging. I like it worn exactly the way the boy next door wears his; a little loose, angular and slightly slouchy. I also look for t-shirts that have sleeves that are not too short. I don’t mind sleeves that are long, as long as they don’t extend so…extensively they start to look more like half-sleeve t-shirts or even ¾-sleeve t-shirts. Basically, I take into account the size i.e. circumference of the arm hole and ratio of it to that of the sleeve. The bigger the arm hole, the longer the sleeve. That’s just my preference. You may have to go down to any store and find out for yourself how you like your white tees to fit.

In my mind’s eye, I see two typical ways of wearing white tees: #1 like the boy next door as mentioned above, and #2 like the babydoll next door who wears hers close (but not tight) to her midriffs and short on the sleeves (think Gemma Ward in a cute white tee). One thing’s for sure, both neighbours wear their crew necks like their lives depend on it.

For me, the ideal plain white tee is that of the boy next door:

• Crew neck
• Sleeves that reach to half of my upper arm
• Arm hole with its lowest point about 1 to 2 inches away from the lowest point of the inner side of the sleeve when I have my arms down
• Loose fit around the torso
• Hem ends nicely on the hips
• Material: Completely opaque and 100% cotton (if it is a blend, then NO polyester, because polyester absorbs sweat and will start to stink, which is something you don’t want)

If you’re into the babydoll-next-door look, here are some things I like on her kind of plain white tees:

• Also the crew neck
• Short sleeves, in the upper half region of the upper arm, such that, if the babydoll girl has some lean upper arm muscles, they peek out underneath just a bit, like a tease
• The ratio of the armhole to the sleeve still sticks here, so: the lowest point of armhole should be at least 1 inch away from the lowest point of the sleeve when the arm is down
• A slightly tighter fit around the torso i.e. applies to both bust and midriffs, but never tight
• The hem ends nicely on the hips as well
• Material: 100% cotton (same polyester rule applies) and can be more or less translucent depending on your preference

#3 White Crew Neck Long-sleeve T-shirt

As for the white long-sleeve tee, it doesn’t exactly follow the preference that I have laid down for its short-sleeved cousin. Because long sleeves can get a little messy, I like my white long-sleeve to be fit loose around my torso while keeping the circumference of the sleeves small too. As I am petite in size, it would do well for me to follow the predetermined proportions that a sleeve should have to the torso size. If the sleeve is much larger in proportion than the norm, then it will look like an oddly made t-shirt, the kind with wide sleeves. And if it has a torso that’s too wide with normal sized sleeves, then you get a t-shirt that tries to look like a flowy wide blouse, which we don’t want, because what we want is a T-shirt, emphasis on the T. Apart from these differences, every other aspect of the shirt follows that of the short-sleeve one.

#4 Black Crew Neck Short-sleeve T-shirt

And another thing: I always find it strange that people suggest a certain piece as a wardrobe essential and only pick one colour for it. While I was going through the many pages on the Internet, I was thinking, “What about the plain black tee?” Don’t you guys think the same, or am I the only one who didn’t forget that the colour wheel comes in light and dark? Also, the same preferences for white tees apply to black ones.

#5 Black Trousers

I started getting into tapered trousers when I got my diploma at 19, but started seriously getting into them and wearing them almost every single day, without fail, when I was in university and thought I could get a style-change since I would be in a new environment, with new people and wanted to make a good impression on others with trousers instead of the old friend, jeans. Also, the cigarette trousers—an even skinnier variant of the tapered trousers—are silently slithering amongst the bigger fashion and style comebacks that only the truly observant will notice its presence, and they look professional yet ‘adult gothic’, in a sense. Ever heard of adult goth? Me neither, until someone commented this exact phrase on Panic! At The Disco’s music video Say Amen (Saturday Night) saying that Brendon Urie aged beautifully through the ages while maintaining his goth-esque look, hence, adult goth. Because of the sleek darkness of the cigarette pants, I was determined to jump on its bandwagon and let it take me away.

The first tapered trousers I got was a dark navy one from Mango, which I also got on a sale at just S$28 (it’s quite cheap considering it’s from Mango who sells their stuff typically between S$49.90 and S$89.90). To this day, it is the only pipe trousers I own and I still wear them with love.

The second pair of trousers I have are the actual black trousers for this segment, and it’s in the straight-leg cut. I got this from Uniqlo about a year ago in a very rushed state. To tell you the truth, if I had more time, I would have chosen something closer to my ideal black trousers, but because I had an interview the next day, I decided to grab these. It isn’t that these black straight-cut trousers are not good—they are amazing to wear, on the contrary, because there is an elastic band at the back of the pants which allows the pants to be held in place without needing a belt—but I had been eyeing so endearingly this pair of high-waisted trousers with large pleats on the front from Mango. I wanted them so badly but they were just too darn expensive for my budget, so I kept putting them off, until finally one day I actually needed one for an interview and I had to let them go and bought a cheaper alternative instead.

We have come to the end of the first of a four-part post on wardrobe essentials. I hope I had enlightened you on what you should be looking for in an essential piece, and if not, then I hope your disagreement with me has conversely opened up your eyes to what you really look for and led you to them. Until PART TWO, ciao!