Having introduced to you the first five wardrobe basics (The Black Cardigan, The Plain White Tee, The Plain White with Long Sleeves, The Plain Black Tee and The Black Trousers), I will now bring in the next five basics on my curated list of wardrobe basics. Let’s jump right in

#6 Black Turtleneck Sweater/Fine-knit Top

You know how that strappy, spaghetti-strap dress/top is so in trend right now, having been resurrected from it’s 80s grave like all other 80s fashion? Yeah, they are still the in thing even after so many years. That’s what Dr Martens calls authenticity: they stand the test of time—just like Dr Martens.

In the past, these strappy dress/tops are typically worn with The Plain White Tee. Nowadays, fashion has taken a subtle step higher on its trend endeavour and has included not just long sleeved t-shirts in its arsenal of under-layer (like The Plain White Tee), but also the long-sleeved top with turtlenecks as well as mocknecks. The fashionable girls of the high-end street brands wear their strappy dresses with polished, solid black turtleneck sweaters that literally becomes a second skin, and showing off those lean upper arm muscles. That technique/style is so subtle that you may not catch the aura, that somewhat spectacular vibe vibing off of them, but when you do finally figure it out and what exactly makes them shine even under all that black-clad skin-plastering finely knit material, it’s actually their own bodies carrying the look. If you never found yourself wondering about this, then let me be the one to share with you this story: I have been a tad bit envious of those girls who had the perfect skin-gripping black sweater because they were able to detract all attention from the clothing to the actual form of their figures. Do I mean that I want to have my lean upper arm muscles shown though they are cladded? Yes. Why? Because it’s ‘modest’ in a sense, but you have assets to speak off.

Then again, there are days when you find that you don’t have all that lean muscle to show and might be stressing about other options you can wear with that strappy dress of yours. Once again, a slight style revolution had occurred and now you have the option to totally disfigure the not-so-lean upper arms: wearing a loose black knitted sweater under that strappy dress. Well, of course, provided your dress is loose enough, to begin with, otherwise, you’ll have a lot of fabric to deal with against your torso.

But then again, if you aren’t even into that strappy dress trend layered over an under-layer top, don’t fret, you can still have this black sweater. Because who’s to say this timeless classic will ever actually become timed and reach the end of its service?

#7 White Turtleneck Sweater/Fine-knit Top

Like the black turtleneck/mockneck sweater, you’ll need a contrasting pair in white. This one is for all the other outfits that are goth dark and you feel you like lightening up the sombr mood with something light (unless, of course, you’re going for that adult goth look I mentioned in PART ONE, then you may stick with just the solid, matte black option).

#8 Blue Jeans

You must wonder why it took me this long to reach The Blue Jeans on my list of wardrobe essentials. Honestly, I have no reason (I’m sorry). I guess if you still wanted an explanation, the only one I can give is that it’s quite instinctive to know that you should (must, really) have a pair of blue jeans in your wardrobe, because it is undeniably one of the backbones of your closet, no matter your style. And if you think you’re not into blue jeans because (horrifyingly) you just don’t wear them, let me try to convince you otherwise in this segment.

You might have created a checklist (or mental checklist) of the pieces I have identified in this and the last post as true wardrobe essentials/basics. Did you notice that I have included only one other bottom before reaching the blue jeans, the rest being tops, tops and more tops? Because, my friends, those tops I mentioned are like life partners to The Blue Jeans (and The Black Trouser is just a more formal or fancier option to The Blue Jeans.) They match seamlessly and never look at odds with it.

One way you could spice up your Blue-Jeans bottom look is by varying its shape/silhouette. And this means getting a pair of jeans of different cuts, such as the skinny, straight, tapered, mom and flared cuts. Depending on your body type, you may be more suited for a certain cut over another. (But this is a topic for another day: check it out here if you’re interested!)

One peculiar aspect of the Blue Jeans (or any jeans, actually) that I look at which I bet most (or even anyone) looks at is the size of the back pockets. Yes, that’s what I said. Let me tell you my story: I am petite and short and literally small in all senses of the word, standing at 146 cm and weigh 41 kg. Super small, even smaller than fun-sized. So, when I look for jeans, I am very particular about the size of the back pockets.

For a small body, no matter the size of the booty, I can’t and try my best to stay away from jeans with big back pockets. The effect:

• #1: They accentuate the smallness of my person,
• #2: they shorten my middle portion, which unapologetically makes me look shorter than I actually am,
• #3: and they make the jeans look to big on me, though the size is just right when I wear them.

Having said the above, you may think that getting smaller pockets would be better. Beware, though, of getting jeans with too small a pocket either; they could reproduce the same effect as having too large a back pocket. Bottom line is this: get a pair of jeans with pockets that actually ‘speak’ your size, not too large and not too small. In other words, you have to get your booty down to your favourite jeans retailer and try on those jeans. There is no escape, especially for us who are too small or too big. The middle-sized peeps are obviously the luckiest of us.

#9 White Sneakers

White Converse has always been around since the time I was born and very likely even before that, and they too, like Dr Martens, stood the test of time. Today, apparel companies are making shoes that look like the classic Chuck Taylors. Think MUJI, for example. But just like the other wardrobe essentials mentioned, the white sneakers, too, has undergone some style change—or rather, style update, upgrade and inclusion, as is the mission of this century: inclusivity in many departments of life.

One style upgrade (or whimsical downgrade if you don’t resonate with this trend) is the inclusion of sports shoes as an option for sneakers in the broad sense. You have two types: the modern tennis shoes which most ladies out there like because of its clean, rounded silhouette, and the obnoxiously ugly Dad Shoe which experimental trendsetters like. I’m calling the Dad Shoe ugly because that’s what it is, but that’s precisely its unique selling proposition; it’s so ugly it calls, begs, beckons for attention and to be looked at. If you’re a safe dresser, I would suggest you stick with the modern tennis shoes and work your way up the ladder of style denial. If you’re already into this Dad Shoe look, then I beg you to make the rest of your outfit work on the same crazy level as the Dad Shoe. Even in fashion ugliness, those with an eye for style can and will catch the wrongness of your garment matching. If you’re going to brace yourself for the Dad Shoe, do it wholly. I’d rather see someone try a totally crazy look than a half-done one. The spirit of experimental fashion is killed off halfway, and that doesn’t leave the nicest of tastes in the mouth. So you gotta go big, or go home.

#10 Black Sneakers

Last but definitely not the least in this post is The Black Sneakers. Remember the Boy-Next-Door Plain White Tee? Yeah, this pair of black Converse I’m proposing here is the partner-for-life footwear for that tee. Let me tell you the story behind my appreciation for this particular pair of high-cuts: There is this retail assistant (male, not very tall, but dark and handsome) that I used to spy at the common workers’ space at my workplace. I never knew his name, but he’d always smile when he sees me. (Though I’m very sure he’s just a nice soul.) I’m not sure at which store he works, but he always and unfailingly wears full black—and ladies, I loved that. I still think about him and his outfit to this day, shamefully. His daily getup: He wears a black beanie, a Plain Black Tee, Black Jeans, and this very pair of Black Converse Sneakers. He was the epitome of wardrobe basics, and he just looked so unabashedly cool. And I had an acute meltdown every time I see him. Ugh, girl problems. Sadly, I don’t see him anymore. He now lives in the paradisiac courtyard of my fantasies, the seraph with black wings.

Anyway, because of this nameless stranger in black, I started scrutinising this particular pair of footwear. Like all other wardrobe basics, even sneakers need their contrast partners. If white sneakers give off a bubblegum pop flavour, then black sneakers exude daring and a devil-may-care attitude. It’s just dark, sultry and dangerous compared to the white ones, so who’s up for giving up on the dark, sultry and dangerous? Nobody.