What essentials should a good wardrobe include?
 

I'm completely lost when it comes to fashion stuff. My office is really, really laid back, so I usually wear casual black pants and a colored tshirt to work. I wear jeans and tshirts on my off days. I'm tired of it, and would like to update my wardrobe to be a little nicer, more polished, and more flexible. My wardrobe limitations are 1. I live in Florida, its hot 10 months of the year, 2. I'm plus-sized, and 3. I'm on a budget. I've stolen this list GeekyPenguin posted in a rush thread as a start, but is there anything else y'all would suggest?

- a pair or two of black or grey dress pants (the bootfit or slight flare, because they are still "trendy" but look classic compared to booty pants)
- black skirt (somewhere around kneelength)
- khaki skirt (again, somewhere around kneelength - not a mini, but can be above the knee)
- denim skirt (not a carpeter skirt, something a little more dressy - maybe an a-line with a small slit?)
- fitted tees (you can get crewneck, v-neck, split-neck, etc.) in black, white, and a few fun colors (blue, pink, whatever your favorites are)
- oxford shirts (button-up shirts with collars)
- sweater sets (cardigan and shell) in black, white, and a fun color

i would recomment a pair of linen pants. i bought a pair (drawstring) recently, and not only do they look nice, they are also very comfortable, especially when it's really hot. the only trouble with linen is that it wrinkles really easily, but i really like it.

also, 50's era style skirts are coming back in and they are really cute, plus, in my opinion, they look great on plus size people because they're feminine, not tight, and flowy.

that's all i can think of. i hope you find what you're looking for

70's pornstar looking sunglasses.

And a vintage Milwaukee Brewers hat.

Re: What essentials should a good wardrobe include?
 

You can't go wrong with khaki pants either. I really don't have too much to add to the list. You might also get some plain silk blouses. Yo can wear them with the dress pants or the shirt.
I'm slowly updating my wardrobe as well.

I have one black suit, one light beige suit and one grey wool looking suit
sweater sets
khaki pants in black,navy blue,olive green,and khaki
dress pants in black,grey,and navy blue
shirts in navy blue.black,and a brown and black check
various short sleeve shirts

You don't have to spend a fortune on clothes. I shop at mervyn's, Target, J.C Penny, Dress Barn, Norstrom's Rack and Eddie Bauer( they have some good stuff on clearence) all these stores (with the exception of EB) have pretty good prices and carry plus sizes.
You might also try looking for things at resale shops. You can find really good stuff for dirt cheap.

You can still dress like million bucks, you just don't have to pay it.:D

Hope this helps

It used to be generally conceded that all men should own a Navy Blue Blazer.

BetaRose, I am so excited you liked my list. :) I was hoping that would go to good use.

I am not sure what stores you have in your area, but a lot of times you can get nice plus-sized items online. My mom is plus-size and GAP offers extended sizes online, so she'll shop there occassionally. Lane Bryant also has really nice stuff that doesn't screen "I'm larger" like some places do.

I really like skirts that skim just below the knee on we larger women - they flatter most of the problem areas. I've gotten some great skirts at Lerner's that were only about $15-20.

Some department stores also carry Liz Claiborne and Ralph Lauren in their Women's section and you can get great bargains on office basics there!

I also really like wearing capris and cropped pants - I know they say it makes you look shorter, but I am not confident enough about my size to wear shorts, and it makes it cooler to wear capris. They're also a lot dressier than shorts.

HTH,
Kathleen

A little black dress is always a classic.

A nice pair of diamond or cz studs goes with everything.

another aside
 

Three Black Skirts (All You Need To Survive) by Anna Johnson, says the three black skirts a woman needs are
one to be sexxxy in, one for a suit and one to be scruffy in

great book, touches on wardrobe quite abit as well as other areas

I think everyone should have one outfit, whatever it may be, that they can put on at a short notice and feel great in. Something for a last minute interview, date, etc.

Vagueness aside....black heels to do with that little black dress!

I guess I'll chime in for the guys here.

I'll agree with James on the Navy Blue blazer.

A nice black or charcoal suit.
At least one other decent suit.

A good pair of khakis
A nice white collared shirt

A great pair of black dress shoes
A nice pair of black boots (kenneth cole) are key.

Black dress pants
Charcoal dress pants

A few decent ties
A nice watch

Good list, damasa! Some other things I think all guys should have:

nicer sweater (turtleneck if they look acceptable ;)) in black or grey
nice jeans - not your holey Levi's, but a good pair
a few plaid/patterened oxford shirts

If it's a pretty laid back environment and casual as you say I'd go to Casual Corner and buy some of their comfy pants (the one's that don't go all the way to your ankle) and a cute top. You could still do one of their light-weight cotton t-shirts and have it look sharp. Plus the whole idea is to assesorize so that it dresses things up a little but you're still able to dress casually.

I love the color black for skirts or pants cuz then you can put any fun colored top with it and still be comfy and casual and yet look professional.

Good list - I'd add a couple of nice Polo-style shirts, as they're good for more casual situations, and look good with a nice pair of khakis or jeans.

The turtleneck is a good idea - but it definitely has to look good on you, on some people they don't look all that great.

It's good to have a few nice sweaters, for the same reason as having the Polo-style shirts; they're good in casual situations when the weather is a bit cooler.

I'll probably think of more later.

Collin