"Go to" items

Hello Ladies,
I know that many of us are on a budget, either in terms of space, money, or time and opportunity to dress up. As the cliche goes, "so many outfits, so little time."

I'm curious about some of your favorite items. Those pieces that always work and that you can always rely on. I don't mean essentials like a wig, bra, shape wear, etc. that we use as the "foundation," though I love those items too. I love the process of getting dressed and seeing the look come together from start to finish. The whole process is fun, from when you start shaving to when you head out the door.

What I'm thinking about here are things that every girl needs in her closet. The kind of things you replace as soon as they wear out. The kind of things you would pick if you could only have a few items and wanted to be as versatile as possible. Or the thing that you wish you had bought 5 of just in case you can't ever find it again. We all know that every girl needs an LBD, and that's the kind of essential I mean.

Here are a few of mine and why I think they work:

1. Beige heels - to me, these are as good as an LBD. They go with nearly everything. Whenever I am thinking about an outfit and I'm wondering if I have shoes that will work with it, 9 out of 10 times I can rely on my beige pumps. These work because they match the skin color (if you're white) and so it doesn't matter if they match the outfit as much. If you're a lady of color, try a shoe color that matches your skin for the same advantage. I hate the term "nude" to refer to clothing colors because it's only "nude" for some. Bottom line - colors that match your skin tone can be advantageous if you can't have a pair of shoes for every outfit.

2. Black heels (esp. a sandal style)- if the beige doesn't work, the black sandals will. If you could only have two pairs of shoes, beige and black won't let you down. Black goes with nearly everything and if you get the right style you can probably get away with owning one pair of shoes (if you had to, of course . . .)

3. Cardigan - I actually have a couple of these and they always seem to work. My personal favorite is a long black one that comes to about mid thigh. The sleeves are extra long too so they can cover half of my hands (good for hiding years of construction work and rock climbing!), or they can be scrunched up. I can wear it casual, or to work, or any mix in between, over leggings, over skinny jeans, with pencil skirts, etc. The only time I think it really wouldn't work is probably with something really formal. This thing is so good it even survived my last purge because I thought my wife might want to use it (she didn't, so I got it back). So glad I still have it. It's the veteran of my collection and always makes me feel good. The long style is also nice because it helps when your figure isn't quite what you'd like. I love to sling it over my purse when it gets warm too. Always a nice touch. Cardigans in a wide variety of colors are a nice way to accent a basic setup like skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, and conversely, a black or grey will go with whatever colors you have on underneath.

4. Button up, collared, business style blouse with long sleeves - Some of us may be tempted to shy away from this item because it doesn't look as feminine as we might want. It really is just a men's shirt with a slightly different cut. However, I think that's the secret of why it works so well. When a woman puts on this item, it's often with the goal of looking powerful or professional at work by making her silhouette look a bit more masculine. So, while looking masculine isn't your goal, wearing a woman's shirt designed to make her look a bit more masculine, actually helps hide your shoulders. At first thought, the idea of a pencil skirt with a collared/button shirt screams "narrow hips, broad shoulders" but for some cross dressers, this can really work. It sounds kind of counterintuitive, but it's worth a shot the next time you go clothes shopping. Be sure to get one that fits "right." If you try to go smaller it won't actually make you look slimmer, it will just highlight your bulging shoulders. If you go to big, then it will just look silly. When I tuck one of these into a high wasted pencil skirt, I'm always satisfied. I have a black and a white one and they are both core essentials for me. I find skirts that work are pretty easy to find, while tops are a real challenge. When I find a top that works, it's pure gold. Word of caution, it probably won't work to just put on one of your male shirts. You really do need the specific cut to make this work. Your wife might be able to look cute borrowing your shirts, but chances are you won't (unless that's the look you're going for, and that's fine too).

Anyway, those are my "never fail" items. I hope there are some ideas there that can help next time you're trying to put an outfit together and it isn't working.