The Ideal Style Wardrobe: 5 of your Wild Card Pieces

Out of a basic 50-piece wardrobe, you should have at least a few items that make you smile and/or make you feel different in some way.

These are items that for YOU is a piece you reach for but doesn’t necessarily mean it works for everyone else. This piece, changes your outfit in some way, makes you feel different in whatever possible way, and changes your look.

My five wild cards are…

Leather pants

I bought these from The Row secondhand and on a whim because I was curious – I wanted to try them, and they turned into a staple. A STAPLE!

I thought that waxed black jeans would do it but that’s another look, different from leather. More casual anyway.

I wear these with slightly longer tops and I love the look of leather-clad legs.

Wildly printed, colourful tank top

Surprisingly pairs with everything in that tank. Dark blues, purples — anything! I can wear this with pretty much any colour, bottom and item as long as the cut and fit works.

Printed white shirt

In a fun whimsical print, and it is a plain neutral rather than being something just boring, it is a little different and adds an interesting twist.

You don’t know this, but I really don’t like printed button-ups. Plaid, prints like this.. it is as far as I can go. Anything more and it feels too tropical and makes me think of Hawaiian shirts, or if it is something that isn’t a solid or a stripe, it is too much for me.

This is as far as I can go, print-wise… and it is a stretch!

Cotton bustier top

I didn’t think this would become a staple but it is perfect underneath blazers and with skirts.

There is a LITTLE boning in there, so it does have a bustier-style or shape, but it doesn’t feel too Moulin Rouge…

I even had straps added to the top so I could wear it as-is and it wouldn’t be skimpy (spaghetti straps are a NO for me at the office and in general due to my inverted triangle body type).

Plaid button-up shirt

This may not seem like a ‘wild card’ to you, but this is like a lumberjack shirt of sorts to me.

For me to wear it, it is really Casual.. and my dress style is really not casual (sweatshirts are usually only worn at home or only if they have something different).

It is a little rugged which is why I pair it with leather pants or something more modern if I can.

Plaid is VERY far our of my comfort zone for shirts. It is strange but as I said, in tops that are button-ups, I do not love prints, but plaid in particular is something I have resisted for years until I found this particular one. Not too flashy, not too PLAID, and in my favourite cobalt blue.

What are some of your wild cards?