It’s often the most noticeable piece when we think of our wardrobe anchor pieces. I think it can be the category that gets added to most frequently. Everyone loves to buy a new top and it quickly freshens up a tired outfit. Bold colors or neutrals. Solids or prints. Detailed or Simple. They novelty top is a key category most women love. It can be easy to overbuy tops or purchase tops with similar characteristics. I’ve been in closets where this was evident. Tops are typically more fun to buy than pants for many women, and so I understand when things get out of balance.
When I’m working with a client I often refer to tops that have “high memory”. The top I’m wearing in the video is high memory. This means that it is more memorable when you see it because of the distinct print style or bright color. Our neutral pieces are considered low memory. For example, you could wear a pair of black pants to work with a different top every day and no one would probably remember it. If you wore a bright pink top every day it would be more memorable. This doesn’t mean others are keeping track of what you wear and remember it. LOL. It’s just an illustration to explain.
I’ve been photographed in that floral top that was my on the blog, on my profile and I think it is easier to grow tired of it. As much as I love prints and florals, I always want a balance of solids and prints and neutrals and bright colors for this reason. It’s a good rule of thumb when you are building your wardrobe to think of a good balance of high memory and low memory pieces. The latter will stand the test of time a little longer.
Blouses
Moving on to blouses. I shared my frustrations with gaping blouses and it is a common problem for many women. My personal tip is to really examine the fabric content. Spandex can help provide the “give” you need in a button down blouse or give that little bit of extra room. I’ve tried double stick tape too and it is only partially successful.
I saw this ad from Spanx and I did try this bra last summer. I don’t know if it visually reduces a whole size, but I would give it a thumbs up. I’ll be covering foundation pieces in the last part of the series with some more ideas, but had to share this photo because it depicts what many of us go through!
I did not buy many new tops this spring. I think this was because I really wasn’t seeing a whole lot I loved. It was one of those streaks that happens occasionally. I had plenty of casual pieces until it came time for my birthday celebration. Then I felt like I had nothing to wear because I haven’t gone to a nicer restaurant in a very long time! So I wore the one Cabi piece I got this year which is more like a dressy T-shirt. Then I remembered I had the other top tucked away (has a number of snags in it) so got that out for another dinner. And next year I know I’ll have to add a couple of tops. That will go on my list.
I included sweaters in the top category (although I didn’t show many sweaters, I included many in the widget below) I mentioned in the video the dressier camisole is something we are seeing more of, and it can be the just the right layering piece for many occasions. Sweater vests are back too! I am going to cover those in the future as a new trend post.
Take a look at your tops going into the next season and decide if you have a balanced assortment or if you have any gaps. Here are 25 different selections that hopefully will help fill some of your gaps!
