Do you remember the food pyramid we all learned from at school – we can apply the same principles to our wardrobe. The smallest triangle at the top is for the expensive, but classic pieces we all need - the winter coats, the special occasion dresses. The next portion of the pyramid is for the everyday items – our wardrobe basics. Then the biggest section at the base is made up of the seasonal and high fashion, but less expensive garments we all need.

Let’s look at the top part first – our classics. Over time, it is much more cost effective to spend more per item here – this is the section where we find your good winter coat, your classic Little Black Dress – pieces that will never date, and you will wear for years. Spend the money, invest in good fabrics, generic colours  and superior workmanship, and you will reap the rewards.

The middle section of the pyramid is where we find the bulk of our wardrobe – great pants, a comfortable pair of jeans, pretty everyday dresses. These garments will get you through two or three seasons, maybe more. This is the section where your wardrobe basics sit – and there are four rules to follow when you are out shopping -

1. I can wear this over and over again.
2. This goes with everything I already own
3. I pretty much can’t live without this
4. This is the glue that helps me keep the rest of my wardrobe together

Then we have the bottom of the pyramid – definitely the widest, but not necessarily the biggest section. This is where you find the inexpensive tee shirts, the comfortable leggings, and the cutting edge fashion garments that you can only wear for one season because they are going to look ridiculously out of date next year. If daffodil yellow is in all the magazines this year – you can guarantee that next year it’s going to look hideous. You love those super wide-legged pants – buy them now, and thrash them, next season no-one will be seen in them. Don’t spend a lot on these, try and buy in sale, or from less expensive stores, and think of your price-per-wear. If the pants are $100 and you think maybe you will wear them once a week for the season – that’s about twenty wears at $5 each time. If they are $300 and you are still only going to wear them twenty times – do you want to be paying $15 each time you wear them?

When you are out and about shopping for your new season wardrobe, think about where each garment will fit in the ‘Wardrobe Pyramid’  scheme of things.