I approach wardrobe planning with the intention of making this aspect of life both simpler and more pleasurable. If you choose garments that work together in various combinations, and select two or three basic colors that you enjoy wearing, the structure of your wardrobe will be functional and versatile. The idea is to have enough clothing to meet your needs, and to have each piece coordinate with several other garments, so you always have choices about what to wear that day.

How many pieces are necessary to achieve this happy goal depends on your lifestyle and need for variety. I would suggest as a minimum: six tops, four bottoms, and one outer layer, if chosen carefully these can give a month of different outfits. Many people choose to have more than eleven garments in their closet, and most combine custom garments and ready-to-wear when building a functional wardrobe.

For most people, this is a gradual process, often taking a year or more, but the end result is very worthwhile. Imagine knowing that whatever is in your closet will easily combine with most of your other clothing, so that choosing what to wear becomes a pleasure...

As an example, this is one quarter of a wardrobe plan that I am working on for my friend Beth. She is in the process of transitioning her wardrobe to one that coordinates in color and style. I worked with her to determine her wardrobe needs, and am completing the necessary garments, a few new pieces per season. All of the tops coordinate with several of the jumpers or pants, and either of the sweaters.

peach plaid cotton blouse		deep green & rust cotton blouse		Autumn Wardrobe		olive green longsleeve t-shirt		gold longsleeve t-shirt
multicolor print blouse		natural linen buttondown blouse				lt brown hemp knit longsleeeve t-shirt		another off-white longsleeve t-shirt
* cream & green pinstripe blouse		* green gingham flannel blouse				off-white longsleeve t-shirt		red mock turtleneck
dark brown sweater
green star sweater
natural linen w black piping jumper		* green plaid Pendelton wool jumper		* brown tweed Pendelton wool jumper		olive green silk noil pants		brown silk noil pants
rust linen jumper		* green tweed Pendelton wool jumper		* olive green plaid silk/wool jumper		lt brown hemp knit pants		* black hemp pants

the garments marked with a * are not yet completed