5 Things Every Girl Should Have in Her Closet

This list is not like the rest you'll read about "closet staples." I can't remember the exact origin, but I do remember adding "post re 5 things: silly underwear, fitted concert T..." to my blogging to-do list. I was headed up in the office elevator (I use Out of Milk to track all of this stuff. Or pretend to).

I'm fairly sure I was wearing superhero underwear that morning. On purpose.

So my list of 5 Things Every Girl Should Have in Her Closet goes something like this:

A fitted concert T: Most bands (but not all, oddly) sell them now, and yes, you should spend the dough and get one. At least one. You can wear it with just. about. everything. It's a perfect way to spice up your weekend wardrobe. I wear mine all the time. And, oh, if you can't find a fitted one, maybe you can make one. That's what I tell myself about the PiL T sitting in my closet awaiting my scissors, needle, and thread.

Clockwise, from top left: my Ts, vintage-looking because they're throwback covers, but get repeated play in my weekend wardrobe; Target's a great place to find concert Ts, like this Def Leppard one, and a David Bowie 1974 one I also wanted to put in the post, but it would've been over-the-top, so I'm not including it; Wonder Woman, in comfortable cotton, will still give you kickass power no one else can see; my beloved, and I do mean beloved, Stuart Weitzman Platswoons (I have a similar one in python, and very well might get All the Colors); the Nordstrom waffle weave robe that hangs in my closet; a stack of my own two vintage signet rings, one was my dad's (bottom), and one my parents gave me for high school graduation, having been sitting in a friend's grandparent's jewelry store display case for literally decades with my initials on it (the best of coincidences); a bigger-than-I'd-ever-buy-for-myself necklace H's godmother gave me when we visited her the year we got married, and I now wear in it's Greecian goddess glory).

Silly underwear: I recommend that of the superhero variety. Lots of bloggers will tell you that pretty underpinnings are important. I agree. I also know for a fact that there's nothing better than knowing you have the power of the Webslinger, the Bat, or the Amazons with you while you face some sort of major office demon. Also, as a mama, the Beans get a real kick out of "matching" mama. (We have no derth of superhero stuff in our abode.)

Black patent pumps: again, there are lots of recommendations for a "pair of good black pumps." I'm going to change that. Patent makes everything better. It's sleeker, fancier, saucier, and badass-er. For H's 20th reunion, I tried on a whole shoe department's worth of options (bless the Bloomingdales' shoe man), and settled on the pricey, but perfect, in my opinion (and lots of it has to do with fit, so this one may or may not work for you) Stuart Weitzman Platswoon. From jeans to skirts to dresses...they do it all. Literally.

A robe: A good robe, I should say. Not the one you had in college (I still have the one My Mommy bought me to go to Austria so I'd be both warm and decent living in other people's homes as an exchange student), but one that's all-weather, doesn't drag on the floor, and in which you'd feel comfortable answering the door. Because sometimes you have to. My recommendation? The now-not-as-rare Italian-style waffle weave, which is warm and cool and wicking.

Vintage: This one, again, shows up on list after list. There are lots of us, though, who have neither the time nor patience for in-person or e-bay vintage shopping. Some of us don't have the bodies, either (my shoulders will never, ever fit into a vintage shirtdress, try as I might). Instead, dig out the ring or necklace someone passed to you and you stuffed in a drawer, thinking it wasn't your style. Pull out the ascot you kept because it means something, but never thought you'd wear. Wear something vintage, but wear it with meaning.