Shoppers Reveal Their Wardrobe Staples

• Fashionistas vote top three most crucial wardrobe items as dark jeans (69%), leather boots (40%) and a little black dress (32%)
• If money was no object fashion fans would buy coats from Burberry, LBDs from Dior, tailoring and blazers from Chanel and jeans from JBrand
• Next (35%), ASOS (34%) and H&M (33%) voted best high street brands for basics

British fashion shoppers have spoken. Dark jeans, (jeans right by ASOS.com) leather boots and a little black dress are the ultimate capsule wardrobe contents, according to users of the social shopping site Styloko.com. In fact, such is this reliance on classics that almost eight in ten (78%) fashion lovers say they prefer to style themselves in elegant and timeless wardrobe staples, while just 22% said they’d rather look on-trend.

Of the high street brands relied upon to stock their everyday wardrobe staples, the ‘top of the shops’ prize went to Next, with 35% of shoppers voting for the British retail giant as their favourite for quality basics. Snapping at its heels were ASOS (34%) and H&M (33%) in second and third, respectively.

But what would happen if money were no object? Styloko.com also asked its fashionable followers about their dream capsule wardrobes – and where they’d purchase their essentials if only they had access to unlimited funds. Here are the results:

 

Wardrobe Staple	Top Choice	Second Choice
White shirt	&Other Stories	H&M
T-shirt	Primark	H&M
LBD	Dior	River Island
Jeans	JBrand	TopShop
Skirt	Balenciaga	LK Bennett
Blazer	Chanel	Marc Jacobs
Coat	Burberry	Reiss
Knitwear	Cos	Marks & Spencer

 

The survey also found that almost six in ten (57%) shoppers are willing to spend more on quality wardrobe staples, compared to the 43% who prefer the throwaway approach – buy cheap basics and chuck out regularly. But an overwhelming three quarters (75%) still prefer high street denim to designer jeans.

Considering their status as one of the top three must-have wardrobe essential, the perfect jeans are something of a holy grail for fashion fans, with almost half (49%) stating that a pair of jeans that fit well is one of the hardest items to find. One in ten admit to trying on more than ten pairs while on the hunt for the right fit and more than a fifth (21%) will try between six and ten pairs before making a purchase. Finding high heels that look good while being easy to walk in were the second toughest wardrobe essential to source according to more than a third (34%) of respondents.

The ultimate rule in capsule wardrobe shopping is to keep colours simple, and almost three quarters (74%) of Stoloko users say they wear mainly dark colours such as black, grey and navy, while almost a fifth (19%) wear mainly neutral tones, such as beige, camel and pale pinks. Just 7% of respondents say they mainly wear bright colours.

(Little black dress left by River Island)

Commenting on these results Styloko.com editor-in-chief, Emily O’Brien said: “Savvy shopping is all about cleverly mixing high and low brands, and these results reveal that UK fashion fans are switched on when it comes to picking items worth investing in.

“We’re far more classic in our tastes when it comes to choosing staple pieces, which is a trend we’ve seen developing over the past years – the unstable economic climate has encouraged people to opt for timeless pieces that transcend trends. But that’s not to say timelessness isn’t modern – this is a look that has become a recurring theme itself each season. Designers like Phoebe Philo at Celine and Jil Sander are stalwarts of the ‘new minimalist’ aesthetic – refined and seasonless – that consumers are looking for. And in a bizarre twist, it just so happens to be one of the biggest looks this season.”

 Thanks to Styloko.com