So, what are fashion investment pieces anyway?

Fast fashion has its pros and its place. It’s affordable, trendy and will probably last a season. Maybe two. But fashion investment pieces will remain in your wardrobe for years to come, they’re easy to style together or with temporary trend pieces and they help you to look chic oh-so effortlessly.

So, what are fashion investment pieces? We’re talking that tailored blazer you always reach for to elevate your style – be it for work, date night or even to smarten up your workout wear to pop to the shops. The white shirt you know you can rely on to feel polished. Or, the black blouse that will give an edge to any all-black outfit. Put simply, they’re your wardrobe staples: The building blocks of your capsule collection.

The idea is, once you have a core collection of these outfit-enhancing pieces, getting dressed for any occasion becomes so much easier. Consider an outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. Now, think of adding a blazer to this look – it just adds an element of polish which would allow you to go from casual to considered in an instant. This is why we here at The Piebald Boutique do the hard work by finding these pieces for you so it makes curating your wardrobe with these outfit-enhancing pieces so much easier.

Investment pieces are often – but not always – a little more pricey upfront, but their price-per-wear is far, far less. They’re timeless in two senses of the word: They’re good quality – so they’ll stand the test of time – and, they’re those pieces that never go out of trend – so they’ll always be fashionable.

We’re not suggesting you don’t buy fast fashion, we’re simply encouraging you to build a core capsule collection of timeless, versatile and polished pieces to make getting dressed and looking effortlessly chic easier.

The Piebald’s founder, Daniella, shares the five building blocks of her capsule wardrobe which you can shop in the Boutique:

1. Oversized tailored blazer

A tailored blazer has been in women’s wardrobes since the 1800s, so it definitely meets the requirements of an investment piece. First worn by women in 1889 when the members of the Lady Margaret Boat Club coined the name ‘blazer’ for their red club jackets, this piece is somewhat of a power piece.

By the 1940s, oversized blazers with boxy fits, longer hemlines and rounded collars became popular, and they’ve been a staple in wardrobes and on runways ever since. In fact, this year, Vogue editors have said, ‘A boxy blazer is the ultimate autumn fashion staple.’ And, as it can be worn all year, it goes to show, it’s a worthwhile investment for your wardrobe.

The slouchy-but-polished silhouettes that tailored oversized blazers give make them so versatile … they’re formal enough to wear at work but chic enough for date night. This is why we designed the Tailored Oversized Blazer (pictured below) for The Piebald Boutique.

ALSO READ: Elevate your street style with a blazer

2. White shirt

A white shirt can instantly make you look preppy … even if you’re wearing denim (as pictured below).

It’s the type of shirt you can depend on to feel polished and well-presented for a business meeting, and, at the same time, it’s one you can reach for when the invite says ‘smart-casual’ and you’re not really sure how dressed up or down you should look.

ALSO READ… White shirt outfits: The casual edit

ALSO READ: Styling a white shirt: The workwear edit

3. Pleated trousers

A pair of pleated trousers is an anchor of your work wardrobe and will instantly make you look – and feel – ready to march into the boardroom to win a deal. You can just as easily pair them with a plain T-shirt for a more casual, on-the-go look.

You’ll find the pair pictured below in The Piebald Boutique … they were handwoven by artisans in Bengaluru (Bangladesh) in India and they’re a great example of the slow fashion pieces we curate in our Fashion Boutique.

Handweaving is an eco-friendly, non-mechanised way of producing softly-textured handloom fabrics which are durable – so they should last in your wardrobe for years to come. Like these trousers, many of the handwoven products selected by The Piebald Boutique were made in India which is believed to produce 95% of the world’s handwoven fabric. This craft in India is 2000 years old and provides employment to more than 43 million people in the country.

ALSO READ: The ins and outs of handwoven fashion

4. Black blouse

A chic black blouse is a handy piece to turn to when a formal invite creeps up. You could pair it with a pleated or pencil skirt for the office, black jeans or trousers for an all-black evening look or denim jeans for a smart-casual style.

The Piebald Boutique has two lovely black blouses which are perfect investment pieces. The first is a hand-stitched one-shoulder puff sleeve with a tie-up to cinch in the waist (below left) – R899 – and the second is a handwoven puff-sleeve blouse (below right) – R799. Both were made in India and imported by The Piebald Boutique. For both of these blouses, we stock sizes XS to XL, and shipping is free in South Africa.

ALSO READ: How to style a puff-sleeve blouse

5. Pleated skirt

With so many ways to style it, from casual to elegantly formal, a pleated skirt is a wonderful piece to dress up or down.

For an elevated casual look, think of layering a chunky knit over it and pulling on some bold boots instead of wearing jeans. It’s also a wonderfully tailored piece to wear for a special date night or even a wedding guest look – think of pairing it with a pretty bodysuit and a blazer with some strappy heels (this look is pictured below).

The handwoven pleated skirt in The Piebald Boutique has a V-shaped hemline and is black and white which makes it look interesting, so it doesn’t take a lot to style it.

Tell us what your favourite capsule collection pieces are
by emailing boutique@thepiebald.com and we’ll send you something to say thank you.