The 8 Pieces Missing From Your Closet That Will Dramatically Improve How You Dress After 40
Every single one passes the “does it spark joy?” test.
Image: James Devaney | Getty Images
If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission. Gifted items will be called out (gifted), and affiliate links will include an asterisk (*). We have to eat, after all.
by The Candidly Team
We are too old to be staring into a closet full of things we hate. Or if hate is to strong a word, things we feel nothing for.
Even when we can pluck out something singular we love, we find it very hard to match that something with the right top or bottom or shoe that makes it all come together.
It’s not that we don’t have clothes. We just don’t have THE clothes we actually look and feel our best in - the ones we’re relieved to put on.
Words like “cut” and “fit” sound vague and empty but they are the precise things that make a difference between an item of clothing being something we love and something we hate.
For instance, take this very simple outfit on Jennifer Aniston that happens to look incredible.
Image: James Devaney | Getty Images
And yes, we know she is THE Jennifer Aniston, which means she has THE Jennifer Aniston’s body. But each and every piece fits exactly as it should and is proportioned to perfection. And when we find these kind of pieces, we too, can achieve this kind of simple but killer street style.
We found 9 specific items of clothing that were missing from our closets that now fill such an enormous hole that we are changed because of them. Changgggged.
1. The Tank That Beautifully Frames Arms Shoulders And Chests
WHAT: J.Crew Perfect Rib Scoopneck Tank Top*
Why We Love It: Never underestimate the power of a perfect-fitting tank. Even if you hate your arms, your shoulders, your tum, this tank, with it’s scooped neck and skinny straps flatters every curve on our upper body. It balances with all the looser bottoms we love to wear and just looks very cool and Calvin Klein in the 90s.
Price: $26.50
2. The Classic Jeans That Always Fit
THE STRAIGHT-LEG: Good American Always Fits Good Legs Straight Jeans*
Why we love it: These jeans are a classic shape that looks gorj on everyone. They have a stretchy sorcery to them that we can’t explain, but it allows you to fluctuate between sizes and still fit in your jeans. Instead of one size, they come in a size range, and somehow they always fit beautifully, making us look more elongated and gazelle-like.
Price: $159
* Gifted
THE BOYFRIEND: Pistola Kacey Mid Rise Cuffed Boyfriend*
Why We Love It: If you prefer a wider leg, more boyfriend style, which we personally have been looking for ever since we saw the above Jen An outfit in 2011, these jeans are a dream.
Price: $188
3. The Crossbody Bag That Creates A Look By Itself
THE STEAL: Quince Revive Nylon Foldover Crossbody*
Why we love it: Crossbody’s are more comfortable and they have the benefit of becoming part of your outfit, not just dngling off to the side. The foldover shape and gold zipper make it so chic, sort of a sporty dupe for Jen’s famous Tom Ford bag, pictured at the start of this article.
Price: $70
THE SPLURGE: Clare V. Moyen Messenger*
Why We Love It: This is the bag we tell all our friends and relative to buy. More than one of us has asked for two different colors for separate Christmases, because frankly, it is the best bag we’ve ever owned and the only one we want to carry most days.
Price: $445
4. The Truly Perfect White Tee
WHAT: Z Supply Modern Slub Tee*
Why We Love It: We’re always looking for a whispery soft white tee that doesn’t look schlumpy and make us look like boring boxes but also doesn’t inexplicably cost $98. This one is just the right length to look polished and cool whether tucked or untucked, and it’s also the magic length that for some reason, makes our waists look smaller.
Here it is tucked for reference:
* Gifted
Price: $39
5. The Only Blazer That That Turns You Into An Hourglass
WHAT: Aritzia Standout Blazer*
Why We Love It: Blazers are such a useful layering piece that makes us look polished and chic when we’re just in dumb jeans. But some of them are so boxy and blah and stiff and constricting in the arms that we hate wearing them. This one is something entirely different. The shape curves in at the waist, skimming your curves to give you gorgeous shape. And even though we think every woman needs to own it in black, it does come in other colors.
Price: $248
6. The Comfy Shoe That’s Also Fashion
WHAT: Vivaia Margot™ Square-Toe Mary Janes*
Why We Love It: Chanel did it first, made a cap-toe Mary Jane the chicest thing to ever complete an outfit. But we, along with our street-style icon, Katie Holmes, are just as happy in these surreally comfortable, breathable flats from Vivaia as wearing anything designer. For one thing, their entire goal is comfort and cushioning and something they call an “herbal insole,” designed to soothe your feet with each step. Vivaia’s shoes are so blissful on our tired, achy feet, we forget they’re probably the cutest part of our outfit when we step out the door.
Price: $139
7. The Belt That Elevates Every Outfit
WHAT: Favorite Daughter The Jordan Belt*
Why We Love It: We wrote an entire article about this belt, because from the moment we bought it, we realized how it magically turned everything we wore into a Look instead of just clothes. White tees and jeans and date night outfits like these:
It just makes everything more put together and luxe-looking.
Price: $108
8. The Maxi Skirt That Makes You Instantly Command A Room
WHAT: Jenni Kayne Lauren Skirt*
Why We Love It: Our Editor-in-Chief, Audie, just wrote about how maxi skirts are her secret weapon for dressing more elegant and more youthful at the same time. (See her whole round up of her favorite maxi skirts with lots of photos HERE.) This is one of her favorites, because it goes with everything and can be dressed up or down. The elastic waist is bliss on days we’re feeling puffy and the soft poplin swishes over hips and thighs, while making legs look inches longer.
Here it is in action:
Price: $395
Bonus: The Extras
The Coin Necklace: Choosing a staple necklace that gives you a little more oomph is one of our favorite hacks for looking like we put in a little effort.
The Aviators: Makes any outfit 72% cooler.
The Silk Scarf: It turns dumb clothes into French lady outfits. And we wrote a whole thing about how to tie it HERE.
The Lip Liner: This is the most natural tool to ever make us look like we got lip filler.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
We have to eat.
