Ah, I'm glad to see this thread back in my feed cos I meant to reply to it! I feel as though I have achieved wardrobe nirvana recently and it's so beautiful!
I have a base core of items that fit into a carry-on that I can wear just about anywhere: a couple of cool modern-looking asymmetrical t-shirt dresses, skinny jeans, fancy black joggers, a black blazer, some simple knit tops, a couple really nice sweaters, leggings, and 3 pair of shoes (white adidas with black stripes, those black Clarks oxfords that Ms Peacock has, and black chacos sandals). Everything mixes and matches and can be dressed up or down and gosh, it's a really nice feeling to know I definitely have something cute and comfy to wear, wherever I need to go.
On one of the podcasts I listen to, the host was talking about how she likes to maintain a high "wardrobe GPA" in that almost everything in there is an A. The concept stuck with me and it's definitely keeping me from buying anything that would drag my GPA down.
Since I'm a larger lady (size 20) it's not always easy to hold out for the high GPA items. Until recently it's been a lot of shitty prints and gross polyesters and cold shoulders. WHY THE COLD SHOULDER, FASHION, STOP IT. But plus size clothes have taken a big step forward in the last few years. Right now I'm really into a company called Universal Standard. The clothes aren't cheap, nor are they designer-level expensive. They are simple, modern designs, well made of good fabrics, and that is 100% what I want. I've worn the t-shirt dresses I got from them dozens of times by now, and still look really great.