Karla Welch’s 8 Wardrobe Essentials for Every Closet

Karla Welch is a Los Angeles–based celebrity stylist and entrepreneur who made her mark on the fashion world in 2011 when she began working with singer Justin Bieber. Since then, her client roster has expanded to include celebrities such as Olivia Wilde, Sarah Paulson, Amy Poehler, Zooey Deschanel, and Cindy Crawford and major brands like Nike, Adidas, and Louis Vuitton. She founded and created her clothing brand xKarla with collaborators Hanes and Levi’s and has worked with prominent designers on celebrity gowns for the Met Gala and the Academy Awards.

Wardrobe essentials (sometimes referred to as a capsule wardrobe) refer to a few well-chosen items of clothing that you can mix and match to create dozens of outfit ideas. “Generally, it’s about eight to ten pieces,” Karla says. “I have seven pieces in my own wardrobe that I go to time and time again. They’re universal. They’re accessible at any budget.”

The importance of wardrobe staples lies in having classic options that reflect your personal style while delivering a versatility that makes it easy to create a new look every day.

“The goal of wardrobe essentials is to not only help establish your own style. It’s to create a capsule that you can wear anywhere. You can wear it to work. You can make a quick change and go out to dinner. You can travel in it. You can pretty much do anything.” — Karla Welch

1. Blazer
“One of the very most important pieces to me is a blazer,” Karla says, who believes a blazer’s value as a wardrobe staple lies in its adaptability. “I’ll wear it with sweatpants. I wear it with jeans. I wear it with a white T-shirt. I’ll put a great button-up underneath it. It’s a really universal piece that kind of pulls a look all together.”

2. Button-Up Shirt
“An essential part of my wardrobe is also just a classic button-up,” Karla says. You can wear a button-up shirt under a cardigan or crew neck sweater and choose a bright or neutral color depending on your preference.

White button-down shirts go with almost anything. “I love an oversized one,” Karla says. “I love wearing it with trousers. Or it would be tucked into my skirt. I roll the sleeves up.”

3. Dress
It doesn’t matter whether you choose a slip dress, a pleated midi dress, or a classic little black dress, as long as you love the way it looks on you. “I love a dress to be so easy that you zip it on and you feel amazing. And those, for me, happen to be vintage dresses,” Karla says.

Karla advises wearing your essential dress beyond special occasions. “I think the key with finding a dress is just something that gives you that feeling . . . that you feel great in,” she says. “And then keep it and wear it. Wear it like it’s a pair of blue jeans.”

4. Jacket
Find a jacket that reflects your style, whether it’s a leather jacket, a denim jacket, a wool coat, a trench coat, a puffer jacket, or any other type of coat you love. “I love a statement jacket,” Karla says. “This jacket that I’ve had for years has fringe. You put it over anything and your look is complete.”

“That’s the trick of a jacket. It completes any look and it makes you very well put together.” — Karla Welch

5. Jeans
Choose a quality pair of jeans that suits your body type, whether high-waist, low-waist, straight-leg jeans or skinny jeans. “We live in our blue jeans,” Karla says. “Explore a bit. Because I definitely change the jeans I wear. I move from skinny to really oversized.”

You can wear jeans with white sneakers, loafers, boots, or ballet flats, but mainly you should feel good wearing them. She adds: “I think something about a jean is when you put it on, you know how it feels. That’s the only answer you need. Do I feel great? If you do, then wear the jean.”

6. Personal Accessory
“I don’t really talk about accessories, shoes, hats, purses. Because I think those are really personal touches,” Karla says. Unlike her classic wardrobe essential suggestions, she believes accessories can reflect current trends.

“I love a personal piece of jewelry that maybe you might wear all the time,” Karla says. “If you love wearing a hat, well, then put a hat on. And I think that’s a great way to also incorporate trends. Like, a baseball hat with your trench coat and your white T-shirt. Or your suit. That I leave up to you to figure out for yourself. And to have fun with.”

7. Suit
Karla believes a suit is an essential item for any wardrobe because you can wear it as a full suit or in pieces. “What I really, really love is a full suit,” Karla says. “But what I also love about a great suit is you break it up. You can wear your blazer over a dress. You can wear the pants just with a tank top in the summer and a cute pair of shoes.”

Karla advises that the cost of a suit is well worth the amount of use you’ll get out of it. “If you find a shape that really works on your body, it’s gonna last you a long time,” she says. “It’s an investment piece.”

8. White T-shirt
A crisp crew neck white tee complements almost any look, from jeans to joggers to a pencil skirt. “It’s just a basic affordable white T-shirt,” Karla says. “I use this as a layering piece for everything.”

“The most essential part of a wardrobe and everything that I base all these pieces on is the most democratic pieces of clothing that exist in the world: A pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt.” — Karla Welch

Developing your fashion taste can go a long way toward building your confidence and helping you feel comfortable in your own skin. Discover Karla Welch’s approach to becoming a fashion stylist, building wardrobe essentials, and finding your personal style when you sign up for a MasterClass Annual Membership.