Back To Basics

No doubt you’ve already got a fair amount of ‘basics’ in your wardrobe. Plain T-shirts, jumpers, Oxford shirts, chinos, underwear… true, they’re not as exciting to buy as a limited edition pair of trainers or something emblazoned with a flashy print, but they’re definitely the items you’ll wear the most and get the best cost-per-wear from.

Some people might baulk at the notion of spending £80 on a T-shirt or dropping £100 on a belt, but if a piece helps to form the backbone of your wardrobe, is scrimping really saving you money in the long run?

With this in mind, we’ve picked out ten modern day ‘hero’ basics – unfussy in their design, unrivalled in their quality, and guaranteed to deliver a great ROI.

1. The White T-shirt

Image: Sunspel 2014

In these relaxed times, there’s weight to the argument that a white T-shirt is even more important than a white shirt. And while budget versions might cut it, for a true wardrobe hero, Sunspel’s Egyptian cotton and Sea Island cotton T-shirts are – if you’ve never tried them before – in a totally different league to anything you will find on the high street.

“The Sunspel philosophy is to make exceptional, everyday clothing from beautiful fabrics,” says the brand’s CEO, Nicholas Brooke. “We use a very specific Egyptian cotton called Q82 in our T-shirts – something that’s unique to Sunspel. Two threads of the finest staple, 80s count cotton are twisted together to create a strong, smooth, extremely fine cotton thread that is incredibly robust.”

At the designer end of the spectrum, progressive brands like Rick Owens, Maison Margiela and Damir Doma specialize in fashion-forward cuts and featherweight tees that are ideal for layering, while Jil Sander’s mercerized cotton T-shirts have that solid, crisp feel that runs throughout the label’s collections, but at a price that won’t burn holes through your wallet.