

Around the holidays we headed north to my hometown in the Texas panhandle to visit my family. The drive is a long one across the state, but it’s not one I mind as we watch the landscape change from green hill country to golden flat plains stretching to the horizon. We were lucky to get mild and sunny weather during our trip, and with grandparents eager to take our tot from us, we had time on our hands and a landscape to explore.



Our first day took us to the edge of town off-roading into the canyons for some beautiful vistas. I remember driving in these canyons with my dad as a kid and it’s something Blake always wants to do when we’re there. I’d packed accordingly with casual clothes planned for the trip, and it had me thinking about the core items of my winter wardrobe that allow me to easily create casual winter outfits all season. Those items are: a few versatile coats, two or three styles of jeans, and three or more winter appropriate shoes. By having a few of these three items, it’s easy to mix and match them to create a variety of casual outfits.



One of my winter shoes I wear often are these Hunter Chelsea boots. For exploring the canyons, they were the obvious choice knowing we’d be in grassy and rocky terrain. They kept my ankles from getting poked and the thick rubber would’ve given me protection if we’d come across any critters that bite. If you need any more reasons why you should have a pair of these boots, I talked about why and how often I wear them in this post. Other staple winter shoes I have are these block-heeled boots I’ve worn in the snow before, as well as some cute sneakers, like classic Keds or these Vans I just bought.



As for jeans, these vintage fit babies from Madewell are by far my favorite style I wear over and over. I have them in two sizes; other styles I rotate in my winter outfits are these Levi’s skinny jeans (as seen here), and I just bought this pair of wide leg crop jeans that I’m loving to wear with sweaters on the warmer days.



My last item essential for building a winter wardrobe is a selection of warm and versatile coats. No matter what’s underneath, your outfit will always be covered by a coat so it’s important to invest in having a variety of colors and styles! I often wear this oatmeal colored collarless coat from a couple years ago, because it’s neutral colored and a simple, casual fit. Other coats I wear often in the winter are my navy faux fur coat and my long sherpa coat.



Once you have a solid base of three or more coats, jeans, and shoes for winter, you can build a plethora of outfits with them. To complete this outfit, I wore a navy embroidered eyelet top, an oversized flannel scarf, my favorite pink sunnies, and burgundy crossbody bag, all things you’ve seen on the blog before. Tell me in the comments below which of these three items you could stand to invest in for your wardrobe this winter!
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