There are roughly 180 days of school, and during those days, it can be quite challenging to come up with outfits for every single day of the week. Waking up at 6 a.m. is hard enough as it is, rushing through morning routines because of the struggles of not having any outfits to wear can be overwhelming. To minimize your stress over this situation, here are a few guides to the best clothing staples for school.

What to avoid and what to look for
When it comes to shopping for school, it’s best to avoid patterns and extremely bright colors. Most patterns stem from trends, and everyone knows trends do not last forever. After purchasing a pattern or neon colored piece of clothing, it only takes a few days for it to end up in the back of the closet. Instead of patterns and bright colors, try looking for timeless pieces. Timeless pieces are clothes that can be worn any time of the year, which often includes a classic pair of jeans and simplistic tops.

Pants
For bottoms, it’s good to have a comfortable pair of black jeans, white jeans and blue jeans. You can never go wrong with these three pairs of jeans as they will match with 90% of your closet. When looking for jeans, try straight leg jeans or wide leg jeans because they’re the most versatile styles. Or, for those days when feeling under the blue, black flare leggings or gray sweatpants are the way to go.

Tops
Many students make the decision of buying tops with letters or graphics in general. Letterings and graphics on tops can be quite distracting, and often, they can only be paired with one type of bottom that matches the lettering or graphic of that top. For this particular reason, it’s best to avoid them. It’s okay to have a few graphic tops, but a closet should never be full of them. Instead, try gravitating towards simplistic tops with basic colors such as white, black and beige. These colors are very easy to pair with any bottoms.

Outerwear
Most of the time, the school air can get a bit chilly. For those times, cozy cardigans are a necessity. But, one of the most underrated staple pieces of clothing is a poplin shirt. A poplin shirt can make someone feel mature and put together. It’s like a cardigan except it’s more airy and light. You can style it the same as a cardigan with a white tank underneath it. A comfortable sweatshirt or hoodie is also a must-have for those lazy days when you just want to throw something on and call it a day.

Items to upgrade your wardrobe
While it’s good to have many basics in one’s wardrobe, there will be days where it’s just too simple or not fancy enough. Some ways to enhance outfits are cargos, pastel cardigans and camisole tops. Cargos give off an effortless look that is charismatic, and pastel cardigans just add a hint of a fun color but are also easy on the eyes, unlike neons. Camisole tops under cardigans are always a go-to item as they’re so flattering.