A couple of days ago, I was wearing this Sister Jane skirt that I have had for almost ten years and I received a compliment from a stranger. In fact, I receive a compliment almost every single time I wear this item of clothing. I am not saying this to brag about the number of compliments I get, but to make a point about a certain kind of piece. Let’s call it The (unlikely) Hero Piece.

I do not want to go on another of my rants against capsule wardrobes (and for the record, capsules absolutely have their uses), but The Hero Piece is kind of the exact opposite of the capsule wardrobe. First, it is of course an individual item and must be able to generate impact on it’s own, not just as a part of a carefully curated ensemble. Second, it is usually not trendy or part of a specific aesthetic*. And third, it is often somewhat random and not necessarily a considered investment piece that slots perfectly into the rest of your wardrobe. It just works very well for you, for some reason. And you wear it to death.

That Sister Jane skirt is a case in point. I don’t think it has been exactly on trend at any point during these ten years I have worn it, but perhaps because of that, it has never felt entirely off-trend either. While I do own several caramel-coloured items and other things I can pair with it, it also stands apart in my wardrobe – it looks vaguely tweed-like (which is very me), but has an added disco vibe, including some glitter. It’s not even particularly good quality. I mean, it is sturdy, but it’s synthetic and quite scratchy – not something I would usually encourage people to invest in.

In fact, many of my hero pieces are cheap or cheap-ish. I think that Sister Jane skirt cost me perhaps 60 pounds? Then there is the H&M Balenciaga rip-off from six years ago that I would not even have tried on if the PR-person hadn’t convinced me (since then, I have worn this dress every season, every year, although it fits a bit tighter these days). There’s another H&M dress, this one white, that I wasn’t originally sure about, but still wear regularly. And a white fake leather pencil skirt from Zara that I wore so much that it literally fell apart: it developed cracks in the material, due to the fact that it was made of some very nasty hydrocarbons. I have bought several better-quality, real leather pencil skirts since then and nothing has come close. Nothing.

This doesn’t mean that the hero piece has to be cheap or bad quality, it may even be a considered purchase and fit your style – as is the case with the Alex Perry dress on these photos. To my mind, it still fits the bill though, as I never expected to wear it as much as I do. Despite the bare shoulders, tight fit and bright colour, I find it compulsively wearable. I wear it to the office, I wear it to events, I wore it to my birthday party. I think it’s mostly the colour, it simply works for me on its own and combines surprisingly well – it works with white, beiges and browns, reds and even yellow. I have worn it for a year and a half every chance I get and 100% expect to continue wearing it for at least a decade.

If this story has a moral, it’s not to go out and buy strange, bad-quality clothes on purpose. It is to remind us that what we sincerely like and wear doesn’t always fit a neat formula. We may think that the rational thing to do is to buy that neutral blazer or classic striped top or whatever it is we see as ‘our style’. It is, however, also a good idea to leave a bit of room for the unexpected. It may be exactly what you need.

One dress, skirt, coat or pair of pants can do more heavy lifting than half of your wardrobe, if it’s something you truly love. Do not worry if it does not fit your ‘three style words’. Do not care if it’s not your usual colour palette. Do not give a shit if it doesn’t go perfectly with everything else in your wardrobe. You only wear one outfit at a time. And if you wear your hero piece, the compliments will come**.

*Capsule wardrobes aren’t in theory trendy either, but they tend to follow a very specific aesthetic (which one could argue is a macro trend in itself). And even when they do not, the idea of the capsule is one of stylistic coherence. 

**We shouldn’t really care about compliments either, but they are nice and I wanted to bring the post full circle, so here we go.

Dress by Alex Perry, shoes by Prada (very old by now). Make-up by Erle Taklai, hair by Natallia at Helen Heinroos Hair and images by Laura Nestor.