This Is Our Favorite Brand For Elevated Basics. It’s Obvious, But Also ... Sort Of Not.
They’re back.
by The Candidly Team
For a while there, Madewell was … not very Madewell.
We’d walk into the store and be greeted with so many patterns that we’d walk right out.
But when they are on point, there’s no one doing elevated basics better. No one. Every piece has some kind of small, perfect detail that makes it more wearable, more comfortable, more chic. And of course, the jeans. We recently crowned them the best mid-range jeans on planet earth. Because they are. The fit is, simply, unmatched. The size range is unreal. They do a curvy line. A plus line. Tall and petite lengths. The stretch is otherworldly. Madewell is sort of what The Gap used to be … in 1994. Just the place you get your jeans and t-shirts and sweaters and belts, because they’re smartly priced and you know they do them better than anyone else. That’s Madewell now.
So without further ado, let’s look at some of our favorite classic, elevated basics that are available right now, styled into cute outfits to give you ideas if you’re sick of thinking about it.
1. The Greatest Baggy Jean Possibly Ever
We adore a baggy jean. But most of them make us look sloppy. Not this one. They’re like the jeans version of clean-girl makeup; effortless, crisp, understated. It doesn’t hurt that they’re the single most comfortable jeans we own. They come in curvy, tall, petite, and a variety of washes, all of which we own or are lusting after. But Madewell jeans tend to instantly go out of stock, so if you see your size, pounce.
We love it with this ribbed sweater which, incidentally, does terrific things for the boob, nips the waist, yet has an ample arm for any of our bat-wing comrades. (Us). And that big, wide neck is universally flattering.
Price: $148
2. Fine, these are the same jeans this time with a cuff!
This is excessive. We know. These are the same jeans as above but they also come in this hemmed cuff and we are sick with obsession. It’s a little bit “cool girl” and feels sliiiiightly like a trend, but it’s one we can get behind because it’s adorable and fun. We wear them as a Canadian tuxedo, and we make no apologies for it. Madewell also makes the best denim shirts and if you don’t own a denim shirt you must remedy this immediately because it literally looks good with everything.
Price: $100
3. The strangest, most comfortable t-shirt/sweatshirt hybrid we wear constantly now
Relaxed Long-Sleeve Raglan Tee
It’s like a super thin sweatshirt. Or a super thick t-shirt. But the shape is unreeeeeal. It hits perfectly at the upper hip so you can leave it untucked and still look polished. The sleeves are slightly balloon style so you can have some meat on your bones without feeling like a stuffed sausage. We do a little demi-tuck with it, fling on THESE boots and THESE jeans, and poof, we’re just wearing a t-shirt and jeans except we look put-together. Can you tell from the pose that we recently watched Best In Show? IYKYK.
Price: $88
4. The most flattering jeans for curves. Ever.
They. Just. Fit. The bit of bell shape at the ankle balances out the hips/thighs/butt, and the waist goes riiiiight up over the bum. Zero waist gap. They’re gloriously stretchy, they come in petite/tall/curvy/plus, and the only flaw we can find is that they sell out in seconds the minute they come back in stock.
Perhaps you’ll recognize this t-shirt-sweatshirt hybrid we paired them with, this time in red. And made sort of festive with multi-strand fake pearls and a little kitten heel which is our way of looking festive WHILE basically wearing house clothes, which is all we ever want to wear.
Here’s other versions of the kick out in various other outfits, so you can get the full picture of its flatteringness (not a word).
Price: $148
5. The cropped leather jacket we didn’t know we were missing but now it dominates our wardrobe
Shrunken Zip-Front Jacket in Leather
We can’t say for sure when this happened, but we do think of Madewell specifically for gorgeous leather goods. Gorgeous leather boots (like the ones in all the photos above), of course their famous bucket bag (which bizarrely we don’t own but really want) and…the perfect leather jacket. Yes, it’s an investment. But a perfectly cut leather jacket is one of those truly timeless pieces you have in your closet forever. It’s something you throw on and it turns anything you’re wearing into a full blown outfit with no effort. Exhibit A:
And yes. It’s cropped. We wrote a whoooole thing about how cropped things are actually more flattering HERE. This jacket hits us at the smallest part of our waist and makes even baggy jeans look crisp. Fine, yes, those are the same baggy jeans we wrote about above but in yet another wash. We are addicted. Sorry. Here’s a side angle of the jacket to show how polished a cropped jacket can be because we KNOW you’re skeptical.
Of course it comes in black, but the brown moved us.
Price: $498
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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