Part of understanding fashion is knowing how to throw together an outfit that’ll take you to uni, to the supermarket or out for a casual lunch. Paradoxically, this is often more difficult that picking out your dress for a black tie event: there is a real art to coordinating a relaxed ensemble. The line you need to walk is very fine; it’s easy to overbalance and end up in sweat pants or to fall in the other direction and land up wearing something inappropriately dressy. To help to keep you on the right track (and out of your tracksuit), I’ve put together this list 8 essential items for laid back style.

1. Jeans

Obviously, a great pair of jeans is absolutely essential here and it’s important that you pick out one that suits both your figure and the occasion. Contrary to popular belief, not all denims are equally informal: a pair of navy bootcuts is, for example, far ‘smarter’ than a made-to-fade boyfriend jean.