Do a search for minimalist wardrobes, and you will come up with any number of lists, many of them even for men. What I haven’t been able to find, however, is one that really matches up with my own approach to office wardrobe, which is a suit and tie (or, at the least a sport coat and tie) every day. So based on what I have seen, I will attempt to lay out a very basic wardrobe for the working man, assuming the working man works in an office where suits are a common sight. If you don’t wear a suit routinely for work, then you will be better served by the aforementioned lists.
We will need to balance a number of factors to achieve a realistic number of items (because, while you *can* keep a single suit and a single shirt in your wardrobe, which is minimal after all, you might begin to look shabby after a very short time). The major factors are seasonal considerations, changing styles, durability of materials, and cleaning frequency and requirements. Additionally, we have to examine the non-work hours, because most of us are not willing to wear suits any more than we have to (even though we could).
In the days when men really *only* wore suits or some combination of suit-like items, there seem to have been known rules, such as never wear brown suits in the city, and gray is for traveling. We seem to have forgotten those now, but they do bear remembering, if we can drag them up.
Anyway, here’s my basic list. I will explain some of this below.
14 pair of underwear.
7 white undershirts.
6 pairs of white socks, for combined casual/athletic use. These are usually sold in packs of six pairs anyway.
1 navy blue (solid or lightly patterned) suit suitable for year-round wear. Two or three piece, as you prefer.
1 gray suit suitable for year-round wear. Again, use your preference for number of pieces.
8 long sleeve button-down dress shirts. Most of them should be solid white, and you should have at least one light blue shirt. Choose collar and sleeve types according to your personal tastes.
1 pair of Oxford style black leather shoes.
A small collection of silk neckties that will all match well with both suits.
9 pairs of black socks, with at least some of them solid color. They’re sold in packs of three most of the time.
1-2 belts (1 reversible OR 1 black and 1 brown) or 1 belt and 1 pair of suspenders (not to be worn together)
1 sport coat. You will occasionally need this.
1 short-sleeve polo style shirt. If you prefer polos over t-shirts, make it 5-6 and omit the casual t-shirts below.
1-2 pairs of khaki pants.
1 pair of khaki shorts (feel free to not have these at all…)
1 sweater that can work with khakis or jeans. Solid-colored v-necks work well here.
3-4 pairs of jeans.
4-6 casual t-shirts. Feel free to express yourself here 
1 pair of casual shoes, something durable and easy to walk in.
1 pair of athletic shorts
1 athletic shirt
1 athletic jacket
1 pair of athletic shoes
(Note that I’m not including athletic pants. You can if you like, but unless your winters are particularly cold, you probably won’t need them, even if it’s snowing outside.)
1 jacket or zip sweater that can pair with jeans or khakis.
1 overcoat, preferably at least somewhat rain repellent. Wool or cotton.
(Also, if you prefer, a less dressy version of the above.)
1 scarf, solid color.
1 pair of black winter gloves.
1 hat, if your style includes hats. Keep it black or gray if you intend to wear it with your work clothes, or brown if you don’t. If you really like hats, have one of each.
1 set of pajamas. Mostly you’ll want these for the winter time, but in case you also like to walk around the house with curtains open, your neighbors might appreciate them…
1 bath robe.
1 pair of slippers.
1 swimsuit. Pick a sensible color.
Recognizing that you will probably want something grungy to tool around, garden, or perform home repairs in, consider a single set of clothes you wouldn’t mind getting stained with paint or grease. If necessary, get an additional set of shoes or work boots for this purpose.
Picking items
You will notice from the list above that we’ve tried to consider what it takes to outfit a man in all seasons and routine occasions. For occasions outside the ordinary, like black or white tie affairs, you might just be better off renting than owning. If these kinds of things are routine, then you will want to own the items accordingly.
Now, the best rule for all weather wear is to remember that your outdoors exposure is fairly limited most of the time. (You work in an office, if you recall.) Your places of work, leisure, and such are quite likely to be climate controlled, which means you don’t really need, for instance, a closet full of winter-only shirts. Their presence in your wardrobe, while providing some comfort, means you’ll have nearly twice as many shirts as necessary. Similarly, unless it’s 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside every day, you just aren’t going to need a wardrobe full of shorts and golf shirts.
As for the rest, I recommend sticking with classic cuts and styles for most items, especially suits. Feel free to pick the jeans and t-shirts combinations that appeal to you most, but make sure to keep some more serious casual wear available. Solid colors are generally easiest to pair up with other things, so keep that in mind while you’re either picking new things or deciding what to keep.
Two more things. One: invest in the things you wear every day, especially those that concern your paycheck. Buy decent suits. They don’t have to be expensive suits, but in general, the more expensive they are, the longer they will last. Same with shoes. Buy yourself one good pair of black leather Oxford style shoes (plain, cap-toe, whatever), and expect to spend about $300. If you choose them wisely, you can refurbish them once in a while instead of replacing them every year or two. In this way they can last you a lifetime. For shirts, get the kind where you can feel the weight of them. If you can see through them, they are probably too thin. Two: remember to replace things that can’t be refurbished once they wear out or have become too stained to keep. This includes ties, which become stretched out over time and tend to collect hasty lunches or dirty fingerprints on them.
Wearing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it
I don’t personally consider such a guide complete unless we’ve talked about how to get the most out of your wardrobe, and that means keeping it in shape.
I have to say up front that I am no kind of purist when it comes to laundering, dry cleaning, professional pressing, and the like. Your best bet is to find the combination of these that works best for your schedule and your budget. The fact is, clothes deteriorate over time, no matter what approach you take, and you will eventually be faced with the necessity of replacing worn out items.
If you need any kind of advice on cleaning items, here’s my basic rule: clean things more frequently if they are in constant contact with the most odor producing parts of your body. For socks, underwear, and undershirts, that means wear them once and launder them. For shirts and pants, you can get away with far less frequent laundering if you are indeed wearing underclothes. I have my suits dry-cleaned about once every three months. In the intervening time, I iron the pants if necessary and clean up any spots as soon as I notice them. It is important that you have the pieces of the suit cleaned together to avoid mismatched discolorations. You want them to age at the same rate. I tend to wear my shirts more than once unless they are so badly wrinkled that they’ve passed beyond my meager ironing skills, or unless it was a particularly hot day (which you’ll see in the collar.) Twice is a good goal, balancing the damage done by laundering and pressing against the need for a crisp, clean look. I wear jeans at least twice, but t-shirts only once because I don’t wear undershirts with them. With athletic wear, the above suggests you’re going to re-wear the shirt and shorts. For me, that’s OK since I don’t sweat heavily. If you do, you will want to triple that set to keep from having to launder your workout clothes every other day. In all cases, pay attention to the cleaning instructions.
And that should do it. After reviewing this list, I know my own wardrobe is badly out of shape, and I will need to think seriously about what should stay and what should go. If you have your own suggestions of things I’ve missed, I would be interested to hear them.
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