The office capsule: ten pieces for two weeks

In the morning we are not short of clothes; we are short of obvious combinations. An office wardrobe that works is no bigger than any other — it is built so that everything goes with everything, in three colours that answer each other. Here is ours, put together from the Bab el Bahr collection in ink, sand and blue.

The backbone: a suit that separates

It all starts with a suit whose jacket and trousers each have a life of their own as well: Amirauté suit. Together, it is the outfit for meetings that matter. Apart, the jacket goes over a dress and the trousers under a knit. Choose it in the darkest colour of your palette: that is the one that carries the others.

The blazer, shorter and softer, takes over on the days when the suit would look too serious: Phare blazer.

Two shirts, and why two are enough

A structured white shirt that tucks into trousers and holds its shape under a jacket: Arcades shirt. A softer pussy-bow blouse for meeting days, when you want a neckline that speaks instead of jewellery: Rade pussy-bow blouse. With two tops this different, each pair of trousers already changes character.

Two pairs of trousers, two lines

The cigarette trousers stop at the ankle and go with loafers: Bab Azzoun cigarette trousers. The pleated trousers are fuller and high-waisted, and take flats as readily as heels: Ressac pleated trousers. The first is the clean line, the second the line that moves. Alternate them and the same shirt makes two outfits.

A dress for the days you do not think

Some mornings you compose nothing. The wrap dress is made for them: it adjusts with a knot, goes under the blazer and on to dinner without a trip home: Houle wrap dress.

The four linking pieces

A light cardigan for the air-conditioning of Algiers offices, which is the coldest winter in the country: Écume cardigan. A tote that swallows a laptop, a file and a spare pair of shoes: Pêcherie tote. A silk square that changes a neckline in ten seconds: Bab el Bahr silk square. And a belt, which you most likely own already.

The arithmetic

Two tops on two pairs of trousers make four outfits; with the jacket or the blazer on top, eight; the dress alone and then under the blazer, ten. Add the full suit and the silk square and you are past two weeks without repeating a combination. This is not a magazine trick: it is what you already do with the clothes you love — only bought in the right order.