In this post I’ll be sharing 4 outfit ideas and styling tips to help you easily pull together an outfit for any occasion.
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As I pulled these looks together, I noticed there is somewhat of a method to my styling process that I thought might be helpful to share. Of course, fashion and style are meant to be totally personal, subjective… and FUN. So these tips are meant to be taken with a grain of salt, but may be helpful if you’re feeling stuck in a style rut or looking at your fully-loaded closet like: I’ve got nothing to wear.
Small disclaimer: I am not a stylist or fashion expert. I do not claim to know it all when it comes to putting an outfit together. However, I do have over 10+ years of experience working in retail and the fashion industry (from product development to visual merchandising), plus a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design 😉 so… I’d say I have a slightly trained eye for this type of thing.
Let’s dive in.
Styling Tip 1 – Monochromatic Looks
This first tip is my go-to whenever I am feeling uninspired or seriously have NO idea what to wear. Depending on the occasion, this can be applied to casual or more dressed-up looks. I love how easy and straight to the point this is: pick a color.
A monochromatic look from head to toe can be a bold statement (especially when it’s a bright color), but you can also tone it down by wearing a neutral color, or even all black. Who doesn’t love wearing all black?!
The goal is to really commit as much as possible. Include jewelry, handbags, and other accessories to really drive in the point that the whole look is meant to be monochromatic on purpose.
A bonus tip to add on: you can also play with different shades of a single color and get a similar effect. I love mixing shades of blues with denim on denim, or combining different tones of browns with athleisure.
And my general rule of thumb, if I don’t have a piece to rock in the chosen color, complete the look with a black/neutral item, and it kind of acts as a supporting character while keeping the colored pieces the true stars of the show. (example: the black purse in my all RED look shown above)
SHOP THE LOOK with similar items:
Styling Tip 2 – Multifunctional Pieces
I love thinking outside the box. Especially when it comes to accessories. A scarf is never JUST a scarf, friends.
This style tip may not work for everyone, but my go-to hack is to wear scarves as tops. There are just endless ways to tie a scarf top. (Click here for an entire post on different ways to tie a scarf!) and with so many different sizes, prints, and fabrics, there’s probably a scarf out there that fits right into your wardrobe and personal style. You most likely already have one in your collection.
Sometimes, taking a piece of clothing or accessories and completely changing its functionality, is all you need to get out of a style rut or that feeling that you’re just bored of everything in your closet.
Here are some other things in my wardrobe that I often style in unexpected ways:
– maxi skirts worn as strapless dresses
– cardigans or low cut tops worn backwards
– button-down shirts worn off the shoulder and tied at the waist
– silk scarves or headbands worn as belts
– oversized sweaters worn as dresses
– purse chains/handles worn as necklaces or bracelets (this one takes a bit of DIY-ing)
SHOP THE LOOK with similar items:
Styling Tip 3 – Creating Balance
When it comes to creating balance with styling an outfit, I typically refer to 3 things: the amount of skin showing, the silhouette, and/or the texture of the fabric.
As I put an outfit together, I like to balance out the amount of skin showing on the upper and lower halves of my body. If I wear a mini skirt and show a lot of leg, then I’ll usually balance the look with a long-sleeved top, sweater, or at the very least, as shown in the example above, a more modest top that doesn’t show off cleavage. (This is just my personal preference, there’s zero shame in showing skin!) The opposite applies to outfits where the bottom half is fully covered. If I’m wearing a pair of high-waisted flowy pants, I like to wear a crop top or sleeveless option on top.
This also applies to silhouette: baggy on the bottom, form-fitted on the top… and vice versa.
The texture/fabric method of creating balance is a little more nit-picky, and maybe something you haven’t heard of before. Balancing texture/fabric is more about the details. This tends to come into play with accessories and shoes. It doesn’t have to be as obvious or over the top as my example shown above, but it does make a big difference. It’s that thing that nobody notices but will pull everything together into a “styled” outfit. My favorite way to use this tip is to combine items in your look that have similar materials such as suede, leather, feathers, crystals, or even smaller details like a chain purse strap and a chunky chain necklace that have similar finishes.
SHOP THE LOOK with similar items:
Styling Tip 4 – Going off a VIBE
WTF is a vibe? Literally just a general feeling of the outfit. I debated including this last tip, truthfully because it’s kind of hard to explain. Let’s just embrace the woo-woo for a second. Do you ever just want to embody a feeling, put off a certain energy, just… be a vibe?! Maybe you want to be super approachable, or you don’t want a single soul to even notice you? Whatever the vibe is, just dive in. The way you dress is 100% a form of self expression, and there’s no way we feel the same exact way every single day.
For a while I was insecure about my personal style because I thought it was alllllll over the place. I didn’t fit into one single box: preppy, tomboy, girly, etc. I kind of like a little bit of everything, and there’s just a different VIBE for each day and occasion. When I embraced just dressing with whatever vibe I was feeling that day, I grew more confident in my styling choices.
SHOP THE LOOK with similar items:
Hope you took away a few ideas and tips for how to style an outfit and get the most use out of your wardrobe.
Again, fashion + style are so personal and subjective. I hope you don’t take it too seriously, and at the end of the day, just wear whatever you effing want!
For more styling tips, check out my latest post all about styling menswear-inspired trousers! And if you’re into thrifting (hello, you are my kind of people!) be sure to check out my ultimate guide to thrifting here!
Xx Laura
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