Introduction to Style: Fashion Basics

 

Okay, so yesterday we talked about hygiene/beauty stuff, and today we're going to talk about actual fashion.
 

Simple Clothing Tips

• Find someone in your life who has more experience with style than you do, and ask for her advice and opinions. I love having my mom as a mentor because she is totally honest if something doesn't work. She helps me cultivate my taste, which is one of the biggest parts of the whole fashion-thing.
• To avoid looking frumpy: be careful with accessories, sweaters/shawls, jeans, long skirts, and secondhand/vintage clothing. I like ALL of these things, as you could easily tell by going through my closet, but just know that they can be tricky. In a future post I plan to discuss how to stay on the chic side of these pieces.
• At first, stick with easy, mix-and-match basics. Concentrate on developing a wardrobe with easy-to-style pieces such as cute, quality tops, great-fitting jeans, and versatile flats. Dresses are also great because they instantly create an all-in-one outfit.
• Buy one complete, fabulous outfit that you know works and then use those pieces with the rest of your closet to create some great looks.
• Doing outfit posts has really helped me learn to style outfits better. If you're so inclined, you could start a blog or a little fashion journal to keep track of the outfits you make that you like. Just right it down, have someone take a picture, and keep it all organized. You might be able to track your improvement in a remarkable way.
• Follow the outfit checklist at the bottom of this post

Outfit Checklist

• Does it fit well?
• Is everything clean and in good shape? (i.e. no stains, relatively wrinkle-free, etc.)
• Do your top, bottoms, shoes, and accessories coordinate together?
• Are you comfortable?
• Do you feel good in these clothes? Do you think you'll feel good all day?

 

This is simple advice, not magic, but maybe it'll give you a little boost?! Let me know. And if you have questions I haven't answered, please ask them! The more specific would probably best.

Tomorrow I will have a post on wardrobe building :)

xoxo,
Ireland


P.S. This advice is obviously not necessary for survival, and you don't have to follow every single tip. When I say you "need" to do something it's probably only in terms of fashion. Anyway, just a reminder that while the way you look and how you dress is important, it is not everything, not even close.