Let’s be honest! Most (If not all) of us cannot own a KARDASHIAN closet, yet the dream of strutting down the daily road in high fashion is a regular tease. However our reality has us actively frustrated by our clothes on a daily basis where most of us suffer from an unwearable, non-exciting wardrobe.
Fast fashion leaders like ZARA are further adding to this confusion with the allure of inexpensive clothes where we end up buying clothes without thinking.
Do you fashion these days consist of 52 micro seasons?
Resultantly, putting together an outfit is usually time consuming and disappointing task for many of us.
Thankfully it doesn’t have to be this way. There are habits and tricks that can be inculcated and adapted to give you fashion gratification with daily wearability.
Here are 10 tips for getting started.
1. One high quality item
Keep at least one high quality item in your ensemble. Look up any fashion icon you will see them pairing and rotating their most priced pieces be it a bag, shoe or a jacket (Alexa Chung carrying her Gucci bag with white shirt and basic shorts). The class that a quality item lends is an instant fashion scorer.
2. Versatility
While we would love endless options in our closet, our real lives run on a budget. Hence it becomes important to buy flexible fashion aka versatile outfits. Quiz each outfit on its wear-ability before buying. Determine if the outfit suits different occasions like work, casual hand-outs, dinners et cetera. Point to note is that versatility does NOT equals basics. A metallic shirt worn over a pair of office pants (or skirt) is formal fashion.
3. Eye out for non-basics basics
Us low-profiled fashionistas, mostly rely on basics to extract maximum wear from our wardrobe, with resultant side-effects of a miss plain Jane look. Way out? Add elements of high street fashion to zest up basics. Imagine a giant spaghetti (or crab) printed t-shirt. Such details add character to your everyday look and the duality of safety and edginess adds interest in daily attire.
4. Think accessories
Want to run with trends to be fashionably relevant but can’t afford a closet haul? #relatable
Go the accessory way. It’s cleverest (also the easiest and cheapest) way to sync with an ongoing trend. Shoes, bags, jewelry, scarves, eyewear, hair accessories, are all brilliant ways to add oodles of trending fashion to your daily life. Work with colors, shine and trends. It is probably why Rachel Zoe said, “Accessories are everything to me. To me, they are more important than the clothes’’
5. AM to PM
Everyday basics lack the glam and lustre of high fashion. Enter (only a little) skin show. Take it from Meghan Markle and note how she adds the Hollywood glam to the prissy royalty with open, tailored necklines. For all the busy bees out there, make such clothes your AM-PM outfit. BUT be subtle and appropriate. That is the key trick.
6. Hone the stylist in you
Having great clothes isn’t sufficient. To win fashion points you also need to be able to wear it right. Become your own stylist and train yourself with simple styling techniques to push up any outfit. Learn for example the different ways to knot a belt, drape a scarf or fold sleeves. These little details make a whole lot of difference in completing a look.
7. Up-cycling
We don’t necessarily have to buy more to look great. A creative make-over of your exciting clothes is a great wardrobe and style booster. Let your creative juices flow and re-dye that old white shirt in fuscia. Browse through pinterest for more cool inspiration. Also, lookup up-cycling maven, Gwenstella, for fun ideas on up-cycling.
8. Fun with make-up
An underrated fashion tool, MAKE-UP can instantly pep up your everyday uniform from boredom to stardom. Look up french make-up artist (also Estee Lauder Global Beauty Director) Violette Fr, for inspiration. Home girl Nur Syazana too offers great ideas to use makeup as a sartorial extension.
9. Revise the colour wheel
Pairing right colours is primary to an outfit’s success. Some of us are monochrome dressers and some bold with colours (the fashion gutsy). Irrespective if you don’t marry the colours well your outfit will be a bust. That’s why knowing the colour wheel becomes so important.
10. Patterns and Texture
Exploiting textile specifics will make you look like a fashion industry insider. Stripes, checkers, floral can instantly uplift your look. Similarly, faux leather (quality imp), corduroy, silk are some textures, you can have fun with.
We don’t have to buy more or follow the trends blindly to breathe in style into our daily lives. Just some simple, clever pointers, are all that’s needed for a fashion win.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi I'm Menka! I am from India.
In my happy place, I am making ayurvedic concoctions for beauty and wellness.
Notoriously, pinterest-ing fashion and decor. And, I love forests.
Let's connect on Instagram.