Hi guys,
I talk to clients who feel like they’re just not sure which way to turn or in which particular direction they want to take their personal style in. They can be clients who may know exactly how to dress to impress in the office, or for their virtual meetings. However, they have no idea how to maximise their body shape or dress for comfort during their downtime, whilst still looking fresh, vibrant and stylish. I also talk to a lot of clients who, after finally feeling the freedom post-COVID-19 lockdown, have either lost or gained some weight and would like to embrace their new shape and build a gorgeous, re-wearable wardrobe that helps them to feel and look at their most confident.
Fundamentally though, one of the most common issues my lovely clients face on a daily basis is: what to do with these pieces that they’ve fallen in love with, purchased, which can ultimately get stuck in the wardrobe, often never to be worn? They are often actually purchasing items fully knowing there’s a 50/50 chance whether that impulsive, investment buy will actually see the outside of the house or not. (We’ve all been there, am I right?) So, a very common problem arises from this situation, and the questions we often ask ourselves is; How exactly can I style my clothes? Which pieces look best with my other favourites? How exactly can I build my outfit?
Well, the good news is that I’m going to share with you how I’ve been building outfits successfully for years and more good news, these are easy steps that can be related to almost any personal style or wardrobe.
I also believe that there is no one hero technique to outfit planning (and these particular steps may not be for everyone), but it’s been my absolute tried and tested technique and it has helped me de-mystify part of the personal styling process for many of my clients.
For me, there are 4 main ways to plan and style your favourite pieces in a simple and stress-free way –
- Outfit building around a statement piece
- Outfit building for an everyday casual/chic or ‘high/low’ look
- Outfit building around your mood
- Outfit building around your footwear
1: Outfit Building Around A Statement Piece:
This is one of my favourite ways to style a look, because here you’ve already decided which garment or accessory is going to be the attention grabber or the ‘elevated’ piece that will do all the talking. With the statement piece, you are adding to your look a mixture of neutral items or which I prefer to call ‘basic’ pieces, that will only help to highlight the statement piece and not compete with it – thus keeping your outfit balanced and workable.
Have a look at my styling examples below:
2: Outfit Building For A Casual/Chic Look:
This is a very simple way to take your everyday capsule wardrobe and create all of the ways you can mix things up. Remember, a capsule wardrobe should consist of carefully chosen elements that you love, that will be a flattering mix of basic and elevated pieces that will become your season to season go-to pieces.
Here it’s a simple, formulaic technique of knowing what your basics and what your elevated pieces are. For me, an elevated piece in any look is the one piece that ‘clinches’ the look together, or adds that glamorous finishing touch, an element that is bold, that grabs a little attention.
Have a look at my styling example below of a small section of a simple, capsule wardrobe to illustrate this point:
3: Outfit Building Around Your Mood:
This way of outfit building can really put into play our understanding of the power of colour and the impact certain colours have on us both consciously and subconsciously. At certain times of the day or even our year, we might find that we are drawn to certain colours more than others. When we think of springtime and high summer, we will often associate this with the brighter elements of our wardrobe, the colours that will energise us and brighten our moods – and this is no coincidence.
When you’re feeling confident within yourself, energetic and positive, this can be one of the easiest times to outfit build! This is the perfect time to consider colour blocking your boldest, more colourful prints and pieces together if you haven’t already. When you are feeling this way, start outfit building with colours from your ‘wow’ colour palette and make sure you’re wearing them as close as possible to your face, as this will make your inherent skin tone appear youthful and vibrant.
So, if your ‘wow’ colours are from the warm, sanguine Spring palette like the below example, think about building your outfit in a way that blocks or clashes the colour together for an effortless, yet impactful look!
To discover how to fully identify and introduce your ‘wow’ colours into your wardrobe successfully through an in-depth Colour Analysis, click the link here to my find out more about how my In-Person Wardrobe Edit styling service can help you.
4: Outfit Building Around Your Footwear:
Probably my favourite way to outfit build and the one most personal to me. This is a handy way to easily put your outfit together if you happen to be an absolute shoe addict (or a recovering one like myself!). I went through a period during my early twenties of collecting killer heels – stiletto, chunky, round toe, pointed – you name them, I had them! So, for elevated evening looks, it became easier for me to decide on which pair I would like to wear first to start planning my outfit!
By deciding on the style, design or colour of the shoes I wanted to wear first, I immediately reduced which pieces I could wear with them, as I knew there were certain styles that just would work better with them and vice versa.
For instance, when wearing a chunkier heel, in order to create a more balanced silhouette, I would look at softer lines and textures on my bottom half so that my bottom half would not look weighed down as a whole with the chunkier heel. Conversely, with a pair of tonal nude, pointed courts, for example, they allow me to wear heavier textures and allow for more layering below the waistline.
Have a look at the below styling example:
I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
For more style inspiration on how to style your seasonal favourites and daily personal styling tips on outfit building, visit my Instagram page. Alternatively, you can look at the range of styling services that I offer online. I’m able to provide personal styling sessions in and around London or I can provide virtual styling for clients around the UK.
