Recently, many women have asked me how to mix new pieces with their current wardrobe. Styling is a valuable skill to learn, as it can help you save a lot of money.
Often we buy pieces and do not think about the different ways we could wear them. Sometimes we end up wearing them once and they move to the closet cemetery. When you prepare to buy an item for your wardrobe, don’t buy on impulse. This leads to a lot of “pieces” in your closet; however, not many outfits. Next time you find an item that you absolutely love, picture styling it 3 different ways with existing items in your closet. If you cannot think of 3 ways to wear it, I suggest holding off.
How do you learn how to style? This is how I would simplify the process. Ensure you have the correct core pieces in your wardrobe to begin with. These are going to be your staples that will mix and match with many different looks. When you don’t have these items, you end up buying more separate pieces and may only have one outfit option.
Some examples of core pieces would be a white and black t-shirt, straight-leg denim jeans, a denim jacket, a black blazer, a black and white button-up, a pair of fashionable sneakers, flats, heels (kitten if preferred), a beige handbag, and a black handbag. How many of these do you currently own? If you are slim on the essentials, I would pause on buying anything else until you have these established.
To give you an idea of how this system works, I have used 2 trendy items for the Fall/Winter season: a leopard satin skirt and an oversized leather bomber jacket. Using these pieces, I have created examples of 6 different looks with each.
Beginning with the satin leopard skirt—this could be a challenging skirt for many to style 3 ways, but if you have the key pieces in your wardrobe, it might not be as difficult as you think.
Next challenge – how many different looks can you create with only these items? Here are an additional three looks.
Lets do another styling exercise using the oversized leather bomber jacket.
How many looks can you create with these wardrobe staples? Here are three more to get you started.
This is the formula and I guarantee you will spend less using this technique. Another great practice is snapping a photo of items you have in your existing wardrobe and pulling outfits together on a styling rack or take photos and lay out as I have above. I have a styling rack in my bedroom for pulling different looks together for myself and for the boutique.
This is the rack I use —it’s simple, has aesthetic appeal, and has a bottom shelf for shoes. Click on photo to shop rack.
Owning my online boutique – everestroseboutique.com, has me approaching what I purchase for the store in the same way. How can I mix core pieces for the store and add in some unique pieces, in turn creating an easy shopping experience for my customers? This is not an idea I started with initially; it is something that has developed as I continue to evolve the boutique.
Let me know your thoughts on this article and if there are any styling questions you have that I may not have answered.
Xoxo,
Jenn
