No matter what occasion I’m dressing for or what new trends or styles I want to try out, my main priority when getting dressed every morning is centered around comfort. There’s nothing worse than sitting at dinner with friends and your jeans are a little too tight around your waist and instead of enjoying appetizers to share, you’re constantly adjusting your waist band to make sure your figure still looks good. Over the past two years, I have really honed in my own personal style and what that looks like for me. Here are five go-to fashion rules that I incorporate into my daily dress.
1. Loose Jeans
The days of skinny jeans are frankly in the past. Why did my 14-year-old self exclusively have the tightest pairs of jeans that the stores offered? I honestly do not know. I could not imagine myself sliding on some skin-tight denim nowadays. Having a medium-wash, baggy pair of jeans that are a true ride-or-die pair will always be a must for me. I grab those ones the most frequently and can dress them up or dress them down. Even my nicer jeans are still on the looser side. Being able to sit, move, and breathe comfortably in my jeans are a no brainer. I recommend having a dark wash, medium to light wash, and a black pair and you will always find yourself gravitating to these core pieces.
2. Mixing Gold and Silver Jewelry
This fashion rule may have stemmed from a necklace that my best friend gave me that is on my neck every single day of my life. The chain is silver and the little embellishments on it are gold. I love this piece – strictly because it mixes the metals and allows me to switch out my daily jewelry. No more having to totally commit to all gold or all silver. This is an important rule to me because I’ve acquired different pieces of jewelry that range and I feel like no matter what, when I wear my mixed metal necklace, I am able to explore and if I want to wear silver earrings but flaunt chunky, gold rings that day, then it all still ties in together and compliments one another.
3. Never Tell Yourself That You’re Overdressed
Are you overdressed or do you just have a better style eye than most? If you want to wear a satin dress to work on a Tuesday, do it. An extravagant puffed sleeved top and leather pants to a Sunday coffee date with an old friend to catch up? Why not! I have always hated the stigma that comes around “I have to text so-and-so to see what they’re wearing tonight.” Wear what you feel like expresses your personality, flatters your body, and makes you feel confident walking out of the door in.
4. Play on Secondary and Tertiary Colors
I love mixing colors that seem a bit odd at first thought. If I’m wearing an orange top, I instantly think of doing a green eyeliner to play up the rules of the color wheel. Purple and yellow? Beautiful together when styled and done well with execution and effort. Adding unexpected pops of color can completely transform a normal outfit.
5. Basic Layers Are A Must
A very popular and heavily talked about rule is to have your basics down to a minimum. Black, white, and neutral tan bodysuits or tank tops will have so much more longevity in your wardrobe since those are pieces that can be styled so many different ways. I also stand by this rule because it helps your wardrobe transition from season to season. You can just rock the tank or one piece in the summer but then slowly start to add jackets and sweaters over them in the fall.
All of these rules have really stood out to me these past two years as I was minimizing my wardrobe and focusing on pieces that I knew would get a lot of wear and could be mixed and matched accordingly. The five rules are a major part of my mornings considering I based what I packed for my summer move to NYC off of them. When I packed jeans, I packed the three washes I mentioned previously and followed that same rule for my shorts. Obviously, my shorts were looser and longer than the denim shorts I would have bought a few years ago. I do find myself looking for pieces of jewelry at the Dumbo Flea on the weekends, seeing which gold and silver pieces I can mesh into my existing collection well.
I never think I’m overdressed…we live in New York City for crying out loud. You walk outside and see it all. I personally love doing eyeliner looks that are pops of color that compliment my outfit but I will still throw on a blue bag even if my outfit is majority red. Finally, basics are basics for a reason. I’m able to swap those items around and utilize different, core pieces for days I have class, work days at my internship, or Saturday strolls in one of the city’s many parks. If anything, I don’t think my fashion rules have changed at all while I’ve been in the city – I think they have been more set in stone for me.
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