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This is something I hear from my friends a lot of the time, “Am I in style?” Lets face it; sometimes you can’t afford buying a new item for your wardrobe every week. I know we all love reading blogs and looking at Instagram because it’s aspirational, but does it ever feel like you just can’t keep up with all the new clothes you see every day?
Guess what? You don’t have to! I live in NYC, the Mecca of fashion and all things expensive. People here loooovvvveee going out to dinner and drinks and happy hours after work. That all adds up. I’ve recently gone through my closet in hopes of creating a curated one (look for a post on that in the coming weeks), and found clothes I forgot I had!
STRIPES
Anything with stripes on it is going to be around for a long time. Okay, done with this one. I jest. Truth of the matter, you can’t go wrong with a stripe – it’s a fashion staple that’s been around for decades. There’s even a book about it, written by Michel Pastoureau, French, of course.
Turns out, stripes weren’t always fashionable. We know they were used as prison uniforms going back to the 1800s in American, but did you know that wearing stripes in the middle ages was a huge risk? One man was condemned to death for wearing stripes!
This dress I have on is from JCrew a number of summers ago. I can still get away with wearing it because of its stripes and color.
COLOR
Our friend Michel Pastoureau has also written a number of books about specific colors; red, green, black, and blue. If you keep it to a solid color, there’s less chance of it going out of style… unless you get a solid color in a trendy style, like the off-the-shoulder or cold shoulder.
ACCESSORIES
Other ways to spruce up an older outfit is to accessorize! Something I’m terrible at remembering to do. It was on my list of goals this year for New Year’s Goals – it’s still a work in progress. Maybe you’ve had a shirt for years that you love, but say you wear it every week. Yes, it’s still your favorite, but you’re even starting to get tired of it and are worried that it’s decidedly uncool. Throw on an ‘of the moment’ piece of jewelry, or a scarf, or even a fun hat to add some spice.
SHOES
Never underestimate the power of cool shoes to distract from an outfit. If you have the right pair, all eyes will be on the shoes and not on the shirt you wear every Wednesday. If new shoes aren’t in your budget, you can switch things up. Create a focal point. Maybe throw on your athleisure wear pants with a pair of stilettos, or a dress with tennis shoes.
What about you? Will you try any of these ideas on your old clothes? Do you have any other ideas? If so, leave them in the comments! I’d love to hear them.
