I hope you had fun with these posts. I did, though the photo commitment was a lttle difficult with a busy photographer and lack of tripod. In case you missed any, here is a list of all the posts in the Fashion Staples Series:
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: The Cotton Sweater
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: The Crisp White Shirt
Top Ten Femlae Wardrobe Staples: The Graphic T-Shirt
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: The Pencil Skirt
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: The Wrap Dress
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: The Pin Striped Suit
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: Good Shoes
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: Flattering Jeans
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: Three Season Coat
Top Ten Female Wardrobe Staples: Graphic Print Dress
And with that, here are five points I hope to have driven home:
Five Fashion Rules To Live By
1. Buy the best you can afford. I have been shocked at what I’ve spent on some items in my wardrobe but in compiling my posts, I realized some of my more expensive articles have lasted me over five years. If you can’t afford labels retail (or on sale even), try vintage or swapping with family and friends.
2. Thicker fabrics with some stretch are not only more forgiving but will last longer. Go spandex!
3. Think of every piece of clothing working together. Would you buy a computer part without thinking if it was compatible with your computer? Of course not. When you buy something, think of how it will work with what you already have. That said, think of your suit as two seperate peices to mix and match and try to think of your clothes in innovative ways, like belting a sweater to wear like a dress.
4. Remember that you can do alterations on items that need them. If you have the perfect skirt and it’s an inch too long, don’t let that stop you. You can do it yourself, or pay a few dollars for someone else to do it.
5. Wear it fearlessly. If it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can wear anything if you think you can get away with it. (Think Madonna.) Sure some of your fashion risks will fail but mostly you won’t. So work it and, as my fashionable friend Jessica would say, make people believe it.
Four Cheap Ways To Stretch Your Wardrobe
Of course, you don’t have to buy entirely new articles of clothing to stretch your wardrobe. I used a few tricks this week:
1. Scarves– a $6 pashmina is warm and effortless.
2. Tights or leggings– keep things warm but get some with patterns and it could make some of your clothes a little funkier (I got my patterned tights in Quebec City but Hue makes some great pairs. And remember a $25 pair of tights will not break the first time you put them on like those ones you buy in the little bubbles at the drug store.)
3. Jewelry with a personality– you can hit up flea markets and garage sales but a majority of my jewelry came for free from relatives. Ask your mom (or even a cool aunt) if they’ve got anything they don’t wear. They’ll probably be happy someone can use it!
4. Makeup- Add drama with bright lipstick. Look healthy and outdoorsy with a little blush. Think of makeup as creating your own personal lighting situation.
4.5 Hats- A fedora, a paper boy hat, a floppy straw topper can add an extra omph to your outfit. It’ a throw back to another time (plus I felt “makeup” may have cheated some male readers looking for tips so I wanted to put a fourth tip for them too).
Three Great Blogs With Fashion Tips
1.DC Goodwill Blog– consistently good and used clothing oriented
2. Frugal Fergie– she’s turned me on to cheap online glasses but she’s got other great stuff on her blog, some of which involves style
3.Wisebread– had a series of fashion posts a few weeks ago that originally inspired this series. Three Money Sucking Wardrobe Items and How to Dress for Success and Still Spend Less.