Making An Easy Statement: The RIGHT Thing

Photography by: Kool View Photography

Often times, we struggle with creating an outfit because we think about all of the elements that it takes to actually construct an entire look. I’ve encountered many women throughout my personal styling career that stress over having the right shoes, the right bag, the right this, the right that. Because of this, some of their favorite items almost never get worn because they always feel as though they never have the RIGHT thing. Although having the right items is very important in the success of curating a guiltless wardrobe, consider a wardrobe where everything you owned was the RIGHT thing. Would getting dressed be such a chore? Would you then be able to pull together your favorite looks every single day?

One of the most important things about cultivating a wardrobe of substance is focusing on pieces that fit you well, make you feel and look good, correlate directly with your lifestyle and purchasing with the intent to actually wear it. When you do these things having the RIGHT thing will always be at your fingertips. Now, I’m not saying that everything that you purchase will pair well with everything in your closet unless your wardrobe is pretty neutral in tone across the board. However, when purchasing a piece that isn’t necessarily a basic, like this jacket, for instance, strategize how that item can be directly styled with your existing pieces in your wardrobe. I know you’ve heard being able to style your item at least 3 ways, but what if I told you not leaving the store with that item unless you can think of at least 8 ways to wear it? Yes, 8. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Britney, I am not about to consider 8 different styling options for each piece that I purchase. The good thing is, is that I’m not asking you to do that, lol. Your basics are a no-brainer. These pieces will give you endless styling opportunities off the rip. I’m referring to those statement pieces that may appear to limit your restyling abilities.

This cargo style jacket, featuring eye-catching silver studs, oversized pockets, and elastic waistband, is definitely a statement piece. For my first styling of choice, I chose to style it with a pair of frayed hem, hi-waisted, black jeans, black wide belt and silver shoes. Pretty easy, right? Here’s how you can easily elevate your styling to get more creative with your statement piece of choice. Begin with asking yourself these three questions:

What colors pair well with this?

Can this be paired with another print, pattern or texture?

Can this be styled casually, dressy or both?

After you’ve determined your color choices, print, pattern or texture choices and style of dress, start thinking of items that you own. Call out these pieces so that you’re reflecting back to YOUR current wardrobe and not something that you plan to buy. The goal is to think of 8 ways to pair it with your existing pieces to determine if you’ll get to wear this statement piece more than once or twice.

After you’ve determined the pieces that you own in your select colors of choice, print, pattern or texture choice and determined if these pieces are casual or dressy, start thinking about where you can wear these pieces. After you’ve done that, start piecing together outfits in your head. Here’s an example of what your thought process will look like:

Base piece: Black Cargo Jacket

Colors I Own: Black, White, Red, Olive (My black jeans, my white pants, my red skirt, my olive skirt)

Print, Pattern or Texture I Own: Camo, Plaid, Suede, Denim & Leather (My Camo pants, my plaid skirt, my suede skirt, my denim jeans, my leather pants)

Style of Dress: Casual & Dressy/Casual

Lifestyle: Work, Casual/Dressy Date Night, Lunch w/ a friend

You’ve now got the groundwork ready to go! The only thing left to do is to start pairing your pieces together with shoes and accessories. After that, you’re done! If you noticed in the above demonstration, I actually gave you 9 ways to style this jacket. I didn’t even include the unexpected or out of the box pairings like metallic jeans or leggings. You get the idea though, right? I truly hope so. Styling doesn’t have to be hard, it just needs to be intentional and work well with your life and personal style. I’d love to get the conversation going about this process, so leave me your comments below. If you have any other questions, social media is where I hang daily. You can reach me on my social media account below or shoot me an email @ [email protected]. If you desire more personalized help on styling your statement pieces, visit my Wardrobe Services and pick your package. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive exclusive fashion content and to stay updated on new posts every week! Until next time, Grab your Garb!