Get Inspired!
Do you know how it can be hard for some people to dress appropriately and also to add some personal style? On the Pennington Style blog, I offer people lots of ideas for organizing their wardrobes, creating outfits, and making it easier to feel excited about what they are wearing. You DO Have Something to Wear!
Almost every time I work with a client, she or he has called me for assistance in deciding what to wear for a new job, life, or for a specific occasion. Most often, the client begins with, “I need something to wear for…”
Often when I go to the client’s house for an initial closet edit, I find that it may be better to buy new clothes and/or accessories. Yet almost just as frequently, I find something in the client’s wardrobe to use as inspiration or to build an outfit around. Clients like what I put together and say, “I never would have put those together.”
If the pieces make a great look, I ask myself, why not? –And I think that I sometimes share that kind of mental block with my clients, yet I overcome it. How? Inspiration, planning, and time. Here are three steps to find something in your closet that just might work for your next big appearance or new job:
- Get inspired. Look at fashion magazines. Check out categories on Pinterest—such as “cocktail dresses,” “work outfits,” and the like. Think of a favorite piece of jewelry, pair of shoes, or other accessory, and create a very simple backdrop for it—such as an all-neutral outfit of camel, black, white, or gray.
- Plan. Next time you have a few unexpected, free hours, give yourself a dress-up party. Try on clothes and look for interplay between the items. Are the prints the same scale—both medium, both small, in the same or similar colors? How do they look together? You will come up with hilarious combos but will also find some outfits that really work—or that work with the addition of an accessory or pair of shoes.
- Spend some time. Take rainy days or a few free hours and create outfits for different kinds of occasions. Even if nothing is immediately planned, you will have fun thinking about the possibility of a party or gala; and the next time you get an invitation, you’ll have the exact outfit you need. I’ve done this so many times with outfits—have planned what to wear first and found out about the appropriate event soon afterward.
Instead of letting clothes that you buy for occasions sit in your closet until the next event rolls around, take action by thinking about where else that outfit-for-an-occasion could work. Could you wear the belt to the gala gown as a headscarf? Could you use it as a belt around a pair of jeans or a shirtdress? The more fun you have playing dress-up with your clothes, the more fun your clothes and you will have.