Contrast, Repetition, Confidence

I'm not entirely sure why I still do this. No one reads this blog (or at least no one that I know of has read it yet since I don't have any followers or comments) and it makes me sad. Of course, I'm going to continue to write it anyway--I love fashion and I feel like I need to put myself out there into the fashion world a bit, even if all I'm really doing is showing off my skills (I do, on occasion try to be humble about them) to no one in particular. Today, instead of lecturing everyone on why I wear the things I do, I felt like it was time for a few, quick, easy, fashion tips.

First tip: Contrast is key.

Obviously not color contrast in this monochromatic piece, but instead I choose to employ texture and pattern contrast. The black pants (see above photo for all clothing references) are very straight and rectangular and have a similarly straight and rectangular pattern (not a terribly obvious one either). The red ruffled shirt also has straight pleats in it and black patterns to tie in with the pants, but also has contrasting ruffles and bell sleeves which bring balance to the outfit and a hint of playfulness that a straight button-up or a blazer wouldn't have.

Second Tip: Repeated Elements.

You don't want an outfit to look the same whether you're looking at the top or the bottom of it--there needs to be something different and exciting about it in order to achieve great style--but there does need to be a degree of connectivity between your pieces or the outfit will look careless and unplanned and ultimately unintelligent. Now I know that doesn't sound fair--there are plenty of people who are extremely smart that don't know how to dress, however that doesn't change the fact that when people see someone who dresses sharp, or at least has good fashion sense, that they immediately have a higher regard for that person than someone who doesn't even try. It's just fact.

Anyway, what I want to say here, is that in order to achieve a connected feeling in your outfit, you have to have repeated elements. That does not mean you have to wear identical shirts on top of each other, or be symmetrical in your dress (though I usually am), it means that the same concepts introduced in one article need to carry over into the others. For example: in the outfit above, the straight, lined feeling of the pants in repeated in the accordion folds on the shirt, the ribbon choker, the double belts, the princess seams in the grey vest, and even the lines on the back of my heels. All of these lines carry black, (there's even black on the red shirt) which is the color that the whole outfit balances around (and most of my other outfits as well). In order to flesh it out a bit, I add another neutral (the neutral colors are black, grey, white, brown, beige, basically any form of tan, olive and denim blue. In this case I chose grey.) and what I call an accent color (anything that's not a neutral). And that's the basic recipe.

Third Tip: Don't worry so much about what other people think. If you spend all your time worrying about whether you look good, you wont. Worries make you look older--if you want to be confident and beautiful, just tell yourself that that's the way you are and believe it and it will come true. If you still don't think you're beautiful, ask your parents or someone else you trust what they think is most beautiful about you and try to see yourself in their eyes. My biggest pet peeve of all time is when someone beautiful thinks they're not. I've been down that path--and it's no fun. Believe in your self. And have some quality fashion fun.