The Most Underrated Aspect of Great Style
When it comes to having great style, there are so many factors that play a role. From the style of each individual piece to the accessories you wear to how you pair everything together, a stylish look is created through a complex weaving of components.
One thing all of these components have in common is the focus on style and appearance. In fact, if you do an online search for ‘how to be more stylish,’ the articles that come up are generally about wearing this and not wearing that, what colors to pair together, how to define your personal style, adding more patterns to your outfit, dressing for your body type and on and on.
On the surface this makes sense. If you’re talking about how to have great style, it seems only natural to focus on appearance - how things individually look and how you look in them.
Yet there’s one big component that is frequently talked about but rarely connected back to the role it plays in creating great style - the fit of your clothes.
You’ve been inundated with messages about dressing for your body type and how to look taller, thinner and more proportional. However, this messaging isn’t actually about fit. It’s telling you what cuts and silhouettes you should wear in order to change how you look, not how it fits.
Focusing on how you look in a piece is not actually the same as focusing on how a piece fits you. It’s a vastly different yet hugely important part of loving your style.
Nothing turns heads more and boosts your confidence to new levels like slipping into a great fitting piece of clothing.
If you've ever felt the frustration of trying to find something you like in your size that also fits your booty/arms/bust, whatever that tough to fit area is for you, you also know that it's not an easy task.
So what’s a woman to do? Especially, a woman who has a hard time finding clothes that fit well.
If this resonates with you and you’re thinking, “ohh, that’s why I have a hard time with style because I have a hard time finding things that fit well,” your brain might start jumping in to help and offering up solutions right about now. “Okay, well I can solve that. Tomorrow we start a diet and a new exercise routine!”
You might also start thinking of all the ways you can fit into clothes better. Buy a minimizer bra for your too large (or so you’ve been told) bust. Lift weights to tone up and shrink down your arms. Wear a shaper tank to suck in your tummy.
Whoooaa, hold on brain! Let’s stop right there.
If you’ve followed me for a while or read any of my other blogs, you know I’m so not down for that.
There is never, I repeat NEVER, anything about your body that needs to change. Especially, when it comes to clothes and style.
In sharing this underrated aspect of great style, it is not meant to add to the pressure you’re already feeling every day about what you need to do and how you should be.
Instead, it’s actually freeing when you realize it’s the clothes that are at fault.
As far as society has come in embracing the beauty of unique and individual bodies, the clothing industry has a long way to go to catch up.
Clothes are still made for the masses.
If you don't have the 'ideal' body type (according to the completely made up fit standards set by the clothing industry), looking for a great fitting piece will take a ton of time and effort.
Thankfully, there's an easier way.
Don't try to fit the clothes. Make the clothes fit YOU.
That’s right, I’m talking about the least utilized and most helpful tool in creating great style - tailoring!
Consider this - would you rather go to a dozen stores to try on dozens of jeans or scroll online forever over days and days, ordering and returning, ordering and returning, ordering and returning, (you get the picture) to find the perfect fitting pair of jeans...
…OR would you rather try on a few pairs, take the one with a style you love and simply change it in a couple spots to fit you perfectly?
One costs more money and one costs more time - it's just a matter of which is most valuable to you.
Personally, I choose time every...well, time! (The jeans I’m wearing in th’s blog’s cover photo? Yup, tailored!)
For those of you who would choose time, if you had the luxury of not counting every penny or if you don’t even have the time to have the time to get your pieces tailored, I’ve got you.
Here are a few easy, no-sew tailoring tips for you to try:
Use a hip hugger. This is a bootylicious girl’s best friend. It cinches in the waist of pants and jeans within a few seconds so you can go about your day confident that there will be no battle with sagging or accidental crack showing. It doesn’t look the prettiest though so save this hack for a day when you’re wearing a longer top or jacket to cover the back waistband.
Iron-on adhesive tape to the rescue. Hem your own sleeves, pants, dresses and skirts in minutes. Place the tape where you want it to go and press heat on the garment to activate it. Ta da! You’ve just altered the hemline, no sewing required. (Don’t have a traditional iron? The straightening iron you use on your hair can work in a pinch!)
Fashion tape is a girl’s best friend. It comes in a variety of styles from hem tape to strips to dots. Great for shortening sleeve and pant hems, preventing a button down shirt from gaping at the bust, holding a top in place so it doesn’t slip and show your bra, and so much more!
Now that you’ve got the game-changing secret to great style - an impeccable fit - and you know that fit happens through changing your clothes, not your body, you can go forth and conquer all your style dreams!
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ABOUT:
I'm a Minneapolis personal stylist on a mission to eradicate outdated style 'rules' so women can unleash themselves in all their beautiful, authentic glory!
I offer personal styling services that empower women to wear what they love by helping them ditch any outdated style rules keeping them stuck, showing them how to dress in a way that embraces their beautiful body and, the key to it all, having fun! I believe in a liberated style approach so there are no style rules, body shapes, seasonal colors or dos and don’ts given out here. Rather, I help my clients tap into what lights them up and dress with the purpose of expressing their authentic selves rather than impressing others.
This is all done through a combination of styling services (including wardrobe edits, shopping trips and styling sessions) available in thoughtfully curated styling packages designed to help clients unleash their true self through the power of style.
When I'm not helping women take back their power style, you can find me reading (about a gazillion books at once), traveling to new and old favorite destinations, binging a random circa 2000's TV show with my hubby, Aaron, playing with my adorable rescue pup or, of course, shopping! :-)