Style isn’t rocket science, but you do have to put in some effort to develop a unique style that’s all your own.  That being said, there is such a thing as putting in too much effort when it comes to style.  The magic happens when the look appears effortless (even if it wasn’t).  Don’t try too hard.  Style that is overdone tends to looks forced, and often cliché.  Not to mention, you probably have a busy schedule – don’t we all! – and sometimes you need to be able to throw together a great look at a minute’s notice.  The secret is simple: first off, know what your personal style is, and secondly, make sure your closet reflects that. 

If you’re one of those people who walks into a full closet and thinks, “I have nothing to wear,” it might be time to figure out why you feel that way.  We’ve all felt that way at one time or another.  Sometimes, it’s just one of those days where nothing you put on looks good.  But it could be that your taste has matured, and you need to update your clothes to match your new style.  It’s also important to get rid of and donate clothing that doesn’t fit.  You can leave it hang in your closet all you want, but if it doesn’t fit, you’re never going to wear it, and it’s going to make your closet look much more abundant (and useful) than it actually is.  This is a process that obviously can’t be done all at one time.  However, once you identify the problem, you can begin to gradually fix it, so that everyday there’s something in your closet you want to wear.

A person’s taste in clothing usually begins to change after college.  This happens for many reasons, but mainly because they are no longer a student, but a working professional.  The t-shirt will always be an important part of a wardrobe, just not necessarily the everyday choice.  I’ve been in the process of cleaning out my own closet, and I donated bags and bags of old clothing.  It’s pretty sad, but I still had t-shirts from 9^th grade!  I didn’t want to wear t-shirts all the time anymore, so I’ve been working on slowly removing things I don’t wear any longer, and replacing them with things I love and fit my new personal style.  Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye to those really old, completely dated pieces, even when you haven’t worn them in 10 years, but that will help you take the first step to an organized closet, a closet of clothing you actually like and want to wear, and consequently a less time-consuming morning routine.  I am a huge advocate of de-cluttering, but trust me, that is a whole other article in itself!  …which I’ll probably be writing soon.

Back to the topic of not trying too hard.  I love matching – anyone who knows me can tell you I always match.  However, I match when it comes to paying attention to detail.  I consider matching overdone when shoes are worn with a shirt and both the shoes and the shirt are made out of the same pattern.  What looks less forced, and more effortless, is if the shoes were one color that could be found in the patterned shirt.  Now, all of this is extremely subjective, and I’m sure there are definitely times when the situation described above works nicely.  I’m just trying my best to give some examples so you can get a feel for the “effortless” mentality.  Accessorizing is fun, and you can definitely make a style unique by adding a non-traditional piece of jewelry.  The way to keep accessorizing under control is to limit the creative pieces to a minimum.  If you want to wear a huge beaded necklace, then wear smaller, tamer earrings – or no earrings at all depending on how grand the necklace is, and what you’re wearing it with.  As far as make-up goes, for everyday looks, keep it simple.  Make-up should even out your skin tone, give you some color, and enhance your features, not look like a mask.  For a nice effect, spend a little extra time on your favorite feature – such as your eyes or your cheeks – but don’t do extra on all of your features at once!  When you attend a dressy event, the rules change a little, but too much make-up is never a good idea.  It takes away from your natural beauty, and instead of enhancing your beauty, detracts and distracts from it. 

I’ve just mentioned a couple examples, and you may find some of the things I’ve said to be common sense.  If that’s the case, great!  Every now and then I come across a certain look in a magazine or window display, and I’ll notice something the stylist did to really make an extreme outfit look pleasant and less complicated, such as wearing a solid jacket over a wild-patterned shirt to tone it down.  Even though it’s common sense once I see it, it might be something I never would’ve tried before.  In my opinion, effortless always looks classy and approachable.  If you’re just starting to get into fashion, try it out and let me know what you think!    

-StyleSophisticate