Layer
Try layering, not just a cardigan over your top, but think about layering tops with similar necklines, so that you create a colour contrast and some extra detail in your portrait area.
Think about adding a waistcoat or vest over the top of your t-shirt, blouse or even dress.
How about turning a summer dress into something you can wear in winter by layering a long sleeve top underneath?
How about wearing a sheer blouse over a coloured cami (try different colours for different looks on different days).
How about layering a necklace or 3?
Add a third piece.
Belt
Try belting under jackets over jackets, under cardigans and over them.
Why not add a belt over a dress.
Add a coloured, textured or funky buckle belt when wearing jeans.
Throw out the cheap, fabric belts that come with clothes, and find a great belt to wear instead. It will make the outfit look more stylist and higher quality.
Read more belting tips here.
Change Your Shoes
Are you in a habit of wearing the same shoes all the time? Think about changing the style, heel or colour. Think about how different a pair of jeans looks with a ballet flat as compared to a knee-high boot.
How different does a skirt or dress look with boots as compared to a pair of strappy heels?
What do your shoes say about you?
Play with Occasion Dressing Pieces in the Daytime
Why not take some of your evening wear and mix them with your daywear. Why not try adding some sequins to your daytime look, or a really glamorous jet necklace to your more casual jean outfit.
The dress I’m wearing in the picture above is something I’d more likely wear in the evening than during the day. But I’ve dressed it down with the layers.
Want some more inspiration? Read this post.
Accessorize
Change the accessories you wear. Try different combinations. We get into the habit of wearing the same things together all the time. Don’t forget you can mix it up and find some new ways of wearing the same old pieces that may surprise you!
How about trying a patterned tight rather than your regular opaques?
Here are some more accessorizing ideas:
How to accessorize your casual tops.
Wear a scarf instead of a necklace.
How to choose a necklace to go with your neckline
Add some arm candy
Change your jewellery seasonally
Wear a scarf the Nina Proudman way
Add a scarf instead of a necklace
What are the ways you play with your wardrobe and create more outfits from what you already own?
One of the major things Im struggling with is the occasional pieces, because no what I do, I never get it right with sequins or shiny garment. I love to dress up so thats not the problem, so I assume what Ive issue with is that this area, Im often influenced by other peoples opinions — or rather common point of views from many people, like sequin is always associated with parties so unconciously every outfit I try with these pieces… Even with a simple knit dress and suede flats, my cropped glittery (glittery threads, not sequins) scream “party” to my eyes. Just because glittery garments are associated with party wear…..the.same thing wearing more tailored pieces on more tropical enviroments like when going traveling abroad to a more tropical enviroment, I just cant see myself wearing blazer or low heeled pumps despite thats what I feel most comfortable wearing – classic tailored pieces because I hate denim, shorts and sandals even if 80%+ of the population living in those during summer!
Im trying to dress down a basic glittery cardigan or shell top to more of a “smart casual” type of outfit, BUT WITHOUT DENIM/CORD (and shorts, flip-flops, sneakers and sweatspants. lol). W/O the denim pieces, its get so tricky to do that (either you look dressed up, or it looks like you forgot to take off your runner shoes. haha)
Imogen, do you have any suggestion how to dress down an outfit without using too casual fabrics like jeans/shorts, denim jackets and denim skirts and the like? (My style is more classic-feminine, not sporty/natural. I often wear jersey pencil skirts and knit blazers, but I feel they would dress up a glittery tank top waay too much for daytime) When I google about it, you always get the “denim dressed up” type of answers. -_-
This is the shell top: https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10478732_261064094102212_5867346607132529419_n.jpg?oh=5d7b8cc7618368bcd9df5767f40963d4&oe=5444182B …that Im trying to dress down, its not as sparkly as the sequinned bolero in your earlier post so Im kind of lost why I never get it right just because I hate wearing denim garments. I do wear jeans and dress them up with blazers and blouses, but I dont always feel “me” in them. :-/
It’s hard to dress down a garment if you don’t use some more relaxed pieces (otherwise, you’re really not dressing down). If you don’t like jeans and the like, that’s fine, but then you are limiting how much dressing down you can do!
I only wear more relaxed pieces to occasions when I need to (there is no way I would wear ballet flats/pumps and pencil skirts when fishing, haha), so I would wear them if I have TO or where there are no options. 😛
There is a dresscode I read about that use a similare concept to the one Im trying to acheive because its very ideal to the kind of outfits I like to wear (thats neither casual or too formal but dressier than “smart denim”). Its kind of like that people in US/UK/AUS would refer as “Business Casual” but one notch more relaxed, like smart casual but without denim. (Like if you were going to an interview where jeans are not appreciated but want to look “smart” rather than formal, what type of clothes would you wear?)
….I guess, Ive to do some more research on what fabric to choose to make more tailored pieces feel more relaxed! 😛 When jersey and rayon is lined (like sheath dresses) or has a tailored cut, they never looks “relaxed” to my eyes even they are seen as casual to people in a more formal occupation. O.o;;
Imogen, You look AB FAB in your new colors!
I love these types of posts since I feel I need to learn to create outfits instead of relying
on the same old same old. By the way, Imogen, do you have any plans to do more videos
together with Jill Chivers? I really enjoyed the 2 of you discussing the various style issues.
Rebecca – Jill and I thank you for your lovely feedback! Sadly we live at opposite ends of Australia so can’t get together too often, but next time we do see each other we will definitely make some more videos!
I really like this look but it did make me giggle – primarily because I had just read one of your old posts (circa. 2010) in which you stated that you would NEVER wear a belt at the waist. I guess when it comes to the evolution of our sense of style one can truly never say never.