My Top Styling Hacks to Elevate Your Style
What do you you think about getting the luxe look without even having to buy new clothes?
Ummm, yes please!
I am all about finding ways to elevate your look without elevating your budget. I think it is so important to save where you can and splurge where you need to. I will always encourage clients to invest in quality practical pieces, such as spending the extra money to get real leather boots verses synthetic ones, or investing in a quality a outerwear piece that you can get countless winters out of.
Here are my simple hacks to take your style from fine to FANTASTIC. Added bonus, two of them won’t cost you anything!
Shave… your clothes that is! Sometimes I feel like a broken record because I tell everyone about this thing, but this $12 clothes shaver is a game changer! A lot of these hacks have to do with how you care for your clothing, and this hack certainly deserves to be number 1 on the list. This little guy takes all the little pills off your sweaters and little nubs off leggings. Those little fuzzies on your sweaters are holding you back from looking expensive! They keep your pieces looking old and worn, which are the opposite of luxe! It is so simple and easy to use and really helps to elevate your look.
Cut the tags! A perfectly styled look is all about the details. It’s about looking effortless but still well thought out. Let me tell you ladies, nothing can kill an outfit more than those skinny satin shirt strings hanging out of your top or a tag hanging out of your scarf. Also in this list, the plastic price tag chord, or the threads that hold a blazer vent together. Oh and my ALL TIME favorite, the label on the outside of the sleeve of a wool dress coat. I know all of you have scissors, even nail clippers lying around, cut the tags off these items to keep your look polished.
Use protection… suede protection! I use this one made by 3M. It’s super easy to use and really protects your suede shoes. If you choose to spend the extra money on genuine suede, protect it from water and snow with this spray. I usually spray mine twice in a season, once in the beginning when they are new, and again mid season. Old suede boots I might spray once each season depending on how often I wear them. Check out my IG Tips and Tricks highlight for a suede spray tutorial.
Steam or iron. I’m not sure what happened in this generation, but it seems like everyone I know hates to iron! I grew up in a house where you couldn’t wear it if it wasn’t ironed, and if it wasn’t and I absolutely HAD to wear it to school that day, my mom would run down to the basement laundry room and quickly iron it. I have adopted the same house rule… and felt a little piece of my mom appear when I was ironing my 3 week old’s romper! Yes, even I agree it sounds a little crazy, but using an iron or steamer can really take a look all the way to the finish line.
Dry clean. I dry clean even some of my least expensive items. I have this one bodysuit from Forever 21, its perfect and was $13! It is so good and I would be so sad if it got destroyed in the wash. Inexpensive clothes just sometimes can’t survive the washing machine. A lot of times, the fabrics pill and pull as a result of the friction in the washer from rubbing on other clothes, and we learned in tip #1 that worn clothing is the opposite of luxe! Similarly, expensive fabrics like silk should be professionally laundered as they will loose their luster.
Use a tailor. Yes, tailoring can be expensive, but it also can make an inexpensive piece look expensive! When something is fit perfectly to you, you radiate. This means no tugging at straps, no twisting at seams and just you feeling ever so confident. If you’re not willing to invest in a tailor, my tip is to just not purchase the item. A garment that doesn’t fit quite right will either sit in your closet unworn, or will just bother you when you wear it.
As you can see, all of these tips are really about caring for your clothing. Taking good care of your clothing helps to keep them looking new which resonates as luxe and polished. You may also think, ‘these are just small details, who will notice?’ It’s not that people will notice if you do them, its that they will notice if you don’t. All of these hacks will help you achieve that ‘effortless but put together’, and who doesn’t want that?!
xo, Ashley
