For the longest time I’ve considered myself a wise spender. When it comes to purchasing pieces to
my wardrobe, I would make the most frugal decision. If I saw several different colored pairs of flats at
Target I would consider which color would be most beneficial to my wardrobe for
the $20 I would spend. When
faced with choices such as Black, Brown, and Leopard print, I would choose the “safe”
option and go with black. I always
justified decisions like this by assuming that I’d get the most wear out of
that color since it goes with most anything.
But when I got my first pair of leopard print boots in the Fall,
that changed everything. You see,
the leopard print boots don’t just go with 2 outfits as the statement piece,
instead they go with at least 5-6 different outfits that I already own, as well
as mixing with other statement pieces such as camo pants.
It turns out that I look more stylish feel much better
when I wear the leopard boots with an outfit that I normally would only wear
black boots with. Now they
make every outfit stand out more and have been a huge hit on my social media
pages.
The key to stepping out of your comfort zone with your wardrobe is realizing
that out-of-the-ordinary pieces can actually be versatile. If you don’t believe me just google
image things like “Leopard boots” “camo pants” “polka dot shirt”.
So how can you step out of your comfort zone when you shop for
your own wardrobe? Here’s a few ways…
1.
Take Inventory to justify your purchase.I’ve blogged before about taking inventory when
you organize and set up your wardrobe, but it’s super imperative when you
need to justify buying the hot pink shoes instead of the brown ones.
Say that you see a cute short
sleeved shirt and you love the style and fit. It comes in pink, polka dots, black, white, and light
blue. If you have some sort of
inventory (I keep mine in my Filofax in my handbag at all times) that shows
what colors and kinds of clothing you have, you may see that you already have a
white short sleeve shirt, and a black one, so you should either go with pink (
a wise choice) or even a polka dot shirt that can be used as a neutral piece).
2.
Take note of what you go wild over in outfit photos.I never would have thought to add so much flannel and plaid
print pieces to my wardrobe had it not been for the fact that 80% of the
photos I favorite on social media are bloggers dressed in layered looks with
plaid and flannel. It’s not just a
comfort piece, but now it’s a key to layering a good look.
3.
Figure out what colors look good on you.Whenever you wear pale
yellow, does anyone ever say the color looks great on you? Then consider that
next time you have to choose between a color, print, or pattern. Don’t worry about what you have
in your wardrobe to go with it, because most of the time any bright color or
pattern can be matched with any neutral outfit containing standard black,
white, and brown pieces.
So what colors, patterns,
or styles have you noticed you are drawn towards? Next time trust that
instinct!
