Fashion is completely expressive. There are  technically no real ¨dos and don’ts,¨ just wear whatever you think looks good and makes you feel comfortable and confident. However, here are a few tips that can help you style more unique and interesting outfits. 

DO: Layer – In the winter, layering is not only a way to keep you warm but to also add more to an outfit. You can use layering as an opportunity to add different textures, patterns, or colors to a basic or boring outfit to make it look more interesting. Even just adding a white long sleeve or turtleneck under a short sleeve shirt, gives it so much more dimension. 

DONT: Single Layers – Obviously, in the middle of the summer when it’s 85 degrees out you´re not going to wear three different shirts. However, in the cooler months, single layers are just so uninteresting. There’s technically nothing wrong with this outfit, everything matches, nothing looks weird or out of place, but it’s just boring. Adding a few layers to an outfit would just upgrade it so much more. 

DONT: Tight shirt/Tight Pants & Big Shirt/Big Pants: Fashion is a personal preference, there are no rules to it and you can wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you want to wear jeans 4 sizes too big and a giant t-shirt, go for it, that is actually one of my favorite outfits to wear.

DO: Big Shirt/Little Pants & Little Shirt/Big Pants: The term big shirt/little pants and little shirt/big pants” originated from TikTok and refers to two different outfit combinations: an oversized shirt with skinny jeans and a crop top with baggy mom jeans. If you ever are unsure what to wear and need something you know will look good, just go for one of those combinations. You can easily make multiple different outfits that follow one of those combinations and they will almost always look good, they also add to the sort of ¨hourglass¨ effect that a lot of girls look for. These outfit combinations accentuate your waist and always make your body look good.

DONT: Not Accessorize: Some people have a fear of over-accessorizing, while other people don´t wear anything extra other than the clothes on them. Nothing is being taken away from an outfit if you don’t wear any accessories, but it spices it up so much more when you do. You don’t even have to go all out, don´t think you have to wear stacks of necklaces, fancy glasses, or studded belts. A simple necklace can make a basic outfit look so much more put together and interesting.

DO: Accessorize: Accessorizing is such a simple thing to do and adds so much more to an outfit. It can consist of anything from jewelry, a belt, a hat, or even cool or interesting socks. For a while people were talking about the idea of ¨over accessorizing,¨ which would be adding too many accessories. I feel there isn’t really such a thing, as long as everything still matches and looks good together, there should be no fear of over-accessorizing. 

DONT: Over Do it: Mixing and matching is fun and spices up an outfit, but you don’t want to look like you got dressed in the dark. To mix and match and do it well, you have to have one color, texture, or pattern be the main focus and the other one be more subtle. You wouldn’t want to wear plaid pants with a cheetah print shirt, however if the cheetah print was more subtle (maybe as an undershirt or even a headband or scrunchie) the patterns wouldn’t look so forced.

DO: Mix and Match: Wearing an outfit where all the colors match and not patterns clash can make you look put together. However, sometimes pairing colors that don’t look ¨perfect¨ together, different patterns, or multiple textures can make an outfit much more interesting and fun. Sometimes, doing this can be scary because you don’t want to look like you picked out whatever you can find, but if you mix and match the right way it makes an outfit interesting

DONT: Forget about Shoes: All the time, people pick out outfits and then just throw on whatever shoes look decent with it or whatever their feet feel comfortable in. However, shoes are just as important as the outfit. Wearing a cute outfit and then wearing whatever random shoes look ok with it, can completely throw off the outfit and make it look disjointed. If this is something you struggle with, try picking out your outfits around your shoes rather than your shoes around your outfit because then you are making a conscious effort to make your outfit and shoes look more together. 

DO: Buy a Pair of Statement Sneakers: Sometimes when you’re focused on creating a good outfit you completely forget about shoes. Shoes can completely upgrade an outfit, though. Especially if you´re wearing a casual, everyday outfit, a cool pair of sneakers can make the outfit 10x better. Everyone needs to own at least one pair of statement sneakers, you don’t have to wear them everyday and they don’t have to match everything you own, but having that option can really add to a casual outfit. Some popular statement sneakers right now are Jordan 1s, Nike Blazers, and platform Converse.