Layering, mixing, playing.
There are no rules...but also there are. Just make sure you are enjoying it.
The past couple months I have had a hard time with getting dressed or feeling inspired to create new outfits. I have been in a bit of a rut when it comes to clothing. I am constantly consuming tons of content online (a mistake) and spending many hours of my day on Pinterest, desperately trying to find things that inspire me and get me excited again.
To me, Pinterest always feels like a safe space to consume things that aren’t a mixed bag of emotions, like a lot of other social platforms are. I go there strictly to look at fashion and interior design, which is a nice break from the chaos that other apps bring.
However, I think I was grasping at it a bit too hard, wanting it to save me from this uninspired slump I was in. To some degree I felt like it was almost this endless pit of things that sparked something in me but didn’t necessarily move me to create. Perhaps it’s the easy access to it, the endless content and not as purposeful way of “consuming.”
It felt almost like when you get a tickle in your nose and you are awaiting the satisfaction that a sneeze will bring you and then it dissipates, leaving you unsatisfied.
Recently though, I am starting to see the light at the end of my uninspired tunnel...feeling like I’ve finally sneezed (if you will…but understand if you won’t).
The thing that’s sparked this excitement in me again, after taking time to digest the world around me a bit, in clothing more specifically, is all the layering I’ve been seeing. Seems like everything is being layered, from t-shirts, tank tops, button downs, socks, belts, sweaters, you name it, it’s being layered. And I love it.
Of course Miu Miu has been doing this consistently for forever. And of course so many people have done their own versions of it.
The underwear popping out from the mini Miu Miu skirts, really had us all in a chokehold there for a second.
However, I think because it’s recently being done in a more classic and perhaps more tailored way, it is just now fully clicking for me. This time around I am noticing it more in tops and accessories more than just bottoms. Which I think I prefer.
There is a lot more playfulness with the layering, in terms of accessories, think brooches, tying sweaters on in different ways, long leather gloves perhaps paired with short sleeve tops or dresses, more color blocking, more pattern mixing etc. It excites me.
I am using this new found inspiration with layering and playfulness to see what new outfits I can come up with. Sometimes all it takes is a little glimmer of inspiration to spark new outfit combinations, with clothes I wear all the time.
Also, you can tell from my styling that I really have spring and warm weather on the brain…
While this outfit is not anything groundbreaking…it’s a combo I don’t think I would have thought of without having new found context, references, inspiration. And I think that’s just a good example of the ebbs and flows of any creative outlet. You can’t force it. It’s gotta feel intuitive, to some extent and also feel true to you. Sometimes it just takes time to get there mentally…but once you do, its truly so exciting. Or at least for me it is.
I have worn this vintage Celine skirt so many times and I have never thought to pair it with a baby pink. Something about that combo excites me. It brings some fresh and light energy to a more serious skirt. I also have been loving pink and gray together and think that this just adds another layer of visual interest to the outfit, without doing too much.
I was recently inspired by the Auralee Men’s FW25 collection, where I saw a scarf tied around one of the models and knew I had to try it for myself.
What a chic and easy way to add another layer but also bring a completely different shape and style to your outfit.
I think what made the Auralee example even more impactful was that it is monochromatic. So, it adds shape, direction and texture without the possible choppiness that adding in another color would bring.
I tried to do something similar.
Also, just another reason to go into your closet and think of all the ways you haven’t explored wearing certain garments. There is no one way you must wear something.
While wearing a brooch or tying a sweater on in different ways isn’t anything new, in fact we have been seeing that a lot, especially in the last couple of years…Tory Burch’s FW25 really inspired me and now I need brooches in my life.
This outfit I just simply used a giant safety pin as a brooch and I think it did what I wanted it to. I love this springy color palette and the mix of patterns from the bag and the skirt.
The green sweater vest I’m wearing is definitely on backwards and tied up in the back, to create exactly what I needed. And sometimes that’s just the way it is.
I just love the simplicity of a sweater with a sweet white cotton skirt. Its a simple look but the layers, shapes and colors make it still interesting and I just really enjoy this look. I think knowing what shapes, materials and colors you enjoy together can help in making a “successful” outfit.
What I really think finally helped me see a way out of my uninspired time, is really that I can see the end of winter and the hopefulness that spring brings me.
When I am in a season for what feels like too long, that is when I really seem to lose my ability to come up with new looks that inspire me. So, hopefully this helps you either get excited for a new season or perhaps helps you see your closet in a different and inspiring way.
The scarf à la Auralee is so chic!
brooches are definitely increasing in popularity again and im so here for it!