While you could wish all you want that there was more time in the morning, sometimes all you can manage to do is grab a bagel, take a quick swig of coffee, and rush out the door. For days like that, knowing how to switch up your look and make your outfit more interesting could be just want you need to give you that extra boost to get through your Monday. It can be a little rough piecing together an outfit that does your sartorial savvy proud when you're still practically half asleep. When you feel time running short, it can be tempting to just scrap the idea of a great outfit all together and run out of your apartment with a basic outfit on. While there's nothing wrong with simplicity, if you are feeling a little dissatisfied with your uniform-like look, then you’ll be happy to know that you can easily take it up a level with a few styling tweaks that take less than ten seconds to manage.
With a few strategic moves, you can easily take your outfit from tried and true to impossibly chic, while still leaving you plenty of bagel-making and coffee-chugging time that morning, aka the truly important things in life. Below are nine 10-second styling tips to make your outfit more interesting.
1. Throw A Wrench Into Your Matchiness
The fastest way to add some interest to your outfit is to add an element of imbalance, and there are so many different ways you can go about doing that. My favorite way to create tension in a look is by allowing two different styles to mingle, like pairing a masculine blazer with a feminine dress, or tailored dress pants with a disheveled bohemian top.
Another option? Focus on breaking up the matchiness in your look in a more obvious way: by mixing patterns and colors. If you have a floral dress, try adding in stripes by way of a clutch or cardigan. If you have a polka dot skirt add in something ikat, or if you have a striped skirt try juxtaposing it with a leopard belt.
Same goes with your colors — surprising combinations always elevate a look to higher sartorial ground. For example, add a dash of chartreuse against royal blue, mint with light blue, or mauve with mustard. Obviously everyone's closets are different, but if you try mixing unexpected colors together, your outfit will instantly become more unexpected.
2. Half-Tuck Your Shirt
Instead of tucking your blouse in or leaving your button down hanging out, try half tucking your shirt in. I've been doing this move for half a decade now and I found that it can instantly take a prim outfit and make it feel more casual and sporty. This move allows you to show off your belt, create a line at your waist, and play with proportions all at the same time. The half tuck gives you a slightly disheveled, laid back air which can be a playful contrast when you have a more prim outfit on or will add to the off-duty vibes of a casual look.
3. Pick Unexpected Shoes
Instead of going with neutral picks like booties or leather sandals, shake up your look by choosing an unexpected pair. I never feel more street style-esque than when I pair a lacy feminine dress with clunky, borderline ugly sandals. Remember, juxtaposing styles adds an interesting dash of playfulness, so try pairing your feminine dresses with clunky masculine shoes like orthopedic-like sandals or tassled penny loafers, or your casual boyfriend jeans with strappy heels or flirty lace-up flats.
4. Get Creative With How You Tie Your Scarves
Don't just toss a summer scarf and call it a day — find creative ways to tie your scarves to help elevate your look to more interesting grounds. For example, tie a silk handkerchief like a bandana, knot a silk scarf close to your neck giving it a necklace-like effect, or cinch a longer summer scarf with either a leather or metal cuff to give it a more polished, intentional feel.
5. Bunch Up Your Top Layer
Do you have a top layer on, like a jacket or cardigan? Let the layer work harder for you by allowing the blouse from underneath to peek through by either rolling or pushing up the sleeves. I love doing this move because it not only allows you to add a subtle but unexpected proportion line, but it also allows more color or pattern to play through the outfit.
6. Make Button-Ups Into Crop Tops
Unbutton the few bottom buttons of your top to create it into a loose, bohemian-like makeshift crop top. Speaking from experience, this look works super well with something high waisted. The idea is to have the shirt opened up to the point where the waist of your pants or skirt will hit!
7. Create Some Tension
Create some tension in your look by adding an element that goes in the exact opposite style of your main piece. For example, if I feel like my feminine maxi dress is feeling a little boring, I add a contrast to the outfit by either pairing it with a leather jacket or masculine black boots to shake things up.
And there are a ton of different ways you can do this. For example, pair cut-offs or baggy jeans with sleek blazers, serious dresses with quirky purses, feminine dresses with masculine accents, sweatshirts with tailored duster vests, and casual boyfriend jeans with evening clutches. The opposite pulls of the different looks will instantly add a touch of fun to what could have been a basic outfit.
8. Belt Your Outer Layer
Do you have a coat or cardigan on? Belt your outer layer with either a statement belt like a metal-plated, southwestern themed, or leather tasseled one, or go a little more daring and cinch the piece closer to your waist with a sleek fanny pack.
9. Roll Something
Break up the lines and proportions of your look by rolling something. Give your jeans giant, three-inch folds. Roll your short sleeves into James Dean-like cuffs. Messily bunch the cuffs of your cigarette pants, or roll up your blazer sleeves to let the blouse from underneath to peek through. Different kinds of rolling techniques will give you different kinds of vibes, so experiment with how you do it. For example, I found that creating three-inch folds at the cuff of jeans looks very polished but in a slightly bolder way then neatly cuffing it twice. Or if you end up messily rolling your jean hems, it looks more laid back and contrasts in an interesting way with polished shoes, like heels. Depending on how you decide to roll, your outfit changes.
So roll your sleeves, add a belt, or just create some tension in a look and boom — clothing rut, solved in 10 seconds. Now more time for coffee.
