Every day I'm on the lookout for new ways to go about dressing myself in the morning. Currently that debacle has been more so surrounding where I get dressed rather than what I'm actually wearing. You see, my bathroom is much warmer than my bedroom, though the guest room can get warm from time to time as well. Choosing the right place makes the -17 weather a little easier to get naked in. This week, however, I decided to freeze in the name of fashion. The rotation of wool sweaters were set aside and I dedicated the working week to dress according to a new rule I learned from a recent article on Man Repeller by Haley Nahman. Though I have no strong feelings towards Larry David, the genius behind the focal point of the article, I was extremely enthused by the personal styling tip he had to share. In order to have balance and intrigue in your outfit, get "half-dressed". For instance, imagine half of you is going to the gym, half to a brunch meeting you're not paying for. Though I swear I've been advocating for contrast and balance in outfit building for years, my mind was thoroughly blown by the simplicity of the phrase "half-dressed". How had it never occurred to me before? This is a style trick I will liberally state is already in my style rotation to a certain degree, but to dress purposefully with it in mind seemed like a fun challenge for my four day week (I'm living that student life).
This is what went down.
For
day one I eased myself into this challenge by getting what I would call
"three quarters dressed". I got overly excited about the idea of
wearing something a little too dressy for day time, leading to a last
minute realization that I had a serious lack of casualness in my
half-and-half outfit. In came the comfiest pair of jeans I own, and my
newest obsession; creamy socks with a mustard coloured trim (yum). The
blazer, complete with vintage brooch that I just can't get enough of,
and the snake-print brown loafers I've fallen back in love with, made me
feel thoroughly half-dressed for my Monday.
Day two was the most stark of contrasts between dressed-up and dressed-down. My top half stayed warm and comfortable in a university hoodie, which I noticed had a lipstick stain half-way through the day (perhaps a little more dressed-down than I intended). My bottom half is where things got fancy albeit a little cold. This floral print ruffled skirt is well suited to spring, but paired with some wool tights and knee-high suede boots, it made for a semi-insulated outfit that I absolutely loved.
I aired on the side of casualness for day three. This vintage suede jacket was nonnegotiable after being inspired by an outfit worn by Leandre Medine Cohen herself. Since it's a prized item in my wardrobe, and I don't wear it very often, to me it was the outfit's dressed-up element. Layering the coat over a lemon meringue turtle neck and tie-dyed Aries x New Balance tee was my way of being "half-dressed". I was half ready to look like a cowgirl, half ready to hop on a skate board (and inevitably crash), and half ready to go for a run in my Nike Huraches. I KNOW that three halves don't make one whole, but in this case the outfit was complete despite rebelling against the laws of mathematics.
Can you say "DAY FOUR"! This was my favorite outfit that came out of this experiment, by far. A cherry red turtle neck tucked into Adidas track pants and grounded with a rough pair of Stan Smith's already made me feel badass. But the best part of the look was this uber-chic pinstripe maxi coat with lapels that don't quit. With my vintage nylon Prada backpack in tow, I was ready to hold back all modesty and pose proudly for the mirror selfie.
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I hope you've found some outfit inspiration here, and if nothing else feel the need to read more Man Repeller.
Thanks for reading.
- Emily
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