My physics
major exposes me to a group of truly brilliant and talented individuals, most
of whom, much like me, spend most of their sleep deprived time battling the
monster that is homework and lab work. This
might be why people in the sciences are assumed to be unattractive; we have
little time to leave our homework battle to primp. In reality, we do not need to invest too much
time or effort to present ourselves in an interesting or unique way. So for all of you who are too busy, or too
lazy to invest too much time and effort into dressing well, here are a few ways
to trick people into thinking you did.
.JPG) |
Caitlin is
disappointed that she cannot
be completely lazy and dress well.
Fear not! Minimal effort will make this basic
ensemble awesome. |
Admittedly
you cannot just be completely lazy and dress well. However, if you take a day or two to
strategically get clothing together, you will be able to effortlessly look
awesome everyday. The first step is to
make sure you like and fit comfortably into all of the clothing you own. If you don’t, then said clothing is just
taking up space in your closet. Donate
it to someone who will appreciate it more, or take it to a clothing swap and
exchange it for something you would actually wear. Now that you have space in your closet, make
sure you have a lot of basics. Be sure
to have plenty of tank tops, t-shirts, button downs, pants, shorts and skirts
in a few different colors. You do not
need anything fancy just something that fits and is comfortable. You can even have patterned versions of these
items, but it is very important to have a bunch of simple items in a few
different colors, or patterns, or with slight style variations. These will form the backbone of your
wardrobe, and make it so you don’t need to think about what to wear on an ordinary
day. You will want to make sure your
basics come in colors that suit you, or that you at least like. Make sure you have some black and white
items. You will want mostly neutral or
nondescript colored basics, and at least one item in a bright color that you
really like. The neutral colors will
allow you to add on layers and accessories without looking agonizingly bright
to those around you. The bright color
will allow you to throw on a pop of color that makes you happy when you are in
the mood for it. I would not suggest
getting trendy items. These will be out
of style in a few months, and require more thought to wear well. You certainly don’t want to need to go
looking for clothing again in a few months, or have to think about how to wear
the thing you can only wear for a few months anyway. Creatively pairing basic elements together is
a much more timeless and easy to execute way to look fashionable.
 |
Add a jacket and a scarf and Caitlin is ready
to conquer the World, or at least this lamp post. |
Next you will
want to make sure you have items for accessorizing or layering. Throwing on extra layers or a scarf takes
little time or effort, but makes it look like your outfit required effort and
thought. For your accessories and
clothing for layering, you can have a bit more fun with color. However
with layering you should have at least one neutral component to anchor your
outfit. Open button down shirts,
blazers, cardigans, cropped tops, and any kind of jacket will fit easily on top
of just about any of your neutral tank tops or t-shirts. The accessories will typically be the bright
point in your outfit that makes you look completely put together and
interesting. Just steal a bunch of
headbands or flowers, bangles, statement necklaces, pendants, belts (one bright
and one dark on is ideal) scarves, sun glasses and hats from your twelve year
old cousin who just discovered Claire’s and thinks wearing all of these things
at once denotes looking cool’s when they aren’t looking. If you don’t have such a twelve year old in
your life, or take issue with theft, I would suggest buying some items, but
borrowing most from your friends. This
will give you a much wider field of accessories to choose from, save you money,
and not damage your relationship with your hypothetical twelve year old friend
or relative. Often more unique or
obscure accessories make you look like you are even more Avant guard and
stylish.
 |
Caitlin in cool kid form. Note please do not
wear sunglasses at night, no amount of
coolness justifies impairing your vision. |
So now you
have torn through your closet, gathered some neutral t-shirts, and stolen from
your twelve-year-old cousin. This has
been way more effort than you expected.
When do you get to be lazy?
Well…now. You have everything you
need, now all you need to know is how to throw these items together in the five
minutes you have on the way out the door that still looks epic. One easy combination is black on black with a
pop of color, black and white, or black and white with a pop color. Grab a dark top or some dark bottoms, throw a
black or white basic over whatever part of your body isn’t currently covered,
and add a bright scarf/ necklace/ blazer/ set of bangles/ headpiece on your way
out the door. Only add one or two bright
items. If you are adding more than one,
make sure all of the bright things you add are the same color. Bam! You have a clean looking and stylish
outfit. If you are feeling really daring,
wear a vest or suspenders over the white shirt.
This looks rather different, which can come off as Avant guard and
stylish if carried with confidence. Say
you are avoiding doing your laundry and only have a t shirt, and some sort of
leg covering. Great! Add a bright scarf and a dark jacket, and you
can avoid washing your clothing for another day. You can throw a leather jacket and pair of
sunglasses on with anything and suddenly look like a cool kid. On any given day, you can take a neutral basic
top, add a neutral bottom of a different color, (unless your top is black white,
grey or navy, in which case wearing all one color is fine), and then add some
bright accessories or multiple visible layers that match or compliment each
other. Or wear a bright basic and then
make sure everything you add on top of it is a complimentary or matching
color.
When pairing
colors know that:
- Everything goes with darker jeans
- Black white and gray also pair nicely
together, or with bright pop colors.
- Beige and brown look good with earthy
tones like greens or browns, or warm colors like deep reds, oranges, and
yellows.
- Navy pairs well with red, light blue,
purple, yellow, white, metallics and pastels.
These are the
colors I would consider neutral because most other colors look good with them,
and because they can all look good with each other, these will typically be the
base or anchor for your clothing. Bright
colors are the aspects that call attention to you and make you look chic. You can pair bright base elements with
neutral base elements or use bright colors as accessories. Mix bright or deep colors with caution as you
may blind innocent onlookers if you overdo it.
- Bright blue can work with yellow, pink,
silver or gold.
- Bright purple can work with greens,
reds, silvers and pinks.
- Bright red should really be worn with
a neutral color mentioned above, but can still work with purple, gold, bronze,
and occasionally pink or orange.
- Orange can play nice with blues, light
purples, pinks and turquois.
- Yellow will get along with blues,
oranges, greys, black, and white.
- Green pairs well with gold, and blue.
Pairing bright colors is a great idea to do
with accessories, and should be done very carefully when the bright colors are
the major elements of the outfit. You
can also wear many different shades of the same color. This typically makes you look skilled at
matching.
This may
sound like a lot to do and think about, but you will find it is actually fairly
simple. Keep your wardrobe full of
simple things in neutral colors, have some sense of what pairs well with these colors,
and throw on a layer or two or an accessory or two whose color works with what
base you have on. This advice applies to
people of all genders, however if you are going for a more masculine look, you
will have to depend more on layering, as there are fewer masculine accessories
to choose from. Of course you can still look
masculine and rock sunglasses, scarves, and belts. When you find some outfit that looks good on
you, remember it, then you won’t have to think as much in the future, you can
just fall back on looks that have already worked. I hope this helps you trick everyone into
thinking you put time and effort into how you dress in the morning, while still
saving you time.
*no twelve-year-olds were harmed in the making of this blog post
