HOW I BUILD AN OUTFIT

Good day to you all, I hope you're all doing really well and keeping warm... My goodness how the temperature has dropped lately, it's baltic.

Following on from a little research I did over on my Instagram stories about what you guys wanted to see from me this year, and after quite a number of you mentioned how you wanted to know a little more about how I build an outfit, I thought I would bring to you today's blogpost.
Now, I definitely think there is something in this topic by way of video content, which I'm still trying to work out,  but I thought that in the meantime it would be nice to talk you through my outfit building technique here on the blog as well.

Sometimes I struggle with answering this type of question as to be perfectly honest it's not really something I think too much into... For the most part at least. Of course I have days (more than I care to admit) where I have absolutely no idea what to wear, where the inspiration just isn't coming up trumps and I stare blankly at my wardrobe, with a pile of rejected pieces and outfits strewn on the bed...
That's when the thought process begins, so I guess I'll simply run you through what goes through my head during these times and also when I'm sat on the sofa and outfit inspiration strikes, what I do to reimagine this in the morning.

1. Look out for inspiration
   My first port-of-call for seeking out outfit inspiration is to scroll, scroll and scroll some more. We have a plethora of outfit inspiration at our fingertips, thanks to apps such as Instagram and TikTok and websites such as Pinterest, that offer outfits by the shedload. My favourite resources for seeking out style inspo is Instagram, in particular their "saved" feature. I have countless albums within this "saved" feature relating to a number of categories for my life. Whether that's "outfits" "accessorising" "interiors" "baby brands" and even one called "captions" where I head to when I simply don't know how to caption my latest post. I find this feature so useful for sourcing and saving things that inspire me as I can refer to it at any time, to create my own version of it, especially useful for outfit building
2. Write a list
   Once you've found your little spark of inspiration the next step is to get into your wardrobe and start finding pieces that you could build an outfit with. Once I've located those pieces, I then build a mental outfit using the notes app on my iPhone. A little list of outfit builds which makes getting ready in the morning SO much easier! I find myself referring to this list on an evening so I can mentally prepare for the following day, knowing the exact look that I want to build in the morning, which speeds everything up and makes my mornings that little bit smoother.

3. Have A Starting Point
Typically, I have a particular piece or two that I really want to wear that day. Usually it's a pair of shoes but sometimes it's a bag or a jumper or a particular pair of jeans that I haven't worn in a while that forms the basis of my look. Once I have that piece in mind I'll then build around it. Starting small with just one piece usually makes for an easier build and also more of a fun, less "simple" look.

4. Add Colour
With my outfits I ALWAYS like to add a pop of colour in some way, shape or form. An all black look will forever be chic, however, throw in a colourful bag, pair of shoes, hat or even a pop of colour through your socks and I personally feel that the look is instantly elevated. I love to clash colours but there is certainly a way to do this correctly without looking like you got dressed in the dark. Complimenting colours will always work together to create a really gorgeous look but I appreciate that clashing can take some trial and error. If you're new to colour clashing, then take a look at a colour wheel on Google images. Pick a colour and look at the colour that is opposite it diagonally, for example pink and green, purple and yellow, blue and orange. These colours were MADE for clashing and will always work beautifully together!

5. Clashing Prints
Clashing prints is a fine art, in my opinion. I have to be honest as I do see many-a-failed print clash as I believe that it is such a fine line to tread. When it comes to a successful print clash you have to carefully consider the type of prints you are wanting to clash and also the colours within the print.
Pair two prints that have a common thread running throughout them, the easiest thread is usually a colour running amongst both prints. If the prints combine the same colour or a colour from the same family then you're on to a winner. When it comes to clashing prints it's not always about more is more, despite what you may think. It's about carefully considering your prints and learning what will work together. Animal prints, stripes and checks are the easiest prints to clash as they're classic prints that will stand the test of time whilst also coming in a plethora of colours to work with the other prints within your wardrobe. Clashing prints is so much fun when it's done correctly and is always something I consider when building an outfit.

6. The Finishing Touches
Bags, socks, shoes, jewellery and headwear are probably my favourite things about building an outfit and I truly believe that accessories can both make and break an outfit. I like to consider functionality first and foremost; what am I doing that day? Do I need comfy shoes to walk a lot? Will I need a bigger bag to carry my laptop/go shopping? Is it hot or cold? And then secondly, I try out colour clashing and colour complimenting to decide which pieces to bring into the mix. Sometimes a clash is all that is needed to really elevate a look and sometimes something that compliments or even tones down the look is the finishing touch that the outfit needs.

So there we have my 6 steps to outfit success (in my opinion of course) I hope you found this useful in someway and I would love to hear how you build outfits and whether you're thinking of implementing some of my steps into your routine?

x M