Many of you lovely queens have asked me if I am a personal stylist or shopper. I have a few clients I have worked with in the past for personal styling/shopping services. Since I get this question often and I have worked with a few of you guys, I wanted to create this blog post for those of you who want personal styling or shopping services but cannot afford it for now. Here are my 10 tips for building a fully functional closet.
1. Stay away from trends. When I say this, I don’t mean you should stay away 100%. What I mean is less trendy pieces, more functional pieces. Pieces like blazers, shirts, skirts, etc., that you can always restyle. Let your closet be 80% essential pieces and 20% trendy pieces. Speaking of essential pieces, this brings me to my next point, which is your basic closet essentials.
2. Closet essentials/must-haves. I have written a previous blog post about this here, but I wanted to highlight the importance of having closet essentials. These pieces can range from your everyday wear to blazers, white shirts, quality jeans, and your choice of shoes (sneakers or heels). You will always need a nice pair of jeans and a shirt for a casual but classy look.
3. Workwear. You don’t always need to buy new suits or pants whenever you have a job interview, or you need to go into the office or must attend that important meeting. Make it a habit to buy quality pieces. If a dress costs $200 or a suit costs $300, see how sturdy the material is and how long it will last you. I would rather pay $300 for one suit that I can style four different ways at different events than buy a $50 skirt and $45 top each time I go into the office. If you do the math, you are spending more. If you only have four events for the next two months, each time you spend that $95 for those four events, you’ve spent $385. That is $85 more than what that one suit cost. So, that one great quality suit that can be styled in four different ways is the way to go.
4. Colors. I understand minimalism is a thing now, but truth be told, they are boring. Don’t fight me; fight with your keyboards. Yes, I said it, in my book they are boring. Why would I want to wear only black or brown or white only? I want to mix them up, my friend. I want to look like nature in a beautiful green dress and look like an angel in an all white suit. Why can’t I have both? Who said I could not have both? All in the name of fashion, right? I should always wear the same two colors. Build your closet with colors that you’re fun of and fancy a lot. Life is short; make it colorful, my friend.
5. Reusable pieces. I love to buy pieces that I can style in many ways. Take a button-down dress, for example. I can wear that dress as-is. I can wear it on top of jeans, wear it as a kimono, and wear it on top of pants. Now I have styled this single dress four different ways. I always say you should learn to shop your closet. You will always find something new when you do this.
6. Accessories. My favorite accessory will always be shoes. Well, now that my knees are giving me a hard time, this will be a problem. I want to be able to wear all my heels without any hustle. Add as many styles and colors of shoes that can easily elevate any outfit. From pumps to sneakers to a loafer to flats, have them all.
7. Handbags. I recently started buying handbags, and I really do love them. I am more into small bags and cross-body bags. I used them to complete my outfits. You don’t have to start off with expensive bags but start with affordable and good-quality bags. Find your style of bags that speak to your personal style.
8. Winter accessories. Jackets, coats, blazers, etc. Honestly speaking, you don’t always have to buy the latest trend in a coat. We all are obsessing over vintage lately. Vintage is in style now, so get yourself some good coats from the thrift stores that will last you many winters to come. I got a coat from the thrift store back in 2017, and it’s still one of my favorite coats today. Invest in good quality coats that will last you many winters to come. There’s no need for fast fashion coats.
9. Bottoms. For a long time, I struggled with buying bottoms. I found myself buying more tops than bottoms. I had to refocus my thought on styling when purchasing. Instead of just rushing for tops when I’m shopping, I look at the bottom section first. I fell in love with pants. I started to add more pants, jeans, and skirts to my closet. If I buy two tops, I must buy one button and vice versa. Keeping that balance in my closet.
10. Finally, perfume. This is my personal favorite. I know you might not consider this as a tip for building your closet, but it is. Your look must be complete with the right scent. If you still don’t have your go-to scent yet, this is the right time you start looking into it. Go to Macy’s or a perfume store. Must test various scents on your skin and leave. See which one lasted for more than 12 hours and which you liked. This will help you find a perfume you can call your go-to perfume. I learned this from a sales lady at a perfume store years ago, and it worked. My two personal go-to perfumes are Rouge 360 and MAC TURQUATIC.
That brings me to the end of this very lengthy blog post. After reading this, I hope you have gained a few new tips to start building your closet.
That’s it for today, queens, see you next time.
Xoxo, Mo!
