How to Style Your Way to More Clothes

One of my favorite magic tricks is taking the same piece of clothing and working it in two dramatically different ways. I find power in knowing that my clothes are mine to control, not the other way around. When it came time to shoot The Most Perfect Pleated Skirt, I enlisted the help of stylist Mussie Epstein to pull these looks together. I love her work, and thought I’d take you through exactly why.

Woman on left wears light grey sweater layered over cream blouse, paired with knee length blue-grey skirt with 3 pleats and paperbag pleating at waistline and matching belt tied in a bow. Woman on right wears same skirt paired with black and white striped shirt with large chunky knit pastel scarf

The Power of Accessories

For this uber-popular color Mussie wanted to convey easy effortless everyday looks that come together nicely. We used different tops for each of these looks, but the stripe tee could easily be replaced by the solid grey sweater. The magic in these two looks is in the accessories. Merideth’s silver snakeskin booties keep her look light and professional while Lynley’s darker footwear and Pastel Coziest Scarf lend themselves to more casual outings.

woman on left wears plaid light brown jacket over ivory sweater with olive green knee length skirt with 3 pleats and paperbag pleating at waistline and matching belt tied in a bow. womn on right wears same skirt with flowy black blouse and gold chunky necklace

Take it to the Dark Side

One of my favorite ways to give the same item a dramatically different look is by pairing it with a different color family. Greens and browns are always beautiful together, and Merideth’s look benefits from a ivory sweater and lighter brown jacket to play with proportions. Lynley is going much darker paired with all black for a dressier evening look. The combination of the Rose top in Black with the Olive green texture is really beautiful.

woman on left wears graphic black and white striped turtleneck under camel trench coat paired with blackknee length skirt with 3 pleats and paperbag pleating at waistline and matching belt tied in a bow. woman on right wears same skirt with black turtleneck

What everyones loves to hate and loves to wear

Probably the most versatile color known to womankind, there are literally endless things you can do with Black. My favorite styling of this whole shoot has got to be the not-too-preppy look Merideth is wearing. The socks might not be your jam so feel free to swap them for black tights or skip them altogether. Lynley shows how textures really shine when you go full monochrome. Mussie expertly included warm touches in the shoe and jewelry to keep this from being too severe.

These are some of my favorite tricks to rework outfits and get the most out of them- play with the accessories, try different color families, and experiment with patterns and monochrome. Remember that this a quality of quantity game and you'll get a lot more use out of fewer pieces that fit you beautifully and you actually love then a closet full of meh.

To get The Most Perfect Pleated Skirt, click here.

Here's to making an Impact together!