I’ve been trying to find the right navy tulle mesh skirt that won’t break the bank for years. I saw a great one at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale five or six years ago, but passed because I prioritized other purchases. I wish I’d got it because it’s the type of item that is hard to find when you actually need it. I hope I find a fab tulle skirt this year because I LOVE the way full skirts swoosh and move as you stride. Here are some lovely ones.

Tulle mesh skirts are dressy, and can be combined with a dressy support act for a formal occasion. But they can also be worn more casually by styling them with relaxed items like a graphic tee, moto jacket, denim jacket, tie-front shirt, cropped sweater, fashion sweatshirt, hoodie, combat boots, cowboy boots, flat boots, riding boots, loafers, gladiators, and sneakers. I intend to wear my tulle skirt in a relaxed way when I eventually get one. I’m excited about twirling around it already.

On to some creative tulle skirt looks with a relaxed integrity. Choose any colour palette.

1. Moto Jacket, Knitted Top, and Heels

Combine a tulle skirt with a matching fitted or fluid knitted top in a pattern or solid. Tuck or semi-tuck the top, or leave it out if you prefer those proportions. Add dressy shoes like pumps, sandals, or tailored boots. Top off the look with a tailored moto jacket that works with the palette. Personally, I like short motos combined with full skirts, but feel free to wear a longer one.

2. Skirt and Sneakers

Combine a tulle skirt with a fluid shirt or blouse. Tuck it in or knot the front to create a waistline. Scrunch or roll the sleeves. Add sneakers that work with the colours of the skirt. Here, the white sneakers match the white of the top. The pink in the sneakers matches the pink of the skirt. The pink baseball cap playfully matches the skirt. I’d add a light blue denim jacket as a topper if needed.

3. Graphic Tee, Suspenders, and Sandals

Combine a tulle skirt with a tucked solid tee, or graphic tee. Add a decorative pair of suspenders that work with the palette of the outfit. Here, the skirt has detachable straps, but you can add suspenders instead. The on-trend platform sandals add drama and a bit of height. Boots can work well too. I can see a pile of pearls adding a fab touch.

4. Fluid Cardigan and Dressy Shoes

And last, a slightly collegiate vibe. Combine a tulle skirt with a solid or patterned tee or knitted top. Tuck or semi-tuck the top for a bit of structure. Layer a boxy and longer cardigan over the top. Leave it open to showcase the top. Scrunch the sleeves if you like. The low contrast between the three clothing items creates an elongated effect. Finish off the look with dressy shoes like these ankle-strap wedges. The dark shoes bookend the model’s hair and add a little shine. Add jewellery, watch, and eyewear as desired.

Here are twelve ways to refresh your look without breaking the bank. In some instances it involves simply working with the items you already own. In others, it involves spending a bit of money on the right new items to feel sartorially refreshed. Some ways require a little patience and time, while others are an easy “quick fix”. Many of them are complementary. Choose one or more of these each season to avoid feeling bored with your style.

1. Try a New Colour

Adding an additional neutral or non-neutral to your style can have a meaningful effect. Add a different type of earth tone to a neutral wardrobe, or go for navy instead of black. Maybe pearl grey, cream, or tan is “your white”. Maybe teal, lilac, apple green, and orchid are your new favourite colours. Try pink instead of red, or turquoise instead of cobalt. Or go for a mid-tone instead of another dark colour.

A bright tomato red is my favourite shade of red, and it used to be the only red in my wardrobe. But a few years ago, I added all sorts of reds to my wardrobe because I love red. I now have cooler shades and tones like fire engine, wine, crimson, cherry, and burgundy in my wardrobe, and happily remix the reds in one outfit to create a monochromatic look. I also like to remix the reds with oranges and pinks.

2. Remix Colours in a New Way

Find new ways to wear the colours in your wardrobe to increase its versatility index. Remix neutrals in different ways. Lighten dark outfits, and darken light outfits. Try wearing lighter, or darker shoes. Wear monochromatic outfits. Wear high-contrast outfits. Wear low-contrast outfits. Combine colours that are close together on the colour wheel. Combine clashing colours. Wear three or four brights at once. Add some shine. Combine warm and cool colours. Wear footwear that bookends the colour of your hair or eyes. Remix brights with pastels.

I have a bright wardrobe that is grounded with all sorts of neutral blues and whites. I also have a bit of blush pink and some earth tones. I remix ALL of it depending on my mood because I have a high affinity for colour mixing. As a result, I am never bored with the colours in my wardrobe.

3. Add Pattern

Sometimes, wearing patterns is just the thing to get us out of a style slump. The patterns can be subtle or bold, neutral or non-neutral, large or small, and of anything at all. Try novelty patterns, abstract designs, landscape designs, ombré, swirls, marbled effects, tie-dye, botanical designs, paint splatter, space designs, heritage patterns, psychedelic patterns, and paisley for a change.

I love patterns, and have a lot of pattern in my wardrobe. I tend to stick to classic stripes, dots, plaids, checks, and florals precisely because I don’t get bored of them. That said, doggie and horse patterns are welcome.

4. Pattern Mix

If you’re new to pattern mixing and like the idea, try it. It needn’t be chaotic and maximal if that’s not your thing. Begin by combining two subtle, small, neutral and calm patterns together in the same palette. If you’re into something bolder, combine two larger patterns with more colours in them. If you’re very bold, combine up to four or five patterns in an outfit. I’ve found that as long as the patterns have one or a few of the same colours running through them, a sense of harmony is created.

I like to pattern mix my outfits. I go through stages where I pattern mix a lot and very boldly, feeling energized by the combination. Or I pattern mix in a more subtle way. Sometimes, I like to focus on solids. This year, I am in the mood for fewer patterns and more solids.

5. Try a Trend

Absorb the trend reports that I put out seasonally here, here, and here. Is there anything that tickles your fancy? Think in terms of new silhouettes and outfit combinations. You could try one trend, or several of them. Try a new look with inexpensive items, and try to keep an open mind. It’s amazing at how integrating a few well-chosen trendier pieces can change up the landscape of your wardrobe.

6. Add a Classic

Sometimes we forget how powerful, versatile, and easy classic items can be. Maybe add more of those to your style. Note that by classics, I include simple versions of iconic items like moto jackets, trucker denim jackets, Converse sneakers, Dr. Martens, cowboy boots, penny loafers, utility pants, gladiator sandals, denim button-down shirts, peacoats, tailored blazers, silk blouses, riding boots, clogs, trench coats, and the like.

I’m a big fan of the classics and wear a lot of them. I tend to wear the classics in non-neutrals and unexpected colours. This adds a playful integrity and makes them a more authentic match for my style.

7. Change the Silhouette of Essential Items

Wardrobe essentials are simple, and you can change them up to a trendier or different silhouette if you’re bored with them. If black boots are an essential for your style, change them up from pointy toes to snip toes, or choose a lug sole. Change up white sneakers to platformed versions, or tailored navy turtlenecks to fluid fits.

Dark blue jeans are a wardrobe essential for my style, and I like to keep them on-trend. I slowly and sustainably switched silhouettes from cropped flares and cropped straight legs, to cuffed relaxed straights, barrel legs, wide legs, and wide crops.

8. Change Your Hair

Change your hair in a subtle or dramatic way. Trim it, curl it, straighten it, layer it, add a finger wave, or bring out your natural beachy waves and curly coils. Tie it back, braid it, throw on a headband, or add a barrette. Sport a short straight fringe, or wispy bangs. Grow it out, or chop it off. Add low lights, highlights, rainbow streaks, become a redhead, become a brunette, or embrace your beautiful natural colour.

I’m doing two things to my hair to create a different look because I feel like a big change. After fifteen years of very short platinum blonde hair, I’m growing out my pixie and embracing my natural dark blonde colour. It’s slow going, but I’m beginning to see and feel a slight shift in vibe. It’s quite exciting.

9. Change Your Eyewear

If you regularly wear eyewear, make sure that you love your frames. If it’s time to update your prescription eyewear, readers, and sunnies, give the refresh the time and attention it deserves. Remember that eyewear accessorizes the face, which is where people are focussing most of their attention when they are interacting with you. Wear fab eyewear.

10. Amp Up Accessories

If you enjoy wearing scarves, try a new way of wearing one by tying the scarf in a different way. Scarves can be relatively inexpensive additions to our wardrobes so add another or a few if they’re signature to your style. Pattern mix with them if that’s your cup of tea.

Add accessories to your outfits if you previously went without. Wear the jewellery that’s packed away in a box. Add a belt, brooch, tie, fun socks, or hat to an outfit. Try a new style or colour of handbag. Swap out your handbags more frequently. Have fun with nail polish and nail art.

11. Tweak Your Make-Up Routine

There are a million YouTube videos to help you do just that. Change the colour of your lipstick. Wear tinted lipbalm. Add mascara and eyeliner to your daily make-up routine. Wear blue, green or purple mascara. Have your brows professionally shaped and dyed. Add bronzer. Wear blush.

I’m not a big make-up person, but have tweaked my routine over the years to refresh the look. I switched to blue mascara and added blue tightline to the inside of my top eyelids. I leave off the tinted moisturizer and lipstick, and sport naked skin with tinted lip balm. When I look a little pale, I add some blush.

12. Change your Dress Code

Amp up the dressiness of your daily outfits if you’re feeling overly casual. Wear your dressier skirts and dresses that are begging for some action. Conversely, add a relaxed touch if your look feels too dressy. Neutralize the dressy pieces by wearing them with denim, utility items, and casual footwear. Throw on tees, hoodies and joggers with blazers, leggings with dressier frocks, and motos with trousers, and fashion sweatshirts with skirts.

Sometimes I refresh my style in a very subtle way, and sometimes the changes are a lot more noticeable. Sometimes I can refresh with a few quick fixes, and sometimes I need to look deeper into my head and heart in order to pinpoint precisely why I’m bored with my style. It is an ongoing journey, and never boring.

Smocking is a decorative embroidery technique that involves gathering a wide piece of fabric together into tight pleats. The result is a stretchy, shirred appearance. Elastic is used to gather the fabric, which creates the stretch. Smocking is most comfortable when lightweight and soft fabrics are used. Both woven and knitted fabrics can be smocked.

Garment smocking has been around for centuries, and we see a bit of it every season. Because smocking is having an on-trend fashion moment, we’ll see more of it for a while. The design detail is most common on the bodices of tops and dresses, with welts of tops, the basques of skirts, and the waistbands of bottoms. You’ll also see smocking on the cuffs of sleeves, hems of pants, collars of necklines, yokes of necklines, or in the middle of tops to create a bit of tapering. The collection below shows a variety of smocked items.

Garments can be smocked in a subtle or bold way. The form -itting yet flexible fit that smocking can create is quite unique. It can add structure and suppression to a garment in a comfortable, effective, and interesting way. It also adds texture. Smocking can have a romantic, prairie, alluring, Cottage Core, and bohemian vibe. Some renditions can look a bit architectural.

To some tastes, a smocked vibe is overly frilly, gathered, bulky, and maximal. Some find smocking over the bust or belly uncomfortable, but can tolerate it in small areas of a garment. Smocking can also pouf out in an odd way when seated, so make sure you do the sit-down test before committing to a smocked garment.

Personally, I like a bit of smocking. It’s pretty, reminds me of the ‘70s, and I’ve worn a bit of it every decade in very small doses. I fell in love with this navy and white smocked Summer dress from M&S. It has a square neckline that I generally don’t wear, but the structure of the smocking and the volume of the puffy sleeves made it work well for my long neck and narrow shoulders. It’s very soft and comfy too. After trying it on in my dressing room at home, I didn’t want to take if off. A good sign! Now I’m after a white smocked top too.

Over to you. Do you like and wear smocked garments?

YLF celebrates its sixteenth birthday today. WOW. Our 10th anniversary felt like quite the milestone, but here we are six years later. It feels unexpected and surreal, yet natural and normal. A lot has happened along the way. We are older, wiser, and in many ways stronger and more forgiving. YLF continues along its strong and steady path with a positive, hopeful attitude, and a unique, engaged and fabulous community.

A very big THANK YOU for the extraordinary support over the years. Your thoughtful, supportive, intelligent, insightful, witty, eloquent, and candid contributions enrich this community, make me grow as a person, and provide me with busloads of inspiration. A special shout-out to Fabbers who have supported YLF for more than a decade — some for the full sixteen years. Another special shout-out to my incredible clientele who I have the pleasure of working with in person— some for close to sixteen years too. Your loyalty is humbling and I greatly appreciate it.

Inge has been a Fabber for fourteen years, and part of the YLF team for eleven. Inge is a kind, patient, reliable, resourceful, sweet, and delightful person who is our dear friend. A big thank you to Inge for her hard work, support and friendship. I haven’t seen Inge in person since December 2019, and miss our fun times together when I visited the Netherlands. I hope we see each other more regularly in future.

My biggest thank you is to hubs Greg, who lovingly built YLF for me back in 2006 when I knew nothing about blogs, forums, and social communities. Greg’s indispensable and frequent behind-the-scenes YLF work on top of his demanding day job is incredible and very generous. I don’t know how he manages his very full plate, and I am perpetually in awe. There would be no YLF without Greg, and I am extremely grateful for his time and guidance.

And last but not least, a big thank you to co-CEOs Sam and Jo, whose incomparable companionship, loving little hearts, and playful personas are therapeutic and heart-warming. Not to mention their all-important security duties.

Here’s to spreading the word that style is not an age, size, or budget. Rather, it’s a “do-your-own-thing”, authentic, energy.  A confidence, and ease that is expressed through what we wear and how we wear it. Wishing you a safe, calm and healthy day.