It’s not just the dress, top and bottom, topper, suit or jumpsuit that make an outfit look awesome. How the outfit is finished off makes all the difference. These final styling touches add visual interest and polish, amplify creativity, and can prevent an outfit from malfunctioning.
Here are some important ways to finish off an outfit. Sometimes you’ll use multiple of these tips to achieve the desired look. Sometimes, a few will get you on your way. The point is that it’s the details that elevate your look from good to great.
1. Tucking, Ruching, Knotting, and Fastening Tabs
You can tuck, semi-tuck, and half-tuck a top to create outfit proportions that are more to your liking. Tucking shortens a top, lengthens the leg line, adds a little or a lot of waist definition, and tempers the volume of a top.
A fitted top can be ruched to shorten its length and add textural interest. Some garments have built-in ruching.
Knotting the ends of a button-through top can shorten it and add structure. Knotting a tee can shorten its length. Knotting the ties of garments into a square knot or neat bow can improve the look of an outfit. Fastening the tabs of sleeves in an interesting way can too.
2. Sleeve Scrunching and Cuffing
Sleeves of tops and toppers can be scrunched, rolled, or cuffed once to showcase alluring wrists and forearms, or to temper volume. The hems of bottoms can be cuffed or rolled to showcase ankles, socks, and shorten the length.
3. Fashion Tape and Safety Pins
Sometimes you need a little pin or tape to prevent centre front buttons from gaping, or to keep part of a garment flat. Strategically positioned safety pins can also keep scarves in place.
4. Footwear
Shoes can ground a look and affect the vibe of your style. Sometimes shoes ARE the outfit, making the stylish difference. They can dress a look up or down, and be matched with accessories to create complements that help pull a look together.
5. Accessories
The right accessories take an outfit from nice to fabulous. Jewellery, scarves, belts, eyewear, watches, hats, gloves, hairbands, and handbags add interest, and help create a cohesive outfit. They can add shine, polish, structure, texture, pattern, colour, or bookend your look. You might like to style your clothes to showcase beautiful body art.
6. Make-Up and Nails
A little eye make-up, brow definition, lip shine or tint, and healthy skin adds polish to your outfit. Nail colour and art can effectively add interest too. When you sport a very neutral style and speak with your hands – a bit of nail colour goes a long way.
7. Styled Hair
Your hair is part of your look, no matter how short it is. Taking the time to style it daily so that you feel attractive with the result is worth it and adds to the fabness of your outfit. Making a statement with a buzz cut means you don’t have hair to style, in which case you might pay more attention to make-up, jewellery, and nail art.
Personally, I enjoy finishing off my outfit with statement eyewear (a practical necessity so that I can see the world properly) white pearls, belts and handbags. I’m huge on tucking and semi-tucking tops, and scunchng sleeves. I make neat knots, bows and cuff when necessary. I also style my hair, and wear a little eye make-up and lip shine daily.
How about you? How do you like to finish off your outfits?
