Ask Angie: How do you introduce a new style of clothing into your wardrobe? - YouLookFab Forum

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Ask Angie: How do you introduce a new style of clothing into your wardrobe?

Elbe

Angie,
I would like to see a post about how to transition to a current style. For example, when lower rise pants and jeans came onto the scene, I didn't immediately buy them. However, at some point you need new clothes and so you buy the new style. However, because they are a lower rise, you find that your tops are too short, so back to the store you go and you end up with a mini overhaul of your wardrobe. In today's styles, I see a similar conundrum with cropped/ankle pants. You need to wear a certain type of shoe which you may or may not have. I can tell if a garment fits and is flattering. I have bigger issues with introducing a newer style into the wardrobe.
Thanks,
Elbe

Dressing

18 replies

Latest reply was from unfrumped

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

This is a really good question. And the short answer is: with an accompanying support act that you will probably need to purchase along with the new silhouette.

That said, you'll find that the initial investment of the support act lays a necessary foundation that allows you to add other silhouettes to your wardrobe more easily.

What are your issues, Elbe?

unfrumped

Veteran

Such a great question. I've struggled with this, too.
I like Angie's short answer because it's realistic if you're really adding something quite different.

Once I finally realized what some of those changes entail, I was able to start evaluating the "cost" of making certain changes. Not, don't make any, but be smarter about it. Of course, "love" isn't always smart, but, "informed love" is possible!

For example, I knew I just loved oxfords. So it was worth it to me to figure out what I would need to wear to work them in. That meant I added some clothing that was oxford-fashion friendly according to fashion mags and blogs, and it also meant that I discovered that I don't like "me" in some of the fashion-world oxford outfits either, so I didn't try to add there, and it meant considering wearing them in ways not everyone else would as long as it looked good to me.

A related example is different loafers and low-vamped flats. I'm also drawn to those, and can get some good foot comfort, but they look best with narrow-hemmed pants or ankle pants, and I had had more wide-leg pants. Tapered pants, on me, are tricky--the right cut and it's very flattering, and wrong, and oh boy. Also, ankle pants can chop up my proportions and be too chilly even in summer, in air-conditioning! So here I focused more on full-length narrower pants that "scrunch" and a few selected ankle pants for summer so I could wear loafers more of the time. I continue to wear the longer, slightly scrunched lengths because I like them and they're wearable for more of the year, even though perhaps that is not trending.

Another example is the trend, when it was a newer trend, toward fluid and even oversized tops. This was a good direction for me, if not too exaggerated and bulky, because I don't like very fitted tops and because these work well to "sportify" pencil skirts, to look more relaxed and less corporate, and pencil skirts worn not too long work for me with flats (yes, I know, some say pencil skirts should only be work with pumps!). So this was a trend that worked to my advantage and with other pieces I already had.

Then, the longer pencil and tube skirts and midi skirts are something I like because of a ladylike vibe, but for me they are challenging for footwear. Yes, I see them shown with oxfords and loafers on models, and especially tall slim gals, but on me I find the proportions and legline depressing, so that's not my look. So if I add a longer skirt, I have to think very carefully about where and how I'll wear it as most of my footwear does not work with them, for everyday wear ( I can wear more heel for special occasions). It might be confined to a small capsule where just the right skirt works with one pair of shoes and a few tops and I don't try to push for a large expansion there.

Anonymous

This is a great question.

I tried leggings in late 2015 (I come late to most trends). I bought one single longer tunic knit sweater to wear with the leggings. Both the leggings and the tunic were experiments. I am enjoying wearing them.

For the time being, I am comfortable and don't feel the need to add any additional pieces to this very tiny capsule. However, should I decide to add any pieces in the future, I will build on the two pieces I currently have. I transition slowly.

I would suggest experimenting on a small scale to decide if you fully want to commit to a new silhouette.

Anonymous

Based on what I saw at the airport, leggings or skinny pants with boots and oversized tops is still going strong. I saw one woman in boyfriend jeans, but no one in flares (except me, lol).

Elbe

Unfrumped, you summed up a lot of my issues very nicely! My current frustration is that I would like to add more blouses to my wardrobe, but I want traditional collared blouses that are tucked in, often with a jacket or v-neck cardigan over them. When I look, what I see are shapeless non-collared "blouses" that are meant to be worn untucked. This doesn't work with my figure. For ankle or cropped pans, you need to find one with perfect fit (also an issue as I live in a fashion desert) and a lot of these are styled with flowy tops. So I keep wearing what I have but I don't want to get stuck in the past.

lyn67

Veteran

This subject is hard, and this is why I couldn't live with a minimal wardrobe:-(((.

susanm

Such a good question and I can relate to most of the replies. I resisted cropped and ankle pants then noticed that most of the current shoes have ankle interest. So you need the two trends together to look best. Like Elbe, I also have noticed the lack of fitted collared blouses and am making the shift to different styles though I prefer collared blouses.

Anonymous

I want shirts that are semi-fitted and can be worn untucked without making me look like I'm pregnant. Just skim my body without being very fitted or very loose.

Anonymous

Elbe -- you bring up another good point. There are times when fashion cycle offerings don't suit me at all.

I learned to recognize those times and I rein in my buying. I have succumbed in the past and bought items that really, really did not suit me. I was never able to purchase a "supporting act" to make them work because the original piece was a compromise in the first place. Any thing I bought afterward was doomed to failure.

Can you possibly update your look with a few new accessories? I am not advocating buying into trends, I was just wondering if small, inexpensive additions might not help.

On a side note, I look for semi-fitted tops as well. They are tough to find so when I do happen to find them, I buy multiples in different colors. I update the look with necklaces.

Aquamarine

Veteran

This is tricky. Generally, I use it as an excuse to shop and do an all-around update. Such is the nature of fashion, sigh.

Carla

Veteran

In 2015 I updated my closet by shopping for 2 capsules - one spring and one fall. For spring I experimented with a Boho style top and cropped/ankle pants. The fall capsule featured flared trousers (Angie's Express sailor pants) and cropped tops. The items were in co-ordinating colours and went with each other very well. Once I got them home, I was surprised by how well they mixed with some items I already owned!

Everything doesn't go with everything - but there is a surprising amount of crossover.

Aziraphale

Veteran

This is a great thread. I've noticed this too -- the gradual wardrobe sea change that inevitably follows a change in one element, usually the rise and cut of the pants -- and what I've found is that yes, I have to buy new footwear and tops to accommodate this. It's not normally a problem, though, because it seems like pants silhouettes stay stable for quite a few years, and in that time, my tops wear out and I have to get new ones anyway. Footwear generally lasts longer, but that's OK.

I really noticed this issue when flared pants gave way to skinnies partway through the 2000s. The shoes I used to wear with flared pants absolutely DID NOT work with skinnies. Still, I found that the process of acquiring shoes that did work with skinny jeans was fairly organic. First I wore my skinnies tucked into tall boots, then started acquiring short boots or heels, and eventually -- when hems started to be cut right at the ankle -- flat oxfords and ankle-strap sandals. When rolled-up boyfriend jeans appeared on the scene, I found that some (but not all) of my short boots and heels worked with those, too. Now I have a small arsenal of footwear that can handle most styles of pants. Throughout this time, tops have come and gone, but for me it's the shoes and pants that are the most crucial. (It's true that tops matter, though -- I won't wear short tops with low-rise pants! No midriff-baring for me, thanks).

Nebraskim

Veteran

Interesting reading here for me. I am struggling with how much I HATE ankle-length pants on me. I think they are adorable on everyone else but I really hate them on me. It's not an issue that could be resolved with different footwear. Consequently, I've not bought any new pants in almost a year because I cannot find them long enough. Even talls tend to be too short. So I'm in a holding pattern on pants. Alas.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

i think it all depends on whether you want to incorporate a trend. It sounds as if, in this case, you really don't. So. Unless you desperately need new things, just let it be.

If you do need or want to adopt a new silhouette then the supporting act is crucial. Maybe online shopping is the answer. I live in a place with few local options so I have become an online shopping expert! I read this blog and Angie's recommendations and scout the forum to see how items look on members with similar body type. On my few big city trips I try on like crazy so I know how various brands fit. I look for retailers who offer free returns and make ample use of that option. And sometimes it makes sense to buy outfits vs separates. That way you know you have at least one way to wear the new item successfully. You can gradually add more complementary items.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Another point. If you don't want to get stuck in the past why not look for a trend you DO like and work on incorporating that?

unfrumped

Veteran

Suz, exactly. Some things just jump out at you.

My problem I think is likely to be I "adopt a trend" and then hold on to it maybe too long, thinking, oh, I modernized and forgetting that has to be re-done. Or, to your point, I probably focus on trends I naturally like (which sounds obvious, but I mean, in contrast to a very aggressive trend-adopter) and so, heck, I did it because I liked it, not just because it was in, so....

I don't think that's wrong; instead I want to think of it as style evolution, in which I might keep some things because now they feel more like what I want to do, and my updates may be different--may not be tossing this or that even though someone else might, but may be, what else is an update for me that goes with the elements I really want to keep using.

Jules

Veteran

Oh Elbe, it's soooo true. I really think sticking to one or two basic silhouettes with variations is the simplest way to have a nice wardrobe with fewest pieces - more important than limiting colour palette, especially in these non-matchy times when we can mix neutrals and leathers. I was personally excited to see flared jeans coming back, but soon realized it opens a whole can of worms re: footwear! So when I bought two pairs this fall, my next mission was to find the right boots to go under. And in a way buying two pairs of jeans up front, along with two tops that worked with both pairs, made the most sense such that I had several outfit options and the new boots got worn regularly. I'm just realizing all this as I typed, really, but in a way I invested in a mini capsule, also incorporating the 70s boho trend I was loving. If I had just bought one pair of flared jeans I probably wouldn't have gotten the right footwear and just been frustrated by the new, hard-to-wear jeans.
All this takes some practice, I think, and money. An awareness that a new cut of pants means further purchases. I'm planning to cut back my spending a bit and that will mean choosing to mainly build on one main silhouette, I think.

unfrumped

Veteran

Jules, you made such s good point about silhouettes!
Probably that is the hardest, or at least most domino- effect change to make. Hence can also be the most game- changing and rewarding. But can get too complicated as well.
Angie had something on introducing new colors and there was discussion of how that COULD open up a can of worms as well, if you're making a major change in palette or just adding a color that somehow demands OTHER new colors. Whereas another person could try a " color trend" in something that blends seamlessly into existing capsules.
It can be fun to categorize " trend types" by that degree of challenge, and I recall Angie at times may do that in forecast or roundups by noting things that would make easy refreshers vs. need more planning.