When putting an outfit together, it is so important to keep that fragile balance between “too much” and “not nearly enough.” While you don’t want your look to be plain and snooze-worthy, a good outfit can be easily ruined by overdoing the accessories. The ultimate goal: find the balance and keep it.
This Mizzou Fashionista manages to find clothing and accessories that complement each other. She allows her faux fur vest to be the center of attention while keeping everything else monochromatic. A black shirt and black jeans go nicely with the outfit without fighting for attention as she plays into the gold details of her purse and boots by adding some gold bracelets.
All together, these pieces come together to create a polished, yet intricate winter look that is perfect for any Fashionista/o to rock on campus during these cold winter months.
Putting outfits like these together can take thought and time. My best advice for pulling pieces like this out of your closet is to follow Michael Kors’ golden rule: “70 percent of the clothes you own should be meat and potatoes. 30 percent should be icing and fluff—that’s color, pattern, shine, accessories.”
The “meat and potatoes” he is referring to are the classic, universal pieces that can be worn countless different ways. In this Fashionista’s case, this would be the long sleeve black T-shirt, her black skinny jeans, black leather boots and her classic leather handbag.
The “icing and fluff” he is referring to are the statement pieces you can’t wear many times, but they add the edge and intrigue to the outfit. Her “icing and fluff” include the floppy black hat and her faux fur brown vest.
So take a step into your closet and get an estimate of your “meat and potatoes” to “icing and fluff” ratio. If it’s not near the 70/30 rule of thumb, you may have some purging and shopping to do. Follow fashion genius Michael Kors’ advice, and you can’t go wrong.
How To: Check out this shirt, jeans like these, a faux fur vest, a hat, tall boots and, of course, a killer bag!
