I am going to tell you a secret. But don’t tell TJMaxx I told you. Heck, don’t tell my mom I told you, either. This is not something many boutique owners want you to know…

You don’t need new clothes. There, I said it. Fight me. In fact, I will wager that if you went out right now with an unlimited budget and shopped for hours, you would still end up with “nothing to wear” in a couple of months. I have made it my mission to explore why, and I can’t wait to share more with you!

In my experience, many women have reduced their overflowing closet to only a few, rigid outfit pairings. Once we decide on rules for what “goes together,” we tend to stop seeing other possible style combinations. While it’s good to have those “go-to” formulas on busy mornings, it can also take the fun out of getting dressed. But that’s why I am here. Are you ready to discover the dozens of new outfits hiding in your closet? 

The first step to the wonderland of wardrobe love is to throw out the old rules that keep you on the “I have nothing to wear” hamster wheel. If you open your mind, suspend your self -imposed rules and allow yourself to play, I promise you can learn to love what ya got! I have several tips designed to help you unlock your creativity to wear your current clothes in new and fresh ways. Here are two of my favorites:

Mix the Highs and Lows

Wear your most casual and your most lux pieces together! You’ve seen this juxtaposition become a popular trend, and it’s here to stay. As our culture has become less formal, workwear has followed suit. (See what I did there?) The mix of dressy and casual feels just right for today’s professional, and it helps you adapt your wardrobe for different types of events. Learning how to pair casual pieces with professional or formal staples will increase your number of outfits exponentially. Plus, now you have a reason to wear your “special occasion” pieces more often. (Repeat after me: “Sequins are now for daytime!”) 

If you want to try it out, I suggest starting by pairing your glitziest jewelry and your fanciest shoes with a tee shirt and distressed jeans. If you are already rocking this trend, you can turn it up a notch by wearing the floor-length skirt or pants from your formal wear with a solid, fitted tank and denim jacket. 

Mix the Prints
Ok, neutral lovers, hear me out on this one! You can add visual interest to your outfit and feel instantly stylish by learning to effectively combine two different prints into one outfit. Before you protest, “No way, Maris, that’s too much for me,” let me tell you the secret. In order to pull this move off with class, pay attention to the scale of the print. Prints are divided into three categories: small, medium and large scale. The key to appearing more chic than crazy when mixing prints is to choose prints of different scales.

When you are starting out, I suggest pairing a large scale print with a small scale print, while sticking to similar color pallets to unify your outfit. Small scale prints are prints with graphics that are small and very close together. They feel “busy.” You see the complete graphic repeated many times in one garment. And the background color is barely visible. Large scale prints have graphics that are larger and more spaced apart. These feel less “busy.” The full graphic is repeated fewer times in a garment. And the background color is more visible. Medium scale prints are in between small and large scales. (I bet ya knew that one. See, you’re catching on already!) 

If you want to try it out, I suggest you start by pairing a striped tee with a floral print or a leopard print bottom. If you choose a small scale stripe, like a seersucker, you’ll want to pair it with a larger scale. If you choose a wide stripe, you will want to choose a bottom with a smaller scale print. For example, I am wearing a medium print stripe with a small scale floral skirt. If you are already savvy at playing with prints, you can turn it up a notch by forgoing the stripe and combining two florals together. 

So, will you give it a try? If you are up for the challenge, I’d love to share more tips with you. In fact, you can snag my Wardrobe Remix Style Guide for free over at MarissaAlexandra.com/styleguide. 

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