Remixing Your Wardrobe

Today is a very exciting day for “Ashley’s Passion for Fashion”! My very first guest blog post “The Must-Have Winter Coat” is now on Go Girl Energy’s blog at http://gogirlenergy.tumblr.com/. Please be sure to check it out & enter for the chance to win some energy drinks!!!

I hope everyone is having a great start to your week! I had yet again another amazing time in Knoxville this weekend. Tonight I wanted to share with you my OOTN for the UT vs. Vanderbilt game & for that night…and take you through my thought-process when I’m shopping & picking out outfits to wear!

                                 

The more games I go to I start having a hard time of thinking of new things to wear, but sometimes adding just one piece to your wardrobe can help inspire you and “remix” your wardrobe! Enter a dress I bought at Forever 21 a few weeks ago for $12.80…yes you heard right, $12.80!!! (also enter cheesy pictures of me in the dressing room…) So I want to take you through my thought-process when trying on this dress!

1)  I always think it’s so hard to try clothes on in the dressing room: the light can be unflattering and sometimes it’s hard to decide how often/what you will wear with the clothes you’re trying on. That’s how it was for me when I tried on the following dress.  When I first put it on I thought it may be a little bit too tight & I wasn’t sure where I would wear it:

So I actually put it in my “put it back on the rack” pile and moved on to try on the other clothes I had picked up.

(PS: I usually take pictures in the dressing room to send to my Mom for her advice if she’s not with me…so that’s always a great idea if you have a camera on your phone: send a picture to your friend/family & ask for their advice!)

2) Then I tried on this ADORABLE black coat (find it here: Ruffled Collar Jacket). I was trying it on with different things I had in the dressing room like my jeans when I decided to see how it looked with the black & white striped dress (that was in my “put it back on the rack” pile)….and THEN I decided I kind of loved the dress (which looked like a skirt paired with the jacket!):

(Of course maybe it wasn’t the coat that convinced me to buy the dress but rather the way this outfit looked with my goofy faces/sunglasses I’m wearing in these pictures! ::wink wink:: LOL.)

But see what I mean about how sometimes it’s all in what you pair with the items you’re trying on? I really thought I would pass on buying the dress before I paired it with this coat. While I know it’s not always possible, it’s so nice to go shopping when you have some time to do what I did: think about it and even mix & match the article of clothing with other things you’re trying on! The coat confirmed to me that at $12.80 the dress was worth the price because I knew I would get a LOT of wear out of it by mixing & matching it with different pieces I already own!

So the story of this dress continues when I was trying to decide what to wear to the UT game.

The 2 things I knew when I was picking out my gameday outfit were:

1)   I wanted to wear my orange H&M sweater again (check out how I wore it to a previous game   here: Weekend Recap) but “remix it” and wear it with something new.

2)   I wanted to wear it layered over something else because I knew it would be chilly Saturday night.

With these two things in mind, I first paired the orange sweater with my black & white polka dot blouse from F21 & jeans…but then fashion inspiration struck!!! One of the most exciting moments to me is when I have inspiration for creating a new outfit! Oftentimes my inspiration comes from a fashion magazine but the best moment is when it comes from my own closet. So enter my black and white striped dress…I decided it may look good worn underneath my orange sweater. I tried it on & that’s what I went with! Of course I added my favorite black belt to give the outfit more shape and my black sequin UGG boots for a punch of fun!

Sweater: H&M

Dress: F21

Belt: NY & Company

Leggings: l8er Clothing

Boots: Black Sequined UGGs (featured in my post on sequins here: Fur, Sequins & Capes Oh My!)

After the game we went out dancing so I decided to take the sweater off and wear the dress by itself! This is a perfect way to wear one outfit two different ways without having to do a complete wardrobe change and take a casual outfit into the evening. To make it dressier I could have even changed into heels but I thought the sequined UGGs did the trick!

So here are a few tips on how to “remix” your wardrobe and wear a dress as a skirt to create many different outfits:

1.   The dresses that look best worn as skirts are usually bandage style dresses that are form-fitting and not too long or baggy. (Check out how I wore another bandage dress as a skirt in this post here: Wekend OOTN).

2.   Adding a sweater to a dress is my favorite look for colder weather and can even be a great way to transition a summer dress into the fall.

3.   When pairing a sweater with your dress, adding a belt (as you all know: one of my favorite fashion accessories) over the sweater adds shape to your figure and accentuates the shape of the top. Also adding a belt that is the same color as the dress makes your outfit more complete by creating a united color scheme.

4.   Create many different outfits by:

·         adding tights/leggings

·         trying different styles of shoes (flats, boots, or heels)

·         adding another layer by wearing a coat or even a fur vest!

And finally, since many have asked where I got my “skirt” here is the link: F21 Striped Dress. For some reason the dress is in navy/white online but the store definitely carries the black & white version so be sure to check it out!

So what do you think of wearing a dress as a skirt? What are some of your favorite ways to “remix” your wardrobe by creating different outfits from one piece?! Leave me a comment & tell me what you think. Thank you SO much for reading and don't forget to check out my guest blog post!!!!

Xoxo,

Ashley