Dress-up your Dressed-down Wardrobe

So most people aim to be comfortable in whatever their wearing, but what if you want to be comfortable AND stylish? Here’s how a turned a basic T-shirt into a grunge-inspired, fashion forward outfit!

First and foremost, let’s talk about what you can do to the actual T-shirt to dress it up. Knot it. Putting a simple knot or a hair tie bunching fabric to either side or to the front will drastically change the way a T-shirt looks and it also accentuates your mid region. Most T-shirts are loose fitting which makes the bottom appear saggy, baggy, or ill-fitting. Putting a simple knot or tie into a shirt give the T-shirt dimension and something else to look at beside its natural seam line at the bottom. Just bunch up any extra fabric that covers your pants and throw a tie in it and tuck it under the shirt, If you have a lot of extra fabric as I did with this shirt, you can pull the fabric together, twist it tight and then loop it through itself to tie a knot.

The next item I recommend to dress up any outfit is a generic blazer. It will completely change the direction of your outfit from “I woke up like this” into “I’m going to make today my bitch”. For this grunge inspired look I stuck with black, but a blazer in any color will work. I rolled up the sleeves on mine for 2 reasons:

  1. The interior of my blazer has a different print which give my outfit some more dimension
  2. I live in Alabama and it is hot AF outside.

Be mindful of what kind of jean cut you pick. My advice is to pick the opposite pant style as your shirt. If your T-shirt is SUPER fitted I would recommend a boot cut or a flare. If it is more bulky try a skinny jean. You can also play with the rise style and how tight or high you make the knot in your shirt. The jeans I chose are high rise and I tied the knot accordingly so that my belly would stay at bay (for the most part). If you go with skinny jeans be aware of wear the jeans end and your shoes begin. I cuffed my jeans to accentuate my shoes; another useful tip for dressing up an outfit!

Accessories, accessories, accessories. When dressing up any outfit, accessories are KEY. It’s incredible what a big pair of statement earrings, a belt, or even a simple bracelet or watch will do to an outfit. As you can see I chose to stay in the same color family, but feel free to step it up with a big pair of hoops or tassels in your favorite bold color.

I haven’t ever been super into belts with jeans. I usually gravitate towards waist cinching belts with any type of dress to accentuate my non-existent waist. Here I chose to use a belt really to draw attention away from my belly. Because the belt is a different color than my outfit, it is more likely to catch your eye than my midriff if it pops out accidentally.

OMG, shoes. Lets talk about heels. I love them, but how can you make it through a whole work day with heels without feeling like your feet are going to fall off? Here’s my trick: Platforms. Hear me out. If a heel is 5 inches tall and the platform under the ball of your foot 3 inches tall, technically your are only separating the ball and heel of your foot by 2 inches. The platform portion is giving you 3 inches of height without changing the angle at which your foot is sitting. Therefore, in my not-so-professional opinion, platforms are much easier to walk in for longer periods of time. Also, if you don’t have a pair of black combat-style boots, you’re missing out. They can go with pretty much anything.

So there you have it people. If you have any questions about what or where I got any of the items I’m wearing or for more helpful tips please contact me! xoxoxo