This weekend I had the opportunity to style Jane's new blazers as well as a few other new pieces in her closet. As a tie-in to my last post, this post is about dressing up t-shirts. The base tee layer pictured here is a white lace front tee, but these same looks could easily be done with a simpler tee as well. After you get into the habit of layering and accessorizing, one of the easiest traps to fall into is to always wear an outfit the same way each time. This makes it easy to get dressed in the morning, but it also is a quick way to become disillusioned with your wardrobe. A varied assortment of accessories in your closet is the key to a dynamic style. |
In general, a scarf makes an outfit more casual and jewelry dresses it up. 99% of the time I choose either a necklace or a scarf, not both. Wearing a long pendant necklace underneath a scarf can be a fun pop, but can have the downside of adding extra (visual) weight to your neck. Note that the teal and brown scarf is not a perfect color match to the cardigan. We don't expect our jewelry to match perfectly so we need to apply those same standards to scarves. Keep in the same or a complementary color palette and don't forget to embrace a great pattern! | When wearing a tee without an outer layer, an extra accessory can make the difference between boring and chic. I added the brown belt to give extra definition, but instead placed it right above the top of the pant waistband instead of right at the natural waist. This feels relaxed but structured. A scarf makes a bigger impact that most necklaces which I prefer when wearing the tee on its own. One pitfall to avoid is pairing oversized necklaces with a tee- it's just a knit so don't accessorize it the same way you would a cocktail dress. |
Paired underneath a blazer, a tee takes on a whole new level of polish. I paired a skinny red belt (sorry for the photo quality) under the blazer because I wanted to leave it unbuttoned to show off the lace on the tee, especially the great scallop detail on the bottom. Since the blazer is a bright, bold color, the accessories have minimal contrast. The garnet necklace and red belt are the same darker red that helps to ground the look. Although in this case the scarf is very close in color to the jacket, the dark brown scarf in the picture directly above would also be appropriate. If you are not matching the color exactly, going with darker neutrals is a relatively safe rule of thumb. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and confident so take a look in the mirror and trust your gut if you have any misgivings. |