Five Fashion Rules I Break All the Time
As women, I feel like the majority of our formative years are spent parsing all of the "advice" or "rules" we are to adhere to in our daily lives. From how we approach our work, our relationships and yes, even our sense of style. The older I get the less interested I am in the "rules" of fashion. Those rules seems to be finally dying out but I stopped worrying about them years ago. Because personal style has no rules. The people whose style I admire the most are the ones who are authentically themselves and create their own rules for how they present themselves sartorially to the world. Now don't get me wrong, we can't escape these rules all the time. Specifically in the workplace, but we can certainly do away with the ones that serve no purpose. Below are the fashion rules I've done away with in my own life.
Wearing White After Labor Day
Does anybody still follow this rule?? Or at least anyone under the age of 55? I wear white all year round. I simply modify the shade. In winter, I embrace winter whites and creams which when paired with camel looks decadent and chic AF. If you are over 5'5" invest in a pair of high waist wide leg cream pants. Seriously. You will feel like Katherine Hepburn.
Wearing Pantyhose
Now let's not confuse these with tights. I wear these throughout fall and winter and love them. But pantyhose? The really sheer kind that are supposed to match your skin tone but never do? Case in point: Meghan Markle. Who is as chic as they come but, who when attending an event with the Queen, is required to wear pantyhose. And as a light-skinned WOC like myself she clearly struggled with finding a pair that matches her skin tone. She's gotten close. But they still make her legs appear slightly ashy and grey-toned. I feel her pain. But unlike Duchess Meghan I have burned all of my pantyhose on a pyre and danced a jig of joy around the flames as they burned. Never. Again.
Leggings as Pants
I never thought I would type these words but...I wear leggings as pants. And I like it. I used to talk shit about women who did this. It struck me as tacky. And to an extent it still does. Because for me, it's all about how I wear my leggings as pants. And what kind of leggings I wear. I opt for black fully opaque leggings. Cotton with a bit of stretch to them. And I never wear them with short tops. I pair them with long tunics, shorter skirts and dresses that I deem too revealing to wear on their own. But that's me. You do you sis.
Mixing Patterns
Heh. This rule is stupid. Especially since if you take a cursory glance at most runway fashion this is done all the time. Mixing patterns can be fun. And it's also a bit of a science. For instance: stripes look amazing with florals. But I wouldn't pair two types of floral prints together. The prints have to be different enough to pop against one another and to not compete. I also love pairing bold stripes with thin stripes. It's cool.
Denim on Denim
Ahh the Canadian tuxedo. That literally everyone was told was not cool and now practically everyone wears and looks really cool. Like mixing patterns I feel like the key here is making the washes different and not matchy-matchy. A dark wash with an acid wash. Or a light chambray button down with dark skinnies. You're practically a Madewell ad in that look. Just add sunnies.
Bonus Bogus Rule
Horizontal Stripes
Us curvy girls are told ad nauseum to avoid horizontal stripes. And for years I did. Until one day I saw a cute little body con dress with horizontal stripes. And I bought it. And I looked fab in it. And I got tons of compliments on it. And my body looked banging in it. And I promptly tossed that rule in the trash where it belongs. I do think horizontal stripes are tricky. But they can be worn. It's all about the width of the stripes. I have a pair of wide leg horizontal striped pants and the reason why they work is because the stripes are WIDE. The reason why the body con dress works is because the stripes are THIN. Both compliment my body in the right way.
What fashion rules have you done away with? Let me know in the comments!
