6 Dressing Rules Every Woman Should Know Once And For All

You’ve (probably) been dressing yourself for most of your life. Through the middle school fashion choices you’d rather forget, to the comfy “work-from-home” styles we’ve grown so used to, our style changes a lot overtime. But there should be some sort of consistency across the body; some staple rules and pieces that transcend all styles and time. So I’ve done the research for you! I've been surrounded by stylists and wardrobe experts throughout over fifteen years in the modeling industry and I've made an easy list of the most important things you should know before getting dressed every morning. Let's get started!

1. Capsule Wardrobe

Pictured: Verie, Grace Sunglasses

Focus on finding clothes that you can wear any day of the week. A capsule wardrobe is just a mini wardrobe that you build with very versatile pieces that you can put together complete outfits with. This might change depending on the season, but essentially your capsule wardrobe is going to be the skeleton for all your outfits.

It’s important to find pieces that you really like, because you're going to be wearing them a lot while you mix and match them to compliment any outfit you throw together. Identify the colors you feel the most powerful and beautiful in, but also the ones that will mix well with other items already in your closet. Next, think about the fits and styles that flatter your body type and invest in those styles. Focus less on buying that one-time-wear item that’s too specific for just any occasion, and more on things that you can repurpose by dressing-up for a night out or dressing-down to drop kids off at school or run errands.

Pro tip: Keep your capsule collection at eye level in your closet so they’re the first thing you reach for when you need to put an outfit together.

Capsule pieces don’t need to be all basic colors of black and grey. Your favorite jeans that you feel comfortable in, a cute purple button-down, or your go-to sneakers can all be part of your capsule wardrobe because you’ll end up wearing them potentially multiple times in one week (capsule wardrobes are also perfect for vacation packing when you only bought one piece of luggage).

2. Borrow From The Boys

This one is the best rule, in my opinion, and honestly, a lot of my outfits are in some part constructed from my husband’s closet. Whether it’s Gary’s blazer or a button-down, I love a repurposed piece! There are so many gems in our partner’s closet or the men’s section at the store that you can put on yourself and style in a way that really suits you. So many times I’m looking for a particular loose-fitting blazer or sweat pants and the women’s section just doesn’t deliver. Our male partners also tend to invest in really good quality pieces because they’re typically not out buying clothes as often, so having their closet at your disposal is a great perk.

3. Know Your Body

Pictured: Dior, Sheer Blouse with Plastron, Medium Dior Bobby Bag

I know I'm not alone in this; it took me a long time to figure out which parts of my body I love the most and how to emphasize them effectively. I think it's so important to love our bodies for all the amazing things they do, but it’s still okay to have a part of yourself you want to play up, and some parts that you’d rather not spotlight all the time. Accentuate parts of yourself that make you feel confident.

Knowing your body isn’t just about knowing silhouettes. It's also about analyzing colors and figuring out which colors and combination of colors compliment you best. A lot of things play a role in which ones best suit you like your hair color, eye color, as well as the undertone of your skin.

4. Stop Saving Outfits

Life is too short to save your favorite outfit for the absolute perfect occasion. You’re likely never going to wear it. I am guilty of missing a lot of great opportunities to wear the outfits that I really look forward to wearing, but not anymore. I’ve started pushing myself to wear clothes that I would typically save for special occasions because, honestly, every day is a special occasion and you should look and feel great regardless. This white dress (pictured above) I wore to a family dinner that in the end I was so happy I dressed up for. The dinner was important to me and I wanted to look my best - and we should take any excuse to wear a fancy dress!

5. Undergarments Are So Important

Pictured: Knix x Anna Sui, 1995 Boudoir Bouquet Set

Undergarments are often ignored when deciding on an outfit because they’re going to be covered and no one will see them anyway - but they are too important to be overlooked! I’m not saying you need to pay a crazy amount of money for a sexy silk lingerie set, it's more about functional underwear that will help make you feel your best. A nude bra to wear under white or see-through clothing, seamless underwear to wear under tight fitting garments, and a sticky bra for backless dresses are just three of my staples that every woman should own. You don't want to have the perfect outfit put together and realize you don't have the right bra for it.

6. The Art of Tucking

There is a whole art behind tucking, but it is such an overlooked tactic! When you know where to tuck, cover, or pin you can really improve the overall aesthetic of an outfit. This is something that I’ve learned from my experience on photoshoots. It is incredible the way the designers can manipulate an outfit with just a few strategic pins or tucks. I’ve taken these hacks into the real world and combined them with my own trial-and-error discoveries to figure out what looks great and fashionable.

If you want to see these 'tucking' hacks, I've put my quick tutorial below - they've literally transformed so many of my outfits!

Watch these Dressing Rules in action!