How to Make an Outfit More Dynamic
And how interior design principles led me to these conclusions.
So, let me start by acknowledging that I did fall off the face of the earth. The end of June/all of July was really hectic both work-wise and personally! But I’m here now, and I’m taking us back to our roots with a post about ~style.
On Instagram lately, I’ve seen a couple threads about people wondering how to style themselves after leaving Mormonism. People want to buy ballet flats, but they’re worried they’ll look like a sister missionary. Or they want to wear tank tops, but they’re frustrated that ever since the new garments came out, they won’t actually look as differentiated as they wanted.
Questions like these got me thinking about how I combat these very same issues. Let me preface by saying that I kind of lose all fashion steam in the summer. I’m stumped when I can’t layer, honestly. It’s too hot and humid in DC, and so I end up wearing whatever is lightest, airiest…and end up in very uncreative outfits. I want to change that!
So, to remind myself and possibly give some knowledge to whoever needs it, I wanted to touch on a few things I’ve observed about what makes an outfit work, focusing today on the ballet flat conundrum. I will try to touch on the post-Mormon of it all, but ultimately this is a quick guide to spice up personalizing your style.
And I’m doing it in kind of a random way: taking interior design principles and applying them to fashion. Huge shoutout to my interior design friends, Caroline Winkler and Molly from MMC Interiors, for alerting me to these principles by designing amazing spaces, helping me design mine, and chatting about it all over various meals and pool days. I, myself, am not a design or fashion expert—I just like this stuff. So, if anything feels off about design content, that’s all me, baby! My friends would never make a mistake in a million years.
Let’s jump in.
A fun outfit needs contrast.
Caroline introduced this concept to me, and I can’t stop thinking about it in every space I enter. When interior design is all one style…it gets pretty boring. I, personally, don’t want to decorate my house in a completely mid-century modern or Cape Cod style because the whole room ends up looking flat if it’s all the same. Here are some examples:
Sure, these rooms are pretty. Kind of. These images could also easily be made by some AI out there. Boo. We don’t like AI. We don’t like how easy it is for AI to recreate spaces like this—and it’s easy for AI because it’s all one-note. There’s not much variation; it’s all white and wood and shiplap. This, to me, is the equivalent of an outfit like this:
And this is why post-Mormons are afraid of wearing ballet flats. Because these are the types of outfits they’re picturing. Flats with a knee-length dress or skirt and a t-shirt will always look Mormon to me. That’s one-note.
So what if we add some contrast? For instance, this image also came up on my Pinterest when I searched for a Cape Cod living room.
But this works better, in my opinion, because there’s slight contrast. There’s a Moroccan pillow. A vintage vanity. A sconce with color! The room as a whole still fits that old beachy feel, but it’s more dynamic because it mixes some design styles.
Let’s test it with clothes:
Ope! What’s this? A crocheted top you’d never see on a sister missionary? Paired with shorts that look half Jurassic Park and half business lunch? Boom—contrast. I could have worn a regular ol’ tank top, but to me that makes the outfit still a little one-note. Could still be cute, sure, but it wouldn’t achieve the contrast we’re looking for. Put together two different design styles, and you’ve got yourself a dynamic look. Here, the shoes just add a little extra flavor.
Bonus: a sister missionary would never be caught dead wearing a crop top.
An easy way to achieve contrast? High-low is the way to go.
In the same vein as adding contrast, mixing a “high” piece (like, say, a skirt from Anthropologie) and a “low” piece (like a band T-shirt from your favorite concert) adds more dynamic to an outfit as well.
I’ve always admired my friend Molly’s styling of her industrial apartment.
Like, what do you mean this is an industrial apartment in Navy Yard? She took a “low” design—a concrete, sharp-angled, modern space—and made it as charming as a cottage on the coast. If we transposed this design into an apartment like mine, which is more classic with crown molding and old doors and painted walls, it might blend together a little more. (Of course, Molly would never design a one-note space; this is just speculation to prove my point!) But here, the classic pieces stand out amongst the concrete walls; the florals balance out the industrial hardware.
Caroline also pointed out something similar: putting a vintage secretary desk next to IKEA shelves instantly upgrades the cheaper product. I’ve done that very thing in my apartment with both of my friends’ guidance. Here’s a picture:
Now, let’s apply this to an outfit. Here’s one I wore last year…ignore my facial expression. I believe I took this picture as part of a bit I was doing on Instagram. But I stand by the outfit!
High: ballet flats from Madewell. Skirt that can be easily dressed up. Upscale bomber jacket.
Low: T-shirt with a lightning bolt striking down the Wendy’s in Dave Thomas Circle (it’s a DC thing) and a Utah Jazz hat I stole from my husband.
Immediate contrast. Since each piece doesn’t really go with the other, I personally think they look more interesting together. Suddenly the T-shirt has more purpose, whereas if I were wearing it with sweats, I’d just look like I’m going to bed. The flats work here, in my opinion, because where did they even come from?
In fact, my Instagram post from the day I posted this—April 22, 2024—says “I think ballet flats work best when they don’t actually belong.” Ha! Proof I’ve been thinking about this for years.
So! If you’re ever looking at your outfit and it doesn’t feel quite right, I wonder if it’s actually because it’s too right. Try different shoes that don’t seem like they belong. Try mixing styles and pieces that seem completely different. I don’t have a hyper-curated wardrobe. I just pick a few random things and throw them together to see what happens. Sometimes it’s a failure…but sometimes there’s a little magic.
Happy to be back,
Abi
Love these principles — maybe there is hope for my complete lack of any style sense 😉
Love this principle…Applied both to spaces and outfits!