← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
307 | The 'Almost Right' Outfit Problem: When Every Look You Try Feels 80% There
00:13:38
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- [00:00]
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Have you ever envisioned an outfit in your head that made you feel so excited to get dressed? Maybe you're inspired by an influencer or you thought of a new combination for your pieces and you know the vibe you're going for, how you're going to accessorize. And you put everything on thinking, yes, this is going to look amazing. And then you look in the mirror and somehow it does not look right. It might not be the worst outfit you've ever worn or even bad, but it's just not what you imagined. And you can't quite put your finger on why. So you start adjusting it, right? You change your shoes, add a layer, take the layer off, try switching out your handbag, maybe throw on a different pant. Then you put your original shoes back on again. And at some point, you just stand there thinking, okay, why can't I bring this together? This was supposed to be easy. And that is what we call the almost right outfit problem. If you've ever felt stuck there, if you've been eager to wear something, put in your effort to look your best and stick still walked out the door feeling like something was missing. This episode is for you. We're going to break down why getting dressed often feels harder than it should, why copying other people's outfits doesn't work 99% of the time, and the surprising reason why the almost right outfit problem is actually really good news. I can't wait to unpack all of this with you today. Let's dive in.
- [01:25]
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Welcome to her style podcast, where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist, ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love.
- [01:45]
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Let's get started. All right, I want to know if this sounds like you. You have good taste, you have great pieces, and most days you actually know what you want your outfit to look like. And yet getting dressed still feels so much harder than it should. And I know, friend, you're putting in effort, but it doesn't feel effortless. And you're making constant tweaks to your outfit, but it never fully clicks. And sometimes you land on something that's fine, but it's not the level you want it to be, especially at this stage in the game. And that disconnect with your clothing can feel really frustrating, especially when you. When you know you have pieces that you like, maybe not all of them, maybe your wardrobe isn't perfect, but you have some great Gems sitting in your closet. And so, first, before we dive into all the what and the why and the how and the where of this episode, I just want to pause and say, this still happens to me. Even after years of styling, I will sometimes have a crystal clear vision of what I want to wear. I can see it in my head. I pull the pieces, I put it on, and it's not what I thought it would be. Now, fortunately, I know how to fix it fast. But if I don't plan ahead, I am sometimes forced to leave the house in a look that is not my favorite. This happened very recently to me. The Sunday before Christmas. Our son was singing at our church in the kids choir, which they only do once or twice a year. So that's kind of a rare treat for us. And it felt like a very special service. My in laws were coming to see him, and so I had this outfit idea brewing, and I told you many times, I'm really excited to wear more color and do more interesting color combinations this year. That's like my number one wardrobe goal. So I had this outfit idea for something colorful and exciting for the holidays. It was like holiday, but with a twist. And I couldn't wait to wear it. So let me tell you what it was. I had this beautiful thick purple cardigan. It had this gorgeous bright coral trim. I rented it from Nuuly for the month, and it had all kinds of, like, purple and pink flecks in the material. And I just thought in my head that it would look gorgeous with these dark roses red trousers that I had picked up at Banana Republic last year. Now, I didn't follow my own advice. I'm going to admit it. I was super busy and I did not try on this outfit ahead of time. So here we are, it's Sunday morning. I'm pretty sure we all overslept a little bit that day. And we had to be at church earlier than usual, which is already hard enough to get there on time. But we had to go early so that my son could have his last practice. They could walk up on the platform and practice coming down, and they had to warm up and all that good stuff. And so I threw on this outfit at the last minute, only to realize that the colors did not work the way that I thought at all. My pants were actually much more of a maroon red than a cool, rosy red. And so the punchy color mix of the cardigan that I had just did not work in the elegant, you know, monochromatic sort of way that I thought it would with the pants that I actually had in my closet, which were much more muted and a little bit warmer than I was thinking in my mind. So, of course, I had to run with it. I just put on my bravest face, and I wore that outfit as confidently as I could because I didn't have time to change. My family was already heading out the door without me, as per usual. But in the back of my mind, all day, I was, well, I changed when I got home. But all morning I was so disappointed, and I was kicking myself for not trying it on before. It was go time. Maybe you've had a similar experience, or maybe you felt disappointed with an outfit even when you had plenty of time to Course, correct my mindset in my 20s and even in my early 30s would have been, okay, well, I'm just going to need to go buy new pants to go with this top. But what I've actually learned over the years is that this isn't about needing more options. And in my case, I just needed more time. That might be true for you, too, but there might be another important step that's missing from your styling process. Because most of us learned how to get dressed by copying. We save outfits. We screenshot looks that we see online. We pin ideas to Pinterest. We try to recreate things that we've seen elsewhere that we're drawn to. And that makes sense. That's what we've been taught to do. And sometimes it totally works. But when you're standing in your own closet, in your own body, with your own life, copying doesn't always translate. And what makes this especially draining is what starts happening in your head. You start saying, okay, am I overthinking this? Why does this feel harder than it should? Do other people struggle with this, or is it just me? Why does this look so good in my head but not in the mirror when I put it on or when I see myself in photos later? And so I usually see one of two things happen in this situation. A lot of women end up reaching for the same almost right clothes that they've had for years. You know, the ones I'm talking about, they technically fit, they feel familiar, they're easy to style, the same safe way that you always have. And so part of the issue is that even when your taste evolves, even when you know you want something different, you keep defaulting back to what you've done before because it feels low risk. And eventually you just stop experimenting. And it's not because you don't care about your style. It's not because you don't want to look and feel your best, but you just don't want to feel disappointed again when you try to do something different and it doesn't work out. Now, the other thing that I see, the other path that a lot of women take is that when you get fed up with that or if you're trying things like I did and it just didn't come together the way you thought it would, you decide it's just time to go buy more things. As I said before, we're taught to keep shopping for more clothes, especially when we feel bored and dissatisfied with what we have. But this is the key. No one ever taught us how to actually use the clothes we already own to build outfits that work. So instead of knowing how to bring an outfit together, you're just grasping at straws. You're buying new things, and you're kind of hoping it works when you go to put them on. You're hoping the mirror matches the idea in your head and that you won't need to change your outfit three times before leaving the house. And this is where I want to caution you against relying on too much outfit inspiration. That might be shocking to hear from someone who is constantly advising you to build and refer back to your Pinterest style mood board. I know, but hear me out. That is the first step, not the only step. And so I don't want you to get stuck just looking for inspiration. Looking for inspiration. Looking for inspiration because inspiration shows you the picture, and it might even give you some helpful patterns to spot, but it doesn't give you the process. You're gonna see the final look, but you don't see how they decided what to put together. You don't see the choices, the adjustments they made, or the reasoning behind it. And I love when influencers share this. Sometimes people will show you how they put it together or why they did it the way they did, but that's fairly rare because usually if you are following an influencer, their job, their incentive is to get you to buy that exact thing. They're not trying to show you how to adapt it to a piece that actually flatters you personally or that might already be hanging in your closet. And then there's the part that no one really talks about, which is that the last 20% of an outfit is deeply personal. So even when someone shows you exactly how they put it together, they're showing you how they put it together for them, not how they would put it together for you. And what looks effortless on Someone else depends on their body, their proportions, their coloring, their lifestyle, their energy and comfort level. And all of those elements do not automatically transfer onto you. I don't care how close or similar that influencer looks to you. They're not you. And so you might recreate a look once and think, okay, that worked. But then the next day, you're right back where you started. Because copying an outfit doesn't teach you how to finish the next one. And you know what you like in your head, but you don't know how to make it work for you in your real life consistently. And so this is what I want you to hear right now more than anything. This is also probably gonna surprise you. But if your outfits feel almost right, not totally right, that's actually really good news. Seriously. Because it means that your taste is already there. It means you have ideas about how you wanna show up and what you want for your style. You have a vision. It means you're not starting from ground zero. And I would say what's missing in this case is not more inspiration. It's a personalized approach to outfit styling. The kind that helps you close the gap between what you see in your head and then what shows up in the mirror. And friend, this is exactly why I put together the Shop youp Closet challenge. It's not to give you more outfits to copy or to tell you what to buy. We are definitely not here for overhauling your wardrobe. I know most of us do not have the kind of money and time that we need to do a complete top to bottom wardrobe revamp. So inside this challenge, I'm showing you how to work with what you already have so that the outfits in your head actually look amazing on you when you wear them in real life. So you're not just hoping and praying that it all comes together. You're not relying on trial and error every morning, and you're not stuck in that exhausting almost right outfit loop. And this is where getting dressed starts to feel easier and faster. Way more fun, and ideally, a lot more like you. So if you've ever looked in the mirror and you've thought, okay, why doesn't this look the way that I imagined? This is the missing piece. And I would truly bet that you already have more than enough in your closet. You just need a way to bring it together so you can save your free seat for the Shop your Closet challenge. Right now, I want you to head to herstylellc.comchallenge. i would absolutely love to see you there. This three day event is happening live from January 27th through 29th at 8pm Eastern. And yes, there are replays available if you can't join us live. So please sign up so that you can get all the details. You'll also get first access to my brand new Signature Style Reset Masterclass so that you can confirm the perfect vision for your style. You're really going to be able to use that class to solidify your own unique style blend or your look that you want to have before the challenge even begins. You can come in clear on what you want your style to look like and then I will be able to help you walk through the implementation and actually realizing it when you go to get dressed with the pieces in your current closet. This challenge is especially for you. If you've ever said I don't hate my clothes, I just don't know how to use them. If you've ever thought I can see it in my head but I cannot figure out how to make it work or if you've ever felt like your style is right there, you just can't quite grab it yet. So Again, head to herstylellc.comchallenge for all the details. Just scoop up your spot. Of course. I would be so happy to see you there to get to support you through this process and to show you the exact repeatable skill set that you need to think and dress like your own personal stylist. It's gonna be so good friend. I can't wait for you to see what I have in store for you.
- [12:51]
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Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherrigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.