Jennifer Mackie (0:00)

Do you ever feel like you just don't have time to be stylish? I mean, you'd really like to look polished and put together. But between trying to get your kids or yourself out the door, choosing what to wear, and maybe even enjoying a cup of coffee, the morning seems to fly by, usually in a stressful flurry. And often what gets sacrificed is your style. I want you to look and feel fabulous every morning without struggling. So today I'm going to share 10 really simple things you can do to look more put together. And while the title of the episode says they take less than 10 minutes, the reality is most of them can be done in two minutes or less. I told you they were simple. Let's get started. Hello gorgeous. Welcome back to the Everyday Styles School, the podcast that gives real life style advice to real life women. I'm your host, Jennifer Mackie. Mary I'm a wardrobe stylist who's been dressing everyday women for over 20 years. And I'm the founder of Everyday Style where we are on a mission to inspire women to love the way they look and give you the tools to make getting dressed easy. One of the biggest roadblocks I hear from women when it comes to style is time. For example, I don't have time to shop, I don't have time to keep up with what's in style, and my very, very favorite, I don't have time to get dressed. I've talked a lot over the course of the show about what we really mean by I don't have time. And maybe someday I'll do a whole in depth episode on the root causes and the solutions of not having time for style. But today I just want to give you some quick wins, things you can do in a couple of minutes that will give your style a boost even if you're rushing out the door. And if you're thinking that this topic doesn't apply to you because you don't leave the house each morning, I want you to reconsider. I know from years of working at home that time pressure can still exist often because I've put off getting ready right away and I find myself scrambling, even though I should have all the time in the world. If that sounds familiar, stick with me. Let's get started with number one, plan your outfits ahead of time. I know, I know, I know. I am a broken record on this one. But if you want to boost your style and save time, this one will do more for you than anything else on this list. I'm telling you this one is the MVP of style boosting and time saving. Now, if you're just planning the night before one outfit at a time, you can do this in way less than 10 minutes. But I recommend doing it a week at a time, which might take you a little bit longer in the beginning, but it's worth it. And here's why. When you plan your outfits a week at a time, a few things happen. First, you use more of what you already have. Making outfit decisions each morning, especially when you're pressed for time, results in a narrowing of choices. You tend to grab what you know will work and you end up with a rotation of just like five to 10 outfits, ignoring all the things you bought, trying to boost your style. And if you just had an aha moment or like wait, how does she know? It's because I've seen this over and over and over again. A lot of us only wear a few things and a big reason for that is that we're trying to pick quickly. Second, you create more interesting and stylish outfits. Very few people have the time and bandwidth and energy to be creative in the morning. Hence those 5 to 10 go tos. When you make the decision without the pressure of I have to be on Zoom or in the car in 10 minutes, what am I going to wear? You can let your creativity flow a little bit. To me, this one is like meal planning. I plan for the week and grocery shop every single Sunday. It's my little ritual. And then every night I just look at the board and I just make what's on the board. I don't have to think about it. Last night was a crazy night in our house. I had a thing. I knew I wasn't going to be home until about 6:15. My oldest got home from practice at 7. My youngest had to leave for an audition at 7:20. So I had about 40 minutes to cook and about 20 minutes to feed my family. And if I hadn't planned ahead, I know what would have happened. It would have been spaghetti or drive thru. But because I planned ahead, I knew it was going to be a tight turnaround and I planned accordingly. Instead of uninspired spaghetti or crappy McDonald's, we had garlic rosemary steak bites with mashed potatoes and salad. Now which dinner sounds better to you? I know which one sounds better to me with the help of pre made mashed potatoes. Because full transparency, this meal comes together in less than 30 minutes. But it sounds kind of time consuming and difficult, right? If I had waited until I got home to think about what to make, which is like standing in your closet every morning. I would have been stressed and overwhelmed. My delicious dinner, AKA your stylish outfit, would not have happened. The last thing that happens when you plan a week at a time is that you just simply get better at style. Putting outfits together and trying different combinations. Those things take a little bit of time and a little bit of practice. When you wear spaghetti every day. Sorry, I'm still sticking with the food thing. You don't get better at cooking. On the other hand, when you practice without the time pressure, you just get better. And then, even when you don't plan, it's not such a struggle. Your style, muscle memory just kicks in. So here's what I want you to do. Set a timer for 10 minutes, grab a piece of paper, and plan five outfits for next week. First, list the weather and what you're going to be doing each day. Then head to your closet and plan your outfits from head to toe. Don't forget accessories and shoes. Maybe plan around a few things that you haven't worn in a while. Hang that paper where you can see it each day and then see how much easier your mornings are. Okay, Moving on to number two, which is incorporate texture into your outfits. Over the years, I've talked to a lot of women who don't like a ton of bells and whistles in their outfits. They don't love a ton of color or pattern. They describe their style as simple, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, except that it can get a little bit boring, which is what these women are usually struggling with. The solution is texture. You can use texture to keep your simple style from becoming bland, or you can use it to take your outfits up even another notch. Texture elevates your outfits and adds depth. And it doesn't have to mean you're wearing feathers and lace every single day. Texture can be really easy to add, like a cable knit sweater instead of a plain knit or a slub knit cotton tee instead of a regular one. If adding texture seems a little bit intimidating to you, try this. Treat texture like a print. The easiest thing to do with a print is to pair it with a neutral, right? Well, in this case, your neutrals are your smooth fabrics, like your denim, your twill, your plain sweaters and tees. Now, you can absolutely mix and match prints or mix and match textures in this case, but it is a little bit trickier. So to get started, just pair a smooth fabric, a neutral, with a textured fabric, a print. And as you get more comfortable, you can experiment superfast style hack number three is to add a belt. A belt doesn't just define your waist or hold up your pants. It tells everyone. You put thought into your look. It's that finishing touch that really brings the polish. What kind of belt, you ask? Any kind of belt. A skinny belt, wide belt in the belt loops over the dress. Full tuck, half tuck, doesn't really matter. In the time it takes to put a belt around your body, you can boost your style by 50%, which is a number I just made up, but trust me, it is a lot. A belt uniquely brings it all together more than just about any other accessory. And I think it's just we've gotten out of the habit of wearing them. So when we see someone wearing one, we go, oh, wow, she really thought about it. So add a belt. All right. Number four, swap your shoes. Most of us have the shoes we go to all the time. And then we have lots of shoes that just hang out on the shelf or in the closet or in their boxes, wherever you keep your shoes. You get the idea. Now some of the shoes in storage are probably special occasion shoes that you wouldn't wear every day or shoes that hurt your feet or shoes that you can wear from the car to the restaurant but you're not going to go walking in them. Those are there. I know, but I am guessing that there are some that you could absolutely be wearing. They're just out of rotation or out of sight, out of mind. Give new life to your outfits by putting some different shoes into your everyday rotation and mix it up a little bit. Besides, when you wear the same shoes on repeat, they can start to look a little bit beat up. And sometimes we get conditioned blindness to the things we wear every day. So give your go tos a break. You might find when you go back to them in a couple weeks, they don't look as good as you remember. And sad shoes aren't doing your style any favors because changing your shoes only takes a minute. And I said these are things you can do in under 10 minutes. Spend your extra nine minutes going through your shoes looking for more wearable options. Style booster number five is to add one unexpected accessory. Coco Chanel famously once said that before you leave the house, you should look in the mirror and take one thing off. And if this was 2014, I would agree with her. The bubble necklaces, the infinity scarves, the pendant earrings, it was all very colorful over the top. Very charming, Charlie, if you can remember back that far. Now, however, we are in a more minimalist phase. We're doing that whole quiet luxury thing, and sometimes I think maybe we've gone a little bit too far. Maybe we need to put a little bit of personality back into our outfits. So maybe let's do a reverse cocoa. And before you leave the house, look in the mirror and put one more thing on. On. In this case, we are talking about accessories and even more specifically, an unexpected accessory. Now, what is an unexpected accessory? Well, that depends on what people would expect you to wear. If you always wear a necklace and earrings, those aren't unexpected. Throw on a bracelet or, or a ring. But if you never wear necklaces or earrings, those would be considered unexpected. There are so many cute accessories out there that go beyond the traditional earrings and necklaces. Brooches are having a moment and will really stand out. Or you can tie a scarf around the handle of your bag. You can add a headband or put a bow in your hair. I've talked about bag charms and shoe charms. Those are having a moment, and those are probably pretty unexpected. This is one that might be a little bit tougher to do because we tend to buy accessories that we gravitate to and not buy the things that we don't. Duh. Right? But I bet you have something you could play around with or maybe this is something you want to shop for to try and I know it sounds silly and minor, but when you shake things up and wear pieces you don't normally wear, people notice and you feel more stylish. You feel like a new person. Like, who's she? Oh, I'm cute, right? So accessories are a great, great way to test the waters of busting out of your comfort zone. Let's stick with accessories for number six, and that is clustering or layering your accessories. Instead of just ditching your favorite simple pendant necklace for something more exciting, keep wearing it, but add a couple of friends to keep it company. Stack up your rings or your bracelets. Wear a cluster of brooches on your lapel or on your sweater. The trick to this one is not worrying about getting it perfect. Your bracelets don't all have to match or be part of a set. Heck, they don't even have to be the same metal. Same with your other accessories. The more they, quote, unquote, go together, the dressier and more mature they'll look. The more different or varied they are, the more casual and organic they're going to look. Neither one is wrong. It's just a personal preference and based on what you have. Right. I really only wear gold jewelry and I'M not going to go buy some silver just to look a little quirkier, but if you have different metals that you love to wear, try mixing them. You might like it. A good guideline is the design rule of three things always look best in an odd number, and one doesn't make a layer or a cluster, so it's got to be three or five. Five might be a little over the top for you, so just shoot for three. When you're layering necklaces, try to vary the lengths and the chain styles that will help them lay well and avoid tangling as much as we possibly can. When it comes to bracelets, you need to layer them all together on one wrist to get the effect. One on one wrist and two on the other does not equal three in this example, so put them all together. For rings, you can stack them up or you can wear them on adjacent fingers to get the clustered look. Let's move on from accessories for number seven, and that is to spend two minutes styling your outfit. One thing we hear a lot, and I read a lot on the Internet, is that women want to go from just wearing clothes to actually wearing outfits. I know, you know the difference, right? There are a few things that go into it, lots of which we've already talked about, but one really simple way is to spend a couple of minutes styling your clothes. By this I mean things like trying your top fully tucked versus untucked versus half tucked to see what looks best scrunching or rolling your sleeves, maybe cuffing your pants, popping your shirt collar or the lapel on your jacket, or finding the right number of buttons to undo on your shirt. These little tweaks make a big difference in turning your clothes into outfits. So if you're just putting on your clothes and wearing them as is, this might be a good one to start with. Just a reminder that not every sleeve will roller scrunch. Well, not every shirt will look best tucked. This is about experimenting and seeing what works with your style, your outfit, and the individual pieces themselves. Number eight is an oldie but a goodie, and that is to add a third piece. I have been hearing and giving this advice for literally decades, but it still rings true. First, let's define what a third piece is. A third piece is an unnecessary addition to your top and bottom combo. Those are the first two pieces that turn your clothes into an actual outfit. Examples of a third piece would be a jacket, a vest, a shirt under your sweater, a scarf, or maybe even a statement necklace. Let's talk more about that in a Minute. The trick is the third piece has to be a part of your outfit for it really to have an effect. So if I throw on a sweater and jeans and then I add a fabulous statement coat while I am wearing that fabulous statement coat, I've got the third piece effect right? But when I get to the restaurant or the movie theater and I take my coat off, the effect is gone because I no longer have the third piece. For some people, adding a third piece is super easy and others find it more challenging. I find this one really, really, really hard to do in warm seasons. I want to wear fewer clothes, not more. Right? Also, I've discovered that I don't love cardigans. I love the idea of cardigans. I have loved to buy cardigans, but I never seem to reach for them. And my life is a little bit too casual to keep a ton of blazers in my wardrobe. So this isn't a style boosting strategy that I use often. And that's okay. I will admit though, the third piece adds style instantly. The only other thing I want to mention here is that years ago, in the more maximalist style times we already talked about, this one was easier to do. You could do a big scarf or a hat or a colorful statement necklaces, but those things just aren't looking super current these days. So use accessories as third pieces very carefully, especially if your goal is to look current. When I was putting this episode together, I did a little shopping to see what was out there for statement necklaces. I looked at Bobble Bar, Nordstrom, Stella and Dot, which used to be a go to source for statement pieces. And I looked at anthropology. They didn't really have much that would truly be considered a statement necklace. For those, for those traditional statement pieces, I had to go to places like Chico's websites where they are still embracing the more is more approach. But honestly, even they seemed a little bit more restrained, which that's saying something. So you know, do with that information what you will. But be careful of looking dated when using accessories as that third piece. And before you ask, shoes and bags do not count as third pieces and dresses count as two. So you just have to add one more thing. Okay, super quick Style hack number nine is to freshen up your clothes. If you remember a little bit earlier I mentioned condition blindness. And if you were like, huh, what's that? It's when your clothes get shabby slowly over time. So slowly that you don't notice it. Usually by the time you notice the pills on your top, there are enough of those little fuzzies to make it look shabby. So spend just a couple of minutes when you get dressed each morning freshening up your clothes. I keep a steamer, my fabric shaver and a lint roller in my bathroom and every single day my clothes get a once over. I steam almost everything I wear. It takes less than a minute and it makes a big, big, big difference. While I'm doing that, I'm looking for fuzzies, I'm looking for lint, I'm looking for dog hair which is something that I face every single day. My fabric shaver and my lint roller are right next to my steamer so it takes no time at all. I also have a lint roller stashed in my car and my bag for last minute touch ups. Taking a couple of minutes to make your clothes look nice each day helps you look more stylish, but it also helps keep your clothes looking nicer longer and extends the life of your clothes, saving you money in the long run too. When I talk about steamers, I always get asked which one you should buy. Honestly, it doesn't matter. It is not that deep. I have a tiny one that heats up quickly. I can use it to travel, it's really lightweight. And then I have a bigger one that holds a lot more water, but it's heavy to use on the daily. They both work, so go to Amazon, look for one with good reviews and start there. Don't not buy a steamer because you're waiting for the perfect one to come along. There is no such thing. Just buy one. Okay, the last one, number 10 is to boost your beauty routine. I am not saying that you need to be in full face glam every day, but spending a little time in clothing adjacent areas will bring just a little bit more polish to your style. Find quick hacks in this area to meet you where you are. If you never wear makeup, great, that's fantastic. But maybe swap your regular daily sunscreen for a BB cream with spf. If you normally just wear lip balm, try a tinted one. If you wear your hair up all the time, swap your basic hair tools for accessories with a little bit more personality. Personally, I have my eyebrows and my lashes tinted every month, so even if I'm not wearing makeup, I still feel a little bit finished. Now on the other hand, if you are somebody who wears makeup all the time, you can still switch things up a little bit, add a bolder lip color or try a different eye makeup routine. Beauty is one of those areas where we tend to get stuck in ruts and shaking things up a bit can bring new life to your overall style without requiring a ton of extra time. And isn't that the whole point? Okay, there you have it. 10 ways to boost your style in under 10 minutes. You don't need to do them all and some of them just won't resonate with you. And that's okay. Like I always say, take what works for you and leave the rest. But if you want to improve your daily style, you're probably going to have to change something and these are really simple ways to start. I would love to hear which ones did resonate with you and which ones you're going to try over the next couple of weeks. Come tell me about it on the socials. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Everyday Style with Jen. I will see you next time. And until then, remember that your everyday matters. So get dressed for it Foreign and that's a wrap. Thank you for listening today. If you're loving the Everyday Style School podcast, I'd like to invite you to become a member of the Style Circle. It's our monthly all access membership that gives you everything we create to make style easy so you can save time and money, have easier mornings and more confidence all day long. You get our seasonal capsule 1 wardrobe guides, all of the master classes we offer, and our exclusive members only podcast the Everyday Style School. Extra credit plus you're invited to the Facebook community where you can get even more style support and inspiration. I would love to get to know you and support your style journey. It's just $19 a month less than the cost of a clearance shirt you're never going to wear. Come join me and make your Everyday Style.