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Are you like the countless women I've worked with who describe their style as simple? In theory, this means you don't love a ton of pattern or layers or accessories. You just want easy, understated pieces that come together to make polished, unfussy outfits. But the reality doesn't always tell that same story. Often you look in the mirror and you feel boring, blah, bland. You feel like you have to wear brighter colors or bolder patterns in order to be stylish, but that just doesn't feel like you. And you think maybe you have to choose between being unstylish in the pieces you like or being stylish in the bold things you don't. If I just described you, you're in luck, because today I'm going to show you that you really can have it all. Let's get. Foreign. Welcome to the Everyday Style School, the show that teaches you everything your mom never did about getting dressed. I'm your host, Jennifer mackey. Mary After 25 years of dressing women with real bodies, real budgets, and real lives, I know great style isn't about following one size fits all advice. It's about learning what works for you. Hello gorgeous. It's time to talk about making real life everyday style easier. Because that's what we're doing this semester. But before I do, I want to share an email that I got after the Style Made simple workshop that is our free class that explains why style has felt so hard and how to make it easier. This is from Jody, who wrote thank you so much for the class. I really enjoyed it and I feel like something finally clicked. Even though I've been listening to you for years, I told my husband that now I understand why I've spent so much money on clothes I don't wear and what I need to do different. I think he might like you even more than I do now. And then there were just a ton of laughing emojis. Jodi, thank you so much for this email. It absolutely made my day. And thank you to Mr. Jody too. If you haven't taken the class yet, sign up. The link is in the show notes. Who knows what breakthroughs you might have? Let's get to today's topic though. Simple style and really how to have simple style in a way that still looks, well, stylish, not like you're just wearing clothes. I know you know the difference. What I've encountered over the years is that women want this understated, effortless look that still looks polished and intentional and put together. Like Jennifer Aniston in a T shirt and jeans. And again, I know you know what I'm talking about, but in reality, that simple jeans and a T shirt look doesn't always come together in the mirror quite the same way it does in our minds. It just reads boring, underwhelming, instead of understated. And before you say it's because she's skinny, yes, having a celebrity body probably helps, but it's not the only thing I can find a million pictures of of real women looking polished, wearing simple basics. She is just the most universally referenced person for what we're talking about that I can think of. So please don't email me about body positivity. It's not about that. All right. Over the years, I have worked with so many women who came to me because they wanted that simple style, but they also wanted to feel more put together. They didn't like a lot of pattern or lots of accessories or. Or in some cases, they didn't really even like color. Before we worked together, when they were feeling flat instead of fabulous, their usual approach was to just go buy clothes that looked like they would shake things up. Bold prints, bold colors, embellishments, whatever. They were trying to give their wardrobes a jolt of style, but because those pieces weren't them, they didn't reach for them. And if they did, they felt ridiculous wearing them. It. It felt like they were wearing a costume. I can remember one client I worked with who had what I would consider to be the driest job on the planet. Honestly, at this point, I don't even remember what it was. But I do remember when she talked about it, I thought, okay, there really is something out there for everyone, because I would go crazy if I had to do that day in and day out. But it was interesting to her. She kind of lit up when she talked about it. So great. Better her than me. But her style and kind of even her personality went with this job perfectly. And that's not to say that she was the driest person on the planet. She wasn't. She was perfectly pleasant. But early on, I caught on that she did not like humor or chit chat or talking about herself. You get the idea. It was. We were all about the work. Anyway, her closet was full of black and gray suits that were all pretty much identical to the others. Her wardrobe was as basic as it got. There was not a pattern. There was not a navy suit. It was no tan. It was black and gray. Basic, basic, basic. Except for this tiny little section of her closet that was dedicated to the little tops, the Shelves that she would wear under her suit jackets. Those were the craziest colors and patterns I have ever seen, ever. Now, I love a bold print, but even I was like, wow. Wow, that's a lot of neon. For someone not teaching an aerobics class in the 1980s, it was a lot. And there was such a disconnect between those 10 tops and everything else in her closet and frankly, even her. So I asked her, I was like, what's up with these? And she essentially told me that she bought them to have more style. And I asked, well, do you like these? And she said, no, but I don't want to look boring. That perfectly summed up the challenge that women with simple style often face. Your choices are either boring or so not you that you don't want to wear it. I saw it countless times. I loved working with these clients, though, because one of my favorite things is to show women how they can be stylish and be themselves. To me, that's where style magic truly lives, in that authenticity, giving yourself permission to just like what you like and wear the things you like and like the results. That's when style feels sustainable long term. Because it's really tough to dress like someone else's version of style for any length of time. Right? You can do it in a bridesmaid's dress, but your real life wardrobe can't be that way. So today I want to share with you how I help those women get the style they wanted without becoming someone else, and how you can do the same thing. I've got five tips for you, and they are in no particular order other than they spell basic. It does not mean that B is more important than I. It just means B comes before I in basic. That's it. No deeper than that. Here we go. B stands for beauty, and honestly, I can kind of hear it now. Jen, I just said I don't want to be fussy. And your solution is a complicated beauty routine. Hang on, sister. Hear me out. I am not talking about going full Kardashian here. But the truth is, style doesn't just exist from your neck to your feet. It's a whole visual package. So what beauty in this case means is finishing your look from head to toe in a way that honors your desire for simplicity. Look at all the pictures of women looking put together in just jeans and a tee. Do you notice something they have in common? Their hair looks good, right? Again, I'm not saying you have to get a fresh blow out at dry bar a couple times a week. I'm just saying that styled hair goes a long way to making you look put together. And even if you are the lowest maintenance woman on the planet, there are some really easy things you can do to punch up your beauty routine and look more polished. For example, I am guessing that you put moisturizer on your face in the morning, right? Even if you don't wear makeup, what about swapping it for a tinted moisturizer? Or trading your basic lip balm for a tinted lip balm? Both of these things don't require you to do anything extra. Anything beyond what you're already doing, but the results are noticeable. Or if you always wear your hair pulled back, you could pull it back with a pretty clip. Or better yet, talk to your stylist about a cut that's easy to style so you don't have to wear it back all the time. Or the same thing with color. Ask your stylist about a low maintenance color. These things make you look a lot more finished, but they don't have to mean that you're spending, you know, hours in the salon every month. Adding a little finish to your style through beauty does not mean that you have to spend an hour a day on your makeup. But a little effort goes a long, long, long way. I will be the first to admit that I don't do a full face every day. I but I do tint my eyebrows and my eyelashes once a month because I am so fair and my hair is really light. It looks like I've got nothing on, right? And my. I just sort of just my features disappear. This takes less than 10 minutes to do both. But then even on days that I don't wear makeup at all, I still look somewhat put together, a little bit more finished. And every time I do it, I'm shocked by what a big difference it makes. 10 minutes spread out over the course of a month is like what, 20 seconds per day? I don't care who you are, you can't call that high maintenance. Next, in our basic formula, we have a which stands for accessories. And again, I can hear it. Jen, are you not listening? I said I'm simple. That means I don't want tons of accessories. And again, I say hear me out because the reality is there are some accessories you have to wear. And that's what we're going to start with. You don't have to wear stacks of bracelets or big statement earrings. But I'm guessing you do wear shoes, right? You probably carry some kind of handbag, right? That's what we're talking about upgrading the accessories you can't avoid wearing. It's a really good place to start. And now I'm going to switch to tough love mode for a moment and I want you to know that I truly do care about you, but I need to say this, and I hope you forgive me. Here we go. There is some connection between wanting simple style and loving frumpy shoes and handbags. I don't know what it is. I have not studied this phenomenon in depth, but I do know that not wanting to be bold or fussy or over the top doesn't have to equate to looking frumpy and dated. But too often it does, in large part because of the shoes and the bags. Solve this problem and you are halfway there. I hope you forgive me. I think part of this has to do with the idea that simple style isn't about trends or constantly updating. And that's fine, that's great, but everything dates eventually and frankly, some of these things weren't super stylish in the first place. And I know that this is the part where people want to know if their bags and their shoes are frumpy or what makes them frumpy. And honestly, it could be a lot of things. It could be structure, too much or too little hardware and embellishments. Color, material, condition, shape. There is no way to tell you all the things or cover all the combinations of the things. If you are a Style Circle member, you can send in your picks for style coaching. I will tell you honestly, but for now what I need you to understand is that understated can be stylish and beautiful, especially in accessories. But you've got to choose items that feel refined and let the simplicity do the work. The fewer things you wear, the more each piece stands out. That is a big theme of simple style. We're going to come back to it later, so choose pieces. Every piece that elevates your whole look instead of drawing it down. The idea of upgrading your daily accessories can also be applied to things like watch bands and belts. And if you wear glasses, consider your frames as well. If you're wearing it, it has an impact on your outfit whether you want it to or not. You don't get to opt out of this. I guarantee you there is a version of whatever it is that is not over the top or bolder than you want to be that will give more polish. And no, you do not have to choose between comfort and style. You might have to look a little bit harder, but you don't have to choose now. For those of you who do want to accessorize with things like necklaces or other jewelry, simplicity is actually on your side here. For a few years now, understated accessories have been trending. The big bubble necklace days are gone and they've been replaced with smaller, simpler pieces that will give your outfits just a little bit more finish without pushing you out of your comfort zone. But just start with upgrading the things that you have to wear anyway. Moving on to S In our basic formula, we have styling touches. What I mean by this is things like tucking your top, cuffing your jeans, scrunching or rolling your sleeves, letting a tee peek out from under your sweatshirt or sweater. Buttoning a cardigan differently to see which way looks best. Like just one button at the top or a few buttons in the middle. Those kinds of things. Styling touches are small, intentional adjustments to clothes you're already going to wear that cost no money, take very little time, and don't require you to add anything extra. It's just about taking 30 seconds or a minute to see what you can do with the clothes you're wearing to make them look a little bit more finished, to actually turn them into an outfit. You don't have to do all of them. You don't have to do any of them. Some outfits don't need it, and some pieces look less refined when you start messing with them. But give yourself just one minute to try. A really good exercise is to go to Pinterest or do a Google image search for woman jeans and T shirt or woman jeans and sweater. When you have the results, ignore anything that looks more styled than you want to be or has too many accessories or layers. I just looked at outfits that simply had a top and a bottom. That's it. Then I honed in on which ones look put together versus which ones didn't. Compare the polished and put together ones to the ones that don't look elevated. What are they doing? What styling touches are they using? I think this is actually better on Google than on Pinterest because nobody puts frumpy outfits on Pinterest and you'll get a better variety and more comparison on Google. But do what works for you. What you're going to find anywhere you do this little exercise is that little things make a big, big difference. All right, moving on to I. In our formula, we have interesting basics. One of the hallmarks of simple style is a love of basics. And I get it. I love basics too. They are an important part of any functional wardrobe. But too many basics and too many basic basics will leave your wardrobe looking boring and bland. And the fix is not to go wild and buy blouses and blazers instead of T shirts and cardigans. And it's actually a whole lot easier than that. Here it is. Ready? It's write this one down. Buy more interesting T shirts and cardigans. That's it. Go for a waffle knit or a rib knit instead of a plain tee. Choose a boat neck instead of that Old Faithful crew neck. One of my favorite pieces from the Winter Capsule guide is a boat neck long sleeve tee with just a tiny little bell sleeve. It's not enough to be annoying or to fall into my plate at dinner like the big, you know, bell sleeves that we used to wear, but it's enough to look elevated and purposeful. Like I've mentioned a few times already, so often we think that the solution has to be an extreme departure from what feels natural or what we're comfortable with, when the reality is these little baby steps are sometimes all you need to go from underwhelming to understated. One of the biggest things you can do with interesting basics is is realize that your genes are not neutral. And by neutral I am not talking about whether or not they go with things like black or white or other neutral colors. In that respect, yes, jeans are a neutral. They go with everything. By neutral in this context, I mean that they have no effect on your outfit. Your jeans are not neutral. A pair of dark wash flares has a really different effect on the way your outfit looks than a pair of light wash baggy jeans. And over the years I've noticed that a lot of women who want simple style tend to only wear straight leg jeans in a slightly darker than medium wash. And there's nothing wrong with them. But you're missing an opportunity to use different washes and different silhouettes to create more intentional outfits without doing anything complicated or adding more clothes. For years I have been saying that if you are a jeans and a T shirt kind of woman, great, be a jeans and T shirt woman. Just buy more interesting jeans and T shirts. Don't try to become someone else, just elevate the styles that feel natural to you. The last stop in our basic formula is C, which stands for condition, meaning do your clothes look a little shabby and worn? Remember before when I said that the fewer pieces you wear, the more each one matters? Right here, friends. Especially when those pieces are simple. You are going to notice the pills on a solid unadorned sweater more than you would on a fair Isle sweater, for example, when you're just wearing that old trusty T shirt and jeans, a faded color or stretched out neckline, or jeans that have lost their recovery, they stand out more simple ladies tend to go for more natural fibers and they wear a lot of cotton and that is great. Nothing wrong with it, but it tends to fade and lose its shape faster. Doesn't mean that you have to ditch it and start wearing all polyester. Just means you have to be aware of it. One of the big challenges with condition from normal wear and tear is that it happens slowly. Like if I spill bleach on my clothes or I get an annoying olive oil spot on something when I'm cooking, which happens all the time, I notice it immediately. But things like color fading or pieces losing their shape or their recovery, that happens slowly. So slowly that we often don't notice it. We don't often notice that a sweater is pilly until it's really pilly, or that a color has faded until it's really, really faded. And that probably means that your clothes have been looking shabby for a hot minute a lot longer than you think. And really, the only fix for this one is to start looking at your clothes every day with a critical eye and having your clothing care tools handy. This is one reason I steam pretty much everything I wear every single day. And I have a lint roller and a fabric shaver handy. It takes almost no time. But when you're looking at the shirt right at eye level before it's on your body, you tend to notice these things more. Plus they're easier to fix than before you're wearing it. You know, when it's already on your body, you're like, ah, whatever, I'll deal with it later. Right? Also, though wrinkles are polish killers, I know they happen throughout the day. And with fabrics like linen, sometimes there's not much you can do. But you don't have to start the day looking rumpled and sloppy. Steam your stuff. Thinking that your clothes only have to look nice when you're going somewhere special is the same thing as saying style only matters when you're going somewhere special. If you spend the majority of your life doing everyday unspecial stuff, do you really want to spend the majority of your life looking shabby and worn? I gotta say, that just doesn't make much sense to me. Not when it is so easy not to. Like, for this one, you don't need to know how to dress your body or what your best colors are. You literally just need to run A steamer and a lint roller over your top. Everyone can do this one. And I think that's just a great example of how we think style is a whole lot more difficult than it really is. Especially when it comes to simple style. It's not about bold outfits or complicated routines. It's just little things that add up to make a big difference and that make your simple outfits look the way you imagined in your head. Before we get to the homework for this episode, let's quickly recap. Here's what I want you to take away from our little chat together. First, there is nothing wrong with simple style. You do not have to become someone you're not in order to look good or be stylish. But when you wear fewer pieces, and those pieces are basic, every single one of them matters more. There's just less to look at and fewer things to distract the eye. The best place to start is by upgrading the things you're already doing and wearing. From elevating your beauty routine to finding shoes that help your outfit. And instead of hurting it, the key is to just start where you are. That will help you still feel like you, which makes style sustainable. Big surprise. But your homework is to pick a couple of these things and focus on them for the next couple of weeks. Doesn't matter which, and you don't have to do all five. Pick the two that you think would have the biggest impact on bringing your simple style to life. And do those see what a difference it makes looking like Jennifer Aniston in jeans and a tee? It might be closer than you think. All right, that is it for this episode of the Everyday Style School. Thank you for spending this time with me today. If you're ready for easier, better style, come take my free workshop, Style Made simple, where you'll discover why style has felt so hard and how to make it easy for life. You can sign up@freestyleclass.com or through the link in the show notes. I'll see you next time. And until then, stay stylish.