I want 2024 to be the year that I stop saving my clothes for special occasions. Even though I work from home most days, whenever I leave my house, I feel like I keep reaching for the same thing because ‘Cincinnati isn’t ready for this look’ – literally the statement I make about just about everything that I put together. I either need to move to another city or just wear what I want. Since moving is not happening right now, I’m going to be wearing my clothes. Also, since I’m jumping back into full-time entrepreneurship, that means shopping less and saving a lot more. So, I’ll be shopping my closet and working on my creativity with how I’m styling my looks. This is where contrast dressing will be important. So, I’m sharing what and how to contrast dress.
This post contains affiliate links (read my disclaimer). Thanks for helping me adult!
PHOTOS BY: MEGAN PRYLL PHOTOGRAPHY
WHAT IS CONTRAST DRESSING?
Contrast dressing is the concept of mixing pieces that differ significantly from each other, aka they seemingly don’t “go together” in the traditional sense. For example, mixing formal and casual wear, or today’s topic of pairing winter and summer pieces together. It’s a great way to create visually, unique looks while getting the full wear of your closet.
WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER CONTRAST DRESSING
VERSATILITY OF YOUR WARDROBE
I’m a huge fan of getting the most wear out of all my clothes. I don’t know about you but I don’t have the kind of money that allows me only to wear an outfit or item once. I mean, what’s the point of buying an item you can’t re-wear or restyle (just say you don’t have any style 🤷🏿♀️)? What turns fashion into style is the creativity to repurpose pieces you own in ways that are unexpected and match your style. That’s the beauty of contract dressing; it allows you to be more sustainable and stretches your creativity. I love it when what I see in my head translates perfectly in real life. Also, contrast dressing takes you out of the idea that you should keep your items until you ____ (fill in the blank). Let 2024 be the year you wear what you want, how you want when you want.
FUN AND UNEXPECTED LOOK
Pulling out your summer pieces to style for winter gives you a fun and unexpected look – the entire point of contrast dressing. In a sea of neutrals during the winter, adding pops of color from unexpected pairings is the perfect way to stand out and be unique with your look. This isn’t exclusive to only summer items – that’s just the focus of this post. You can pair formal pieces with casual items, mix different textures or proportions, or whatever else fits into the contrast dressing lane. Remember, style is all about having fun and expressing yourself, so don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.
TIPS TO CONTRAST DRESSING YOUR SUMMER CLOTHES FOR WINTER
LAYER, LAYER, LAYER
I live in a climate where it’s cold cold in the winter. That means I can’t get away with wearing my summer clothes without layers. As you know, we’ve been experiencing wind chills over the last week that have made outside feel like it’s in the single and negative digits. So, this look would not fly here. However, I think the look works on those regular cold days when you want an extra sumthin sumthin. To show the layers, here I added a turtleneck, pants, and boots as well as attentional layers you can’t see, like leggings and a shirt for extra warmth and to make it winter-appropriate.
ONLY PULL ITEMS THAT MAKE SENSE
You want to make sure that you pair pieces that make sense for your look. Now, I’ll be the first to balk at any fashion rule, but you want to ensure that the outfit is cohesive and makes sense for your climate. For example, I have linen pieces that I would never wear in the winter because it’s too thin, no matter how many layers I wear, it’s not gonna work for Cincinnati winters. I own a few dresses with cutouts on the sides and in the back; while I could attempt to wear that, it just doesn’t make sense when I’ve tried it as a winter look.
COLOR BLOCKING IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
Because summer clothes tend to be bright and colorful, this is a perfect way to try color blocking or introducing color into your neutral winter wardrobe. Here, I am color blocking the all black with the yellow top. But if I wanted to, I could have paired the yellow with blue, pink, orange, or other colors that would make sense.
WOULD YOU TRY CONTRAST DRESSING WITH YOUR SUMMER CLOTHES?
SHOP THE LOOK!
JCPenny Turtleneck || Yellow Crop Top (similar) || JLuxLabel Devyn Pants || JW Pei Mini Flap Crossbody || Marc Fisher Boots (similar) || Target Earrings || The Lip Bar Bawse Lady || Garmin watch
