It’s so confusing to figure out how to elevate your style. After working in the fashion industry for over 25+ years, we’ve seen it all.
- Influencers feeding you affiliate links
- Bloggers, who don’t work with clients, name-dropping color analysis coaches (don’t waste your time or money)
- Personal shoppers trying to meet their monthly commission goal by feeding you clothing you don’t need
In fact, if you Google “how to elevate my style” over 3 million results come up. (Including overly trendy TikToks and bad AI advice.)
No wonder you’re confused!
That’s why we’re so glad you landed on this page. We at Next Level Wardrobe are real stylists. We work with professionals of all ages and sizes. We’re ranked the number one personal styling company in the US with over 120 five-star reviews.
Our advice has been featured everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to a segment on The Tamron Hall Show. But at the core of what we do, is working one-on-one with real people. We offer men’s and women’s styling services that help you:
- Identify your personal brand.
- Transform your closet.
- Change the way you shop for good.
In this article, we’re sharing 10 action items to elevate your style, once and for all!
And we have a special invite for you! Join our founder, Cassandra Sethi, for the 5-Day Elevate Your Style Masterclass.
Cassandra will be going live, one hour a day, to teach you how to figure out your style, fill the gaps in your closet, create polished outfits for any occasion, and more.
These are all proven methods that she’s taught to 250+ clients. Can’t make it to the call? No worries! We’ll email you the recordings. But you must register! (Scroll to the bottom to sign up.)
With that, let’s get into our 10 essential style tips.
Table of Contents
1. Play with Accessories
NLW Founder, Cassandra, showing off her summer accessories.
Accessories are the finishing touches to an outfit.
Think of these as toppings to your style—nice to have but not essential. They are a fun way to amp up your look and show off your personality.
One of the best things about accessories is that you have so many categories to choose from. From jewelry, watches, bags, scarves, the list goes on.
On top of that, you have endless style options within that. Want to add a simple, refined detail to your look while still looking classic?
Gravitate towards minimalist accessories like a small pair of gold hoops.
Prefer to stand out? Pull together your winter ensemble with a brightly patterned scarf.
Take your pick and find one you want to experiment with.
Your next step on how to elevate your fashion style: Pick accessories that you haven’t worn in a while and wear them with your next outfit.
2. Create a Style Vision Board
Style Vision Board Inspiration
Ever wondered how celebs always look so put together?
They create a vision board for their personal brand and style.
After years, we’ve found this to be the MOST impactful thing to do.
Why? Because style is so visual!
With a board, you can collect inspiration from all over, and start to see patterns in what you like. And, just as importantly, it brings back discovery to style.
So often we see clients become burnt out when it comes to fashion and dressing themselves. It becomes a chore.
Elevating your style means not just dressing well, but enjoying what you wear.
You need to start re-training your mind to think of style as fun, creative, and exploratory vs frustrating, overwhelming, and annoying.
Your next step: Take our style quiz. In just 5 questions, you’ll figure out what direction to go and you can start building your board.
3. Clean Out Your Closet
At NLW, we believe that great style begins and ends with your closet.
You can’t get great style if you aren’t in charge of your closet and aren’t confident in your closet.
That’s why closet edits are so important. They allow you to go through each item one by one and edit out what doesn’t deserve to be there.
It also forms the game plan for what you need to buy (to spend your money on the right items!)
You’ll see what you’re missing, what you have too much of, and what you don’t actually wear or need.
Your next step on how to elevate your personal style: Schedule 2 hours in your calendar to do your closet edit.
4. Try New Eyeglasses or Sunglasses
Trying a new pair of eyewear may sound small, but it can make a huge difference. After all, eyeglasses and sunnies are on your face. They’re your opportunity to frame your features or draw in a bit of creativity.
Much like accessories, these should be in line with your personal brand. Are you quirky with your style? Or more classic? Use this to decide what style and color of the frame to try.
Don’t forget to try on many eyeglasses and sunglasses. Even ones that you don’t think would be a good fit, you may be surprised.
Your next step: Go into an optical store for 30 minutes and try on 15 pairs of sunglasses or eyeglasses to figure out what you like best. Be sure to take pictures!
5. Shop Strategically
Want to hear the truth no one wants to talk about in the fashion world?
Everyone talks about what to buy, no one talks about a long-term style system.
They want to sell you on a new trend or product, often so they can profit. But also because, showing something new is more “exciting” than practical, real tips on having sustainable, lasting style.
That’s where we set ourselves apart from the crowd. We encourage our clients to invest in pieces that will serve them for years and to take care of those pieces.
We don’t make commission, so we tell you when you should buy something and when you should skip it.
Challenge yourself to shop strategically. Think about what’s important to you. What do you need to wear the most often? What do you feel the best wearing? Let that guide you so you spend your money on the right things.
Don’t just make a mental note in your mind either—write it down! Have a physical shopping plan so you can see exactly what you need vs what you want. And get specific. Don’t just write down “ a new pair of jeans”. List the color, the fit, everything.
That way you can stay focused on what you need. Keep walking past the sales, promos, and fast fashion to spend your money on items you’ll love and keep.
Your next step on how to elevate your style: Make a note on your phone called ‘My Shopping List’ and write 2 items that you know you need to buy. And don’t forget to be detailed!
6. Try a New Brand, Color, or Silhouette
After speaking with over 1000 people about their closets, we’ve noticed a trend. One of the biggest things that holds people back from elevating their style is wearing the same brands for decades.
Yes, Ann Taylor worked for you when you were just starting out your career. But now that you’ve been promoted or even started your own business, why are you still wearing that brand?
You’re not the same person you were ten years ago. Your style should reflect that positively.
Our challenge to you? Break your style rut.
Try a new brand, color, or silhouette. Get outside of your comfort zone.
Not so good at pushing your boundaries?
A stylist can help you discover new options in every category and do the work for you. They can even act as your sounding board and give you an unbiased opinion on what looks good on you. (Just make sure they aren’t working on commission!)
Your next step: Next time you go shopping, try 5 new brands. Be sure to grab a couple of different sizes, as you may be a different size in a new brand.
7. Get the Perfect Fit
Fit can make or break your new style so it’s important to devote time and energy here.
Believe it or not, clothing isn’t meant to fit you off the rack. So, you want to find an experienced tailor to help you get the right fit.
If this is your first time working with a tailor, give them something simple to start. For example, hemming pants should be a basic skill for any alterations expert. If they do this well, you can move on to more detailed alterations.
Your next step for elevating your style: Find a great local tailor that you can use to alter your items. Reading reviews on Yelp and Google is a must.
8. Do a Footwear Edit
Footwear can be confusing or a complete afterthought to many.
But, there’s a science to look elevated from head to toe and it’s part of our Style System.
That said, the first thing you should do is start with editing what you have. We’ve noticed that most people have way too many shoes. And, they don’t even wear half of them.
We asked you to edit your closet, and that includes your shoes. Be honest with yourself about which ones you wear and which ones you don’t. Say goodbye to those that don’t make the cut.
Your next step: Pick out one pair of shoes you want to donate.
9. Try New Outfit Formulas
There’s a science behind how to elevate your style (for women and men) and that’s what we specialize in.
We’ve helped over 250+ clients to by creating a system they can follow to have polished outfits for any occasion.
One of the secrets that we share with our clients is outfit formulas.
There are three main ones that we teach, but one to tell you about is the ‘one and done’ look.
Pick one color and wear it from head to toe. It doesn’t have to match exactly or be the same fabric.
This is great for any dress code, age, or size. And it’s a cinch to pull off.
Your next step: Go to your closet and pick out your ‘one and done’ outfit.
10. Elevate Your Style By Attending Our Free 9-Day Workshop
Join me live for the 5-Day Elevate Your Style Masterclass
Soon, NLW founder and stylist Cassandra Sethi will host a live 9-Day Workshop called, “Elevate Your Style” and we’d love to have you.
She’ll dive deeper into each point in this article, teaching you how to systematize your style, find the right fit, buy the right items, and put you on the right path to get you to your style goals.
This is information you cannot find anywhere else. (Trust us, we’ve tried!)
Is closet confusion hurting your style confidence?
If you’re tired of feeling stressed out by your closet and confused by style, sign up for our workshop today!
Your next step: Sign up for our email list + you’ll be the first to be notified about the next workshop.
