Are you ready to learn an easy way to look more put together every time you put on clothes – instantly and effortlessly? I’m here to share my personal stylist recipe.
Let’s dive right in with a visual example. Take a look at the two sets of images below and notice how they differ:
Image set 1:
Image set 2:
What was the first thing that stuck out to you for all these looks? Was it the fit? A specific item they were wearing? Or did you notice the colors?
The biggest difference between the first set of images and the second set is COLOR.
The first batch has too much of it while the second batch showcases outfits that are more thoughtful in color coordination.
How does the second batch of outfits look cool, cohesive, approachable and more put-together?
These outfits focus on only FOUR colors – navy, gray, white, and black.
These 4 colors are season-less, look great on all body types, and pair amazingly well with each other to create an outfit – making you instantly look more put together.
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Credit: @NextLevelWardrobe
These 4 core colors also happen to be one of the key components of my Next Level Wardrobe Style System™.
As a bicoastal personal stylist who has 20+ years in the fashion industry, I’ve had decades to perfect my method of helping professional men and women get dressed.
I created the Next Level Wardrobe Style System™ to make it easy for people to feel confident and look great everyday while also maximizing the items in their wardrobes. Our clients are successful professionals who need to look and feel great – consistently. The NLW Style System™ gives them that.
By following my 50/40/10 rule with these four core colors, you can look just as polished and put together as my one-on-one personal styling clients.
Using the 50/40/10 Rule to Look More Put Together
Let’s take a look at this color hierarchy pyramid that I’ve created. This is a guideline that you can use when building your wardrobe and figuring out what items to invest in.
The first step is to make sure you have the right colors in your closet so that you can create more outfits with less clothing:
Now, let’s take a closer look at each level of the pyramid to see how you can incorporate the 50/40/10 rule to help you look more put together when getting dressed.
50% CORE COLORS
50% of your wardrobe should consist of the four core colors – navy, gray, white, and black.
These 4 colors are season-less, look great on all body types, and pair amazingly well with each other to create an outfit.
40% TONAL TEXTURES
40% of your wardrobe should consist of tonal textures. This is an important part of the pyramid because it’s where you get to incorporate light to dark shades of core colors AND textures.
Texture is an important part of making your outfits look more interesting while still looking put together.
10% SEASONAL COLOR & PRINTS
Finally, 10% of your wardrobe should be seasonal colors and prints. This is where you can interject seasonal color trends:
This keeps you from wasting time and money on pieces that don’t pair well together and eventually end up shoved to the back of your closet or crammed into a drawer.
Following the 50/40/10 rule is a simple strategy to always look put together.
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Credit: @NextLevelWardrobe
HOW TO LOOK PUT TOGETHER USING COLOR
One common question we get asked is, “What if I like color?! How do I incorporate it into the system?”
Short answer: You can!
The beautiful thing about the Next Level Wardrobe Style System™ is that the 50/40/10 ratios are flexible. That means if you want to incorporate bolder colors or prints, you can do so. An example ratio could be 40/30/20. Just make sure that the color/print ratio is always lower than the lower two tiers.
Now that you know the basics, learn the next 2 steps to creating a professional capsule wardrobe or visit our women’s personal styling and men’s personal styling pages to see how we can save you time and money by building a fantastic professional capsule wardrobe just for YOU.
Cassandra Sethi is a NYC Personal Stylist and Image Consultant. After working over 15 years in the Fashion Industry, most recently as a Senior Buyer for Equinox, she created her business, Next Level Wardrobe – a luxury personal shopping service for successful professionals.
Next Level Wardrobe has been featured in Wall Street Journal, Today and CNN. See here.
