(Day 5 of W Attitude Style Week)
Recap from Step-by-step Classy Style Guide for Beginners Part 1:
#1 It has nothing to do with the price
#2 What it means to have a classy style?
If you have not read Part 1, feel free to hop to part 1 before returning.
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#3 Clearance
Before we start building and compiling the classy-style wardrobe, we should start by clearing out every piece that is not classy or that does not serve us anymore. For example, the cartoon T-shirt, the crop top, the ripped jeans.
It is so hard for me because I love these clothes as well. And you may still want to keep them because while on Monday to Friday you want to dress professionally and classy, on Saturday or Sunday or when you are having gathering with close family, you may want to dress casually. But then again, when we are starting out to build our classy image, I would recommend that we carry that style as much as we can so that we can be accustomed until it becomes natural for us. It is much like building a muscle, when we started out, we need to exercise more times a week to build that up but once it is there, we can easily maintain it with less efforts.
And in the process of renewing your wardrobe, there will probably be some new purchases which would cost some money and space. So, I suggest that you clear up at least some portions of the clothes currently in your wardrobe but you have not worn it in a long time or have very little chance of wearing because it does not serve the style that you are craving. You can either donate those or sell them as second hand if they are still in good condition. That would give us some space or even a little more funds to start with.
The process may be painful, but it will benefit you in years to come. So, get rid of those crop tops, ripped jeans and anything too loose or too tight for you because those things would not look good on you and they never look classy. Take this opportunity to thank these clothes and give them away or sell them because they no longer serve you.
The end goal is when you go to your closet, you want to be able to see a substantial 90% or above of items fitting the style that you want — which in our case, would be the sophisticated savvy classy style. So that you can walk into your closet in the morning and be like “Ah, here’s my outfit for the day and I know I’m going to look great in it.”
Actionable:
Review your wardrobe and re-organize it. Get rid of those pieces that do not look classy and those you have not worn for a while and really clear up space so that the clothes that are right can come in.
#3a Your brand
Having a classy style shows so much about your character. It shows that you respect yourself and respect the other people that you would be meeting for the day. Even though we all know that we should not judge a book by its cover, frankly this is just human nature and natural instinct. So, if you can wake up every day and have the confidence that your wardrobe is going to give you an edge of looking smart and classy everywhere you go.
And the strange thing is that when you dress classy, other classy, intelligent, successful people will be attracted to you because from the outlook you appear like one of them. So, they would respond to you and connect with you much easier.
Despite being an individual, we all have our own brand. And how we dress says a lot about our brand. So, what I suggest you to do is to find out and be familiarize with the people who you admire the way and style they dress. Basically, find who would like to dress like.
For example, for the purpose of this book, we want to have a classy style and who should we look for? The first person that comes to my mind is Kate Middleton, who should be no stranger to you. She is married to Prince William of England and is the Duchess of Cambridge. Her dressing style has been widely reported because of her classy style. It does not matter whether you are royal, you can dress in a royal, classy style.
Some people asked me whether it is necessary to dress like this? Would it be too much? Here is my answer:
Your style can literally open doors — you will find yourself being immersed in a different part of the world surrounded by professional people, important people, significant people. By wearing casually and without intention, you are actually closing yourself off these opportunities and limiting yourself to be a nobody because how you dress declare to others how you perceive yourselves as well. When you are dressing like a professional, important, elegant person, your subconscious is aware of that. And it will deliver a message that you are professional, important and elegant. Therefore, my advice is always to dress up, not down.
2-step Actionable:
Step 1
So, what I want you to do is to find that ‘idol’ of your brand — who you want to dress like. Just run a search on google or Instagram and be families with their style.
Step 2
Then I want you to take out all the items in your wardrobe that you are keeping. Just take them out and compare the style — do they look like the style of who you would like to dress like? Are they of high quality? Are they just fit and not too loose not too tight? Do you like how they look on you? Do they add value and give you confidence?
This may look like a simple exercise, but what you are doing is actually training yourself to look at a piece of clothing and decide whether it is classy and whether it will look good on you. Dressing with a sense of quality and style shows intelligence because you are not only buying something that is going to last the test of time, you are buying something that is going to fit and look great on you, which will give you the best return on investment.
Quality of the garment is really important here because it really stretches the dollar. Because quality garment is not only more durable, but it also is more environmentally friendly so it generally has a higher value attached to it.
The thing about a classy-style wardrobe is that it is not about quantity, rather it is more about quality. You would be better off buying fewer pieces but higher quality instead of spending the same amount of money buying a lot of pieces made of synthetic materials. Don’t worry about how to choose quality pieces now because I will break down for you shortly. For now, just keep in mind that you have to be picky and choose only quality pieces in order to compile a wardrobe that would allow you to dress classy.
And you know, deciding to dress in a classy style really elevates your life to a different level because it also affects where you shop. Previously you may be able to shop everywhere or in some popular stores where the clothes are very affordable but the quality is compromised. Now with this new standard in mind, you may have to go to a different place to shop where there is quality, classy pieces that fit our criteria. People of the same style would go to different shops to meet their needs, which means you will be shopping alongside other people who have a classy style which would usually be professionals, influential, affluent, successful people. So, already you would be stepping into their world, and this encourages you to step outside of your comfort zone and into somewhere you may feel a little bit overwhelming to shop in. But that’s ok, you are going to get accustomed to that once you started to build that wardrobe. It does not necessarily have to do with price, but more about the quality.
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