How to AVOID OVERDRESSING | Dress to impress… not excess!

Hey everyone, welcome back. On last week's video, I received a comment from Dear Agatha, and it's actually a type of comment that I receive a lot, so let me read it to you. I was born in Poland and moved to Canada 30 years ago. At the beginning, I was still dressing up every time I was going outside. Sadly, I was getting too many comments about my look. People were asking me where I was going after work, pointing out that I really went out of my way to dress myself. It started to be embarrassing. I was young, insecure, so I started to dress down. I'm happy to report that I can see way more stylish women out here lately, especially younger ones. I need to add that I don't live in the big city, and most of the fashion here is geared towards sporty, outdoors looks. We have lots of stores that cater to this farmer ranch type lifestyle, and I wish we would have more boutique style of clothing stores. I totally understand where she's coming from. If you follow me, it means that you're probably interested in being girly, dressing up in fashion, in beautiful things, but some people don't have the same appreciation for those things, and in some situations, it might not be appropriate to just throw on some heels and pearls. Of course, if looking full on glam is what makes you feel good about yourself, what makes you feel confident, by all means, do it, but I do think that a big part of sophistication and of elegance is not only knowing how to dress up, but also how to dress down. Always just being very aware of your surroundings and the situation you're in. So today, we're going to go over a few scenarios and examples to help us figure out how to dress polished and elegantly while not being overdressed. Let's take the situation Agatha mentioned as the first example, a more rural setting, a place where people probably work with their hands in fields, they have to be practical, they have to be able to move around. My interpretation of that would be kind of English countryside, if you will, so you still get that practicality, you still can wear those base pieces like your jeans, like your down outerwear, boots, stuff like that, but you can complement that with higher end looking pieces, such as a tweed gilet, maybe a tailored working jacket, some leather accessories, some cashmere jumpers, some cotton Oxford shirts. So just those finishing touches that make it look a little bit more streamlined, a little bit more sophisticated. Also great to focus on brands that kind of have that heritage feel as a DNA, so Barber, Holland Cooper, Fairfax and Favor. And in terms of color, I think it is also very important to be attentive to this because when you think about what you find in a sporting goods store, it is always either black and sad gray, or it will go kind of into that technical neon palette of pink and green and orange. Go for more sophisticated neutrals, like browns, tans, beiges, whites. And if you want to add some color, go for things that you can find in your natural surroundings, like sage greens, beautiful baby blues, burnt oranges. These details will make you look distinguished, but not out of place. In this situation, I think that your appearance, beauty wise is very important, just so that you don't look too disheveled. So don't underestimate the transformative power of a beautifully styled hair and some light complimentary makeup. So play around with your lipstick, with your hair. I love this hairdo that I see often, and they pull their hair back in a ponytail and they tie a scarf. I think it's so chic, so easy to emulate, still practical, but looks beautiful and intentional. And speaking of scarves, you guys know where I'm going with this, accessorize. Accessories are an instant fashion pick-me-up, such an easy way to get creative, to play around. So if you feel stiff, if you feel like you're a little boring, just get that injection of fashion through accessories. And I would advise you, and not just for this point, but for every other point on this video, to follow content creators that have a similar lifestyle to yours. So for instance, I love Josie here on YouTube. She's huge, I probably already know her, but she used to live in London. And then a few years ago, she moved to the Cotswolds in the English countryside. And she talks very often about how she had to adapt her style, how many of the pieces that she wore in London just don't make sense where she lives now. It would look weird, out of place. Just a great role model, if you love that kind of aesthetic. Also, Parisian farm girl, she's so lovely. Angela has this very inspirational and magical way of telling her stories. And she just throws on a beautiful red lipstick just to milk cows. But she also loves flower arranging, and she loves gardening, and she loves to buy antiques for her farmhouse. So you just kind of start getting a little bit of inspiration from girls that could get convinced that fashion is superficial in that type of place. But they do not give up. So they still look stylish. They still look beautiful, even in the middle of nowhere. So yeah, don't think that just because you live in the country, you have to go for the grapes of wrath look. You don't. In more sober circumstances, for instance, a very serious corporate job or appearing in front of a court, it can also be hard to express your fashion sense in a commanding, respectful way. I think Amal Clooney is a great person to look for when we want to be inspired in this case, because she's a human's right lawyer, but she clearly loves fashion. So when she is lawyered up, you will see her in the classic silhouettes that you would expect, like pantsuits and shirts and sheep dresses. But she will kind of inject that little fashion passion that she has through beautiful color palettes, amazing accessories, details on her clothing, or just by falling back on that beautifully voluminous hair that she has. She's living proof that girliness and power can absolutely coexist. However, I do think that this is a very fine line to tread. On one side, you want to express yourself, but on the other, you don't want to look like your clothes speak louder than your words, or even worse, that you're just playing dress-up lawyer Barbie and you don't know how to act. If this is something you're afraid of, just dial down the fashion factor a little bit. I talked about this brand before. It's called The Fold London. I think they find the perfect balance between that more conservative look and a fashionable approach. So even if you don't want to buy anything from them, just looking at their social media for inspiration, I think is already a great step. And once you feel more comfortable with maybe injecting a few touches here and there of a bolder style, you can opt for more statement pieces paired with some neutrals and you're good to go. Now let's say you cannot be the least bit creative at work. Maybe you have to wear a uniform. Maybe your company has a very strict dress code. I'm a rule follower. I am not gonna tell you to rebel against those guidelines. And I do kind of identify and feel your pain because when I worked in retail, I've told this story many times before, we had to wear black every day. We still got to be a little bit more inventive with how we stayed within the color palette, but just knowing that I would have to wear black again and again and again, it was just torture. So what I did to compensate that frustration was to take advantage of every moment I had off work and I made it count. So all of the pieces that I couldn't wear to work, I would make sure to wear them when I was going out, when I was having my leisure time. And that really made me not only appreciate what I had, but it also made me very smart about what I chose to buy for my wardrobe. And of course, I'm not talking about going to the grocery store in a ball gown. I mean, the theme for this video is to not overdress. But what I did was I created settings and situations that allowed me to wear the pieces that I wanted to wear. So instead of staying in watching Netflix, I would invite friends over for cocktails. Instead of ordering food, I would go out to nice little restaurants and throw on my heels and some pretty dresses. When I traveled, I got really inspired to actually plan my outfits and make sure that I wore everything that I wanted to wear. So maybe having to wear the same thing day in, day out, might seem like a curse, but it can also be a blessing in disguise. You will take advantage of any moment you have to feel inspired, to dress up, to really take advantage of your love for fashion. So yes, there is always a bright side. And on the topic of traveling, it can be tricky because you can absolutely underdress, but you can also overdress. And I get it. When we're planning a trip, we get very excited. Maybe you're going to a place you've always dreamed of visiting and you have this idea in your mind how you're going to look, what you're going to dress, and it might be hard to resist the urge. And it results in something that looks a little costumey. Two examples that I see a lot. Whenever I go to Paris, there are always people wearing berets and striped tops because I think that in their minds, that is what Parisian people wear, when in reality, a Frenchman wouldn't be caught dead wearing that, unless you're a mime, of course. Another example is Milan, where I live. I think that being known as one of the fashion capitals around the world really makes people think that they need to make a fashion statement when they come here. And it results in these very outrageous, exaggerated ensembles full of crazy colors, a lot of logos and crazy elements. Some women, I see them with these huge hats and sunglasses, kind of trying to emulate that Dolce Vita, Sophia Loren, old Hollywood type of thing. Or my personal pet peeve, girls who go on city tours wearing vertiginously high high heels on cobblestone streets, and they're just an accident waiting to happen. And I just feel bad because I've been there. I have made that mistake, so I'm not free of charge here. But it pains me because, especially when you're wearing something uncomfortable, it absolutely takes the happiness out of what would be a very memorable trip. There are a lot of more pared down, non-fussy ways that you can dress as a tourist to be comfortable, but still look elegant. Social media has graced us with one of the few positive things out there that it's ever done, which are those videos of what are people wearing in X, Y, Z city. So you kind of get a peek into what the locals actually dress like for day-to-day life. And you can take that as a little pointer and get inspired by it to build your travel wardrobe. And of course, another thing that you have to take into consideration is what is the weather like? What am I going to do? What are my activities? Those elements should guide how you prepare your suitcase. It shouldn't be an afterthought because then you get to your destination and again, you just either don't know what to wear and end up having to buy a bunch of stuff. You suffer pain and discomfort just to look stylish when you don't really have to. And you end up looking like a fish out of water because everybody around knows you're not from there. And once you have those comfortable basics, you can play around on top of it with accessories, with other pieces, with different colors, with prints. And it looks a little bit more effortless, a little bit more chic. And then in 10 years time, you will look at photographs from that trip and not only will you be happy because you created so many beautiful memories in that place but also because you're very proud of how you chose to dress. This is it everyone. Hopefully you found this helpful. Of course, there are a few situations where there is no way around it. Uniforms, occasions like funerals, for instance, or a very specific dress code. I don't think it's smart or sophisticated or chic or elegant to ignore those very clear guidelines. So again, don't rebel. You will find other moments to express your fashion sense. Let us know down in the comments below if you have any tips. Maybe you have a certain type of job, maybe you live in a certain type of place and you too have some pretty great hacks on how not to overdress. Share them with the class. Thank you guys so much for watching and we'll see each other again next time. Bye-bye.