Do you ever look at pictures on Instagram of people at “fashion week” and wonder how the outfit came together, seemingly so effortlessly? This was my 8th or 9th (gets fuzzy) New York Fashion Week season! Through the years, outfits and memories, I’ve had so many lessons in style and fashion. However, there’s 3 New York Fashion Week Style Secrets that rise to the top after so many seasons (I’ll save Paris Fashion Week for another post),and I believe they will help your approach to getting dressed.
Take Risks, No One Cares
Nothing teaches you to take risks like attending a NYFW show. My very first season, I played it super safe and pretty and therefore according to “everyone”; boring. But that’s the thing, no one was actually judging my safe and pretty outfit. Only I was. You can literally show up in anything you want; crazy, normal, plain, classic, colorful, monochrome, and you will fit right in. However, seeing so many fun outfits makes you want to try new things that you normally wouldn’t. For me, it was color combinations and mixing casual elements with glamour. And I chose Rockies Rebels accessories for the occasion!
New York Fashion Week style secrets: How to start taking more fashion risks
The New York Fashion Week Style Secrets lesson here is; take a risk or don’t! But it will be way more fun if you do. You may be asking yourself, how do I take a fashion risk? The short answer is, you wear what I call your personal uniform that you feel great in. For me, a great pair fitting jeans and western boots is personal uniform. From there, you start tweaking; 1) silhouettes 2) color combinations 3) an accessory that scares you. You can start tweaking one of these elements until you start feeling more adventurous.
As an example, let’s break down my outfit show here; I started with my “typical uniform” of white denim, white top, western boots, sleek crossbody bag and a blazer. From there my tweaks were: 1) make the western boots colorful vs neutral, 2) swap blazer for fuzzy cropped jacket to tweak silhouette, 3) add volume in by switching my sleek handbag to the fuzzy orange bag for an ultra fun acccessory.
Tap Into Your Inner Child
In pyschology the inner child gets a bad rap, but in fashion, it’s important to get back to what you have loved since you were a kid! At NYFW, you see a lot of “inner child” dressing. Every playful shape and color is out there, combined with functional elements that turn looks into “grown-up” outfits. In my example, I turned to purple and butterflies. Since I was part of the Unicorn Club (obv), I wore purple exclusively on Wednesdays. So, I opted to get a fuzzy fur cropped jacket that would compliment my beautiful Rockies Rebels boots. Another “inner child” style preference for me was the western boots and butterflies. So I pulled the look together by wearing all white as a canvas and let my accessories pop.
New York Fashion Week Style Secrets: How to rediscover your inner child style
In order to unleash your inner child, flash back to outfits you wore on repeat. What was it about them that you loved? The feel, colors, texture, did it twirl? Make a list or get on Pinterest to start saving those elements that remind you of what you loved as a child. Embracing the color palettes and silhouettes that you dreamt of as kid, are your style calling.
Invest in Forever Pieces
The fashion industry gets a bad rap and it’s easy to see why. There are so many clothes, brands and trends and noise about what we should wear. So much waste. Because of this, what I’ve seen over the past couple of years is a big return to forever pieces. If you listen closely, fast fashion is not in anymore, not sure it ever was. However, there’as a big movement towards vintage, luxury or forever pieces.
In my oufits here and everything I wore to NYFW are items that I will wear again and again for years to come. When I’m no longer into wearing them, I know I can sell them or gift them to a family and friends. Having unique pieces that we find in vintage shops is really cool. No one has them! Likewise, investing in accessories like my Rockies Rebels fur bag and boots is gonna return a high ROI for you and the world.
New York Fashion Week Style Secrets: How to invest in forever pieces
The easiest thing to do when you want to change how you spend your wardrobe budget is to take a look at your closet. What do you own? Firstly, stop buying the same things over and over again. Also, what are you not wearing? Jot it down and gift or thrift it. And more importantly stop buying it! You would be suprised how many things you buy that you don’t actually wear. With all those savings you can afford to get one investment piece every quarter, or at the very least; on your birthday!
How to pick what to start investing in? It’s easy! Accessories! Shoes, bags, jewelry, and coats are great items to invest in quality. Not only, will more expensive luxury items last forever, you can usually resell them at a fair price if needed. I sell whatever I’m done with on Poshmark and then take the money I made and reinvest in a higher price item. Sometimes, people can be critical if you spend $2000 on shoes or bag, but they don’t realize that they spend that and more on items that they either don’t wear enough OR fall apart.
My short list of investment items are the items I’m wearing in these images: a great pair of luxury western boots, a great fitting pair of denim, and a functional investment bag such as this short dandelion fur bag! For my complete review of Rockies Rebels, an elevated Western style brand, see here, for how to style the Western Trend see this video and for more NYFW gossip, see here! XO, Z
All images by Jasmine Gainous at New York Fashion Week SS 2023