Fashionable Intent

You wanna know a secret?

Have you ever seen someone with a thick sweater or super oversized shirt tucked absolutely perfectly into fitted pants or a skirt? Have you ever tried to recreate a similar look and ended up with mysterious lumps and bulges from trying to keep all the bulky fabric contained by an unforgiving waistband?

You know why this looks so great…

…And yours doesn’t?

It’s because most of the time, it’s not tucked into the pants, at all. Let me explain.

One of my favorite tricks to perfectly tuck/crop anything used to be to tuck the bottom of it into my bra. Once I was tired of ruining my bras, though, I switched to using a belt. Now, there’s tools for this, like the CropTuck (the only TikTok Shop product I’ve ever bought, now something I use almost daily) and the poorly named Tucky. I’ve encouraged clients to grab a ribbon or shoelace and just tie it around them to get a similar effect, and those that sew to grab a piece of elastic and just stitch the ends, but, the end result is the same: the perfect tuck, with no bulk, that doesn’t come completely apart the second you go to the bathroom.

This only works sometimes and for some looks, though. Sometimes, you want a smoother, sleeker look. That’s when you have to tuck that oversized button up or graphic tee into your underwear.

It’s fashion, baby (as seen at Calvin Klein).

I’ve talked before about how the idea of “effortless” dressing is a misnomer and how it actually requires a lot of effort up front to establish the perfect “I-just-threw-this-on” look, but, make no mistake: the effort never really stops, it only becomes more intuitive.

This is where experimentation comes in, but also seeking out inspiration. As you may know, I am a Pinterest-lover. I use it for all my clients—not to pick an “aesthetic” or choose a new personal style for them, but, to show them the many ways individual pieces can be styled. Because, I get it: not everyone is inherently creative when it comes to clothing. But knowing the possibilities and what looks you can achieve with what you have is what’s going to lead you to better outfits. All you have to do is figure out what “better” looks like to you so that you can style yourself with intention. Like the person who tucks their shirt into their underwear with the intention of getting a sleeker look than they would if they “Crop Tucked” it or left it loose, instead.

When it comes to style, it’s not just about the pieces or even how you put them together: it’s about doing things intentionally to create the look you want. That’s how you make things that “shouldn’t” work, work, like adding a navy belt to a navy shirt and black pants so it doesn’t just look like you accidentally put on two things thinking they were the same color. And that’s how you make things that “don’t” work, work, like layering long sleeves under a shrunken jacket to make it look like the sleeves aren’t too short or tucking in a shapeless sweater to change the way it fits and create a silhouette.

One of my favorite things to do during sessions is have a client try on an outfit they’re iffy about and tell them exactly how to make it work and let them observe the difference. Because it’s one thing to wear something, it’s another to style it. Which, speaking of…

Wearing vs. Styling

Can I go on a li’l rant, real quick?