I Would NEVER Wear That

Inspiration is always in the last place you'd look.

Photo by Vonecia Carswell

I love looking at other people’s clothes.

In the days of magazines, my favorite pages were the ones featuring “regular women/teens” and their style. I used to rush home from high school to check lookbook.nu (throwback!) and Hel-Looks (created by the lovely Liisa of Gem) to see what people all over the world—and specifically Helsinki—were wearing. To this day, I could describe specific outfits of my classmates, teachers, even random strangers that have stuck with me for decades. It’s just my favorite thing in the world!

But, I’m not just looking to look. I’m looking to be inspired. And I am, often. Even—sometimes, especially—by the outfits I would never, ever wear myself.

For this post, I’ve chosen 10 Style Icons with what you may call very polarizing style that I personally find inspiring. For some, they may be too “weird;” for others, intimidating. Hell, you might think they all look absolutely absurd and ridiculous and that you’d never be caught dead wearing anything from their closets. But, I want to emphasize that inspiration is not about copying: it’s about sparking something. We’re not looking to dress like someone else, we’re looking for the silhouettes, textures, and techniques in their looks that excite you and make you want to make them your own.

Style is an artform. And those who wish to make art themselves—art that could be considered “good”—are most successful when they open their minds to all sources of inspiration, even those outside of their medium or their discipline…or their personal taste.

For each Style Icon, I’m going to break down the style elements they inspire me to try, and how you can experiment yourself. Your homework is to go to their profiles and, with your third, more stylish eye open, look at their looks and see what inspires you! At the end, I’ll also include something specific they’ve inspired me to incorporate into my own wardrobe because, why not?

This is gonna be a long one.

1. Print Mixing With @saracamposarcone

Every look by Sara Camposarcone, aka Sara Campz, is a feast for the eyes. The prints, the accessories, the humor, the details: it all comes together into something that looks so chaotic, but, when you break it down, there’s clearly a method to the madness.

In the look above, it’s the orange and blue complementary color pairing that really makes such a complex outfit work, but I’m a huge fan of “simpler” looks like this or this where she piles on different versions of the same print—something super easy if you’re like me and find yourself gravitating toward the same kinds of patterns over and over again (I just can’t stop buying animal print). The trick is simple: break down the print into its most basic elements like color or type (i.e. polka dots, stripes, or even abstract prints) and see what you have that shares those characteristics.

Wishlist: Church hats

2. Modesty with @samiabenchaou_

When I first came across Samia Benchaou, I was immediately taken by her knack for drama. Much of it is characteristic of most hijab-wearers: lightweight layers of sumptuous fabrics, long lengths and flowing silhouettes. But, the more I followed her, the more I got to see her more unconventional styling, where she’d take some of the most unique but decidedly un-modest items and make them work for her.

It happens to us all, right? We buy something so ridiculously out of our comfort zone in an attempt to dress a little sexier, only to let that mesh tank top or that sparkly halter top languish in our wardrobes for an eternity. Enter Samia, showing us how to style those pieces, not just for modesty, but in a way that lets them shine. She typically does this with foundational pieces like turtlenecks and button up shirts, something most of us have and could probably stand to play around more with. It’s such a simple formula, but somehow gives the pieces on top even more impact.

Wishlist: Silk scarves

3. Proportions with @khii.arii

Khiari knows how to create a silhouette, and don’t even get me started on the accessories.

One of the easiest shortcuts to an impactful outfit is juxtaposing fits and proportions. Little shirt big pants is the common mantra, but there’s plenty of variations: big shirt, little shorts; short skirt, long jacket; slim pants, flowy top, etc., etc. It’s a cheat code, but it can also become a crutch, especially for those of us who have always subscribed to the need to “define our figure.” Khiari shows us how to combine loose, oversized, and, well, big garments with other big garments in a way that’s less about highlighting the body and more about creating a new form altogether. Exaggerated shoulders, knot details, big jackets with baggy pants: they can go together!

Wishlist: Tabi boots (duh)

4. Layering with @annagolkayepez

Some would call her the Patron Saint of the Unhinged Fashion Girlies. I call her effortlessly cool as hell.

I’m obsessed with the way she layers seemingly disparate pieces in a way that makes them look like they came that way, like the look above with the sequin top peeking out from under the striped blouse almost like it’s a trim attached to the blouse rather than a separate piece. Like Sara above, it’s easy to write off some of Anna’s looks as chaotic, but, for those of us with our stylish third eyes open, there is a methodology to being able to perfectly layer pieces of varying lengths and create harmony or drape and belt a scarf to create asymmetry or put a top on backwards over another top to make it look sort of like a harness. That methodology is unique to you, though, and comes from experimentation.

Wishlist: Cropped jackets

5. Consistency with @ruesworldd

I’ll admit: typically it takes the algorithm serving me a person’s content quite a few times before I finally hit follow. That was not the case with Rue aka Ms. Put It On.

A complaint I hear a lot from clients is “I have so many __________.” Obviously, this can be a problem when you seem to have a bunch of pieces you don’t particularly like, but, sometimes, you’ve accumulated these items because you really, really like them. The struggle arises in not locking down your formulas for styling them.

What I love about Rue is how many of her looks fit into a few formulas, but they always look so fresh. Like the above, she has a lot of outfits featuring a bubble or pleated or ruched miniskirt with a crisp shirt or a cool jacket or both. While I’m obviously always one to recommend trying to style things in fresh ways, there’s definitely a case for creating a sort of uniform you can just plug pieces into. Leaning into the individual parts of the formula and focusing on just building up a collection of more and more unique versions of them can make getting dressed both easier and more fun.

Wishlist: Round glasses

6. Colors with @izzy_manuel