Whenever I’m selling at a pop-up or wearing one of my Descalza pieces, I always hear this statement:
“OMG I love your skirt! But I could never pull it off”.
Sometimes I’ll respond with a “Yes you can!” but deep down, I know that’s not going to change their mind.
It took me a while to be comfortable wearing statement pieces. I still get nervous when I wear something that’s going to call attention to me, but, even with those nerves, I never regret taking up space.
If you’ve ever been hesitant to wear something colorful or bold, then keep reading. I have a few takeaways that could help you out.
Pictured: A tiny glimpse of my fashion journey.
QUE LA PENA SE VAYA POR LA VENTANA.
Sometimes we hold ourselves back from trying new things out of fear that others will ridicule us. While that could be true, that’s okay. Yes, someone might not understand your outfit, but as long as YOU love it it doesn’t matter. Your style isn’t meant to please everyone. It’s an expression of who you are and what matters to you. It’s the way you tell the world that you are here and that you’re going to take up the space you deserve. If that makes them feel uncomfortable, that’s their issue. Not yours.
Takeaway: Replace la pena with courage. Courage is doing something despite fear. Think of it as learning how to swim. You won’t learn if you stay out of the water.
Pictured: Taking up space at a pitch competition for Descalza
OKAY, SO WHERE DO I START?
So you’re ready to take the first step but have no idea where to start. Don’t worry, we’ll start simple.
First, let’s keep your base outfit simple. What we mean by base is to keep your bottoms and your top a neutral color (i.e. navy, black, white, or khaki).
Takeaway: Head on over to your closet, take your favorite jeans, and top them with a simple white tank top or T-shirt.
Pictured: A few examples of neutral base outfits.
ALRIGHT, NOW LET'S ADD THE STATEMENT PIECE.
With your current outfit not having any color, textures, or patterns, you basically have the perfect blank canvas to pull off any statement piece of your choice.
Now what do we mean by a statement piece?
Takeaway: Go back to your closet, and take out all the pieces that catch your eye. What do they all have in common? Did you find a lot of pieces or just a few?
I FOUND A LOT OF STATEMENT PIECES. QUE HAGO?
Remember when I said that your statement piece will be where all the eyes go? There’s a design word for that. Designers call it the focal point or emphasis. The eyes go to a specific place because that’s how the piece was designed.
Takeaway: Let’s practice finding the focal point in the images below.
Pictured: The yellow skirt, the floral dress, and the metallic pink jacket serve as the focal points, respectively.
LET'S APPLY A FOCAL POINT TO YOUR OUTFIT.
While you can broaden your focal point to a focal point area, we’re going to focus on just creating one focal point.
If you want people to see your face first, we recommend adding some bold earrings or a bold necklace to your base outfit. This, along with your smile, will intentionally make people see you from the top down.
Pictured: Examples of jewelry serving as statement pieces.
If you want people to get the illusion that you have long legs or you want to show off your long legs, replace your denim jeans you previously had on with those statement pants or that skirt! Depending on the fabric of your top, a cotton tee versus a silk blouse, will help dress your outfit up or down.
Takeaway: Keep playing around with the focal point. Try this with more pieces like a scarf, cardigans/sweaters, and even shoes!
Pictured: Descalza customers making a statement with their pieces.
WHAT'S NEXT?
I’m not sure if you noticed but you just learned how to add colorful statement pieces to your outfit! Yay! That wasn’t hard right? How are you feeling?
Once you are comfortable with adding one statement piece to a base outfit, try adding more colors, textures, and/or patterns. As long as nothing is fighting with one another and there’s harmony within your outfit, you have no limit to what you can do.
Pictured: Examples of statement pieces layered with complimentary patterns, colors, and textures.
Now the next time you hesitate to be bold and make your presence known, remember that you’ve already overcome your hardest challenges. Exuding confidence through your outfits might make you nervous and that’s okay.
We all get nervous jumping into the water when we’re learning to swim.
Talk soon mi gente,
Caro
P.S. If you're thinking about revamping your style and need some help, click here to learn more about our styling services!
