I’m.Not.Weird.

I’m.A.Limited.Edition.

Pose: [Gos] oOOoo, Pouffe

Odd occurrence of late, in the past week, three different models asked me if I could teach them how to style. Odd, first of all, because I’ve never held the delusion that I had any style a’tall. I am after all, just a silly Cao with rather eclectic tastes in fashion. Secondly, I’ve always been under the assumption that style couldn’t be learned, that you either have it, or you don’t. The rest of us just muddle on through the best we can. But I thought about it over night and here are some ideas that have worked for me.

The first is very important, and also why I became a blogger for consumer’s instead of designers. There are a lot of very stylish outfits out there, but if you don’t personally like them, you aren’t going to pull the look off effectively. My regular readers probably remember the times I’ve said, I don’t normally wear gowns, but I love this one. Well no truer statement could be made, I feel in gowns, the gown is wearing me, I become a mannequin to the outfit, more or less. Don’t get me wrong, I would never wear an outfit to blog that I didn’t love, I just think if I had my druthers I would show my style in another way. The gown isn’t a bad thing, it’s just not my personal “style.” So the most important step to learning how to style, is learning the type of clothing you like, so the clothes you wear become an expression of your personality.

The second biggest step, is to learn about style. I live in a podunk drinking village with a fishing problem, so the modicum of style is typically jeans, bathing suits, foots or flip-flops. It makes for easy morning wardrobe decisions, but it’s not exactly going to land anyone on the “best dressed list” of any publication. So study. Peruse fashion magazines, google pictures on fashion, check out the fashion shows and fashion weeks on YouTube and find out whats new, what’s in, and what’s not. Stylish is a commitment to rise above average, so it takes a little bit of work. I actually keep a bit of a “fashion scrapbook” with ideas to try, things to look for, that way if I get stuck for a style, I have immediate inspiration at my fingertips. (I use Pinterest for this)

The next one may seem kind of silly for an avatar, but know when clothes “fit” you. Nothing could be truer at this point with the introduction of so many mesh products on the market. As an Asian, I am thinner than most models and as you know, most mesh comes with lots of curves. Rather than getting into a viscious cycle of changing my shape, I specifically look for slimmer cuts, with more reasonable layers. Otherwise I look like I am wearing a burlap sack.

Pose- LibDescent “Ocean”

I want to put the next two thoughts here because they work with each other. Know how to put outfits together. You can have a lot of really cool single pieces but together they don’t necessarily mean style. Frankly, sometimes they look like you threw stuff at yourself and it just stuck. Back it off some and always look at yourself critically. Know what colors play nicely together, know what colors work well with your skin tone. Don’t assume that since your are an avatar the seasonal color charts don’t apply to you, they still do, very much so. See “Runway Modeling-color wheel by Mimmi Boa” page on the left for more info on this. The second hand of this concept is, don’t limit yourself to “brand” names. The brand names designers have become base points for a good reason, their items are consistently good, but there are a lot of other designers out there with great items as well. I commented to one of these friends last week to not “throw” an outfit on. Put it on piece by piece and remember its pieces because oft, you can take simple elements of one outfit and combine with another and it can have some amazing results. It’s like you get to be the designer without the labor of creating the pieces. But watch the colors, not all blacks or reds are created equally, and that spells fashion disaster.

Last and certainly not least important, accessorize! It can make a great outfit one worthy of a top model. However, understand, having a ton of jewelry on does not make an outfit stylish. Know how much is too much, is the outfit in need of a bold statement or just a complimentary touch up? Do you really need a hat or is the hairstyle the focal piece? Sometimes the accessory or lack thereof is the most profound statement a model can make.

Take from? Of course! Get crazy and creative and build your style around you! This is what I mean about style can’t be taught, you either get it or you don’t. You have to learn it by learning about you first and no one knows you quite as well as you do!

Outfit:
Hair: D!va, Yuri 3
Jewelry: Finesmith, Sarit *new*
Dress: Baiastice, Aida *new*
Leggins: Peqe, Cornucopia
Shoos: Gizza, Studded Boot *New*
Pouffe: [Gos] oOoo Includes poses *New*
Pic2 Pose: LibDescent, Ocean *New*