My 5 best tips for effortless styling

Apr 29, 2018 | 1 comment

It is quite safe to say that I am a huge fan of casual, Scandi chic style and timeless classics. Last year, I started a series on my Youtube channel called “The effortless style series” that was meant to inspire you in the direction of a ‘buy less but better’ kind of mindset. That can be a lot easier said than done and that’s how I got the idea for this series, where I’m sharing guide son how to build the perfect basic wardrobe, how to add colours to your wardrobe among other good stuff. You can find all the episodes right HERE. In this post, I thought I wanted to gather up some more on-hands kinds of styling tips that are easy to integrate into your daily outfits. Since the series is called “effortless style series”, it’s exactly the effortlessness I like to work around; not only do I wish to inspire you to lay off that feeling of having to be perfect all the time (so maybe you’ll discover how much beauty there is in imperfections too), but also give you some inspiration in terms of effortless styling which, paired with timeless classics in good quality, really gives your outfit an edgy, care-free vibe.

Jeg kan nok godt siges at være kæmpe fan af afslappet, skandinavisk stil og tidsløse klassikere. Sidste år begyndte jeg derfor en serie på min Youtube kanal som hedder “effortless style series”, som skulle inspirere jer derude i retningen af den her buy less but better tankegang. Det kan være lettere sagt end gjort, og det var derfor jeg fik idéen til denne serie, hvor jeg guider jer til den perfekte basis garderobe, hvordan du tilfører farve til din garderobe og meget mere. Du kan tage et kig på alle episoderne lige HER. I dette indlæg tænkte jeg derfor, at jeg ville opridse nogle mere konkrete styling tips, som er nemme at integrere i dine daglige outfits. Eftersom serien hedder “effortless style series” er det lige netop dét jeg lægger vægt på; det skal ikke blot inspirere jer til, at droppe tanken om at skulle være perfekt (og lære at se det smukke i det uperfekte), men også give inspiration til skødesløs styling, der i min optik er super lækkert sammen med tidsløse klassikere i god kvalitet, og virkelig kan give noget kant.

So before moving on to the actual styling tips, let’s get back to basics for a minute. It’s so important that you’ve done your ground work and that you have a great basic wardrobe. It makes getting dressed in the morning a lot less stressful, when you know everything you have in your wardrobe can be combined and will look amazing almost no matter how you pair things. 

Basics dos

Quality above quantity. I’ve covered this subject quite a few times, because what does “good quality” really mean anyway? To me it’s a combination of several things; knowing that the garments have been ethically made, feels nice against the skin, that it’s made in a nice type of fabric and that all stitches from the inside and out are looking neat and nicely done. Last but certainly not least, it’s important that the product lasts in the long run too. You can read more about how to know the good from the bad quality in THIS article.

Comfort above all. Well this doesn’t really need much explanation, does it? I always find the little loop holes when it comes to the slightly less comfortable items (let’s be real here, there is no such thing as a pair of heels a comfy as a pair of sneakers, but it’s no fun never wearing heels either, right?), so if I were to choose between a 12 cm heel and a 6 cm heel I’d always go for the lower one. A height like that is just enough to elongate my legs and give me that lift I like, but without having to compromise with comfort. When you feel good, you look good – simple fact!

Keep things real. What you see on the runway or on social media may very well inspire us, and we can in fact take elements of these images and incorporate them into our daily outfits. But let’s be real; what looks good in pictures doesn’t always look good in real life situations! It is so important that you look at your life and the activities it contains, not only in order to really find your true style but also once you even start building that perfect basic wardrobe you’ve always dreamt about. What’s the fun in having lots of clothes you can’t even use because it doesn’t fit your real life?

Basic dont’s

Dont overthink. Last but not least let’s talk about keeping things chill (this comes from the most structured person ever, but let’s leave that out of this equation, mkay?). I think this comes naturally once you’ve really sorted out your basics, and it just seems that you are naturally more relaxed and confident once you’ve found your own true style.

Inden vi hopper til de konkrete styling tips, så lad os lige opridse vigtigheden i, at have styr på sin basis garderobe. Det bliver bare hundrede gange nemmere og mindre stressende at klæde sig på om morgenen, når man véd man har rammerne i orden, og alt i bund og grund kan kombineres på kryds og tværs og se samtidig fantastisk ud.

Basics dos

Kvalitet over kvantitet. Jeg har før været lidt inde på dette emne, for hvad betyder “god kvalitet” egentlig? Kort sagt er det for mig en blanding af, at jeg ved tøjet er forsvarligt lavet, det sidder godt, føles godt, er lavet i en lækker metervare og at stikninger fra inderst til yderst er pænt afsluttede – og så selvfølgelig, at det holder i længden. Du kan læse mere om hvordan du spotter god kvalitet lige HER.

Komfort kommer først. Det siger egentlig lidt sig selv. Jeg finder altid smuthullerne (lad os nu bare være ærlige; der findes ikke et par høje hæle der er ligeså komfortable som sneakers, men at droppe hælene helt af dén grund er der jo heller ikke meget sjov i, vel?), så hvis jeg får valget mellem et par høje hæle på henholdsvis 12 cm og et par på 6, så vil jeg altid vælge den lave udgave. Det giver et perfekt løft til mine ben, men uden jeg går på kompromis med komfort. Når man føler sig godt tilpas, så se man helt naturligt også bedre ud!

Hold dig til det virkelige liv. Det tøj vi ser på catwalken eller på de sociale medier kan sagtens inspirere os, og man kan også sagtens tage elementer af de ting man ser, og inkorporere det i sin egen stil. Men lad os være enige om, at hvad der ser godt ud på et billede bare ikke altid fungerer i virkelighedens verden! Det er så vigtigt, at du kigger på dit liv og de aktiviteter det indeholder, ikke blot når du først og fremmest skal definere din egen stil, men også når du begynder at opbygge din drømmegarderobe. Der er ikke meget ved at have en garderobe fuld af tøj, som du slet ikke kan bruge!

Basic dont’s

Overtænk det ikke. Personligt synes jeg dette kommer helt naturligt, når først man har fået styr på sin basisgarderobe, for man bliver bare så meget mere sikker på sin stil og får nemmere ved, at smide et pænt outfit sammen uden at blinke. Og så er det bare som om, at man slapper lidt mere af, når man ikke har tænkt alt for meget over tingene (hvilket er ret selvmodsigende, når man tænker på hvor struktureret jeg ellers er, men lad nu det ligge…).

 

 My top 5 effortless styling tips
1 The half tuck

This is something I do almost every single day; the infamous half-tuck. The inspiration mainly comes from the always stylish Emmanuelle Alt, and I love everything about this effortless way, of tucking your shirts and tops into your trousers.

Dette er noget jeg praktiserer stort set dagligt; den famøse half tuck. Inspirationen kommer primært fra den altid cool Emmanuelle Alt, og jeg elsker alt ved denne skødesløse måde, at stoppe skjorter og toppe ned i bukserne.

2 Fold-ups

Whether it’s the sleeve of my shirts or long sleeve tops or the hem of my jeans and trousers, I’m always good for a little, casual fold-up. I even like ruching up the sleeves on my blazers. It’s almost as if you’re telling your surroundings that you’re ready to work, and people better not mess with you. I kinda like that image.

Hvad enten det er et ærme på mine skjorter og langærmede toppe eller mine jeans og bukser, så ynder jeg at give disse et lille opsmøg. Jeg kan også godt lide, at trække ærmerne på mine blazere op. Det er næsten som om du lige fortæller omverdenen, at du har smøget ærmerne op og er klar til at håndtere hvad end der kommer din vej. Dét kan jeg egentlig meget godt lide.

3 Contrasts

Another thing I like in basically any look is contrasts. I always try to balance things so that I don’t feel like I look like a homeless person or on the contrary too over-dressed. Combinations with contrasts that I love is for example feminine blouses with rugged jeans or a classic suit with a plain (boring) white tee and a pair of sneakers. 

En anden ting jeg elsker i et hvert look er kontraster. Jeg gør en dyd ud af, at balancere tingene så jeg hverken føler mig som en posedame eller ser for over-dressed ud. Kombinationer med kontraster jeg elsker er for eksempel feminine skjorter sat sammen med slidte jeans eller et suit sat sammen med en kedelig hvid t-shirt og et par sneakers.

4 It’s in the details

Oh, so cliché but so very true nonetheless. My favourite details are all of my golden jewellery, that I always put on before heading out the door (and quite the paradox they are the first thing I take off when I get home, but anywho). If one day I can’t be bothered doing much with my hair or makeup, I feel like everything is balanced out perfectly if I just pop on a bunch of golden jewellery together with a classic blazer, a tee, a pair of jeans and my favourite Acne boots. That’s it.

Så kliché, men ikke desto mindre noget så sandt. Mine yndlingsdetaljer er alle mine guldsmykker, som stort set altid kommer på når jeg skal ud af døren (og som paradoksalt nok er det første jeg tager af når jeg kommer hjem, men anywho). Hvis jeg en dag ikke rigtig orker at gøre så meget ud af hverken hår eller makeup, så synes jeg det balanceres rigtig fint ud ved, at tage nogle af mine guldsmykker på sammen med en blazer, en t-shirt, et par jeans og mine yndlingsstøvler fra Acne. Bum.

5 Keep your beauty routines simple

Maybe it’s the fact that I’m getting closer to 30 than 20, but the last couple years I’ve really sorted out my beauty game. Mainly because I wanted to convert to more healthy and sustainable routines and to cut away the excess of (unnecessary) wonder treatments and gadgets, that we as consumers are convinced to buy all the time. My best tips is probably to stay away from chemical-filled products, and then of course to stick with whatever works for you. I’m also a huge fan of a natural no-makeup makeup look, especially those that can be done within 20 minutes (just look at my beauty inspiration board on Pinterest right HERE). I’m so over having to look perfect all the time, and I’d rather do a simple and light makeup that I can touch up easily on super long days, than doing a full face of high-maintenance makeup, that I just know I’ll end up worrying about all day. But each to their own taste of course, I’m not here to judge.

Måske er det fordi jeg er tættere på de 30 end på de 20, men jeg har virkelig formået at simplificere mine beauty rutiner de sidste par år. Primært pga. et ønske om at forbruge mere bæredygtigt og i det hele taget skære nogle af alle de (unødvendige) plejemidler og gadgets fra, vi som forbrugere bliver overtalt til at købe. Mit bedste tip er nok egentlig at holde dig fra produkter med et unødigt højt indhold af kemikalier, og så at holde dig til det der virker for dig. Udover det så er jeg også kæmpe fan af det naturlige makeup look, og gerne ét der ikke tager mere end 20 minutter at lægge (se bare mit inspirations board på Pinterest HER). Jeg er så ovre det dér med, at skulle se perfekt ud hele tiden og vil hellere lægge en let makeup der nemt kan touches op på lange dagen, end jeg vil lægge et full face som jeg skal gå og være bekymret for og holde trit med hele dagen. Men hver sin smag selvfølgelig, jeg dømmer ikke nogen.

1 Comment

  1. Melanie

    What a great outfit! I love it :-*

    Reply

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