9 Things To Do To Make Your Outfit Look More Expensive
Making your outfit expensive, doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need to watch out for some things that can throw your look off and distract people from seeing how wonderfully put together you look!
From the store to your wardrobe we’ll go through a list of habits that you should have to make you look more expensive everyday. Remember it’s all in the details, beginning from the material that you choose to buy.
1. Materials make the look
Buying the right materials can immediately change your entire look. Silk, wool, cashmere, leather, linen, satin. Natural materials as opposed to synthetic materials usually look more authentic and in line to what luxury brands often use which will significantly boost your look.
2. Steam and Iron Your Clothes
Even if you buy the right materials, ensuring they look fresh and wrinkle free will keep your look clean and expensive. Silk, satin and linen in particular crease easily, especially after being in the wash. Taking the extra time to steam or iron them is a great way to breathe new life into your clothes.
Also, when clothing is fresh and new, often they might have indentations and creases from being folded in areas they wouldn’t naturally crease. Natural creases on clothing through wearing them throughout the day cannot be helped, however unnatural creases show that you didn’t put in the time for finishing touches to your outfit.
Pro Tip: Keep most of your clothing on hangers to save you time, especially clothes made from silk and linen and any other materials that crease easily.
3. Hand Wash & Reach for the Drying Rack
Often Delicate Clothing has this sign:
Meaning they recommend hand washing over machine washing. In reality, if you hand washed all your clothes, they would last probably 2 or 3 times longer. This is because the laundry machine causes your clothes to go through a lot of friction and heat (if you don’t set it the laundry to run cold).
The drying machine is particularly rough on clothing because it causes a very hot vacuum to dry clothes. The tossing is just to help get to more surface area of clothes for the hot air to reach.
Hot air plus heavy tossing causes clothes to lose a lot of material each time. The fluff that you collect after running your clothes through the dryer is not dust but actually fabric that was removed from your clothing. This is why clothing gets thinner over time if you put it through the dryer a lot.
We Recommend: For delicate clothing, or your favorite shirt or blouse, wash it by hand to keep it in your closet longer and hang it to dry. Or machine wash your clothes and hang your favorite pieces on a drying rack.
4. Remove Pilling or Any Visible Wear and Tear
Cashmere for example is prone to pilling. Just remember to have a fabric shaver on hand. Any areas that have higher friction are more likely to have pilling as well.
Sweaters and winter jackets are often prone to pilling as well depending on their materials and just one swipe with a fabric shave can make a world of a difference!
After taking the time to put together a lovely outfit, having just one piece that looks out of place can throw the whole look off. If you have shoes that are very worn down, think about investing in a new pair.
5. Don’t wear overly tight clothing
Especially in the bust area, buttons are important, you want to make sure your buttons are laying properly in a straight line and don’t look stretched out. You’re much better off sizing up, tailoring other areas to be tighter.
Pro Tip: Tailoring might be expensive where you are but when something fits you seamlessly it looks more expensive. Part of haute couture is tailoring an outfit to a person perfectly, that’s the reason why people look expensive, because they wear the clothes, the clothes don’t wear them.
6. Cut Loose Threads and Avoid Low Quality Seams
Unfortunately sometimes we buy a great piece and it starts to come loose. This usually signifies that it had poor stitching. Try to look at all the seams and ensure none are coming apart in the store. If you already have a piece that has some loose threads, just take note to cut any loose threads before heading out the door.
7. Avoid logos
No hate towards Nike, but wearing logos is easily dates your look or makes you look tacky as you become a advertisement for a brand other than yourself. Although owning a luxury brand’s item might give you some prestige, it can distract people and become the center point of your outfit. Leading luxury brands are popular because their products can last for decades, that was how they made their name so buy for quality not brand name.
When we think of ‘old money fashion’, we picture someone wearing great quality clothes and no recognizable brand logos. This is because they are not interested in using clothes to gain prestige, because they don’t need it, and neither do you!
Remember, poverty screams, money talks, but wealth whispers.
8. Watch for sequins, embroidering and beading falling off
Blouses that have sequins, embroidery or beading are often more expensive because of the effort it takes to make them. However, these are also the pieces that fall apart more easily, because they drop off through wear and tear and can make your pieces look old. Personally, I steer clear of embroidering on my clothing, it can easily age your wardrobe and it is hard to upkeep. If you love the extra bling though, hand wash and hang dry these items when possible to keep them in tip top condition.
9. Embellish with Real Looking Accessories
Obviously the easiest way to go about this is to buy real jewelry, however not everyone can afford gold and silver jewelry. Mimicking real jewelry can be hard, especially gold, but it is possible. If you already have a real piece of gold jewelry, bring it along with you when planning to buy costume jewelry so that you can identity what gold tone truly is.
Fake looking gold accessories have a very brassy and yellow tone to it. On the other hand, for silver costume jewelry, it is usually easier to pull it off as real silver, however, keep in mind that any rusting or green tinges can give you away.
Overall, achieving an expensive-looking outfit revolves around meticulous tailoring, selecting neutral and quality materials, investing in timeless pieces, and paying attention to detail in maintenance and accessories. These steps can significantly enhance your wardrobe’s sophistication and elegance.
