What Actually Makes an Outfit Good?
This fashion week season, we spoke to stylists, street style photographers and fashion fans to get the low-down.
So much of today’s discourse in fashion lives in the death of fashion trends and the emergence of “personal style” as the thing to focus on. It makes sense, given the onslaught of cores, microtrends and labels we’ve been exposed to in recent years. Eventually, we all end up with the same references, styling inspirations and pieces, which has led to a rejection of trends and a shift towards embracing what makes us unique.
While the concept of personal style is nothing new, its resurgence has definitely opened up more conversations about authenticity in fashion and as a result, led us to consider — if not proximity to the latest trends — what does make an outfit good?
Speaking to the Hypebae community during fashion week, three core themes emerged: confidence, authenticity and accessories. We’ve all seen those TikTok videos pop up on our FYP, emphasizing the importance of wearing your clothes versus styling them, and it’s those three elements that seem to make the biggest difference. Whether it’s a pair of earrings, a watch or grillz — as photographer Ashley Verse maintains — accessories are key to adding extra intrigue.
Above all else though, the idea of wearing something that feels like you, whatever you feels like, seems to be the most important thing. Although things like proportion, balance and texture play a part, none of it really matters unless you feel good in what you’re wearing. To further decipher the answer to this question, we enlisted the help of a few experts.
Read on for the top tips from our favorite fashion insiders and below, check out what our community had to say during London Fashion Week.
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Content creator Jess Cheng told us, “Ultimately, I don’t think there is such a thing as a good or bad outfit, what may be perceived today as a good one will be ridiculed in the future. So people need to relax a bit and have more fun, it’s not that deep!”
In terms of her own creative process though, Cheng added “When putting my outfits together, it’s all about comfort, and it always starts with the weather app. I pick a piece I want to wear, then I’ll use that as the starting point to style my outfit, although that doesn’t mean that I’ll end up wearing it. A perfect mix of baggy and tailored seems to be my formula of the moment. Also, a pair of great statement sunglasses can really elevate an outfit.”
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Similarly, stylist to the stars Alizé Demange is in favor of authenticity as the overarching rule. “I know my outfit is good when I feel confident stepping out the door. It has to be true to you. There’s nothing better than what you wear feeling like an authentic version of you — without that, the outfit is never going to bang. Ever,” she told us.
“Having fun is also what makes a good outfit, whatever fun means to you. There needs to be real enjoyment in building that outfit — that’s what creates authenticity. It’s all so subjective, what makes a good outfit, but the most important thing is you have to be happy about it,” Demange continues.
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Essentially, what makes a good outfit is all about the person wearing it. In a world dominated by microtrends, labels and cores, what matters most? Just being yourself. Who’d have thought?
