By
Hannah Weil McKinley,
PopSugar
The difference between fashion girls and the rest isn't necessarily an endlessly stocked wardrobe - it's just knowing the right ways to wear it. Women with great style employ a few steady fashion hacks on the regular to take their basics up a notch with accessories, reinvent the way they wear "the same old thing," and make their favorite pieces work year-round - through the snow and ice, sun and sweat, and back again.
Now, we're breaking them all down - the subtle styling tips that make ordinary outfits enviable. These are the methods you see on the streets all over Fashion Week, on your favorite bloggers, and likely on that coworker with covetable style. Get in on it, and put the 66 fashion hacks inside to good use.
Elevate Your Basics
Simply take your favorite wardrobe staples to the next level by swapping in a pair of heels, polished outerwear, or a chic bag.
Upgrade Your Lazy-Day Look
If sweats are your go-to lazy look, we invite you to step it up a notch. Add your favorite sweatshirt to a flouncy skirt or a statement top to your joggers. This mashup might become your favorite yet.
Wear 1 Color Head to Toe
Stick to a single color family to make a subtle, but impossibly cool, statement in varying shades of the same hue.
Say Yes to Prints
Say yes to prints - in fact, the more the merrier. Layer on contrasting prints in similar colors, or play up patterns in brighter shades to make a serious impact.
Make Your T-Shirt the Focus
Let a graphic tee do the talking all day. Add to jeans for a casual vibe, or tuck one into your favorite skirt for a cool twist.
Take Your Athleisure Outside the Gym
Rework your go-to look by incorporating a bit of athleisure - think a hoodie, track pants, or zip-up you can layer right into your everyday outfit. Watch how it instantly gets a fresh 2017 feel.
Show Off Your Boots
Let your favorite boots guide your outfit choice, then make sure whatever you choose puts them in the spotlight.
Mix and Match
They say opposites attract. Test drive the theory, and experiment by pairing your ladylike pieces with your bohemian maxi or your menswear loafers with the flirtiest dress in your closet. Have fun with it, get creative, and watch the compliments roll in.
Style It With Sneakers
Celebrate your love for sneakers, and make them the star of your outfit. Extra points if you style them with a dress.
Give Your Jeans the Day Off
Jeans are undoubtedly the workhorses of our closets, so it's no wonder we don't use our other pieces enough. Today, give your jeans the day off, and reach for a pair of trousers, a skirt, or a dress that hasn't gotten nearly enough wear yet.
Dare to Show Some Skin
Break out your backless top, your side-baring dress, or your favorite skirt with the slit. It's all about tapping into your sexy side with a hint of skin.
Take Pajama Dressing to a Whole New Level
We firmly believe chic pajamas should be worn outside the house too. Style yours with your favorite heels, fancy flats, and luxe bag to give them an I-didn't-just-roll-out-of-bed feel.
Make It All About the Accessories
Don't let your clothes have all the fun. Play up your style with bags, shoes, hats, and jewels that do the talking.
Give Your Wardrobe Staples New Life
Breathe new life into your wardrobe staples with creative layers and cool proportions. Make it all about shaking up the ordinary.
Embrace Winter Whites
Winter white may just be the most elegant color scheme. Get involved with chic pieces in cream-colored finishes to perk up jeans and beyond.
Style It With a Scarf
Tie one on to liven up your look - you may never want to take it off.
Style a Dress Over Pants
Give even dressed-up frocks a more approachable spin by styling them over your trousers and jeans. You may just find your dresses have a lot more life in them than you thought.
Add Your Jean Jacket to the Mix
Jean jackets aren't what they used to be. In fact, they go with everything. Work yours into the mix; temper a flirty dress, a dramatic maxi, or a pair of polished trousers with the piece that goes effortlessly with everything you own.
Upgrade a Throwback Trend
Chokers, Chuck Taylors, slip dresses, bell-bottoms, and more of today's throwback trends make for some pretty awesome outfit starters. Embrace the one that speaks to you, and give it a contemporary upgrade.
Borrow From the Boys - but Make It Your Own
Pull out that blazer, that pantsuit, or those brogues, and style that borrowed-from-the-boys look with your own personal twist.
Slip Into Flats
Even if you're addicted to your heels, give them a rest, and pay some much-deserved attention to the unsung heroes of your closet: your chicest flats.
Take Your Concert Merch From Show to Street
Reinvent the concert tee/sweatshirt you splurged on at the Formation tour, and work it into the coolest #OOTD you didn't think of yet.
Test Drive the Turtleneck
Get cozy when you trade your typical top for a turtleneck. Take it to the next level if you decide to do the fashion hair tuck, too.
Make Something Fancy Work For Daytime
Why save your fancy stuff for a special occasion? Make it work for just an average day by styling something silky or shimmery with sensible flats or layering up with an oversize sweater.
Belt Your Outerwear
Make your outerwear the whole outfit when you cinch it at the waist. It'll streamline the look, and you'll hardly even care what you've got hiding underneath your coat.
Rework Your Button-Down
Button-downs and pencil skirts, or trousers, may be a staple, but today we invite you to rethink it. Add your button-down to something unexpected to spark a whole new look you love.
Try a Blanket Scarf
Equal parts style and comfort, a blanket scarf will be your cold-weather best friend. Tuck it around your neck, or throw it over your shoulders - either way you'll be cozy and comfy.
Be a Coat Collector
When it's freezing out, two coats are better than one. Layer a long, slim coat, denim jacket, or anorak under a shorter, more voluminous one to keep the look stylish and fresh.
Wear a Turtleneck Under a Dress
Instead of adding bulk with a heavy scarf, try layering a turtleneck under your favorite dress. Your arms and neck will be protected, and you can avoid toting a heavy scarf around.
Top Your Tights With Socks
If you plan on wearing skimpy shoes, do your best to cover as much leg as possible. Doubling up sheer tights with cozy socks (or, even over-the-knee socks) helps keep your tootsies - and legs - from freezing.
Wear Tights Under Distressed Denim
If you're tired of wearing basic blue jeans, it's easy to don a distressed pair without exposing too much skin. Slide on a pair of flannel tights under your jeans, and you won't feel the cold air at all. It's also easy to sneak cozy tights under loose billowing pants; no one will ever know.
Upgrade Your Sweatshirt
Some days, all you can think about is staying cozied up in your favorite sweatshirt. Make the look work-appropriate by opting for a dressed-up version or layering a button-down underneath. Top with a sweater or sleek blazer, and you're good to go.
Wear a Beanie Under Your Brimmed Hat
Stop your hat from flying away in the Winter wind while keeping your ears comfortable. A beanie tucked under a wide-brimmed hat will help keep everything snug and comfortable.
Roll Up Your Sleeves
Long sleeves were meant to be rolled, right? While a button-down can feel stiff, rolling up the sleeves gives it an easy nonchalance. It's the easiest way to inject a little cool factor into even your most classic shirts.
Cuff Your Jeans
The hemlines of our jeans might just cover up the best part of our outfits - the shoes, of course! - if we didn't roll them up. Instead of rolling up under the hem for a discreet "looks like I didn't cuff them at all" look, do as the editors and insiders do and embrace the roll. The result is cool and a little undone - and perfect for showing off your heels.
Drape Your Jacket
Nothing says "fashion" like a draped jacket over the shoulders. Crazy, but true - it costs nothing and makes your outfit look infinitely more expensive and chic.
Knot Your Shirt
The easiest way to define a waistline without a belt is knotting your shirt right at the middle. It lends a more creative finish than just tucking in your shirt and adds a playful touch.
Tuck It
We have J.Crew to thank for a lot of our favorite styling tricks, specifically the half tuck. Rather than tuck in the whole shirt, this look conveys a more casual, current vibe that turns even a jeans-and-t-shirt outfit into more of a statement. Tuck half the shirt or the whole front, and let the tail hang over the waistline.
Try the "Groutfit"
Embrace the groutfit with monochromatic grays in varying shades and textures. It's the chic outfit you didn't even know you had.
Make Your Jewelry the Focus
Highlight your favorite pieces, and don't be afraid to mix metals and layer it on. Make today all about celebrating the jewelry you've been "meaning to wear" for months.Bonus: it makes thinking about the rest of your outfit way easy.
Try Socks With Flats
Bare ankles and exposed feet are unpleasant when it's chilly. Pair your favorite flats with a pair of warm socks for an unexpected look that will help keep you warm. If your shoes tend to run small, aim for a pair of socks with less bulk; that way, your shoes won't pinch.
Reinvent Your Suit Separates
Who says suits have to be stuffy? Shake yours up by adding a t-shirt or breaking up the suit entirely and adding the trousers to a different jacket or blouse.
Rework Your White Shirt
Your button-down has so much more potential than you think. Skip the basics and add it to a jumper, layer it with a vest, or use it to dress up your favorite ripped jeans. The possibilities are endless.
Put a Bandana on It
Bandanas are so much more than they used to be - and they make making a statement easy. Just add one to whatever else you're wearing. Yep, go ahead. It's that easy.
Wear Your Sweatshirt to Work
Make a sweatshirt office-appropriate by adding it to your elevated separates for a chic, not-sloppy effect.
Top It Off With a Hat
Forget a bad hair day; finally wearing that hat you bought months ago will take care of that.
Add Your Sneakers to Something Unexpected
Sure, you've been about sneakers for a while now, but have you slipped them on with that pretty midi dress in your closet? Now's the time. Do something unexpected.
Switch Into Overalls
Yes, overalls really do work for all body types. So stop procrastinating, and wear yours already.
Dare to Wear That Print
That printed blouse/pants/dress deserves to be worn, so embrace the pattern, and make a statement today.
Let Your Socks Hang Out
Take a cue from the runways and your favorite Scream Queens, and make socks the focus of your look. What's easier than that?
Put Your Brights Front and Center
Forget your neutrals for a day, and embrace bold, bright color from head to toe. We dare you.
Sparkle by Day
Sparkle doesn't have to be for evenings only. Make a sequin dress work for day with a t-shirt layered underneath, and watch the compliments roll in.
Do the Hair Tuck
Take a page from all the fashion girls, and tuck your hair right into your turtleneck for a chic, time-saving trick.
Change Up Your Handbag
Put down your tote, and switch into the handbag you've been waiting to use or the one buried back in your closet that you totally forgot about. You'll be surprised how much it updates your outfit.
Make It About the Texture
Whether you reach for fringe or something furry, make today the day you make a statement with texture.
Wear the Shoes You've Been Saving
Life is short, so break out the heels you've been too timid to wear or the metallic flats you've had on hold, and wear them already.
Break Out That Statement Coat
It doesn't matter what you've got on underneath, look to your coat with personality to bring the whole look together.
Belt It
Cinch it over a dress, scarf, jacket, coat, or just on the waist of your pants to help define your shape and give a chic finish.
Trade Your Pants For Culottes
Embrace the new shape and see how it changes your whole look.
Winterize a Favorite Skirt or Dress
Take that Summer piece out of hiding, and style it up with your go-to Winter essentials. A floral dress happens to look amazing with tights and combat boots.
Layer Up
Bundle up as stylishly as possible with unexpected layers. Try a denim jacket under a camel coat, or layer on the tweed - you can't go wrong.
Take a Summer Dress Into Fall
Flowy Summer dresses are one of the easiest pieces to wear during the transitional season. Choose a midlength dress and style it with a long coat and a pair of closed-toe wedges to make it Fall-appropriate.
Add Tights to a Denim Skirt
An easy styling hack for this Summer staple is to throw on a pair of black tights underneath. You can style your denim skirt with a pair of stark white booties and an oversize blazer to make your look feel less casual.
Layer Up a Crop Top With a Blazer
Give your crop top more coverage with a jacket and high-waist pants. This will allow you to show off just a sliver of skin without having to worry about getting too cold or showing too much.
If You Have a Crop Top, Wear It Over a T-Shirt
Add a crop top over a tee for a totally covered twist.
If You Have a Pair of Shorts, Simply Add In Tights
Toss on a light jacket and some knee-high boots, and you're set.
