Summer is a time of opportunity, especially when it comes to your wardrobe. Not only can your outfits feel more comfortable, flowing and free, but they can also possess a more dynamic quality guaranteed to catch the eye.
After 18 months spent largely locked down, as a period of freedom begins, it feels like now is the perfect time to try out some new styles and aesthetic flourishes. After all, popular fashion brands have used the pandemic as a chance to recalibrate things, so why don’t you follow suit? Though not necessarily in a suit, of course.
Just because summer may be on a smaller scale in 2021 doesn’t mean the brakes have been put on stylish fashion choices entirely. Keep reading to discover our 4 top tips for enhancing your summer outfit.
WEAR ACCESSORIES
Naturally, the first place to start when enhancing a summer outfit is with your accessories. We’re all wearing a little less in the warmer months, and trinkets and flourishes truly come into their own during this period.
Should you be trying to pair your sunglasses with jewellery, you want to ensure they complement each other. Angular cat eye sunglasses are very much on trend this season, and should be paired with equally acute earrings. Alternatively, try semi-subtle rimless sunglasses matched with a necklace in an overblown, statement style as a challenging counterpoint.
From chunky headbands to women’s leather bags, there are plenty of options to consider here, and all of them can be stylish and unique choices in the right hands.
To channel a very much in vogue, DIY sensibility, you could even make your own quirky accessories for the summer. For instance, you could craft yourself a cute daisy crown or some beaded bracelets…you might even manifest a third summer of love in the process!
COMPLEMENT COLOURS STRATEGICALLY
Some colours can clash rather than complement, whereas others can mix for the perfect combination, sometimes unexpectedly. Finding the perfect balance here is almost a science, and as such, it might be prudent to consult the experts for their view…
The Leather Satchel Co. have written this blog post here on the 2021 summer trends for accessories, telling us that the “forecast for summer is looking very colourful…think both vibrant neon and pretty pastel shades of pink, yellow, orange, green, and blue”.
They add that by “injecting some brightly coloured statement accessories into your wardrobe” you will add that sense of joie de vivre we’re all so craving right now.
When it comes to mixing colours, you do run the risk of creating a clash. To play things on the safe side, it’s best to match colours based on their shades and type, having a thematic through line of colour threading your look together.
That said, unpredictable and accidental combinations made a resurgence in fashion last year, with trends in design and textiles following a somewhat disruptive pattern. A dedication to traditional colour palettes has increasingly been viewed as a touch passé, with designers now experimenting with more organic processes, such as by using bacterial dyes, to achieve more out there colour combinations. An interesting development, for sure, and one that could influence how you shape your summer outfit.
Perhaps a more chaotic approach with colour could do wonders for that statement outfit you’re contemplating? Following this might mean your outfits are more eco-friendly, too. After all, fashion shouldn’t stagnate, and it needs to innovate as an expressive industry and art form. Your use of colour may help honour that notion.
Read: 8 seasonal staples to pull your summer outfit together practically but stylishly
COORDINATE WITH YOUR FRIENDS
If you are going out in the summer with friends (restrictions permitting), then it could be an idea to plan your outfits ahead of time with them. Reasons for doing this could include:
- Making sure you don’t wear the same thing: With what’s considered ‘on trend’ sometimes remarkably narrow in its scope, it can be quite common for friends to wear almost identical outfits. If you look the same, you may not stand out, both as a group and an individual.
- Ensuring you don’t clash: If your outfits do not complement each other in style, theme, or colour scheme, it might create some awkward moments as you navigate parties and the cache of Instagram snaps the morning after.
- Collaboration opportunities: Different people can bring fresh fashion ideas to the table. Who knows what your group could come up with?
- Lending each other accessories: It could be that your friends know the perfect accessory of theirs that will go with your outfit.
Friends and fashion go hand-in-hand. Whether you’re swapping tips or lifting each other up with encouraging remarks, you can create a positive energy around your summer outfits together.
WORK YOUR CONFIDENCE
A summer outfit will pop so much more when the wearer is sure of themselves and their style.
Remember, fashion can really help people find their confidence and develop their sense of self. Why not let it do the same for you? Try to use your summer outfit to express your inner beauty! Once you have that level of self-love and confidence, any outfit you wear will be right at home on you.
Explore fashion beyond the reaches of your comfort zone, too. Have you always wanted to rock a distinctive style but never felt brave enough to try? Life’s too short to be tepid about these things, and after a flat 2020, the summer of 2021 is the perfect time to start reinventing your look. Good luck!