7 simple tips to look expensive on a Budget

1. Be and Feel Confident

Nothing could be closer to the truth; to look confident you have to feel confident in what you wear. To maintain a refined look, it is important to be confident in your choices. Happiness over everything like Jhene says. Ensure that you are wearing the clothes and not the clothes wearing you

AJ’s tips on being confident in your style

- Baby steps: Pick a style or aesthetics of looking refined. You can use Pinterest, Instagram, magazines, Brand shows and so much more.

- Wear the right sizes: Don’t assume try clothes, return them if the sizes do not sit right or doesn’t match the aesthetic chosen.

- Practice: Put outfits together in your free time and take pictures. This way you get more confident with the style you choose and confident in mixing your own outfit

- Be inspired not copy: When making mood boards rather than copying exact outfits which you can do sometimes, I say rather be inspired look for certain details and translate to your own style example ( the blogger suggest chunky knit you find a neckline and length that suits your body)

- Finally wear it until you become comfortable; for example practice wearing a piece of jewelry each day again baby steps and then you will get comfortable to always remember to accessories when needed.

2. Keep Jewelry Simple

opt for simple refined jewelry pieces especially when buying cheaper alternatives. A Simple watch if you can invest where possible a timeless piece or design. Simple delicate bracelet or dainty rings. When buying statement pieces be careful to still keep refined in mind such as buying ethnic stones or material. I recommend gold jewelry as it gives off sophistication.

3. Accessories

Accessories are meant to give a finished look. When building a house a generic base is used but the difference is the décor and finishing. Same with style the base can be generic but when paired with the right bag and shoes that can make a whole look. Invest in best quality shoes and bags as and when you can.

4. Quality and Tailored

Tailored and structured silhouettes gives the aura of high end or expensive expression. It gives a clean look with clean lines and shapes. The idea of clean also ties into investing in high quality or streamlined basic items eg a turtle neck body suit or shoulder pad tees (a 2020 trend). Items with classic silhouette such as turtle or high neck tops, Straight leg trousers and so much more.

5. Tuck it in

Tucking in the shirt or blouse gives the impression of I got my life together. Adding this create a silhouettes, adds shapes and definition to the outfit and gives an overall classic look.

6. Move on from cotton

Cotton is as common as common can get and don’t get me wrong it is a great fabric choice. To look expensive is to give the illusion of luxury. Diversity in your fabric choices is key; this is a subject I talked about in my last post. opt for other choices such as silks, satins, leather and for fall/ winter wool. These fabric choices sprinkled in your wardrobe takes your looking expensive to the next level.

7. Colour choices

You can never go wrong with the neutral colours black, grey and all shades of beige or brown. Also if you like colours then would recommend pastels such as sky blue or baby blue. You can also explore bold colours but then apply other tips such as tailored pieces in these bold colours. Did someone mention monochrome then you are right, when going for an expensive look a good way to interpret that is creating a monochromatic outfit, play with clean textures like leather on linen and so forth.