The Best Style Advice We Heard in 2024

0:00The following podcast is a Dear Media Production.

0:30I know I've asked for recs in the past, but now that we're here and we're in the midst of it If you have been and you have any recs for me, please send them my way I'm going to be in the north island and in queenstown a little bit So send me anything that you guys have loved if you've been there. I truly can't wait It's been a place that's been on my bucket list and honestly, I didn't know if i'd ever have a reason to go and Now we do so that's where we'll be So I won't see you guys for a little while, but I hope you have an incredible holiday off I hope you eat all the foods that you've been thinking about eating all year and watch all the Christmas movies and hang out with your family and loved ones and get some much deserved time off.

1:07I do have to say a very quick thank you to all of you because it's been such an exciting year on Let's Get Dressed. When I kicked off the beginning of the year, we were still in friend of a friend world. And I was really nervous about rebranding the show and saying goodbye to something that I've had for, you know, three and a half, four years. but I knew it was the right thing to do. And I had such a gut feeling knowing that that's what this community was all about. And you guys have been so receptive and so loving towards like, let's get dressed. And there are so many new listeners on the pod and so many new members of this community.

1:39And I'm so grateful to each and every one of you. So a huge thank you to all of you again, for just making this the dream year for me. This is my dream job. I'm currently on my couch in my house with my feet up at a cup of tea, talking to you guys and sharing some of my favorite things about fashion and getting to do interviews. So I thank you guys so much for spending your Mondays with me. I'm so lucky to say that there are so many moments on the podcast this year that have stuck with me and resonated with me so much. And one thing I love about fashion is I feel like there's never really a final destination.

2:08Like we're not just going to wake up one day and like be resolved and be like, that's our personal style. Like we're done. Like it's a journey. And as much as you guys are learning on this show, I'm learning too. And there are so many moments that have deeply inspired me and changed the way that I get dressed. So I thought today we'd go back through those moments so you guys can have them close to your mind, heart, and closets as you're closing out the new year. Consider this a little Let's Get Dressed refresher. Let's get into the first one. It was from my episode with Cass D 'Amico, who is the founder and creative director of Orem Collective.

2:38If you guys don't know Orem Collective or you haven't shopped there yet, it is my go-to accessories brand. I wasn't really a belt girl a few years ago. I feel like I never wore them. And recently they've just become the thing that's really kind of up to the ante in my wardrobe. I wore a belt the other day with like a cashmere pair of pants and a coat and it just looked so elevated and refined. Whereas if I didn't have that belt on, it just would have been kind of whatever. I think if you're someone who's learning proportions and trying to figure out what your fits are, adding in a belt can be really helpful in understanding like where your jeans hit and like what looks good tucked in and so many other things.

3:13So check out Oriam Collective. We also have a code for 20 % off. It's Dressed20. So definitely go check them out. The bit that I want to share today is from a moment where we were talking about when to find your personal style. Not how, but when. Like, when are you finding it? And I'd actually had an experience right before we had this conversation where I was home on a Sunday. I had nowhere to be. But I was putting together outfits for a big trip that I was about to go on. And I instinctually felt this sense of urgency while I was trying on outfits and had to actually sit myself down and be like, you have nowhere to be.

3:52You should be having fun right now. Try on things in your closet that maybe you haven't pulled out in a while and see if you can create some outfits that feel a little different. One of my favorite things to do and like a saying that I love to use is like, let's go shopping in your own closet. I know so many of you listening right now probably have upwards of 10, 15 pieces that you haven't touched in the last six months because we all fall into like our style routines. And it's in those moments where it's me going to my closet, pulling out those pieces that I feel re-inspired and reinvigorated and reminded that like 90 % of the time, we really don't need to be buying new things.

4:30So let's listen to this moment and we'll catch up after. Something that I think people need to do more often is try on looks and take a Sunday to just put a bunch of looks together. You know, when I'm styling for Orium shoots, I have to typically style for two girls like 10 to 12 looks total in like one period of time. So I have so much practice constantly of trying things on, putting things together, shooting them, see how it looks, you know, so you can do that yourself in your closet. Have a day. Listen to podcasts. Put on music. Whatever. Try looks on in your closet. Figure out what you're missing.

5:08Figure out if there's certain looks on Pinterest that you want to achieve. Figure out what you're missing in your closet. So really just mood boarding. Figuring out what you want your style. Maybe like your three words. What you want them to be. However you want to do it. But then I think it comes down to actually trying things on. Trying things on. And like taking selfies. You don't have to show them to anyone. Like take some mirror selfies. figure out what you like on yourself, what makes you feel good and trial and error. I feel like the other day I was getting ready. It was a Sunday and I was just trying on a bunch of outfits.

5:38You know, I'm going to Mexico this week and I'm going to New York afterwards and I had nowhere to be and I wasn't rushing. And I felt as I was putting on the outfits, I felt some sense of urgency because I think a lot of the times when we're getting creative with our wardrobe, it's usually when we're getting ready to go somewhere. Yeah. And I actually like took a deep breath and I was like, you have nowhere to be. Like play around right now. See what works. See what doesn't. Like the day is yours to just kind of figure out maybe a new look that you haven't tried in your wardrobe and things that you like haven't put together before.

6:08Don't just find your style in the moments where you're rushing out the door. Find your style on those Sundays where you have nowhere to be and you have all this time to try things on and look in the mirror and trial and error. And it's not like you have this final destination. Like practice makes perfect. And I feel like we don't practice our style a lot. It's just something we expect to happen as we're getting ready. I loved when Cass said that style takes practice. It's not something that's just going to come overnight. You have to practice it like you would practice anything else in life. So going back to this Sunday that I was talking about, it felt so good to take a deep breath and be like, this is my time to be creative.

6:45And something I said in that bit was do not find your personal style in the moments where you're rushing out the door. Don't just expect that your personal style is going to come together and you're going to build a point of view at seven in the morning when you either just got back from the gym or you're rushing to the office and you're just going to put on a similar version of what you put on the day before. I highly recommend putting aside a day, maybe once a month in your calendar to go in your bedroom, open up your closet, turn on some music and really just give yourself like two hours to play, try new things and really understand like what your perspective is and what you're bringing to your personal style every day.

7:23And that's something I'm really taking into the new year with me. Even for New Zealand, I'm spending like a whole day just putting together fun outfits. I'm not packing last minute the day before I leave. I am literally spending a whole Sunday just trying on fun things and getting excited about what I'm going to wear. It's also summer there right now and I'm like a little out of my summer routine. So I need some practice. While we're on the note of packing, let's dive into the next tip that absolutely shocked me. And I think you guys knew I was shocked because I was like, Oh, wow. And it was when Amy Smilovic was talking about her packing method.

7:57Let's listen to it here. I love the idea of dressing by mood. And I actually was reading your sub stack and you said the same thing for packing, which this is I've been so excited for this interview because it's so different than everything I feel like I've tried to formulate. I'm someone who likes to pack in outfits. And I was very, very inspired by you saying pack by mood. So like, let's take the skirt i'm wearing for example yeah you would bring this piece and build like four to five looks around just this yeah one piece if i had if you had that in the suitcase i would be like guys this is like a houndstooth black and white houndstooth you've got the cable cream sweater the black napa boots so you've got different textures playing and you're definitely giving polished and classic and maybe with the length and the the boot with the low heel it's got a modern vibe to it so if I were then adding something to that mix I'm probably not going to add like a cotton button-down shirt because that's like more of that like I'm going to add probably a really big red sweatshirt so it's a totally different vibe yeah because if you modern yes because if you put on a red sweatshirt with that big and oversized then now you've got something like if you want to feel a little cooler and chill and you just maybe even are going down for breakfast at your hotel you're going to do that and then I would pack a black bodysuit and like really different earrings so then if you're going out at night maybe some sheer hose and a sandal so now like you've got something that is so like over the top like ready for you know an amazing bar or whatever We've got a bodysuit, we've got a red sweatshirt, and we've got a pair of heels.

9:46So you've got three things now in addition to maybe what you can even get by wearing on the plane. So now I'm going to pack a big pair of like nylon sporty slouchy pants, like pleated nylon pants or track pants. And I'm going to wear that with the sweater. I'm going to maybe tuck those pants into that boot. And then I'm going to have a big blazer on with it. so now I've added a sporty nylon pant and a blazer so now I'm wearing the blazer the sporty nylon pant with the bodysuit and that's creating an interesting look and then I'm definitely wearing the sporty pants with the big red sweatshirt and maybe the heels and the hosiery and that's like a weird going out thing yep I mean you're kind of done you're done you're so right and like depending on where you're going if you're going to Paris you're going to pick up like a great extra two items.

10:42If you're going to Asheville, North Carolina, you're going to get a great t-shirt. You want to also be able to pick up some things where you are and not be so saddled with what you've brought. This was such a perspective shift for me. I can't wait to try this next time I pack. Amazing. Cool. What I really loved about this episode was that Amy made me rethink a lot of ideas about fashion that I've kept really close to the way that I get dressed and I've shared with you guys. And I've always shared that packing in outfits is one of the best ways to pack, that it's really efficient and you can organize your suitcase by outfit.

11:21And then when you get to your destination, you can just take the outfits out and you're ready to go. What Amy just said up there actually made me rethink the entire process. But this idea of packing by moods. And Amy actually revolves her entire fashion world around moods. So her closet is organized by moods. It's not organized by top jacket pant. It's organized by three different categories that she's built for herself. So like her wardrobe essentials, special moments, and then like the funkier pieces in her wardrobe that really make her personal style her. And she does the same thing for packing.

11:58So instead of packing outfits, she takes one piece of clothing and builds multiple outfits around that one piece of clothing. And it was actually interesting to hear her say this while I was on a trip in New York, because I had gone to New York for five days and checked a suitcase, which if you follow me on Instagram, you know, is unheard of for me. I am usually such a condensed packer for trips of that length. I usually pack in a carry on. But since it was winter and I really wanted to wear some of my winter coats, Alex and I decided to pack a check-in bag and really just have fun and bring whatever we wanted to.

12:33But I did notice that when I got to New York, I had so much stuff and a lot of the outfits that I had planned didn't actually mesh with each other in the sense that every single look had its own individual pieces that didn't overlap with another outfit. So I had so many pieces of clothing with me. Like at least I could have planned two outfits with like the same white sweater, but I didn't. I literally had a different sweater for all five days I was there, a different coat for all five days that I was there. So that's where the packing by outfit situation can get a little challenging. And I love that Amy challenged my ideology on this.

13:09I also have been thinking about reorganizing my closet by mood and seeing if it helps me get dressed. Because even now I think about it when I go into the dress portion of my closet. A lot of the times I just want to throw in a dress that feels really casual, but I do have to go through like my black tie gowns to get to that dress. So it could be an interesting thing for 2025 to organize our closet by the essentials, the things we're grabbing for every day, the pieces that maybe spice up a wardrobe, like maybe a really cool tweed coat, and then all of the very, very special pieces that maybe you're reaching for maybe only once or twice a year.

13:43Thinking about it. Let me know what you guys think about that. I would love to hear it. A quick break from our debrief to thank the sponsor of today's episode, Posh Peanut. For those of you who are still looking for great holiday gifts for the little ones in your life right now, I highly recommend checking out Posh Peanut. If you're unfamiliar with the brand, they make thoughtfully crafted, beautiful, and stylish clothes for kids and families that are all designed in-house. They've got great florals, great holiday outfits, and then also items from your favorite brands like Hot Wheels, Disney, Hello Kitty, and Barbie.

14:15They also have an incredible gift guide right now with stocking stuffers, gifts under$50, gifts under$100 all for the cute little littles in your life. You guys know I have a bunch of nieces and a nephew and so this year I'm definitely heading to Posh Peanut to get them gifts for under the tree. The one thing I love most about Posh Peanut is that all of their pieces are made with ridiculously soft viscose from bamboo that stays soft even after you wash them over and over again and also that high quality fabric is four times stretchier than cotton so it grows with your kid. So if you find yourself having to get new pieces all the time, Posh Peanut is such a good solution to that problem.

14:51It's breathable and chemical-free, which means they're also delicate on your baby's sensitive skin. Right now, Posh Peanut is offering our listeners 20 % off your first order with the promo code LGD. Go to poshpeanut.com slash LGD and use the promo code LGD for 20 % off your first order. They have the cutest things for the holidays, like little onesies and this adorable little floral ruffled shoulder top that I would love to see on my knees. So it's such a great go-to for all of your holiday needs. A quick thank you to our sponsor of today's episode, Cotton. Cotton's The Fabric of Now campaign is challenging everyone to make the natural choice.

15:30Give yourself enough room to breathe so that you can be more intentional in your everyday life and in what you wear. To me, Cotton as a fabric, it just feels like a giant hug. It's the thing that I go towards every single morning when I'm getting ready to tackle my day because it's the thing that makes me feel most like myself. It feels like a second skin. Plus, it goes really well with everything in my closet and just makes dressing a breeze. It's breathable and soft and comfortable. And honestly, it feels like doing that thing that you need to do for yourself to get grounded after maybe say a really hectic month.

16:05For me, that's going out in nature. And whatever it is for you, it's that feeling of getting back to yourself. I love to go out in nature, put my phone away, leave my laptop at home, be with my loved ones, and totally unwind. I feel completely recharged after I do those weekends. And it feels so natural for me. It feels so good to leave those things behind and just get to the center of myself. Maybe read a good book, play a couple board games. That's really when I feel like my most self. And it's the same way that I feel when I'm wearing cotton. So cotton is asking all of us to recharge in your own way.

16:37Maybe that means putting your phone down for a few hours a day or just going out with your friends for the night and being really present. Whatever it is, you do you. Find that thing that feels natural and makes you feel good. Cotton is the natural choice. So go discover the fabric of now at thefabricofourlives.com. Let's get back to the show. Okay, the next one for anybody listening right now that's starting a brand, this is specifically for you. I had Lily Shemla on the podcast. She is the founder and creative director of Lissette, which again, if you follow me on Instagram, you know, I'm a huge fan of.

17:08Lissette is a brand that would go in the category of your wardrobe of staples, wardrobe essentials, things you're grabbing for every single day. They make the perfect white tee. They make the cutest pointelle set that you can sleep in every night. The perfect casual black blazer, a great pair of pants, really simple, no buttons, like just something that you can put on for every day and not have to overthink it. And her brand is really, again, it's called Lisette. So it's really based off the idea of matching sets and wearing things that feel comfortable. And in COVID, I felt like we had a very big focus on matching sets.

17:41It was easy dressing. It was great for, you know, work from home attire. It can look really elevated or really casual. Sets were really having a moment. And for almost five years later, I asked her if she thought that sets were no longer trendy or going out of style. And what she said influenced the way that I think about my personal style and the way that I engage in trends forever. Let's listen. I think there's a simplicity to Lisette that it could never really go out of style. I actually met with this CEO who I really look up to and admire. And he said something to me, and this was at the beginning of Lisette that really stuck with me since I've launched and through every design meeting I've been through.

18:27But basically, he explained to me that a brand should be a linear straight line and trends are constantly going in a wave. And through that, the trends will always cross back over your line. But if you're trying to chase the line that's going back and forth through and the trends, you're always going to miss it. and you're not going to stay on that linear path of your brand. And so I think that matching sets very well may go out of style, but I think that the classic, timeless, simple wardrobe will always be there. And I think it will always come back. If you're someone who loves fashion, if you have a brand, if you want to start a brand, if you're someone who loves getting dressed up and loves following trends.

19:19What Lily said above is such a great reminder in finding who you are, sticking to it, and treating trends as the fun part of getting dressed up. I love that she was saying that you should be the straight line. You should be the constant in how you get dressed up every day and let trends be the thing that like flow in and out. But don't let them become a part of your line. Don't let them become a part of who you are. They're meant to be the fun part. And especially for people who are listening right now that have those brands, like such a great lesson to not change your DNA for what you think is maybe trending or in style.

19:57You can dabble in it here and there, but have your DNA always be the constant. And chances are a trend will catch up to you here and there, but it shouldn't be the thing that defines your direction. I have gone back to that moment so many times in both my personal and professional life. I've thought about it. My husbands quoted it to me so many times, just as this like great reminder to stay on your path and stay true to who you are. Okay. Moving on to one of my favorite episodes of the year. And I know so many of you guys loved it. It was one of the most shared episodes and that's what the one and only Brenda hashtag.

20:28I think Brenda occupies this unbelievable place on the internet that is so unique and has a perspective unlike any other. I know that when I'm on Brenda's Instagram or consuming any of her content. It is so different than anything else that I will see and really goes against the grain. And that was personally one thing that I really got from this episode. She challenged a lot of things that I even do or talk about in fashion. And it made me change the way that I position this conversation around personal style. So let's listen to this bit and we'll talk about it after. I don't ever think you truly find your personal style.

21:04Like, I don't I think this is an end goal. I think that's very much like that. It's an evolution. Exactly. So I don't think it's like, I also think, sorry, now I'm so rambling, but this is such an unfair topic to young people. And I hate, hate is such a strong word, but seeing these like, how to find your personal style. And that's like targeted at like 18 year olds on TikTok. Personal style is so many things. It's how you treat your friends, like your table manners, how you carry yourself, how you're sitting, how you're speaking. It's all of your life experiences, whether that's positives or trauma.

21:35It's who you looked up to. If you had this fantastic boss or the celebrity whose style you got to copy or your mom. I think it's so many things. So I feel like it's sometimes unfair to tell young people that you need to find your personal style when you really haven't found yourself yet. So I don't like to pick favorites, but I do have to say that that moment is probably one of my top two favorite things said on the podcast this year. I remember being so emotionally impacted when she said it in real life because fashion really is more than what we put on. One of the reasons why I fell in love with fashion is because I grew up dancing and I would get on stage and I would think about how powerful it was to tell a story with no words, only using movement and garments.

22:22And the garments obviously became the thing that were most compelling to me at the end of the day. But garments tell a story. They can tell a story about your life. They can tell a story about who you are. And these days I've taken a really different approach to personal style. And when people ask me, hey, do you like my outfit? Or like, hey, should I wear this? It's almost impossible for me now to question why someone wore something. And that's because they made a conscious choice to wear it. And deep down, we all wear things in our closets for some subconscious reason. Maybe it reminds us of our upbringing.

22:54Maybe it reminds us of the people in our lives. Maybe it just makes us feel good and reminds us of a good memory. And so for me to have a comment on that has begun to feel a little strange. So I don't anymore. I'll give constructive criticism. Hey, maybe we can explore proportions or maybe we can bring a color in. But every single thing you put on tells a story. And I think it was just such a wonderful reframing of personal style. Like, what is your style in this world? And so going back to kind of what we first said at the beginning of this episode, like in those days where you're finding your personal style, it's something to think about.

23:24Like, what are you exuding to the world that is more than just you? But also it really challenged me to be more conscientious of the way that I talk about personal style. I never want to overwhelm someone and I never want to make someone feel like they haven't achieved that gold star yet. Personal style is a journey. We're never going to hit an end point of it. There's never going to be a period. We're forever evolving, forever changing. And Brenda really reminded me of that in this moment. Love you, Brenda. Okay, and last but not least, my favorite internet mom, Larissa Mills. This episode felt like such a hug.

23:56I also am just such a huge fan of her personal style and think that she is such a great dresser and such a great curator of life. And I actually asked her what has helped her build her personal style and has helped her find her inner ethos. And this is what she had to say. Is there something specific that you think has been most helpful through your life in refining your taste and finding what's true to you? Trial and error. Just trying. Like, it doesn't always land. I mean, I look back on things that I've worn in the past and I would never wear it, but I tried it. So now I know. I mean, I think it's just having some fun with it and not being too risk averse.

24:37It's not that deep. It's something that you can try and fail. I mean, fail. What does that even mean? You know, it's not your favorite. Moving on, you know. Saying it's not that deep is something that I've been trying to say to myself every morning when I'm getting dressed every day. It's like, I'm not changing the world. Joan Rivers isn't stationed outside of my house. It's just, it's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. Your best hit. It's fine if it's not your greatest hit. It's fine. It's fine. Put on something that feels good and walk out the door. And even if you do something that isn't, you know, you're going to look back and be like, why did I walk out of the house like that?

25:13You had to try it. You had to try it. You can't knock it until you try it. So you might as well just try it. That's right. Just try it. Just go for it. This moment made me laugh. I was literally giggling because I do feel like sometimes I get up in the morning and I have so much pressure to like put on a good outfit, you know, even doing my sub stack recently where I've been challenged with, you know, taking an outfit every day and sharing it back with you guys. I'm like, guys, Like sometimes I am in the same pair of pants for three days in a row and like just a white tee and a sweater because I'm working from home and I just want to be comfortable and just like feel good.

25:46I don't need to look my best, but I just want to feel good. Even doing the newsletter has been such a great like introspection into like what I actually wear on a day to day basis. But Larissa saying like there is no such thing as failing in your personal style. No one's judging you. No one's standing outside giving you a score of one to ten. if you wake up in the morning and it's not your best, that's okay. But I have had so many moments where I've left the house just feeling like crap and it like ruins my whole day because I'm like, oh, this outfit is just whatever. But this was just such a fun reminder that like, it's not that deep, guys.

26:18It's not that deep. Sure, we all want to dress our best. Sure, we all want to be on trend and we want to indulge in fashion and have it be a part of ourselves. But sometimes a black pair of jeans and a white tee is just going to have to do. And that's perfectly okay. I needed this reminder. It felt really good. And again, I did say this episode felt like a hug and that's probably why. And I think this is also probably a very good practice to look at. Like, what are you actually reaching for on those mornings? Because going back to these style sessions, those are probably the pieces you should start with and be like, okay, these are the pieces that I feel my best in.

26:51They're kind of my like, I don't really know what the hell to wear today. So I'm just going to wear this. And how can I make that work for those days? But then also, how can I make it work for the days where I want to look really, really, really good? These were just a few tidbits and moments that really stuck with me and have helped me be better and dress better. So I hope that they resonated with you guys as well. And consider this your little reminder as you're getting dressed heading into the holidays. I feel so grateful to have had so many incredible guests on the show this year. I had such a hard time narrowing this down because there were just so many great, insightful, thoughtful moments that have been so formative for the way that I get dressed.

27:31And I hope that you guys feel the same. Every episode that we just talked about is linked in the description of this episode. So if you missed it or you want to catch up or you want to listen again, they are right there for you guys. I adore you guys. I hope you have an incredible holiday. If you need anything, styling advice, what shoes should I wear? What should I buy this person for Christmas? I'm always a DM away for you guys. And I cannot wait to see you in the new year. Happy holidays. Thank you.

28:37Thank you.