1 Outfit Base 3 Ways: How to Mix Things up without Needing a Lot

Happy Friday my friends! I’m typing this on my phone so I’m warning you now that there may be some typos (darn autocorrect!). ?

I’ll get to the post in a minute, but I just wanted to take a minute to chat if that’s alright. I feel like it’s been a long time since I sat down and updated you guys on life!

I mean to be perfectly honest, for the most of the last two years we haven’t had much to update on. We’ve literally just been hanging out at home and not doing much.

But things have gotten absolutely crazy in the last few months.

First, my sister is getting married at the beginning of May so things have been busy in preparation of her wedding.

And then just… Dr. visits non stop. A few months ago we started one of our kids in therapy for anxiety and they’ll be starting OT for that as well, and then the baby started Physical Therapy this week to try to get him walking. We were at the Dr. 4 times this week and, well, I’m a little sick of the Dr. office right now.

But yeah, things really are nuts. And if I am a little quieter on social media, it’s because there’s a lot of my life I’m not able/willing to share on Instagram at the moment.

And I’m having to slow my pace down here as well. At least for the next few months, but probably though the summer as well. I’ve had a pretty steady 2 posts/week rhythm for a long time now, but I’m going to bring that number down to 1/week (except for next week.. I’m going to try my best to get up a post about Pinterest/blogging in addition to my style post). I’ll still try to upload my Instagram outfits as often as I can, but just know that if I don’t manage it on here, I always have my LIKEtoKNOW.it updated for you guys. You might just have to scroll a bit ☺️

ANYWAY. That’s our life right now so I appreciate your patience if I’m a bit slower to respond or post.

Okay let’s get back to the point of today’s post. One thing I love to do when I’m planning my wardrobe for a new season is to play around with styling one outfit base in a bunch of different ways.

I do this for a couple of reasons:

  1. It keeps me from feeling like I need a ton of new stuff.
  2. It’s an opportunity for me to flex my styling “muscles” for that season

I’m happiest with my wardrobe when it’s small enough that I can wear all of my clothes multiple times a season, but still feel like I have a good variety to play with.

So today I thought I’d take an exercise that usually is reserved for a mirror selfie session on the “road” and show you how I’d style the same outfit base three different ways.

Okay! Let’s get to the outfits:

Shop the Look

sizing notes: wearing an XS in the tee. Denim review here (they are the way high jeans)

So this is the outfit base in its most basic form. I chose this particular base on purpose because almost everyone has a graphic tee and black pair of jeans in their closet.. and if not, then I’m pretty positive you’ll have a tee and jeans and the concepts translate. One thing I do really like about a graphic tee though is how it can make an otherwise boring outfit just a bit more interesting. I mean I’m just wearing it with plain black sandals and a tote bag here, but it looks cool because of the graphic on the tee. Okay so here’s the base. Let’s get to a little bit more styling:


Shop the Look

Sizing notes: It looks like the duster I’m wearing is out of stock so I’m linking to a similar one here. The shoes run true to size… they took a day of wearing them around the house to break in, but totally worth it because they’re so comfy now!

Now this look isn’t straying too far from the base. It’s still the same color palette, but this time I threw a linen jacket on over top with a belt bag on top. I also went for a less chunky shoe to balance out the volume of the jacket. This is still very basic, but the linen texture + the way the jacket lays make everything a bit more styled. Okay so let’s add in a bit of color next time:


Shop the Look


Sizing notes: jacket runs big so size down. I stay true to size in the Veja V-10’s. I have a review here.

okay so not a ton of extra color, but this is colorful for me! ? I do like the way this color warmed up the overall look. The first two outfits were very cool toned, so this shows how easy it is to go both ways. I also like the pop of contrast with the white tennis shoes. It makes the base look quite a bit different!


So there you have it! A little peek at how I like to think through styling my closet. I do like to freshen up my closet every season, but the outfit base never really changes.

I hope you guys found this helpful! What base do you reach for most when getting dressed? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Karin

Leave a Comment

4 Comments

  1. 4.9.21
    chris said:

    Can you comment on sizing, comfort and quickness of shipping in the quilted sport sandals in the top outfit? I’m a size 9, a 39 in birkenstocks but generally a 40 in a closed shoe: not sure what size would work best for me. I also have super bad feet and am happiest with support and a firm sole (not super flexible sole). Thanks!!

    • 4.10.21
      Karin said:

      Hi Chris! I would stick with the size 40! I’m also a size 9 and a 39 in Birkenstock’s and I got these in a 40. They’re very comfortable! I do have very flat feet thigh so while I do find them to be supportive I’m not sure how they’d feel for someone with an arch. I hope that helps!

  2. 4.9.21
    Lexie said:

    I’m so sorry about all of the doctors appointments! Even getting my son to his video PT appointments can be a challenge! Hang in there, mama!

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