How to put your best 3F's - fashion foot forward

The tagline is mostly forced but the content is good i swear. The heart of the article is about dressing in a way that makes people think you have a personal stylist.

To preface, i am not a fashionista, art/fashion industry grad, fashion designer or an influencer. Whatever i mention below should be taken with a bucket of salt such as it suits your own pocket, lifestyle and personal comfort level. Having said that i should add that with many travel opportunities, growing up reading many fashion magazines and generally taking inspiration from my rich Indian cultural heritage i would like to believe that my words have some weight. This is also an exercise in building my own self confidence as many people have complimented me on my dressing sense and only now have i come to be comfortable with it. Hopefully this article helps you in the same way and brings a little joy or least distracts you from this tough time.

I have glanced through many a fashion websites, blogs and online store edits and I haven't come across a simple article that breaks down on how to dress decent.

Anything from - how to wear the latest it bag, it- shoes, how to dress for the latest season, how to copy the latest influencer culture blah blah is provided in a digestible format but i haven't yet read an article on the basics of dressing up. I mean A GOOD ARTICLE. Now there very well might be such an article but it does not readily show up easily on popular searches or media...excuse me while i play ignorance is bliss!

Without further ado lets go!

Contrast is your friend ...generally

I generally follow this rule all year round. (The word rule is to be taken lightly if i may add). The rule of wearing clothes that show a bit of contrast. In simple terms this means wearing a darker item with a lighter item. This works best when you take complimentary colors. Have a look at the color wheel below. Here we don't need to memorize this wheel but this gives a general idea of what would look best with what.

Black and white lowers would generally flow well with any colored top. Warm colors would look best with other warmer colors, cold colors with other cooler colors. This is usually the case. Although non complimentary, block color pairing can be quite fun too (hence my caption ...."generally"). Princess Diana's look is a great example and Harpers Bazaar has an entire article on it too.

Another dandy way is to learn from nature. Nothing more inspirational than sometimes our own garden and pets ... the pattern of animal skins, the gradient of ocean waves, the richness of petals ... so much inspo.

Style meet comfort

There is a saying which goes like this ...style is style and comfort is comfort and never the twain shall meet. ( ...a bit of paraphrasing The Ballad of East and West by Rudyard Kipling)

I completely disagree. I would go to the extreme of saying that if you are not comfortable in your attire you cannot exude a sense of style; a sort of joie de vivre if i may. Case in point - Stiletto heels. I have seen many a women wear them clearly in pain which goes to take away from their style appeal.On the other hand i have seen a lot of women wearing loafers/moccasins or barely there heels look absolutely smashing. And this applies to women and men of all ages.

Dress according to your body shape not your age

Again I have seen many a women and men diss away color or a more fitted silhouette in the name of age or because of their skin color. I have seen older women wear form fitted clothes , look good and skin color has an affect only to the extent of your undertone i.e. do you have warm,cold or neutral undertone. Any other thought that keeps you away from buying a particular item because you think they are not age / skin color appropriate should be thrown out the window. This is not to say that there shouldn't be any grace in what you wear but in general have fun with color and cuts. Lets all take inspiration from this gramp

Throwing some shade

Not to be taken literally. What i mean is , if you want to wear the similar toned clothes (eg black top, black bottom) liven it up with a pop of color say a bright bag or shoes or some big/bold accessory (unless of course you are mourning ...)

Pastels and neutrals pared in different tones also look really good. Have a look below at the picture

Ace your accessories

One should not underestimate the work accessories play in our dressing game especially belts and shoes. I try and match my belt to my shoes and i think it is good to buy at least one well made brown/tan and black belt. Depending on your style you can decide on the texture, width et al. I also think that for women in general a good bag can be a big boost. Doesn't necessarily have to be designer but a good quality well made , classic bag especially in universal neutral tones - black, tan, grey should be invested in. I am also a big fan of watches. No longer a time keeping machine i think it adds a ton of charm to your overall look more so if you are a man. They also make for good conversation starters.

Lastly have fun

Let no one tell you what you can and cannot wear. My intention in writing this article was certainly not to offend anyone but to give a confidence boost and help you get closer to your own personal best style. Trends and fads come and go and likewise our personal tastes too evolve. Create, experiment, get inspired and most importantly have fun with your wardrobe.