Tips from Lulu Eschelman, Lumilla Fashion Designer, as recently featured on CNBC’s The Profit
As we enter a post pandemic world we will see a renewed energy in dressing up and thinking about what we wear. I imagine later this year we are going to witness a rise in clothing creativity as people rethink their wardrobes and style. We will all have a desire to dress up again and express ourselves through our wardrobe choices. There will definitely be more experimentation with prints and color.
If you’re thinking of refreshing your look later this year or updating your closet I have the perfect formula on how to revise and evolve your style each season. The benefit of doing this is it saves you time and money. It will also enable you to create your own unique look and wardrobe collection that will give you more confidence in your choices and enable you to pick and mix clothes more successfully.
Tip One: Set out your style staples. I’m a big advocate of having high quality clothing staples as your foundation. Keep these in your closet all year around and mix with seasonal pieces so that you stay true to your personal brand. I love nice fitting well made jeans, timeless leather leggings, quality tees and blazers which you can easily pair with gorgeous handbags and jewelry. Personally I think it is better to have a few lovely items to wear rather than several mediocre ones.
Tip Two: Seek inspiration…. Get an outside perspective by trying a clothing subscription service, have a clothing swap with friends or hire a personal fashion consultant to provide fresh advice and inspiration. Dressing up should be a vehicle for having fun so ask others for their perspective. Create a mood board of different styles that suit you on Pinterest or hang images on a board near your closet for reference.
Tip Three: ….but be sure to stick with what suits you. Get friends and family views on what looks best on you. Create a list of colours, cuts and patterns that bring out your best features and then weed out anything that is not consistent with what you’ve written. Be sustainable and lend or donate clothing that you don’t want to friends or give to a local charity to cloth those in need.
Tip Four: Set yourself up to strategically experiment. Coordinate your closet by colour and divide out black, white and denim pieces which can easily be mixed and matched with a few seasonal items. This will enable you to have a base of your own personal style to experiment from and build on. This is a key tip so you don’t go overboard with seasonal trends which will tire quickly. My general rule of thumb is to save and spend on amazing high quality items that are adaptable and then buy less expensive seasonal pieces to keep your look modern and fresh.
Tip Five: Creatively store and showcase. It’s important to protect your clothes. Organizing items in separate storage containers with labels will ensure you can easily find the items you need. The Container store and Muji sell useful coat hangers, belt boxes, shoe and sweater boxes. You can also use well designed gift boxes as a creative way to lay out items. Don’t be afraid to display beautiful shoes or your favorite handbags, scarves and necklaces. The more visually pleasing your closet is the more inspired you will be while getting dressed. Your closet should be a reflection of your unique look.
Tip Six: Dress for success. I’m a big fan of well made jewelry and believe it deserves to be shown off and worn. I think nice jewelry looks amazing with distressed tees, jeans and some cool sneakers. Complete your look by accenting an outfit with your favorite watches, earrings or necklaces. Each day will feel special if you wear jewelry that has some sentimental value or makes you smile. I believe that what you wear can affect your mood.
Once you edit and refine your closet you will find getting dressed so much easier and less time consuming each morning. Always have your favorite pieces within reach in your wardrobe. These should be clothes that you can easily think of three different ways you would wear it and three different places it can be worn. A closet makeover will serve you well and be a gift that keeps giving as when you shop as you’ll be more selective and purchase items which best suit and compliment your personal brand style.
Lulu Eschelman is a fashion designer for handbag brand LUMILLA. Her handbags are crafted to the highest quality standard with hand selected Italian leathers. As a previous brand partner of Gwyneth Paltrow, the LUMILLA brand has had several successful creative limited-edition collaborations on Goop and with Catt Sadler, Rebecca Canstonguay and Montage Hotel and Resorts. Lulu Eschelman has received glowing industry endorsements who flagged her as ‘One to Watch’. She has also appeared in ‘Top Five in Fashion’ press reviews and roundups. Brand followers and ambassadors have ranged from Anine Bing, Jessica Szhor and Lauren Scruggs Kennedy to Jacey Duprey and Louise Roe, among many others. She is currently running a seasonal offer on her website for anyone looking for a new handbag www.SHOPLUMILLA.com.
Lulu Eschelman, Founder/CEO
Lumilla LLC