Dress Up A Basic Outfit: Leopard Accents

I’ve been on a mission lately to show you more ways to wear some important basics in your closet. The easiest way to do that is to dress up a basic outfit made up of items you likely already have in your closet or items you should have in your closet. One of those important basics is a chambray button-up. I believe that every teacher needs a chambray top because there are so many ways to wear it in a casual professional environment like teaching. (For more on “casual professional,” see this post.) That being said, it’s so casual that I forget to wear it to work until I make a point of pulling it out!

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A Basic Outfit Base

On one of my days off a few weeks ago I brainstormed a few new ways to wear my chambray button-up and this was one that I came up with. In this case, the chambray isn’t even the focus. In fact, there really isn’t a focus because it’s all rather basic.

To dress up a basic outfit, you need a collection of everyday neutrals. In my closet, a good pair of black skinny jeans and a cable knit sweater are two important everyday neutrals. They both pair nicely with the chambray top and together, I think of it like a casual outfit turned upside down. Instead of the jeans on the bottom with a black top, you have the black on the bottom with a “jean” top.

You could always wear this outfit as-is, but it was a little too plain for me. My favorite part about a basic outfit base is that it allows me to bring in more of my personality in the accessories.

Dress Up With Some Leopard Accents

My love of leopard is nothing new here (see!), so it shouldn’t be surprising that I pulled out my trusty leopard mules. They are often the pop I use to add a little personality because they go with everything. In this case though, I felt like there was still something missing up top. There was texture from the cable knit sweater but no additional pattern, and that was just a little too blah for this girl.

The fun thing about this outfit though, is that you can dress it up a lot of different ways. Accessories are a great way to add some personality to an otherwise simple outfit. You could add in a bright, candy-colored statement necklace (do you remember this one?! I still have it!) with some fun pink pumps. Or, maybe add a silk scarf to the mix. In this case I used the belt from my leopard dress as a scarf and I love how it turned out.

Sometimes you just need to play with your wardrobe a bit. For me, it’s a way to express a different part of my creative side that sometimes feels stifled after a long work week. It’s fun for me to play around with color and patterns. When my eyes were scanning my wardrobe for what to pair with this outfit, they fell on the leopard dress and I knew I just had to try something new. Now that I have a “new” accessory in my repetoire, I know that I will be pulling it out more as the weather starts to warm up.

What are your favorite ways to dress up a basic outfit? Do you have any belts you could try as a headband?

Get the Look

Similar Button-Up Chambray || Black Skinny Jeans || White Cable Knit Sweater || Leopard Mules (see similar in widget below) || Lipstick || Backpack || Leopard Dress (belt used as headband) || Watch (on sale!) || Similar Star Earrings || Stone Bracelet || Hermes Bracelet Dupe 

Thanks so much for visiting and come back soon!

~Virginia

Linking up with: Style Nudge | Away from the Blue | I do deClaire | Straight A Style | Pumps & Pushups | Curly Crafty Mom | Mummabstylish | Lizzie in Lace