Our kids can take all our attention during the back-to-school period, but many of us still have to go to work and look presentable. Stylist Iva Grbesic offers fashion tips for surviving the first week back.
Tip 1
Pick out your outfit the night before. This will save you time the next morning because you’ve already committed to what you’re wearing and can focus on getting the kids out the door.
Tip 2
Third piece rule. You’ll see this strictly followed on mannequins in in-store displays like the ones found in Banana Republic, J.Crew or The Gap: outfits comprised of three pieces (not including shoes). Your top is the first piece; your bottom is the second piece; and your third piece is the extra that makes the outfit, such as a jacket, blazer, sweater, vest, scarf or statement accessory. This third piece makes an ordinary outfit look polished and put together.
Outfit:
WHBM (White House Black Market)
Shoes, Guilhermina
Lunchbox, Modern Mary
Tip 3
Dressing in three colours. The basic premise here is not wearing more then three colours in one outfit. The goal is to achieve a visually-appealing outfit easily.
Black and white are technically not colours, so when working with these shades you have some flexibility. For example, you can wear four colours if one of them is white.
A patterned piece counts as one colour. To keep things easy, select a colour from the print and match another piece of your outfit or your accessories to it.
A few of my favourite colour combinations are:
- Camel, red, black and white
- Navy blue and white and any one of these four colours: red, green, yellow or orange
- Robin’s egg blue, red and white
- Grey, navy and white
Outfit:
Skirt, necklace and cardigans, LOFT
Blouse, WHBM
Shoes, Guilhermina
Tip 4
Weekend uniform. Kids don’t stop on the weekend, and many have organized activities. Start with your key piece — for me this season, it has to be leggings. Now, add a top, fashion trainers and your third piece. The following week, I’ll still be in my leggings, but I will switch out my shoes for booties, a long sweater and vest.
Outfit:
Leggings, sweater, necklace and grey vest, Reitmans
Sleeveless coat and long-sleeve shirt, Banana Republic
Boots, Aldo
Trainers, Skechers
Iva’s outfit:
Vest and blouse, WHBM
Jeans, LOFT