On Not Trying Too Hard

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This might come as a surprise considering I put pictures of my outfits on the Internet every day, but it’s not my goal in life to make everyone dress just like I do. I do wish more people would make an effort to have a personal style, but it’s not that important to me what that style is. Nevertheless, I guess some people (including me) look at style blogs for ideas on how to dress, so for those interested, I’ma drop an advice bomb on ya today.

Here’s what I’ve figured out over the years: there’s a fine line between rocking a great style and looking like you’re trying too hard. Go to any wedding reception, and you’ll probably see multiple women wearing the following: a cocktail dress, 3- or 4-inch heels, a statement necklace, bracelet, earrings, a fancy clutch, dramatic eye makeup, bright lipstick, and a hairstyle that took at least 30 minutes. They all look great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a predictable look. In my opinion, when you look like you’re trying really hard to look chic, you look less chic.

But avoiding the trying-too-hard look is easy. And fun. All you have to do is replace one predictable thing with something unexpected. So for example, I put on this nice dress and did my hair to go to a bridal shower over the weekend. At first I put on heels, but then I swapped them out for these studded flats. I like that the flats are a little edgy, which is cool paired with such a girly dress. Bonus: they’re more comfortable, too! Other good options (which I might do next time I wear this dress) would have been to put my hair in a ponytail or throw on a denim jacket. You get the idea. And the same thing works the other way around – you can add a little something fancy to an otherwise casual ensemble just to make things more aesthetically interesting.

OK, that’s my little bit of totally amateur advice for the day. Do with it what you want, and happy styling!

Dress (on sale) // Necklace (on sale) // Bag // similar Shoes // Sunglasses

7 thoughts on “On Not Trying Too Hard”

  1. Great advise Sarah! I always try and style myself more for comfort. Great look! I love the flats you did a great choice by picking those over the heels 🙂

  2. I think why I love this outfit so much is that it isn’t pushing it. It isn’t wearing all of the trends. It’s JUST you! Love it!

  4. I completely agree with you and I get caught up in this sometimes… when I over think my outfit, hair, makeup, etc. it usually turns out a lot less fantastic than if I just throw on what I love and keep my hair and makeup simple! Sometimes I do love getting primped but only for very special occasions. And honestly, it gets exhausting when you over think it!

  7. I went to an evening bridal shower at a painting studio and then out to dinner last weekend and I showed up in cuffed jeans, a black high-necked sleeveless top, shoulder brushing earrings, and silver pointy-toed loafers. All the other woman had on dresses. At first I felt out of place but then I realized that I felt too awesome to care what they thought! Dare to be different!

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