Your favorite tee shirt is the swiss army knife of your closet. If properly maintained, a simple tee can make hundreds of diverse outfits to fit almost any occasion. In addition, building a smaller wardrobe of garments you love is the best sustainable fashion practice there is. Whether you’re used to dressing it way up with a flouncy skirt or way down with sweatpants, finding more ways to wear a t-shirt can dramatically expand your wardrobe.
There are a lot of reasons to expand your outfit reserve using the clothes you already love. When traveling, sometimes we need to pack light, but don’t want to sacrifice options for a long weekend getaway. Packing a base tee that you can wear with multiple garments can help avoid extra luggage fees and save you space on your trip.
Perhaps you’re trying to transition to a capsule wardrobe-ish closet. Let these tricks be inspiration when consciously curating your t-shirts and check out our other blog posts for building capsule wardrobes for both men and women! Further, maybe you just have a tee you love and want to wear as much as possible. With these tips, look great in your favorite crew, V, or scoop neck no matter where you are headed. Also, check out these hacks for keeping your favorite tee shirt like new on the TMT blog.
Whatever your reason, these tricks will surely help get you thinking of new ways to style an old tee. Read below to get five tips for adding some variance in your wardrobe!
First Styling Trick: Shorten the Length
The length of a tee shirt can differ based on style and material. A shorter length can be achieved in various ways. We can pay for it up front, when we buy a cropped tee in a store. We can have a tailor or an online tailor shorten the shirt hem through alterations. We can also tuck in our shirts to manually raise the hem. In this regard you get to decide (to a certain extent) where a t-shirt falls on your body. Tuck it in completely or just a corner, experiment with bottoms that have different rises, and try accessorizing with different belts. Whatever the way, shortening the length of a tee can be a fresh breeze to any outfit.
Second Styling Trick: Layer Up
Layering a tee shirt under or over another garment is arguably the best trick to extend your closet’s versatility. Overalls, button ups, blazers, and outerwear are the classic layering must-haves. Matching these favorites with a pop of color in a bold tee gives these outfits a stand out appearance. But why stop there? Try layering a tank or spaghetti strap dress over a tee to balance casual and formal. Wearing a crewneck over a collared garment can add regalness to an otherwise plain t-shirt. If you’re feeling risky, a sultry trend is to wear undergarments (think bustiers and silky night tanks) over your favorite tee!
Third Styling Trick: Get Bold with Accessories
T-shirts are the blank canvases of our wardrobes. Throw some metaphorical paint on them! Classic tees make a great base for even the funkiest accessories. Play with the size, the color, and the finish of your jewelry, hats, sunglasses, and more. Once you get in your styling groove, overload your accessories by mixing and matching, using that perfect tee to control all the elements.
Fourth Styling Trick: Try it Oversized
Buying garments oversized is a trend that plays off the comfort aspect of a tee. There are two ways to achieve this style- either look for garments designed to be oversized or simply buy one, two, or three sizes larger than you normally would. They can easily be paired with biker shorts or athletic shorts matched with cute sneakers for an easy errand running outfit. If you love the shirt but it’s just a little too big or long, try an online tailor to shorten the length of the shirt and the sleeves.
And if we are talking about oversized tees, we can’t ignore our friend, the t-shirt dress. These comfy garments give the feel of sweats but the look of a put together outfit. Layer a t-shirt with a cute jacket and nice sandals and you’ve elevated the look that much more. Thrifting an oversized graphic tee then reaching out to your local or online tailor to have it altered into a dress is a unique way to show personality in your wardrobe. Even use the final project, or any oversized t-shirt, as a swimsuit cover at the beach!
Fifth Styling Trick: Jazz It Up
Most of the time we turn to our t-shirts when comfort needs to be part of an outfit. They have been so supportive to us over the years. But they deserve a night out too every once in a while! Because tees are so versatile, they definitely can handle being dressed up. Let a t-shirt ground an experimental look- combine color palettes, mix textures and patterns, or try different layers. Perhaps even try a monochromatic outfit. However you like to dress up, don’t count a tee shirt out to help achieve your look.
Check out these Cosmopolitan tips for more inspiration for styling your favorite t-shirt.
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