Do you know that you could upgrade your appearance by starting with just some simple words in mind?
Clean – Neat – Fit – Harmonious – Elegant
Sounds simple, right? Let’s get into it.
Clean and Neat
It’s about you and your clothes also. You might think that we need to upgrade our closet to level up your appearance. The answer, however, may be simpler than what you think. The answer lies in the most crucial part of your appearance, it is “YOU”! No expensive clothes could ever replace your true self in creating the first impression. Always start with your body first!
Wash your face, take care of your hair, keep your skin hydrated with moisturizer, remove dandruff, remove dirt in your nails, clean your glasses, iron your clothes, and shine your shoes.
Fit and Harmonious
Now it’s about the clothes. First thing first, they have to Fit you. It does not matter the brand, style, material or colors; if the clothes are too big or too small for you, they certainly do not look good on you. No one would care how delicate your dress is if it completely swallows your whole body. Remember, we wear clothes, not the other way around.
Next is Harmonious; this simple word refers to the long journey of knowing your clothes. Knowing your clothes means finding a balanced connection between colors, tones, patterns, textures, details, ratios, and formality scales.
We can consider the harmony elements in numerous aspects, ranging from more general aspects, i.e. the connection between the environment and the outfit; the outfit and your body; items on your outfit, to more particular aspect, i.e. between details on a specific item.
It often takes time, knowledge and certain level of focus to achieve the harmonious connection between those above-mentioned aspects. However, we can always start from somewhere, can’t we? We can start seeking for the harmony in general first. Consider dressing in harmony with the environment first, and then go deeper into more minor details later.
What if we do it the other way around? Imagine you care too much about how the pin on your dress matches the button’s texture, but in a general view, you pair it with a colorful pair of trousers and irrelevant sneakers for a formal event. Those tiny details about the pin do not matter anymore for your overall look!
Elegant
Finally! Dress elegantly! This word is relatively abstract, and it needs to be picked up little by little. How to be elegant? I don’t have a recipe for this part, honestly.
For me, it is indeed a reminder of all the elements that we have discussed so far. Given specific occasions, our appearance depends solely on the balanced combination of those simple words above. Remember, it is not about the clothes, any particular brand, or details; it’s all about how you look in the environment that matters.
Dress well, be confident and have fun!
Main author: Vince Huong Nguyen
Photo: Nolla Bespoke