The best kind of advice is simple and reliable — Tan France delivers.
I recently watched Next in Fashion hosted by fashion crowd favorites, Tan France and Alexa Chung. Highly recommend watching for life and style inspiration, and general fashion entertainment.
In between episodes, Alexa and Tan give teeny style tip tidbits sworn by the fashion elite, and I found them to be quite fabulous and refreshing from the tired advice seen on Instagram from “experts” who aren’t really experts at all.
What I’m looking for is timeless advice. Advice that applies to anyone no matter their age, occupation, or environment they immerse themselves in.
That said, here are 3 style tips to last you a lifetime. Might want to bookmark this one.
(1) Become best friends with your tailor
How does one find a tailor? Ask your circle of friends if they know anyone. Odds are, they do. If you don’t have any luck with the referral route, go to your local dry cleaner and ask if they know someone, or, if they themselves will act as your tailor.
Keep in mind when getting dressed or shopping for clothes: If something doesn’t fit, it’s not your body nor the clothes’ fault (unless it’s a cheap heap of junk) — you just need to get the garment tailored to your liking.
I have done this with vintage coats passed down to me from grandparents, unisex t-shirts bought from pricey boutiques, and even thrift store items.
Trust, when your clothes are tailored to perfection, you will look, literally, like a million bucks.
(2) Know yourself and follow your own rules
Perhaps my favorite tip. Tan says a basic style rule is to “learn who you are and who you want to be,” similar to the Dress For Success concept, but much easier to digest.
I think with the influx of influencers and trends seen on Instagram, we can really get lost as to what style means to us as individuals. The irony is they all claim to be original, but it’s a lot of copycatting. And that isn’t fun for anyone.
If you gravitate toward loud, bold clothing, lean into that. Don’t water yourself down in order to make other people comfortable. Same advice applies to the girl who wears, and loves, black everyday. If that’s who you are, own it.
Like Tan says, “Sometimes the best fashion advice is to follow your own intuition.” Couldn’t agree more.
(3) Be mindful when shopping for new clothes
Building a brand myself these past few months, I have become acutely aware of just how much we consume and overbuy. It’s alarming.
The best place to look for new clothes is your own closet. The second best place is to look at your husband’s closet (you can get it tailored!).
But really, stopping to think about why you want something new is imperative in the world we live in right now. You will almost always regret impulse buying — resist the temptation.
If you find something you love, my advice is to sit on it for at least a day or two, no matter if it costs $12 or $400. When you give yourself a second to think about if you really need something versus giving into a dopamine hit, you’ll make better, clearer decisions.
Tan advises something similar. When shopping for new clothes, ask yourself if you can see yourself wearing whatever it is in 15 years.
“If you think you might look back in a few years and find your clothes laughable, then it probably isn't the look for you.”
Thank you Tan.
Thank you for reading! Happy styling.
Xo, Ash
Getting dressed again got my mind right again at a time when I wasn’t feeling great about myself — it can get yours right, too.
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