Welcome to the Style Suite with Kéla Walker, your source for fashion and style trends for power plays in the workplace. Every Tuesday and Thursday, she’ll share tips and suggestions to help maximize your style on a budget. Whether you’re the style devil in Prada or the apprentice with limited apparel, you’ll find something in the Style Suite to suit your needs.
Week after week here in the Style Suite we talk about the latest trends and how to incorporate your personal style into your professional style. It’s an ongoing conversation to inspire working women to put their best fashionable foot forward in the workplace. Many times we walk away from the Suite with a shopping list of of new things to acquire, but are you utilizing the wardrobe you already own? Are you wearing your closet to its full potential?
Wait, before you get upset with me, I’m not trying to bring your shopping spree to a halt. I just want to encourage you to shop your own closet before dishing out on more stuff. It’s not always necessary to go out and buy —and for many of us it’s not even an option— but with a little inspiration and imagination you could potentially double the impact of your closet and probably save yourself dollars in the process.
- Rethink what you already have: Just because you bought it one way doesn’t mean you always have to wear it that way. I’m constantly taking pieces and recreating them into different things without cutting or compromising it i.e turning a dress into a a shirt, or as I like to call it, a “shress.” Shift dresses are great for that. Check out this video on multiple ways to style one dress.
- Pay attention to the details: Instead of buying a new outfit from head to toe, maybe you can invest in a few accessories to renew pieces you already own. It’s amazing the difference a belt and/or vest can make to an overall look.
- Look for inspiration: Flip through fashion magazines and frequent style blogs for new and inventive ways to wear your clothes. Often, it just takes seeing someone in something similar to a piece you already own to give you the creativity you need to style it.
- Purchase with purpose: When you do shop, look for and build your closet with things that have versatility and longevity. By looking at the different options a purchase offers, you optimize your money and your closet.
Ultimately, in the Style Suite I want to inspire you to think about your fashion and style in the workplace and beyond, whether that means adding to your wardrobe or working with what you have. This weekend, take some time and play dress up in your own closet and try out new ways to wear your clothes. After applying what you’ve read here, I think you will find a few more chic options than you thought possible.
Find more fashion and style tips at KelasKloset.com and follow me on Twitter (@kelawalker).
Kéla Walker is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated producer and TV host, who has contributed lifestyle and entertainment content for outlets including NBC’s LXTV, Getty Images, YRB Magazine, Madame Noire, and RTL Germany. She also has a passion for fashion and offers the latest in fab fashion trends and consumer deals with KelasKloset.com. Her chic style and trendsetting blog has been lauded by sites including Essence.com and Huffington Post Black Voices.