When it comes to fashion I don’t discriminate. I’m an equal-opportunity fan of all brands. You’ll always achieve the most authentic look when you wear a mix of brands, instead of one head-to-toe. With a career in fashion, I naturally gravitate to designer brands. It feels good to always wear what I love, but it’s important to me to maintain my unique style. These fashion hacks have helped me develop a unique designer-inspired style under budget.
FASHION HACKS FOR PURSE LABEL LOVERS
I advocate for building a designer brand handbag collection. A beautiful bag will make any outfit look more expensive. While you’re working on your collection try this fashion hack. Simply attach a designer-brand shoulder strap to any bag with loops on the side. I recommend bags without any hardware. Now for a few hundred dollars, you can make more than one bag you can wear and still save thousands.
Basic Bags With Loops
This quality leather bag comes in six colors and is under $250
High-Low Bags
Marc Jacobs Straps
DESIGNER TOP FASHION HACK
I shared this fashion hack in my Carryon Capsule Wardrobe lookbook. There are so many different ways to style a long twilly scarf. One of my favorite ways is to attach it to a tank-style bodysuit, worn upside down, to convert it into a one-shoulder cocktail top.
Bodysuits
This hack worked well and looked great with the SKIMS bodysuit I’m wearing.
Burberry Scarves
DESIGNER BELT HACK
Designer belts are good introductory designer price points, can be worn all year, and don’t wear out as fast as clothes. You can use a belt to draw lines on your body to “rearrange” your perceived proportions and direct the eye. You can also get more bang for your buckle with a reversible belt. If you purchase a reversible 1″ or 1.5″ Valentino belt you can use the reversible strap from a leather Tory Burch belt with it!
This combination would give you the look of a beige, ivory, black, and brown Valentino Belt. This is also a fun way to add another fun color like pink or red.
What Size Belt?
If you are shorter on your top half than your bottom, try wearing a thin belt through the loops of lower-rise jeans or slug around your hips in a dress. If you have a small waist and a larger bottom half, try wearing a thin or thick belt over a dress or skirt at your natural waist. This is how to measure so you know what size belt to buy.
GUCCI FASHION HACKS
Monogram motifs make the most of your designer purchases. A logo print piece in a neutral color works well with lots of different colors and patterns. This winter I added these men’s Gucci shorts to my wardrobe. It’s nearly impossible to find the women’s version in stock. I prefer the men’s styles anyway since many of them have an elastic or drawstring waist. A smart wardrobe investment can shrink and grow when you do.
Gucci Shorts For All
I’m 5’4″ and usually wear a size 25 in jeans. I purchased these shorts in a men’s size small and had them hemmed. I wore them last winter with tights and I’m excited to wear them with sandals now. The styles I linked are inclusive of a wide range of sizes. According to the chart below, I’d be an XXS but the small with the drawstring tightened works fine for me. If you are selecting an elastic waist style instead of a drawstring style I chose the following:
Women’s US size 0-2, size 42
Women’s US size 4-6, size 44
Women’s US size 8-10, size 46
Women’s US size 12-14, size 48
Women’s US size 16+, size 50
See how I styled them yesterday to go shopping in Palm Springs. By the way I wore these shoes shopping from 10am to 7:30pm and I don’t have one blister.
| SIZE | IT | US | JEANS | WAIST (CM/IN) | HIPS (CM/IN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXS | 42 | 28 | 28-29 | 67/26.4 | 87/34.2 |
| XS | 44 | 30 | 30-31 | 71/28 | 91/35.8 |
| S | 46 | 32 | 32-33 | 75/29.5 | 95/37.4 |
| M | 48 | 34 | 34-35 | 79/31.1 | 99/39 |
| L | 50 | 36 | 36-37 | 83/32.7 | 103/40.5 |
| XL | 52 | 38 | 38-39 | 87/34.2 | 107/42.1 |
