Fashion Uniforms

This week marks the return of school if you haven’t already started the week earlier. Whether you’re in high school or higher education bound going back to school means summer tans fade away, football games, and a whole new year to make the grade or at least look good while you’re passing the time. Returning to the hallowed halls of any educational institution likely means inspired new fashion or in some cases fashion sense repress. Recently, I have been watching a lot of Gossip Girl, retro high school days for S & B and I got me thinking about school uniforms. True, St. Jude’s private prep school is fiction and clearly the costume designer for Gossip Girl took plenty of liberties in the reality department. But, despite the “loose” dress code the characters of New York’s Upper East Side found their own way to put a spin on the dress code and express themselves. Now typically I would probably break down my favorite looks over the years of Blair and Serena (and honestly don’t rule it out for the future, it sounds like a pretty good idea) but instead it got me thinking about my “uniform”. Whether your realize it or not everyone has their own uniform, a go to look or outfit that we feel most comfortable in, or makes us feel very confident, a look you repeat again and again without really thinking. True, your uniform may vary from season to season and depending on recent trends etc, but here is the breakdown of my uniform!

First and foremost for me a staple is a great pair of jeans. Let’s face it jeans basically go with everything, can be dressed up or dressed down and generally have a “cool” vibe that canvas pants just don’t have. My favorite jeans are seven for all mankind “skinny” in rinse. These jeans are a basic for me because they are slim fitting with just the right amount of stretch for everyday but don’t extend out to another size,  and the rinse is a fairly dark blue that’s flat(no whiskering or fade). The rinse is mid, I don’t like a low rise(muffin top) and high rise is just not versatile for every day. These jeans are like the foundation for many of my personal favorite looks.

The next piece to my uniform is a comfy and interesting tee. Most everyone makes tees but I really like gap and bobi tees. They are always on trend with colors, always soft and usually have a really flattering cut. To get really specific I have an olive green bobi tee with a scoop neck, one pocket tee that draws up a bit on the sides and dips down in the front hem. I love this tee because it looks great with jeans, the hem is the best, it will always cover what needs to be covered and the neckline is pretty open so I can wear my signature necklace or any other necklace. My gap favorite tee has cuffed sleeves, longer hem and is grey with navy stripes that stop at the shoulders. I have worn that top so much it has tiny holes where the censor likely was. I like a basic horizontal stripe shirt; it adds a bit more interest than a plain tee. Also, I like to mix it up with the neckline; v-neck, scoop neck and crew neck all have their benefits and flaws so you should have at least one of each. 

Then you have to cover up those feet! For every day I am a ballet flats kind of girl. If I am feeling sporty sneakers, and if I am going out heels but every day is a ballet flats kind of day. Flats just look great with skinny jeans, generally make your feet look small or at any rate elegant. And personally I don’t know about you but every day I do a fair amount of walking, so my shoes need to stay on easily and be somewhat comfy. Unfortunately and fortunately I am not particularly loyal to any one shoe brand but I will say I get most of my shoes from Nordstrom’s or endless.com. Everyone from forever 21 to Kate Spade makes at the minimum one ballet flat and more than likely make a variety. This means you can easily mix and match with daring pattern or color. But when in doubt a plain black flat won’t fail and is really a staple. 

Finally, no outfit would be complete without jewelry. Since we are discussing “uniforms” here, the tried and true I will be brutally honest I don’t do wrist jewelry. I always wear earrings and a necklace, and I really like rings but I can go without. With recent trends I am a watch wearer but I never used to. I don’t do wrist jewelry for a number of reasons, first people say its unprofessional because bracelets make noise when you shake hands or type on a keyboard or handprint which truthfully is kind of annoying. Also, I just feel like it’s too much to do rings, bracelet, necklace and earrings, its like did you just escape the gypsy convent? Plus, if you’re doing all that jewelry there’s so much going on nobody will notice how nice your earrings are or how lovely that antique ring is you’re wearing, they will just be like whoa bling, bling, bling! My signature necklace is a Tiffany’s heart my sister gave to me on my 18^th birthday and recently I added an “A” pendent given to me for graduation. I may not always love hearts, tiffany’s or the first letter of my moniker (who are you kidding of course I will!) but all of those items mean something to me so I wear them every day. Also, with pierced ears I think it just looks ugly to not put some studs on, so I typically wear this really cool pair of rivets my grandma gave me or some pearls. 

So that’s my uniform, typical day to day outfit! What’s your every day look? Do you dress for class or shuffle threw life in yoga pants? Keep your eyes peeled for the Gossip Girl blog post!