February is, hands-down, my favorite month, and it has absolutely nothing to do with chocolate, flowers, or the fact that its my birthday month. I find myself waiting anxiously every year for some of the most publicized and competitive events the world sees all year. No, I’m not talking about those Sunday afternoons where boys race up and down fields blundering around with leather balls. I’m talking about the only sport worth watching; I’m talking, of course, about fashion.

Between the Fall runway shows, and the over-the-top fashion excesses of the red carpet awards season, binge-worthy style moments are falling more heavily right now than that gray February snow. I’m not going to debate with you whether fashion is a sport. It is just as cutthroat and competitive as any championship rivalry, and there are most definitely winners, losers, and superstars who occupy a stratosphere of their own.

There’s more than one way to drink champagne on a beer budget, and look like a million bucks while doing it.

My sports/fashion metaphor has another relevant takeaway: not everyone can afford to run out and purchase the exact designer duds the pros and celebs are photographed in all month long. Some of us, myself included, aren’t so keen on throwing our hard-earned $$ away on the fast fashion knockoff versions either (trust me, you can always tell). That’s not an issue. There’s more than one way to drink champagne on a beer budget, and look like a million bucks while doing it.

The Difference Between Fashion Trends and Street Style

Fashion, like it or not, is an industry. Fashion trends, at the heart of the matter, are sales tools. There’s various things wrong with that, but it does move a $2.5 Trillion global industry. Today, however, I’m not here to talk about trends or the big bad fashion industry. That’s another blog post.

Street style, in my humble opinion, is an entirely different matter. Good street style is about the one thing I consider to be non-negotiable: individuality. An outfit becomes “street style” when it is interesting enough for the world to sit up and take notice, not just because it looks great, but because the wearer is giving you an insight into their own personality. That said, there are a few easy to master outfit hacks every woman can use to elevate her style to from everyday to iconic.

Street style is not about designers or fancy pieces or being the most on trend, although sometimes, for some people, one or all of those things do help to create binge-worthy outfits. Street style is about taking whatever it is you like to do, style-wise, and turning the dial all the way up. You do you. Just do it loud enough that people will notice. Now we’re talking.

Since I’ve been on a visual binge following fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, and now Paris, I’m going to take inspiration from the streets outside of fashion’s biggest stages, and show you the hacks street style stars swear by while I create my own versions with pieces I already have in my closet.

Street style is about taking whatever it is you like to do, style-wise, and turning the dial all the way up.

The 5 Hacks You Need to Style Your Own Iconic Street Style Looks

1 When in Doubt, Layer. First things first; even if you’re on a shopping hiatus, most street style looks can be recreated using your go-to closet staples in an out-of-the box way. For instance, consider trying something as simple as tucking your trousers into your favorite boots, or take it a step further by throwing a midi skirt over your pants.

Some of the best street style is accomplished with very basic or versatile items that are styled in an unusual way. Before you go shopping to try to find a “perfect” outfit that you’ll end up wearing only once or twice, head to your closet. I guarantee there’s a few things there from last season or last decade that are just dying to be reinterpreted into a fresh take on a this season’s trend. Pair a few old favorites together with a new tuck, or a different layering system, and voila, you’ve mastered Hack #1.

2 Creatively Contrast, Mix, & Match. Fashionistas know that one surefire way to make an outfit photo-worthy is to create interest with color, texture, and pattern. Yes, you can mix statement colors and patterns together. You just need to make sure you’re doing it with confidence and with the following in mind:

The secret to a successful contrast or mix & match situation is to either A) keep every color/pattern in harmony with each other, or B) make one piece the showstopper. The trick is to minimize competition between individual pieces and make the look feel intentional and cohesive. You can do this with subtlety or as loudly as possible.

3 Decide on a Vibe. Don’t try to mix minimalism, boho chic, and rocker grunge together. That’s pro-level only, and frankly, even the pros that try it get a vibe mix wrong 95% of the time. The best street style looks are always done with a tight handle on the sartorial message that you’re sending to your observers. Don’t let your message be that you couldn’t decide how you wanted to present yourself.

While you’re at it, make sure the vibe of your outfit matches the vibe of your personality and your comfort zone. We’ve all seen photos of someone wearing a look where the clothes were good, but it looked like the wearer was playing dress-up in someone else’s closet. Playing dress-up isn’t street style, its modeling, and that should also be left to the pros. Of course, you’re using clothing you already own and love, so you won’t make this mistake. Am I right?

4 Make a Bold Statement. Whether that’s a bright color, a giant purse, a metallic trouser, a statement coat, or layers of jewelry, make sure there’s something about your street style that makes it stand out. The difference between a basic look and an iconic look is whether its truly noticeable or not. Being quietly beautifully dressed is for those in conservative offices. Its not for street fashion icons.

One thing to note about this hack: don’t make multiple bold statements. That’s called being loud and tacky. Make sure you pay attention to number 3, and keep your look tight and consistent, so when you do something worth noticing, its for the right reasons.

5 Mix Shapes and Texture for Interest. If you’re not feeling inspired to go completely out of the box, for whatever reason, you can still catapult your outfit beyond basic status by mixing textures to create visual interest. Mixing matte, with shine, with distressed denim in one color palette can be just as intriguing and unique as using a bright or bold statement hue.

And now you’ve seen behind the curtain into my own personal wardrobe hacks. I don’t like to do a lot in the way of outfit “repeats”, and even though I do have a decent rate of rotation in my wardrobe, I’m not going to go shopping for 365 unique looks every year.

Hopefully this inspires you to try out some of these tricks with your own wardrobe. Let me know what works for you, and what doesn’t. Maybe I can help.

XOXO,