When it comes to personal style one of the best things to do is disregard the vast majority of the fashion do’s and don’ts you see in magazines or hear from those before you. What I love about our current era is that you can really do your own thing now. Which is why this blog even exists in the first place. Fashion pundit’s have had to go against their own grains just to stay relevant because times have changed so much in the last 20 years. Virtually none of the old rules apply. Today, we’re looking into a visually appealing way to wear both horizontal and vertical stripes at the same time. A former cardinal sin in style.

This is how to do mix stripes safely while not looking like a car crash waiting to happen.

(P.S This is totally me driving. Which is why I Uber)

When mixing stripes it’s all abut the pattern you choose. Are the stripes thick, thin, or do the vary in the same pattern? You want to ensure that you do the horizontal stripes on top. For striped pants it’s best to lean more into vertical stripes to accentuate and elongate your stature. When you do horizontal stripes as pants it has a way of cutting off your frame and making you look wider than you are. If your wearing a dress however the stripes can go either way. Make sure you belt the waist if the stripes are horizontal on your dress so you don’t loose your shape and to break up the pattern a bit.

Our Style Hack of the week is how to refine your look by refining your wardrobe choices. This has really helped me refine not only how I shop for items but also how I look. Simply put…

– If you buy something new ensure you are replacing it with something old in your current wardrobe

– Donate at least one item to charity every time you buy something new

– More often than not buy items you can wear at least 3 different ways

 I used to have way too much going on in my closet. Which led to me having way too much going on in a lot of my outfit choices. I had 1 closet full of new items I had never worn! Ebay was my obsession at the time and getting bids in on items sometimes at less than a dollar was how I was able to dress myself of less. Yet the quality of what I was buying was mostly crap. I also was spending $300 a month just on Ebay bids alone. That shit add’s up quick! I was truly unhappy in my life at that time as I would buy things to fill social and mental voids.

This was during the time I lived in Vancouver 5 years ago. I had 2 closets in my apartment. The 1st closet was full of items I never wore. The 2nd closet was half full of items I never wore. I always would find myself going for the same go to items over and over again and pairing my go to items with newer items I had bought more recently. It was incredibly wasteful. Not only of my money but also the fact that all those clothes where going to waste. It took me having to move from Vancouver to LA to clean out my closet and start refining my wardrobe. I had mountains of clothes in my living room that mostly I gave away to friends. However, I was still left with mountains of clothes when it came to moving day so I packed up the clothes mountains into garbage bags and left them in the back alley for the homeless to have. They where gone in 20 minutes. It took me needing to see how much I had accumulated and never worn after living in Vancouver for 4 years to really understand how much we waste on fashion. Even when it’s at great prices. It’s not worth it to collect things you will never wear. That’s called hoarding.

Sweater Creations Of Lily Non-Profit Boutique : $2

Pants Windsor Tijuana Flea Market: $3

Shoes Waldo’s – $5

Scarf Tijuana Street Shop – $2

Furry Cap Tijuana Street Shop – $2

Patent Leather Purse – Tijuana Flea Market – $5

Half Gloves Aliexpress – $2