Rain in the Streetlights: Dress to Impress

Let me start by saying, I hate when people wear pajama pants in public.

Get. Some. Class.

This post may kind of be a rant, but I think it could change how people view what they "throw on."

What is the first thing you notice about a person when you see them in the hall? I'm not talking about someone you've talked to, just someone you've seen. What you notice is usually their hair or what they're wearing. If you see someone with baggy pants and a gold chain around their neck you think: Gangster. If you see someone with sweats and a sport shirt, you think: Jock. (I usually think lazy dresser but that's beside the point.) If you see someone wearing all black and dark makeup you may think: Goth. If you see someone with a shirt halfway down their chest and shorts up to their rear end you think: Skank. Unless it's a guy. Then you may be just a tad bit confused as to what in the world they are thinking. If you see someone in well fitted clothing, not showing too much, but not baggy either, that matches and doesn't look like they picked it up off the "I don't have time to make myself look presentable" rack at the store, you probably think: Cute, Handsome, Classy, Stylish, or maybe Preppy. To me, at least, those are all a lot better descriptions than the others. I realize these may be stereotypical and whatnot, but our brains are made to be that way. We've learned it since preschool with the "put all the similar objects together" with different colored and shaped blocks. Honestly, no one can deny that they've never categorized a group of people. Stereotypes are created because of reoccurring instances within a group of similar people. That doesn't mean everyone like that IS necessarily exactly like that, it just means generally. But that's a whole different discussion.

There are many excuses as to why someone doesn't dress nice.

I don't have time.

I can't afford nice clothes.

I don't care about it.

I have no sense of style.

Clothes don't fit me right.

Now I will discuss how these are invalid, and kind of stupid, excuses.

I don't have time. Yeah, right you don't have time. It takes no more time to put on a cute little sundress and some flats than it does sweats, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. Probably less actually. Personally, if I go to school wearing sweats and a t-shirt, I take way longer in the morning because I feel like I have to make the rest of me look good since my apparel doesn't. I take longer making my hair perfect and wear more makeup than I do when I dress nice. If you dress nice then you don't always have to take as long doing those things because people will already think you look good because of what you're wearing. I'll let you in on a little secret; you only have to choose one or the other to get compliments and look good! But, putting on clothes takes less times than hair and makeup usually, so why wouldn't you choose that if you're so "time deprived"?! And then there's just those people who dress like slobs and throw their hair on top of their head. Even if I do that, the hair on top of my head takes at least 10 minutes to perfect, but I'm probably just weird.

I can't afford nice clothes. If you can afford those Wal-Mart brand jeans, you can actually afford nice clothes. They may not be name brand clothes, but there are nice looking things out there on sale or for cheap! You just need to learn to look in the right places. First if you're on a tight budget, only shop in the sale racks unless you find absolutely nothing. If you don't find anything, look at items you like, CHECK THE PRICE, then if it's an ok price try them on so you know if you like the fit. If it's too expensive but you just love it, remember what it looks like, the brand, size, color, and search for it online. They often have special online sales, or places like Amazon.com or Ebay.com has many unused things sold directly from outlet stores, so they're cheaper, and sometimes there's free shipping. Also try actual outlet stores such as TJ Max or Marshall's. They have great designer brands for super cheap. TJ Max is one of my favorite stores. I think once I got a $200 coat for about $50, and a $70 dress for $30. The sale racks there are wonderful. Also, keep those coupons that you get in catalogs and magazines! They help a bunch when you add them up, and I'm definitely no Extreme Couponer. If you have a good sense of style and know how to make hand-me-down or used clothes work, by all means do that! Sometimes your dad's old button up shirt will look amazing with a belt and some dark skinny jeans. You can turn old clothes new by adding accessories, which are usually much cheaper than new clothes. You can even go to stores like GoodWill or Plato's closet, you just need to know what to buy.

I don't care about it. Why? Why not? Here's why you should. People will think you're well put together and you respect yourself if you dress nice. Everyone likes getting compliments, and since clothing is one of the first things people notice, it's the easiest to compliment and it's not as awkward and personal as complimenting how they act. You can compliment a stranger on their shoes, but not on their attitude towards life, I mean, they're a stranger how would you know? But you do know you like their shoes. Maybe you shouldn't always care what people think, but I'm just saying that people judge you based on how you look, whether they realize it, whether you realize it, it happens. So why not impress other people and make them automatically think highly of you? You'll have more opportunities in your work, getting hired, and also more social opportunities.

I have no sense of style. Then get one! Trust me, I used to not either. I only wore boy's clothes. I was in elementary school, but still. I got made fun of for it. So I decided to get a sense of style. You may not like fashion magazines, and you may not have time for Pinterest, though those are two of the best ways to figure out what you like. Something you can do that won't take hardly any extra time or effort from your day is just paying attention to what others wear. If you see someone walking down the street and you just like how they look, take a mental snapshot of their outfit and you can try to piece it together later. If you like a certain celebrity's style, google search them and pick out pictures of them in outfits you really like, then just print them or save them on your phone so when you're out shopping or looking in your closet for something to wear, you can get similar items. Another tip: always accessorize. You can make that tank top less casual if you add a belt and some jewelry, or maybe just a cardigan over it. Just paying attention to others and figuring out what you like will help you develop your own sense of style and you can even revamp boring articles in your closet with a few accessories or wearing it differently.

Clothes don't fit right. So many girls use this as an excuse. This may take extra time and effort, but you just have to keep trying and shop more. Try wearing something in a little bit different way, or with something else, and it may look better. I've bough quite a few dresses that are a little too tight in the waist, or where the waist is supposed to be hit lower than it should on me because I'm short. With that, I bunch it up and make it looser on top and put a matching belt around it. Bam. Whole new look. Clothes can be diverse like that and it's wonderful. If you're tall and dresses are too short, utilize your leggings! This is better in the fall, and they are so comfy. Just make sure they match. I recently bought a high-low.. well I still don't know if it's supposed to be a dress or a shirt. It's way to short to be a dress, but too long to be a shirt because it looks funny with shorts under it. So I wear leggings with it, and maybe when it's cooler, some dark skinny jeans. Just because it doesn't work how I originally thought it would when I got it off the rack, doesn't mean it won't work in a different way! If money's not a big issue with clothes, you can always get them tailored to fit you. That's an easy thing to do, but you won't get to wear the clothes as soon as you buy them obviously. You can fix your "problem areas" pretty easily too. If you don't like your arms, but you have tank tops you just LOVE, wear a little unbuttoned cardigan or jacket with it. If you don't like your tummy a mid waist belt can make you look like you have more of an hourglass shape and you'll also just have to try different styles of shirts to see what you like. There are so many ways to make clothes that "don't fit right" fit!

Maybe I've just watched way too much What Not to Wear, but Stacy and Clinton have some pretty great tips and have fixed some pretty horrible fashion mishaps. Hopefully after reading this you realize the importance in looking nice and how it shapes other's first impression of you. And don't you want to leave a good first impression? You can do quick, cheap things to improve your style. Minimal cost. Minimal effort. So please, next time you think about going to Wal-Mart for "just a second" in your Hello Kitty pajama pants and cutoff t-shirt, think about if your boss saw you there, or some guy you've had a crush on. Don't you want to impress them? I don't think some loose, fuzzy cat pants will do that. And they aren't shallow if they judge you for wearing that. It's just human nature and those kinds of clothes scream "lazy" to our brains. Never go out of your house in lazy clothes unless you are going to the gym, or if your house is on fire. Dress up, never down. And most importantly, dress to impress.