Listen, NubianNewYorkers
you do not have to be a fashion model, a designer, or somebody who thinks “couture” is a new medication to enjoy a good fashion show. Watching the shows for the upcoming season is actually one of the easiest ways to get your style together before the season even arrives.
And let’s be honest: sometimes we need a little inspiration. Because there is nothing wrong with wearing the same black T-shirt we have worn 47 times, but at some point that shirt is going to start wondering if it has a retirement plan.
Fashion shows give us ideas.
You might see a designer put together colors you never thought would work. Maybe olive green with pink. Brown with blue. Orange with purple. Suddenly you are looking at the clothes in your own closet thinking, “Wait a minute... I already have this stuff.”
And THAT is where fashion shows can really help.
You don't have to run out and buy an entirely new wardrobe every season. Please. Some of us have enough clothes in our closets to dress a small Broadway chorus. The trick is learning how to wear what you already own in a new way.
That jacket you always wear with jeans? Try it with trousers.
That shirt you normally wear under a sweater? Wear it open over a T-shirt.
Those pants you bought because they looked fabulous in the store and then spent six months hanging in the closet looking at you like an unpaid bill? Put them on!
Fashion shows can also teach you something really useful: how colors work together.
That's one of the best things about watching fashion shows. They can make you look at your own clothes differently.
You might see a model wearing a jacket with a pair of pants and suddenly think, “Wait a minute. I have that jacket!”
You've been wearing it with the same jeans since the Bush administration, but now you see it differently. Try it with different pants. Put a shirt underneath it. Wear it open. Add a necklace. Change the shoes.
Boy, suddenly that old jacket has a new job.
You start noticing why certain colors look great together. You begin seeing how one little pop of color can wake up an entire outfit. You learn that sometimes the difference between “I got dressed” and “Oh, he's looking GOOD today” is one very smart color choice.
And don't even get me started on layering.
A sweater doesn't always have to be worn the same boring way. A button-down shirt can become part of a completely different outfit. A jacket you've worn to dinner can suddenly look casual with jeans and sneakers.
Fashion shows remind us that clothes don't have only one job.
And neither do we.
Maybe you've always dressed one way. That's fine. But it's fun to shake things up every now and then. Try something a little sharper. A little sexier. A little more playful.
You don't have to become a fashion victim. Nobody is asking you to leave the house dressed like a chandelier.
Just experiment.
Because here's the secret: you don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe to look like you've stepped up your game.
Sometimes you just need to stop wearing the same five combinations you've been wearing since 2018.
Yes, darling.
We know.
So when the new season's fashion shows start appearing, watch them. Have fun with them. Look at the colors. Notice the jackets, pants, shirts, shoes and accessories. Pay attention to how the designers put things together.
You don't have to copy everything you see.
Some of it will be fabulous.
Some of it will make you say, “Oh, absolutely the hell not.”
And that's okay too.
Take the ideas that work for you and leave the rest on the runway.
Then go shopping in your own closet.
Pull out something you haven't worn in forever. Put it together with something completely different. Try a new color. Change your shoes. Add an accessory.
And then look in the mirror.
Because sometimes the clothes weren't the problem.
You just needed a little inspiration, baby.
