DAY 13: 30 Day NO-BUY Challenge
How to Turn Inspiration Photos into Real Outfits
We are on day 13 of our 30 day no buy challenge and at this point, a lot of us have an album full of inspiration photos, whether it is on Pinterest, Instagram, or TikTok. But we might open them and only see what we want to buy. Or we stare at them with no idea what to do or how to translate any of it into our own closets.
So today, I'm taking you back to YouTube and we are taking a little more time to talk about the exact things we are looking for in those photos, so we can successfully create from what we already have.
It might feel hard at first, but like anything, with practice over time this becomes second nature. When we see a photo of an outfit we like, we start to automatically notice the right details, ask better questions, and actually turn it into something we can wear right now.
This helps train our brains to stop seeing the “buy” button every time we see a new outfit, and instead turn back toward our closets and shop what we already own.
This has been an absolute game changer in my life and one of the very top tools I use to stay inspired.
Use this while you watch so you do not have to remember all the steps:
Free Inspiration Photo Checklist
FULL TRANSCRIPT
This is the sole way that I've gotten 10 times more out of my closet without spending a dime and how I'm always able to do my no-by years. Not just surviving, but thriving. I am Casey and welcome to Style School.
I'm Casey, your fashion bestie, and welcome to the Wearjoy Project, where we are sparking a fashion wellness revolution by getting better mental health and better style with how we approach our closets. Today, we're going to dive into how to read our inspiration photos so we can create more out of our closet.
So, I've talked multiple times about collecting inspiration images. Whether this is on Pinterest, Instagram, Tik Tok, even if you're just screenshotting fashion images and you're putting them in your albums on your phone, wherever you are collecting inspiration photos, this is where we're going to dive even deeper today.
So, we open up our inspiration photos and we might just look at them with wide eyes and not know where to go. Your instant thought is, I just want to buy everything, but let's not buy anything. We're not going to do that today. We are going to do something even better. We're going to create out of what we already have. Because really, when we open up these pictures, if we break down what's really there, it's all just individual items that most likely you have something that's kind of like it in your closet.
Example 1: Edgy, Casual, Powerful
Let's look at some examples. Here's the first example. The words that I would describe this when I look at it is edgy, casual, and powerful. So, those are going to be my guiding light words.
When I look at this picture, what lights me up the most? I see that it's all one color. It's all black with a pop of her sneakers. Then, we're going to break down the pieces. Okay, she is wearing a pretty elegant skirt. We can imagine if we put this skirt with a blouse and heels, it would be a whole different outfit. It would be really dressed up, but she toned it down by mixing not so fancy things, not so dressed up things to make it an everyday style.
So, she took this otherwise elegant skirt and put it with tennis shoes and a graphic tea. I would then go in my closet, look for any sort of graphic tea, any sort of casual tea. Even if it didn't have a graphic, but it was more of just a casual tea, that could work. And then I look for any sort of skirt. It could be a totally different color. I do like the vibe of the all black with the white, but heck, anything can work. I could put another type of skirt with it. And then I look for some tennis shoes. What tennis shoes are going to work with this?
My thought would go straight to wearing flats. And so that's why this picture inspired me to step out of my box and wear some tennis shoes with what I would normally wear with flats. Then we go into the details. She tucked in her shirt. She didn't leave it out. She has a belt on. Maybe I'll try a belt. And should I finish it off with sunglasses? I don't know. I'll try it on and see. So, that is what I see from this picture number one.
Example 2: Relaxed, Clean, Still Chic
Picture number two, my words are casual, relaxed, but still a tad bit of chic somewhere in there. Somehow, it's still chic to me. It's not fully undone. It's relaxed, but there's still a cleanliness to it.
And so then I go into why do I like this outfit so much? Is it the colors? Is it the textures? Like what is it about this outfit that I am liking the most and it's making me light up. When I see this outfit, it is the fit of the pieces.
So, I like the idea of a wide leg that comes really tight at the waist. I love the cuff of the pant and then the boots under. And then I like the short cropped sweater. I can have any color sweater, right? So, that could be an orange one. It can be a black one, but it's the fit that I'm going for. So, then I'm looking for a baggier um pant and some booties.
And then I go into the details. So, then I'm like, "Wait a minute, she cuffed these pants. I really like this this idea. Let's go with the cuffed pants." And voila, there we go.
Example 3: Suit Jacket With a Skirt
This one, I do love the muted tones. I don't know that that's my deal breaker. I think it's the idea to mix a suit jacket with a skirt. I think that's what I'm really envisioning here. So, it could be like kind of whatever top, but I think I like the idea of the straighter skirt or whatever type of skirt I want to choose and a suit jacket. That is what I'm vibing with here and that's what I see.
So, I can take the suit jacket from another suit that I have, a suit that's paired with slacks, take the slacks away, put in a skirt, find a casual t-shirt, or maybe not. Maybe I do want to do a blousy t-shirt. But I think the main thing here is that I see a really cool suit jacket with a skirt. And that's where my inspiration is getting pulled from for this picture.
Example 4: Reimagining the Suit
The next picture is the idea that we have reimagined the suit. She is wearing a full matching suit. However, she's not wearing a shirt underneath it. She's wearing a belted bag and fun jewelry, which makes this suit way more edgy and casual and not so stuffy. And we're reimagining and reusing the suit in a different way.
And that's what I love about this picture. It really makes you twist and turn what we originally think of a suit. And so that is what's vibing for me in this picture. Maybe it is the color. Maybe I love that she has a yellow suit. And maybe I don't have a yellow suit, but maybe I have a navy one. And then maybe I can bring in a bright color with the brighter jewelry.
Maybe I don't have brighter jewelry. And so maybe if I do the navy suit with still a lot of layers of jewelry and maybe a brown belted bag, I still think it's great. And maybe I didn't achieve exactly that bold yellow look that she has here, but the navy suit with the fun jewelry with maybe a brown belted bag did the trick. And I'm still happy with how this inspiration helped me in my own closet.
Example 5: Pattern Mixing Study
The next one here is pattern mixing completely. I am actually not that great at pattern mixing and it's something that I will probably study myself so I can get better at it. Like I said, everything's learnable and I'm not good at everything already. Also, pattern mixing is kind of still difficult for me and I would love to achieve that also.
So, when I look at this, I am very inspired. I'm like, why does these patterns work together? Okay, there's a the colors like don't match but they go together. There is a rooted color like a brown and each. Okay, one pattern is stripes and structured. The other one is um round and soft. So maybe that's why that works together.
And then I see that she didn't do a pattern in the pants. Okay, that's a good idea because it breaks up the patterns and then she pulls the color down into her heels and it just makes it very cohesive. And so that is what I'm studying in this picture and where I'm getting the inspiration from.
Also, if you take out the pattern, I do like the inspiration of wearing a suit jacket with heels with the turtleneck. It could be a plain black turtleneck with like a cream blazer and no patterns at all. And that's where you can also get your inspiration.
Example 6: Juxtaposition With a Fur Coat
And this one is so my jam. I'm always ready for a fur coat. And so I'm always trying to find ways to tone down the fur coat so I can wear it other than the holidays or other than a dressed up occasion. And so this right here is my jam.
Like I love what we call juxtaposition, putting two opposite things together. I love the fanciness of the heels and the fur. Then I love the overly casual of the ripped jeans and the baseball hat. And then I love that none of this matches. I love the pop of the blue up here with the red clutch. And it's just like this is this is ultimate Casey vibes right here.
Step 1: Name Your Descriptive Words
So the first thing we want to do when we look at a picture, let's pick one picture. We want to define some descriptive words about it. Is it edgy? Is it casual? Is it fancy? Is it chic? Is it classic? Is it rock and roll? Is it really clean? Is it a little undone? Is it oversized? You get the point.
You want to create two to three descriptive words that describe this outfit or the feeling you get as a whole. If you create an outfit just from those words, you've succeeded. You've gotten some sort of inspiration that helped you create something out of your own closet that maybe you haven't worn before. And that alone is great inspiration.
Step 2: Identify What Really Lights You Up
But say you're not there yet and we need to go further. We need to then look at the different elements of an outfit and see what speaks to you the most. See what sparks you up.
Is it the colors? Is it the non-colors? Is it like maybe all muted and you really love that neutral look? Or maybe it's color blocks like you have a shirt that's a really bright color and pants that are a really different bright color and it's these blocks of color and you're like that lights me up.
Maybe it's pattern mixing. Are they mixing different patterns? And it's not so much even about the color, but it's so cool because you're like, "This lights me up because of all the different patterns they're putting together."
Or could it be textures? Is it a really thick wool skirt and a sleek blouse? Maybe like the different um textures together. You're something about that is just vibing with you for the textures.
Is it the layering they're doing? Is it the accessorizing they're doing? Maybe it's the proportions. Maybe they're wearing an oversized thing on top and a fitted pant on the bottom. Vice versa. Maybe their pants are oversized and they have something fitted on top. Or maybe it's an overall oversized outfit and you're like, I kind of like that vibe.
And so, we're looking at shapes and patterns. So, you kind of want to run through this list and see what's on your hierarchy of what is speaking to you the most. And this is a step that will come more naturally, but I'm really trying to break it down to understand what you're feeling and analyzing when you're looking at this picture.
I have this all listed on a checklist that you can run through that you can download in the description so you don't have to remember all this. I just want to run through it and you'll get the picture.
Step 3: Break the Outfit Into Pieces
After we've done that and we've created the hierarchy, we're like, "Oh, you know, this is what really vibes to me." We then want to start breaking apart the actual outfit into pieces. And then what do you have in your closet that might be something of that essence? It doesn't have to be exact, but it can be of the description words, the essence that you had thought of before.
We use our words that we thought of about that outfit. We look at the hierarchy. Maybe what's really vibing to you that day is the blocks of colors they're doing. It maybe has nothing to do with the fit of the outfit. So, you go into your closet and work on creating really cool color combinations. Not even caring what the actual garments were in the picture, just the combination of colors. Maybe that is what your driving inspiration is for the day.
Step 4: Play, Experiment, Adjust the Details
And then we just start trying things on. Remember, your closet is a dress up box. It is a magical dressup box. And we are infusing play. This is not a serious thing. Just have fun. So experiment.
And as you're experimenting and you say you find kind of a combination you like, we look back at the inspiration photo and we go, what are the details that are happening here? Did they cuff up their sleeve? Oh, okay. Maybe I need to cuff up my sleeve. Did they tuck in one side of their shirt? Okay, this is how they tucked that in. Oh, they're added a belt. Okay, I have a belt that works.
You start to break it down into steps and observations and finally you come out with an outfit. Doesn't have to be anything like the original outfit. It could be could be exactly like it. It could be kind of like it. It could be nothing at all. But if that picture helped you create a new outfit out of your closet, no matter what the outcome is, you have succeeded.
What “Success” Really Looks Like With Inspiration Photos
And that is what inspiration photos are. There. Inspiration photos are just that inspiration. Even just a one little piece in that inspiration photo could make you even think of something you haven't worn in a while that you love. That is success also.
So don't put too much pressure on copying the exact picture. Understand that these pictures are just to light a fire in you to create more.
So as you can see, there are multiple ways to get multiple inspirations from one picture. And I gave you a list that you can run through so you can see how to get multiple inspirations from each picture.
Translating Your Inspiration Board Into Your Closet
I hope this helps in reading your inspirations and translating them from just your inspiration board into your closet and realizing that most of these pictures we have as inspiration are pieces that we somewhat have or maybe exactly have in our closets and how we can get so much use so much use out of one piece.
If you continue to do this, you will start to understand how things move in your closet, how you can wear so many different things in so many different ways.
And for me, I don't go into my closet and just go, I have nothing to wear anymore. For me, I go in and I go, what are we going to do today? What kind of fun are we going to make? And if I hit a roadblock, I take out my inspiration board, look at a few, and all of a sudden, I'm like, wait a minute, I can I can recreate something like this. Let's see what, let's see what we have here. And off we go.
Closing
So, I hope this helped today. And like any day, if you have any questions, let me know. I'm here for you. I'm your biggest cheerleader. I'm Casey, your fashion bestie. Follow and subscribe, comment. Anything helps. And I hope that you will join me again so you can get better mental health and better style with our fashion wellness revolution. All right, see you next time!