Looking presentable is attainable for every country gentleman or lady. Even if you’re just doing the school run or running errands around the town, you can still look smart but feel comfortable. That’s why we’ve made this guide all about how to look more put together in five simple steps. Soon, you’ll wonder just why you thought it was so hard to dress yourself efficiently every day!
Wear clothes that fit your body well
Whilst we’re firm believers that you can wear whatever you want to, most people look their best when wearing clothing that actually fits their body shape and proportions. Whether that’s buying trousers with a longer or shorter leg or buying a slightly larger shirt to fit better across the chest, wearing items that are too loose or too tight can give you the opposite effect.
Whilst it can mean for some items, you might need to dig out your sewing machine or find a tailor, many changes can be made easily. A belt can do wonders to ill-fitting trousers or women can add a pair of heels if their trousers are a little too long. It can mean trying on lots of different items until you find your perfect fit though!
Women can often stick to some rough guidelines when it comes to their body shape, depending on whether they have an oval, hourglass, triangle, pear or rectangle figure. Men are welcome to follow many of the rules here too as many of the principles are the same.
Ultimately, it comes down to what feels or looks the best. Wearing too-tight clothing means you’ll feel uncomfortable and restricted. Wearing clothes that are too big can make you look shapeless and can add unnecessary bulk to your body.
Invest in quality rather than quantity
This is why we love country capsule wardrobes so much! Having a handful of pieces that not only fit you well but you love to wear will bring you more enjoyment than hauls of clothes and a stuffed wardrobe. How nice would it be to open your wardrobe and see a bunch of just your favourite pieces there that all mix and match together? Having a neutral colour palette is a great start but you can definitely make a capsule wardrobe with colourful pieces too!
However, it doesn’t have to cost the earth to invest in quality. We use the best quality materials in all of our products and pride ourselves in making high-quality products at a reasonable price point.
If you’re going to invest in certain items, the key pieces should always be footwear, outerwear and bags. These are items that you’ll use much more frequently and should be able to last you for years. Materials, such as leather and wool, will always cost that little bit extra but it means you won’t have to replace these items within a year or two. The more you wear that item, the lower the cost per wear will be, making them cheap in the end! Plus there’s no better feeling than finding a pair of shoes that fit you perfectly!
Look after your clothes properly
This means not just sticking everything in the washing machine on a cycle at forty degrees and hoping for the best. Every clothing item will come with a care label attached with how best to care for that item. If you’ve paid more than a few pounds for an item, why wouldn’t you want to spend a bit of extra time double-checking how to wash it properly?
This can also mean purchasing a few extra products to ensure the longevity of your items, especially with footwear. A specific leather or suede conditioner and protector will mean your shoes or boots will look as new as possible for as long as they last.
It can also be worth buying a handheld steamer as it’s much gentler than ironing and many items shouldn’t be ironed either. A steam can also give a jacket or blazer a deep clean at the same time as well as getting rid of any crinkles.
This also means storing your items properly. Investing in wooden or velvet hangers for your clothes means they won’t get any funny bumps in the shoulders. Don’t store your shoes in the shoe box that they arrive in; allow them to breathe on a shelf or store them in spacious plastic boxes.
Learn to layer properly
You can still look put together when it’s cold outside. Trust us, we’d know! Of course, that often means buying your jacket or coat in a size larger if you’re going to be wearing multiple tops, shirts, jumpers, cardigans or blazers underneath.
If it’s to keep warm outside, you’ll want lots of thinner layers, starting with a thermal and usually a fleece as your mid-layer before a waterproof outer layer. Of course, you can add an additional top or jumper on particularly freezing days! It’s all about finding the fine balance between keeping warm and still looking smart. You don’t want to look bulky but you want to retain the heat.
The easiest way to layer properly is to stick to a colour theme. Whilst us country folk love our neutrals of creams, browns and olives, you can still look put together whilst wearing colours. Shades of red, pink, blue and green can all look smart but it’s best not to mix them altogether.
It might be that you have a colourful coat so you keep the rest of the outfit neutral and simple. If you have a tweed jacket or blazer on, you can add extra colour by picking out one of the colourful threads and matching it to your top, shirt or even accessories.
Have a signature piece or develop an outfit formula/uniform
Have you even noticed that when you find an item that you love, you buy it in multiple colours? This is what we mean by a signature piece. It could be anything from checked shirts to various styles of hats. You’ll become the person who always wears a splash of red or who has the best handbag or shoe collection. It could be a particular pattern, colour or category of item.
The flip side is when you find pieces you love, you’ll soon find yourself wearing similar outfits. A uniform might seem a bit boring but if you think about it, you probably already do it without realising. Maybe you always wear a shirt, trousers and a smart jacket and shoes? Perhaps you’re a jeans and a nice top kind of woman but you switch out your jacket and accessories from day to night in a smart-casual outfit?
Lots of us gravitate towards the same items because we know we like the colour or the fit or that it will look right on our body. It’s okay to experiment with shapes and styles but ultimately, we grab the same handful of items from our wardrobes daily. Why not embrace that and create a few outfit formulas that work for a range of occasions? Pieces that mix and match saves you time, money and the headache of wondering what to wear constantly!
Learning a few tricks of how to look more put together doesn’t have to be groundbreaking or difficult. It’s all about wearing what you feel the best and most comfortable in and creating outfits around your favourite pieces.