Want to look more expensive and therefore project a more credible, successful, and professional image even on a budget? Keep reading!

If you need to project a successful image, but are not sure how to do it, by the end of this video, you’ll have 16 ways you can use that will make you look more polished, sophisticated, and expensive looking so you can look like a credible and successful expert the minute you step in front of your ideal clients or when meeting influencers you want to affiliate with.  I have used these fashion tips with countless clients who have gotten promoted within 3 weeks and increased their income substantially by applying these principles. Now you can try it for yourself.

1. Wear neutral colors. Light colors are usually better than black because they look more sophisticated.

2. Wear monochromatic outfits such as all black or all white for example. Any neutral color typically looks more sophisticated than bright colors especially if the quality of the garment is average or not that great. If the quality is not great, go for darker colors. Poor quality in fabric doesn’t show as much on darker colors.

3. Structured clothes make you look more polished and professional, which is why a blazer is such a professional looking staple. Less flowy clothes are typically more elegant looking.

4. Belts can elevate your whole look up. They look stylish and like you spent time thinking about your outfit. It’s a stylist’s best kept secret and people don’t use it enough.

5. Pointy shoes and classic pointed toe pumps look more chic and elegant than rounded toe shoes.

6. A cheap garment that is pressed, tailored, and clean looks better than an expensive one that is not maintained properly. It’s easy to say: “Oh my shirt doesn’t look too wrinkled.” – Yes it does! If that’s what you are thinking. You should look at it and think my shirt looks pressed and clean.

7. Pick dainty jewelry over chunky so it looks real (especially if it’s not real gold, platinum, or silver). The chunkier you go, the more fake it will look and the less expensive your outfit will look. Nowadays, costume jewelry is much more accepted and prevalent and fun to play with, but if your goal is to look more elegant, keep this in mind. 

8. Diamond studs is a classic staple. If you can’t afford real ones, fake diamonds are ok if they are small enough, which would be half a carat or less.

9. You want to keep a balance in your outfit and not look like you are trying too hard. For example, you don’t want to wear more than 3  different textures in the same color. You want to stick to three maximum. When putting your outfit together, if in doubt, stick to one interesting focal point such as a fun jacket or fun pants and keep everything else neutral. This will ensure your outfit will look polished.

10. Bringing any kind of texture into your outfit can make you look like a Stylist because textures bring interest to an outfit instantly. Consider wearing leather, suede, lace, faux fur, and tweed to add different textures.

11. Sunglasses can make your outfit look instantly more stylish and expensive. They can look good even if you find cheaper ones, so this is one of the rare occasions where you can cheat as long as they are not TOO cheap looking. I’m not a fan of knock offs, but this is one occasion where you can look for look-alike of your favorite designer sunglasses or look for the real ones on consignment store sites if you don’t have the budget. I recommend you try them on first at the store because it’s one of those things you have to try on before buying as it’s very easy to go wrong if you don’t. Once you know they fit, you can purchase them online at a discount.

12. This is where you cannot cheat as faux leather shows. Invest in a nice quality handbag. You can look at high end discount stores such as Nordstrom rack or consignment stores if you are on a budget. The important is that you make sure the bag is made of genuine leather. Additionally, the more structured the bag is, the more chic.

13. Invest in classic staples to look more sophisticated and timeless. Tailored streamlined pieces such as blazer and dresses that will never go out of style will look the most classy. Classic vs trendy makes you look more expensive. Invest in a really good quality classic blazer especially. This means your blazer should retail for at least $300. It doesn’t mean you have to pay $300 as it’s easier than ever to find sales and good deals. Ideally it should be a neutral color that works with your complexion.

14. A nice white or ivory button down shirt can go a long way to dress up an outfit and make you look super polished. One trick I tell my clients who have a hard time finding a shirt that fits because the buttons open up in front is to buy the bigger size that fits at the breast and have it tailored at the waist. This brings me to my last point.

15. Tailored clothes! The Best kept secret of fashionable women is to have a good tailor. If off the rack clothes don’t look perfectly tailored to you, consider tailoring them, it makes all the difference on how it makes you look. Oftentimes, when I get expensive designer clothes on sale, they don’t have my exact size. I still buy it because I know my tailor will be able to tailor it so it fits me perfectly and it will still cost me way less than if I had paid full price for the item. The trick is, you need to find a good tailor. Start by asking around and look at yelp or other review sites in your neighbourhood. Next door is also a good place to start asking.

16. Last but not least: Shop for natural fabrics. This is the single most important point I will make in this whole video in order to make sure you look more expensive. For example, I prefer to buy clothes from JCrew where they tend to carry more natural fabrics throughout their store over polyester clothes that retail for the same price at Nordstrom. Natural fabrics such as silk, cotton, and wool will always look better and more expensive than polyester if we are talking about average priced clothing that is. The kind of prices we find at JCrew or Banana Republic. When the price tag goes up, so does the quality of the fabric whether it’s natural or synthetic. When you shop for higher end clothing, the type of fabric is therefore much less important.

I know it can be confusing to know what quality is good enough, so I created this 2 page guide called Quality Meter that helped many of my clients take the confusion out of shopping for professional clothes. This free guide will tell you exactly at which point the quality is good enough and when it will make your outfit look cheaper. You can get it HERE.

You just got applicable tips that will make you look more expensive and therefore more successful. You can CLICK HERE to learn more about how to develop your signature brand style.

CLICK HERE to watch the video and let me know what your biggest takeaway is in the comments 🙂 See you there!!

Au revoir! XX

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