There are few things more annoying or eye-roll-inducing than rich, famous, beautiful, skinny white people doling out style advice. Like, oh, get a blowout every morning after having a personal trainer lead you through a fitness routine, while a personal makeup artist paints on a perfect cat eye? Great advice, thank you Kim Kardashian. Why didn’t I think of any of those things, oh wise one?
Ok, maybe a little harsh, but you get my gist. Receiving advice from people who have it SO together is an exercise in humility. Like, no way Heidi Klum went 29 years wearing the wrong cup size, right?
So to that end, we scoured AskReddit threads and sourced this BuzzFeed community post to bring you our favorite pieces of style advice, from people just like you. Women who also underestimated the significance of cuffing and tucking. Women who are only now realizing the power of a “third piece.” Women who don’t have posses of professionals watching their fashionista backs.
21. When in doubt, go without.
“If you’re on the fence about buying something or can’t decide how much you like it, don’t buy it. It’ll just end up sitting in your closet. If you change your mind, you can always go back and get it later.”
20. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that size matters.
This is not a cliche; You may have noticed how insanely your size varies depending on store/brand (and even within the same store/brand!).
“Fit over size. Women’s sizes are all over the place and the numbers don’t mean anything (and often vary wildly within one store). It’s better to wear a size 14 and feel comfortable and confident than to try and squeeze yourself into a 10 just for the number and he awkward and uncomfortable,” writes Reddit user DisloyalMouse.
Reddit user danger_nooble agrees. “Seriously. ‘My size’ (whatever that means) in some jeans will fit me great, and in others will barely get pulled up to my thighs, let alone buttoned.”
19. Don’t wear white bras under white tops. Or maybe ever.
“No white bras under white tops or else you see it and it doesn’t look good. Nude bras under white tops.”
Come to think of it, what’s the point of white bras, anyway? They hold armpit and boob seat stains, you have to use bleach to fully clean them, etc.
18. Invest in a bra that actually fits you:
“Get a bra that’s perfect for you. I’ve seen a number of outfits that could have been perfect if only she had worn the perfect bra,” says Ashley Norris.
Reddit user ninjakitty117 provides a story to emphasize this point: “Last time I saw my sister-in-law, she was wearing white shirt/white bra. She’s easily a C cup, and was wearing an A cup. It was super visible, and I didn’t want to say something and make get feel bad.”
Don’t feel bad if you’ve been wearing the wrong-sized bra your entire life. Most women have! In between refusing to buy bras above a C or D because mom/society deems that “too big” and weight fluctuations, the perfect bra may seem out of reach. (It’s not! Many places do fittings for free 🙂
17. Dispel the horrid boob gap with a quick fix:
“Fabric velcro for button downs to destroy boob gap.”
16. Lengthen your legs with this simple trick:
“For instant longer-looking legs: shoes in the same color as your trousers.”
15. Tights work just as well as Spanx, and are way more affordable:
“If you are wearing a top tucked into a skirt and also wearing tights, tuck your top into your tights. First of all, this helps prevent your top from popping out over your skirt, and second of all, it helps smooth the look of your top under the skirt (less awkward bumps and bunches). I wear a skirt almost every day and this was life changing advice!”
14. A high waist is flattering on just about everyone:
“I’m short and chubby so I really dig the high-waist, crop top look, as long as everything fits well! Cropped sweaters and high-waist skirts are my fav right now.” – Rachel Pharoah
13. If a pair of pants are just a little tight, always do a squat test:
“For pants, always best to try and do a sit and squat test. If you cant sit or squat in them comfortably, or they feel like they might rip, don’t get them. You will just be uncomfortable when wearing them and it will show.”
12. Remember that the fit of your clothes is much more important than whether they are “on trend:”
“Invest in pieces that frame your body amazingly and will carry you over the years, season to season. Buy fad items to accessorize/dress up/dress down said perfectly fitting pieces, not as key items for your wardrobe.”
11. To that end, try a tailor!
“There’s a pretty big variety in the bust-waist-hip ratio among women, but obviously retail clothes can only be made to fit the most common version, and not everybody. So if your boobs are as big, bigger, or on the other hand significantly smaller than your butt, or if your waist to hip ratio is smaller or larger than average, you’ll often have poor fit in any size.
But thankfully, getting something taken in at the waist, for example, is actually pretty cheap; so imo that’s definitely worth it.”
