jnd*

For those of you who do not know me personally, I am your typical fashion-crazed girl. Clothing, shoes, accessories – they each fascinate me to a different extent. However, what truly interests me about fashion isn’t the labels or the price tags, but more of how outfits are actually created by the people wearing them. And what I mean is creating an outfit out of clothes you already own, or finding something used and making it unique just for you.

Rule of thumb: you don’t have to buy a new piece of clothing for every new outfit.

So I am here to tell anyone who might be interested in how to re-wear the same outfit without really wearing the same outfit (if you know what I mean).

This post idea actually came to me today at work, and the reason being because the proper attire for my workplace is all black (ugh, so boring, right?). Well, maybe not. At first, I was pretty bummed out because I don’t even own that much black and definitely did not want to wear it almost every day. On top of that, I am also your typical broke college student. So I really don’t have money to spend on a whole new black wardrobe.

I have been working the same job about 3-4 times a week for five months, and I actually have not needed to purchase a single black item. Sure I’ll buy inexpensive accessories here and there, but for the black clothing, I have managed to make four shirts and three pair of pants work. Of course I cheat a little with my denim, but you can never go wrong with black and denim paired together.

The ultimate key is always accessories.

This was the first time I wore this outfit, and I paired denim on denim with a simple black tee accompanied with my used Gucci belt and Adidas sneakers. I didn’t think this outfit could get better.

Then, Louisiana decided we would have summer so I found an old fitted tank I think I’ve had since high school. Essentially, this outfit is about the same as the first, but I wish you guys could see more of my Kut jeans I paired with this. A boyfriend fit with colored patches gave this look a just-noticeable difference (JND) – a difference that is noticed and detected at least half of the time (it’s a marketing term because I’m a nerd in case anyone was wondering).

Today, I paired my same tank with the same denim jacket. All I changed this time were my jeans, shoes, and I added a little bandana. In my opinion, the whole look is perceived differently with just that small amount of changes. Making an outfit specific to yourself using practically the same items of clothing is truly the best aspect of fashion.

Disclaimer: Nothing was bought specifically for any outfit (I do admit I have accumulated way too many clothes and accessories, but that’s a different subject). Yes, these were all low quality iPhone photos through a mirror, but who the heck cares. Outfits that take thought and create confidence are the best ones, I swear to it.

-R