HOT TAKE:
I don’t like when you match your bag to your shoes.
Okay, before anyone comes for me: you absolutely can.
If you love your chocolate brown boots with your chocolate brown bag, wear them.
But when I’m styling your outfit, they’re rarely (if ever) going to match.
Why? Because it’s automatically a missed opportunity for interest.
Your shoes and your bag are two of the easiest places to add personality to an outfit without making the outfit feel like too much.
So instead of asking:
“What bag matches these shoes?”
I want you to ask:
“What would make this outfit more interesting?”
Your bag and shoes don’t need to fight with each other. They just need to talk to each other instead of perfectly matching.
SAME COLOR? MIX THE TEXTURE.
This is the easiest place to start if you’re used to matching.
You can absolutely do brown with brown. But instead of:
Chocolate leather boot + chocolate leather bag
Try:
Chocolate suede boot + chocolate leather bag.
Or a smooth leather bag with a woven shoe. A suede bag with a patent loafer.
You’re still working within the same color family, but now there’s dimension.
Same general idea. More interest.
MIX YOUR NEUTRALS.
Your brown bag does not require a brown shoe.
Black, chocolate, cognac, olive, cream, navy, burgundy, and leopard can all function as neutrals depending on the outfit.
Try:
Chocolate bag + burgundy shoe
Black bag + cognac loafer
Cream bag + chocolate suede boot
Brown bag + leopard flat
You do not need to hunt down the exact shade of brown already in your bag.
In fact, please don’t!
LET ONE OF THEM BE THE FUN PART.
This is where accessories can completely change an otherwise simple outfit.
Give me:
Leopard bag + red shoe.
Add jeans, a simple tee or knit, and great jewelry?
Done.
You don’t need a complicated outfit when your accessories are doing some of the styling for you.
You could also do:
Burgundy bag + leopard shoe
Chocolate bag + metallic shoe
Printed bag + colored shoe
Statement bag + simple loafer
Sometimes one piece does the talking. Sometimes both have personality and the rest of the outfit stays quiet.
ZOOM OUT.
This is probably the most important part.
Stop looking at your bag and your shoes in isolation.
I’m not styling a client and asking:
Does this shoe match this bag? (Have literally never asked that)
I’m looking at:
the jeans + the top + the jacket + the shoes + the bag + the jewelry + the woman wearing all of it
Two accessories might look completely unrelated sitting next to each other on a table.
Put them into the context of the entire outfit and suddenly they make perfect sense.
Style the outfit. Not the individual pieces.
THE REAL TAKEAWAY
You don’t need another list of fashion rules.
And I’m definitely not saying you’re never allowed to match your shoes to your bag.
I just don’t want you to miss the opportunity.
Accessories are one of the easiest places to make an outfit feel more interesting and more personal.
Change the texture.
Mix the neutrals.
Add the leopard.
Wear the red shoe.
Try the combination you wouldn’t normally reach for.
I’d rather your accessories talk to each other and add multiple levels of interest than match each other.
AND THIS IS HOW I APPROACH YOUR WHOLE WARDROBE.
Hi, I’m Stacey, personal stylist and owner of Curated Wears.
I’m not interested in finding you a bunch of individually cute pieces.
I’m thinking about how the whole wardrobe works together.
When I’m shopping for a pair of pants for a client, I’m also thinking about:
the shoes she owns, the tops she’ll actually wear with them, what can layer over them, where she’s going in them, what feels good on her body, what is already hanging in her closet, and whether those pants actually solve a gap.
Because a closet full of great individual pieces isn’t necessarily a wardrobe that works.
And for most of my clients, the bigger issue is NOT that they’re incapable of figuring this out.
They simply don’t have the time or mental space to research brands, place the orders, try everything on, make the returns, figure out what’s missing, and then determine how all of it works together.
That’s the part I take off their plate.
My Signature 1:1 Styling Process is available virtually and locally in Knoxville, with an even more hands-on experience for local clients.
