How to dress more feminine: A feminine style guide

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Dressing well is a form of good manners

Tom Ford

Here are some style tips that make an outfit instantly more feminine and polished. These are simply suggestions as femininity is a journey and a full presence with depths of vibration. Not just a physical appearance.

As you’ll see in the video, not all of the ensembles are what comes to mind when one thinks of a feminine style, because femininity comes in all shapes and forms.

These commandments are little touches to add to your wardrobe or details to find in clothes that make your garments stand out in the feminine persuasion and an all around put together look. Items in your closet don’t have to die hard with these rules, but have impressions of them in a flexible manner. After all, a lot of things to do with being feminine are down to the details — not grand moments that sweep people off their feet.

Add ruffles.

This is first, because it’s simply the easiest way to tell if an item is of the romantic fashion. When you see an image of a man from Louis XIV’s court, you think, “Why is this dude wearing heels, a wig, makeup, and some serious ruffles? Especially the ruffles.”

Ruffles are like the petals of a blooming flower and imitating these delicate characteristics in nature is something that is clinically proven to draw the eye. Incorporate a bit of this vulnerability into your style and you’ll look almost as feminine as this guy in the illustration above. But no matter how hard you try, he will still look more feminine than you haha. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Wear light colours & unexpected tones.

You can easily personalize anything by its colour. For example, your iphone, stationary, the walls in your room, and even you car. Why not do this with your wardrobe? Take the essential items such as a blazer for work or favourite winter coat. Most people will purchase these items in basic, bland tones as black, camel, or navy.

Think in terms of what makes you naturally happy. Most human beings don’t choose black unless someone tells them too. Even when asking a person who wears lots of black what their favourite colour is, it’s usually something else like green haha.

People just have a difficult time matching clothes and think if clothes have colour, the rest of the tones have to be in the same family. Shades of monochrome can fight each other and power clash as long a the tone suits your complexion. Personally, I love power clashing myself by wearing statement jewel tones and patterns. Be the unexpected.

Once you know the rules you can break them. The average person doesn’t know the rules. You are exceptional as it is, because you are on this blog and constantly improving yourself. Let’s just get that out of the way. You know yourself and are comfortable enough in your skin to experiment and do what Victoria Beckham does.

In an interview, Posh Spice said that when she would look back at her old photos where she was trying a particularly daring trend, she wasn’t embarrassed, because she was growing and seeing if she liked a style. There’s no harm in testing out the waters of what is outside an average person’s tastes.

To wear colour — specifically lighter tones — is more inviting, friendly, and approachable. It’s one of the key traits of feminine character. Why? It’s a less aggressive visualization as to someone clothed in dark garb.

Which stranger would you ask for directions on in the street? The one who looks harmless and kind? Or the other who is unpolished and wearing aggressive, dark clothing. Also, when people are not trying to get noticed they wear black. To wear lighter colours brings attention and shows you have nothing to hide.

Tailor the fit or if you’re petite, make it cropped!

Today wearing designer can be a status symbol or just sign that you can afford better materials / brand names and marketing. But before the Christian Dior Maison business model of creating lesser quality products with a logo, designers made clothes to make people look good. As in, they were to flatter a person’s figure and appearance altogether. Never let clothes wear you.

I don’t care how expensive a dress was, what the brand name is, or the trend that’s hot right now. If an item of clothing doesn’t fit you perfectly — do not purchase it. You will regret it in the long run and those feelings are just not worth it. It becomes really expensive in the end. Your feelings about the garment, the money you spent, and space it takes up.

Forego that completely by only wearing clothes you absolutely love. Only wear clothes that make you look and feel beautiful, not like you can’t fit into a temporary trend.

As a person standing at 5’2.5″, option for the petite edition is always a plus for me. Clothes look like they were made for me when I choose what seems to be a pretty much bespoke style. If you’re petite, always opt for cropped, because it most likely will look like you had a really expensive custom fitting done just for you.

Another way to make a look tailored to you is by wearing a belt. Around jackets, coats, trousers, and even dresses that need a little help making you look cinched in. Make sure the style is in your size first. In other words, avoid doing this with an oversized item. That will require unnecessary adjusting throughout the day. I want you to be feminine yet comfortable.

When putting the belt on, make sure everything is tucked in the right place, if you’re wearing a dress or top, pull everything to your back neatly and conjoin the excess material evenly closest to your spin. Then fasten the belt. It’s what is used in formal dressing including the military, and that’s the rule to wearing a belt.

If the end of the belt is sticking out of the loop after it’s still fastened, what you can do it get a clear plastic hair tie, insert it to the side where the belt loop is before putting the belt on, and adjust it to where the end to the belt will go. That way it won’t stick out and you have the extra help of the plastic hair tie holding it down discreetly.

I personally try to avoid oversized clothing as a petite figure, because it just drowns me. You don’t want clothes wearing you. Sometimes I will venture into the children’s section if it calls for it. Fit is everything. I stopped doing that years ago though, because the bodice would fit like a glove, but the arms were almost always too short haha.

Oversized is more of a masculine feel to your outfit as if you were borrowing your husband’s clothing. Try to stick to clothes that show off your gorgeous shape. You want to imitate a landscape and be your best with good posture when dressing up. Why hide your shape? You have such a beautiful figure!

Avoid distressing and have a finished hem.

I never understood what the allure was of ripped jeans or unfinished hems. It must be the alternative look to rebel against the polished culture, but nothing is wrong with either. It just a bit unkempt and untidy looking. Femininity is about the little things.

Looking elegant doesn’t have to be a whole slew of rules. If there is anything you take from this article, it’s this and to make sure your clothes fit you properly. Everything else can be forgotten, but needless to state, you will always look respectable when your clothes don’t have holes or rips in them.

Cutoffs are perfectly okay at the beach just as flip flops are. It’s okay to be casual just at the appropriate time and place.

Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.”

Tom Ford

A strict rule I have is to avoid denim in general. Jeans to me are meant for working outside or getting dirty. The only times I wear jeans are when I’m working in the garden, or on a flight. I think dress pants are too nice for a flight where other people have sat for hours. Trousers I wear on a flight are basically meant to be burnt instantly after landing haha.

But why where jeans? They are so stiff, uncomfortable, and are only meant to be trendy really. Especially when you can wear a dress and your lower body can breathe.

Remove hard lines and structured items from your closet.

The only exceptions to this I can think of are the ones in your stilettoes, and your blazers and coats. Blazers are perfect for work or evening — depending on the cut. And coats are obviously for health reasons and looking chic in the cooler temperatures.

I don’t even necessarily like hard lines in hair all the time. It’s just not naturally. I say that as someone with really straight hair, but notice it doesn’t always stay completely straight. It’s nature to flow and relax. Applying this to your wardrobe will elevate it in such a way you don’t realize.

A lot of natural fibers and high quality material for clothes falls naturally onto your body differently. Polyester is fabulous as it imitates so many other sorts of fabric, yet it can be stiff and depending on which grade of poly blend it is, it can also look sad and cheap. When opting for a textile that will last a long time, and actually drape beautifully on you — choose natural over synthetic. When you want something sturdier, go for synthetic.

A beautiful blazer is taken from the man’s closet, and is a beautiful garment. I have a lot of blazers and there is a time and place for it. But it’s to really sharpen a look. If you wear one daily for work, you can don a style that is a brighter colour to feminize it. I’ll have a whole new video and article just for styling blazers to be more feminine.

Literally take the edge off. When appearing more feminine in clothing, find something soft and romantic. Flowing like air and water. When you move, the clothes move with you. When you dance, it looks like your sway is even more substantial. It gives you an effortless glide when you wear something malleable.

Think this is weak? Water flows and cannot be broken. That was one of my favourite analogies another fellow feminine style blogger said that always stuck with me. What is used to cut stone? Water. High pressure water. Water nonetheless. It makes some of the most accurate and powerful incisions into huge blocks, yet can also be flexible and used in other ways.

At the end of the day, you want your clothes to fit you properly no matter the style. I hope you find these tips helpful and try the out to let me know your thoughts in the comments below! I always love hearing your feedback when you put these steps into action. You can have all the information in the world, but what you do with it is what helps you grow.

Find the clothes you already have and love and examine what details you love about them. You might even find some new ideas you’ve had in your closet all along for what makes them feminine and stand out beautifully. Add them in the comments below and share with all of us as I could definitely use more feminine style tricks in my life.

Thank you so much for taking time to read the end of this post. I hope you find some inspiration in this and feel free to share with your friends as a free way to help my blog grow. Your support is endlessly appreciated. 

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Thank you so much for taking time to read the end of this post. I hope you find some inspiration in this and feel free to share with your friends as a free way to help my blog grow. Your support is endlessly appreciated. 

P.S. Subscribe for The Glow Up weekly newsletter and never miss a single post!