I’m a Veteran Fashion Editor and These Are the Best Styling Tips I’ve Learned On the Job

Perhaps my favorite styling hack I’ve learned in recent memory is the concept of Sandwich Dressing. It’s incredibly easy to learn and has a fun name, a true win-win. All you have to do is break your outfit down by determine which two items are the sandwich bread and which one item is the sandwich filling. The breads should be alike in some way—they could both be red or both voluminous or both dainty—and the filling should offer contrast. It's a super simple way to achieve balance in any outfit, with the added benefit of making me smile every time I hear about it.

Sporting one singular color from head to toe is one my favorite lazy gal ways to look wonderfully put together with minimal effort. But when it comes to wearing darker hues, I sometimes find myself turning into an amorphous blob of navy blue. The key to pulling off monochrome outfits of any color is to choose pieces with notably different textures or finishes. A black cotton tee tucked into black denim is very one note, but a fuzzy knit worn over a silk slip skirt adds depth and interest without needing to add any other colors. Have some fun mixing shiny silk, washed denim, matte leather, textured linen and chunky knits.

You know those women who just seem to be preternaturally stylish? Who can seemingly pull a fabulously chic outfit out of thin air? I can almost guarantee they’re using the Third Piece Rule every time they get dressed. As Wellness Director Sarah Stiefvater taught me years ago, this incredibly simple styling hack suggests that every outfit should include a third element. If you love a T-shirt and jeans, be sure to add a blazer, contrasting belt or pair of statement earrings to the look. Zhuzh up your midi dress and denim jacket with the addition of a crossbody bag. Really any third item will do.

Senior Commerce Editor Stephanie Maida is a treasure trove of petite styling advice. The 33/66 Ratio came to her by way of Angela Foster, a petite style coach and personal shopper, who says, “[This trick] is brilliant on petites. [It means that] the pieces underneath [should] create the illusion that 33 percent of our height is from the top of our head to our waist, and the remaining 66 percent comes from our waist to the floor.” But this particular trick is one I think every body type can benefit from trying—it’s really just about maintaining proportions, and leaves the specifics of what types of clothing you prefer to wear entirely up to you.

One of the best secrets to looking fab at all times is knowing the right way to care for and store all the items in your wardrobe. Don’t hang your sweaters, avoid the dryer when you can, don’t overdo it on the laundry detergent, learn the proper way to care for leather, admit that sometimes hand washing really is worth the time and effort—these are the little dollops of knowledge that will ensure your wardrobe stays looking and feeling as dreamy as the day you brought each item home.

I adore any fashion hack that makes it so I have to replace my wardrobe basics less often, so discovering the 3 Percent Denim Rule was literally life changing. The rule dictates that you shouldn’t buy denim with more than three percent elastane, spandex or other stretchy fibers to ensure a better fit that will last longer, i.e. less bagging, sagging or stretching out. Now, before I add those trendy barrel-leg jeans to my shopping cart I make sure to double check the fabrication to see the breakdown of fibers.

I am notoriously bad at letting go of things, especially clothing. I just feel so guilty about getting rid of something I bought but never wore, a gift that wasn’t really my style but that’s perfectly lovely or even a raggedy sweater that’s well past its prime but that I have so much love for. Then I learned this one piece of advice from Marie Kondo: show gratitude to your items. Now when I get to an item I’m having a hard time parting with I take the time to acknowledge why I feel this way. I actively recognize that I can be glad for having learned something from an unused purchase or grateful to have people in my life who love me enough to give me such lovely gifts, rather than stressed or sad. As for those items that have outlived their usefulness? That’s exactly what clothing is supposed to do. You should be wearing your sweaters, jeans and T-shirts until they’re practically threadbare. In the words of Cynthia Erivo, hold space for those items, then be glad to have a little extra breathing room in your closet.

Another editor-tested petite styling tip I learned from Maida is the magic of a monochrome fit. Not sure how to make wide-leg pants work for your frame? Wondering the best way to pull-off a turtleneck? Don’t want to be overwhelmed by an oversize blazer? Then pick a singular color and sport it from head to toe! As Maida explains, “It looks chic for certain, but the real reason I love keeping my outfits to one color is because it turns my body into one sleek, continuous line; the less you break up your short frame, the longer you look.”

The idea of distinct wardrobe sections for different aspects of your life—work, weekend, date night—has been slowly but surely dissipating. And while I still don’t recommend wearing your denim cutoffs or cutout tank top to the office, you can (and should) find ways to style your workwear for off-duty hours. After all, if you’re going to spend your hard-earned money on the best wide-leg trousers, you should also get maximum use out of them. And no one provides better inspo for mixing business with pleasure than Katie Holmes.

In the same vein as the tip above, there’s no need to save your favorite gold, silver and bronze pieces for special occasions. Make the most of your shiniest wardrobe staples by pairing them with casual basics like a plain white tee, gray sweatshirt or blue-wash jeans.

Three really does seem to be the magic fashion number, doesn’t it? Yet another tip that demonstrates the power of trios, the Three-Color Rule came to me via stylist Ellie Richards, who specializes in fashion psychology, and whose TikTok post expertly breaks down everything you need to know. Basically, when building an outfit, you should stick to only three colors: pick one dominant color to set the overall tone of your look, a secondary color to complement the primary and then a third, accent color to add contrast and a visual “pop.”

Social media is chock-full of fashion and style hacks that claim to transform your favorite bikini bottoms in a chic crop top, allow you to wear a regular T-shirt bra as a backless one or using a hair tie to hem your pants. And while some of these tricks are wonderfully clever, others simply do not work for the vast majority of people. Sometimes the best solution to finding a bra to wear with a backless dress is just to invest in an actual backless bra.

Shopping secondhand can unearth some truly incredible, unique pieces to add to your wardrobe. But the truth is that it often takes a lot more effort than shopping the new arrivals at your favorite department store. Which is why I absolutely flipped when Assistant Editor Delia Curtis taught me this wild hack for buying pants without needing to try them on. “The trick says that typically the circumference of your neck doubled will likely be the circumference of your waist. With that in mind, the rule states that if you hold the waist of a pair of pants up to your neck and the ends meet together with little to no room between the edges of the waist, the pants should fit.” It may sound too bonkers to be true, but according to the experts (and my own personal field testing), it really does work.

A few years ago, I posted a poll in the PureWow editorial team Slack channel asking “how often do you replace you bras?” The overwhelming response was “when they literally fall apart/have visible holes.” It should go without saying, but you should retire your bra before the underwire starts stabbing you. In fact, our expert resources recommend replacing your everyday bras every six to eight months, which I’ll admit, is far more often than I’d like. But a good bra is the literal foundation of all your outfits and has a huge impact on the way clothing falls on your body. Gifting yourself with the proper building blocks is a guaranteed way to ease the stress of all other sartorial puzzles that may come your way.

Above all else, fashion should be fun. It should make you feel good. So if there’s something that doesn’t work for you, feel free to toss it out the window. That hot new TikTok aesthetic, a wave of retro sneaker trends, Pantone’s Color of the Year—if these “must have” items don’t feel true to who you are, then you don’t need to wear them. In truth there’s no such thing as a hard and fast fashion “rule.” Just because Beyoncé’s stylist says you should own a blazer or a seasoned fashion editor says petites should never wear tent dresses, doesn’t mean you’re wrong for not missing a blazer or for adoring billowy, shapeless frocks. Tips, tricks, hacks and even supposed rules can all be incredibly helpful, but they are not the end all be all of style. Bottom line: You do you, dear reader, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.