These 9 Pieces You Throw On As An Afterthought Will Make Your Boring Outfits Look 5x More Expensive
Cha-cha-chic!
by The Candidly Team
Despite our Pinterest-board intentions, most days we find ourselves in some version of a t-shirt and jeans. Ok, maaaaybe black pants. But always neutral colors. You get the idea.
We basic.
But mostly we’re just busy. And lazy. And we don’t want to have to think about how to look good. We just want it to magically happen for us.
We realized there are 9 things in our closet that pretty much make this magic happen for us daily. If we throw any of them on over whatever lukewarm outfit we’re wearing, we suddenly look 5x chicer. 5x more luxe. And like we spent 5x more effort (*cough* money) on our clothes.
ln addition to being gorgeous, each of these pieces are flattering and comfortable (our criteria as over-40 women who are done squeezing and stuffing ourselves into stiff, scratchy clothes to look good).
Ok, enough build up. Here they are:
1. The Suede Jacket
Quince 100% Suede Biker Jacket
Right, so finding a genuine suede jacket with that classic, waist-nipping cut for $150 was already a win. But the real victory lap we’re taking with this one is that every time we grab it off the hook on our way out the door, we look like we spent actual time putting together our entire outfit. It gives us a great silhouette whether it’s over dresses or jeans or literal leggings. The suede is soft and luxurious and the charcoal matches most things we wear, though we have cashew in our carts for when we want to make all our tan and cream sweaters look a touch edgier and more youthful.
Price: $150
2. The Best-Ever Black Belt
Favorite Daughter The Jordan Belt
We noticed when watching THIS show that so many already excellent outfits worn by Kristen Bell were made strikingly better by the addition of THIS belt. So naturally, we bought it ourselves, and BY GOD, we can’t believe the difference it’s made. Our tees and jeans look styled, our all-black ensembles look couture. Needless to say, it is the most worthy purchase we’ve made this year
Price: $98
3. The Comfy Boot
Vivaia Almond-Toe Running Heel Boots (Amanda)
Guys, even if you hate the print (we know some of you do) these boots are, without question, the single most comfortable boots we have ever worn. We’re talking tennis shoe levels of comfort and cushioning and support. We could walk all day in them without thinking about it, and yet, everything we wear looks more sophisticated because, to the outside world, we’re wearing a sleek, clean lined, HEELED boot. And yes, they come in black and every solid color you could want. Though leopard is a fun hack for looking elevated instead of just dressed.
Price: $159
4. The Surreally Soft Sweater
Aritzia Wilfred Sonder Sweater
The moment our Editor-in-Chief ran her fingers across this material when meandering through Aritzia, she knew she had to write about this sweater (which she did HERE, complete with many try-on photos). The soft, sponginess of the cashmere/ merino wool combo is on another level, and yet the cut isn’t that of some dumb, frumpy pullover. It flatters arms and tucks beautifully into long trousers.
A good trick for looking extra put-together and New England-y is to wear it over a white tee where a wee bit of the neckline peeks out. You’ll feel like you’ve channeled the fashion sense of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.
Price: $149
5. The Buttery Leather Sling
One of the things that makes this bag so “quiet luxury” is its softness. The buttery, sustainable leather sort of molds to your body, so it becomes part of your outfit. It also comes in the most gorgeous, textured cognac color, which matches/ elevates every non-black thing you wear.
Price: $118 - $168
6. The Minimalist Diamond Earrings
Mejuri Pavé Diamond Huggie Hoops
We bought these earrings for ourselves, because despite being solid gold and real diamonds, Mejuri is making jewelry in prices we can fathom spending on ourselves. Since then, we pretty much stopped wearing any other earrings. They have that understated sparkle that feels like us … a little bit modern with a strong bend toward classic … but they also leave us feeling about 8x more elegant than we typically feel in our lounge sets and chaotic top knots.
Price: $278
7. The Cashmere Scarf That Goes On For days
Quince Mongolian Cashmere Wrap
We get that telling you to get a cashmere scarf doesn’t exactly seem like a stroke of creative genius. But telling you to get THIS cashmere scarf, which goes on for days and doubles as a wrap we droop over party dresses and costs under $100 feels pretty on-point to us. The quality (and size) are unbelievable for the price. It comes in every color you could ache for and also makes for an excellent gift for those un-pleasable people in your life.
Price: $100
8. The “Nice” Black Jeans
Paige Anessa 31" Wide Leg Jean
This is the only brand we will splurge on for jeans. And it’s pretty much because of this particular style. We’ve long raved about the ankle length which we wrote an entire article about they’re so miraculous on curves, but the long version, in this sort of washed out black is just so incredibly chic and serious and cool (if we can use an uncool word here). They’re perfect for going out with any of THESE going-out tops or for achieving effortlessly glam street style when paired with THIS sweater and THIS coat during the day. Just the perfect pair of dark jeans. Trust us, your search will end here.
And you can use our code CANDIDLY15 to get 15% off.
Price: $249
9. The Most Gorgeous Heels You’ll Ever Wear That Are also Orthopedically Comfortable
We will not do foot pain. Not at all. So when we tell you these are the most comfortable heeled sandals we’ve tried in the last 15 years of being extraordinarily picky about heels, we feel like our word carries some weight. We wear these with all our fancy outfits (we actually find it hard to reach for anything else) but we also feel free to strap them on with long jeans and drapey pants, and we happily stomp around in them all day long because this is the kind of comfort we’re dealing with here.
It’s shocking to us to be able to get the height and lift and beautiful look of a heel again without feeling we have to suffer. A dream really. If you’re anticipating lots of holiday parties or events in the coming months, this may be time to make your move and try Margaux.
Price: $375
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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