There’s been a trend among the outfit/fashion/styling side of social media recently calling out the difference between “styling” versus just “wearing” your clothes. And while I get it, I love putting together an outfit, I think sometimes (read: a lot of the time) it’s okay to just “wear” your clothes.

A few responses to this ootd post that I made on Tiktok made me realize that this viewpoint resonated with others. This got me thinking more about why I feel this way.

personally…

I have put so much consideration into everything I’ve bought for my wardrobe over the last few years. I’ve made so many considered purchases based on what works for my lifestyle and overall wardrobe goals that make even a basic outfit feel “styled.” There’s a choice behind and reason for every item purchased and worn. They’re all meant to fit my lifestyle and so most of them work together in some way.

You can find out more about why and how I choose items for my wardrobe in this post here.

As who I am, someone who loves putting together outfits and who was known as a teenager for wearing “weird” outfits and playing with style, it can seem funny that I spend a lot of my time now in sweats, bike shorts, and t-shirts. But as I’ve honed my personal style along with fitting it to my lifestyle over the years of motherhood, over stay-at-home-momness, and work-from-home, I put just as much care into choosing bike shorts and t-shirts as I do “dressier” clothes and things like shoes and accessories.

On the surface, it may look like I’ve lost a part of myself, but I don’t feel that way at all.

sometimes just a ponytail can be a “style.”

I’ve seen a couple of people point out that in these “wearing vs styling your clothes” videos, styling means adding lots of jewelry or accessories. But “styling” doesn’t have to mean adding more or a lot. And to counter, wearing lots of jewelry or accessories doesn’t necessarily make an outfit styled. Sometimes you’re just wearing your jewelry, too.

“Simple” can be “styled.”

but you can also just “wear” your clothes.

But also, it’s fine to just wear your clothes and not worry about styling anything at all. Clothes are clothes, and as long as they provide you comfort and serve the purpose you need them to – coverage, protection, comfort, etc – in your day-to-day, they’re fine. It can be fun to put together an outfit, and pair and match your hair and accessories, but the pressure to do that is wrong.

in conclusion…

I know that most of the “wearing vs styling” videos are all in fun and just an excuse to get creative, but I also feel like this discourse is important, too. There are a lot of factors that go into choosing what you wear each day, whether convenience, availability, necessity, and/or creativity. What are your thoughts?