Jammie Baker is back for a follow up episode and she’s going to be telling us how to actually put an outfit together. Jammie is a former celebrity stylist and I can’t get enough of her wisdom and expertise. You guys are going to love this conversation, so let’s dive in! 

In This Episode  Allie and Jammie discuss:

• Recap of their previous episode 

• Dressing for “one-off” events 

• The correct way to put on a bra 

• Doing a closet edit 

• A closet cosigner

• Pajamas

• Putting an outfit together 

• Jammie’s brand recommendations

Mentioned in this Episode:

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Courses (Use the code PURPOSESHOW for 10% off!)

The Purpose Show Facebook Community

EP 194: How to Dress Your Body with Mom Stylist Jammie Baker

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Mom life. We’re surrounded by the message that it’s the tired life. The no-time-for-myself life. The hard life. We’re supposed to get through it. Survive. Cling on by the last little thread. And at the same time, Carpe Diem—enjoy every moment because it’s going to go by so fast. The typical mom culture that sends us all kinds of mixed, typically negative messages. We shouldn’t take care of ourselves; it’s selfish. The more ragged you run yourself, the bigger your badge of honor. But also, ditch your mom bod and work out. Don’t yell. Make more money. Show up. Be better, but not at the expense of time with your kids. I am putting a hard stop to all of this. While being a mom, running a business, and whatever else you might have going on is hard, it is a lot and there’s lots of giving of yourself, the idea that motherhood means living a joyless, nonstop-hustle-with-zero-balance kind of life, where you give and give and give and never take, needs to stop. 

I’m on a mission to help you stop counting down the minutes till bedtime (at least most days). Stop the mom guilt and shame game. Stop cleaning up after your kids’ childhood and start being present for it. I want to help you thrive in work, home and life. I believe in John 10:10 that we are called to living an abundant life and I know moms are not excluded from that promise. Join me in conversations about simplicity, some business and life hacks, spirituality and lots of other good stuff that leads to a life of less for the sake of enjoying more in your motherhood. I’m Allie Casazza and this is The Purpose Show.

Hey my friends! Welcome to another episode of The Purpose Show podcast. I’m so glad you’re here with me today because I have another episode with my good friend, Jammie Baker.

Jammie and I have been growing super close lately. She’s an amazing human and she does really, really cool work when it comes to styling your body, specifically styling your mom body and navigating the changes that becoming a mom brings to your body and how difficult that can be. She really does amazing work. 

She is a former celebrity stylist. She became a mom herself and decided to start an online business out of her knowledge and her work. I just love her. 

There was so much good stuff in our original conversation, which recently aired on the show, that I had her come back and do a second one. And we actually have plans to do a third one. 

I can’t get enough of her, her wisdom, her expertise, and the way that she speaks about self-love, loving your body, and how dressing your body is an expression of that self-love. I love so much of what she has to say. 

So, Jammie is back for a followup episode that I hope you super enjoy. This one is much more about actually putting your outfits together and the technicalities of that. I think this is just as practical and literal as the last one, but more about actually putting outfits together. 

It’s super fun, so please enjoy! 

ALLIE: Hello again, friend! 

JAMMIE: Hi! It’s so good to be back.

ALLIE: I know. It’s so good to have you back. You look beautiful and adorable as always.

JAMMIE: Thank you. So do you. 

ALLIE: Jammie and I are always talking about style, wardrobe, getting dressed, and putting yourself together when we’re together. We’re on opposite time zones so it’s much later for her than me. 

We usually end up doing things at eight in the morning and it is 8:00 AM right now and I’m in my pajamas and she’s so cute with her lipstick. It’s ironic, but it’s also real. And I appreciate it. 

JAMMIE: It’s so real. Your pajamas and your nails match and you look so cute.   

ALLIE: They do! Yeah, I’m on it. 

OK, I just want to dive right into this because I want to give you plenty of time to take this wherever you want to take it. 

But before we get into the new content I would love for you to go backward and touch on the three types that you talked about in our first episode that are so important for the foundation of all of this and just walk us through that.

JAMMIE: Okay, we can do that. 

There are three things you really want to make sure that you know about yourself so that you’re not just copying someone else’s style. The first is to make sure you know your style type. 

There are five basic style types. I go over this in the first episode we did together, but they are classic, boho, feminine, sporty, and edgy. 

The second thing to know is your true body type. And the only way to do that is to actually measure yourself with one of those flexible measuring tapes and know your true measurements. We go over that in the other episode as well. 

Once you know those two things you need to know your lifestyle that you’re dressing for. For example, mine would be work, stay-at-home mom life, and then date night/girls night/going out. 

My wardrobe needs to reflect those activities and that kind of lifestyle. I think this is the one step that gets skipped over a lot. You need to really focus on that so that you’re not wearing corporate clothes to work from home or play at the playground with your toddler.

ALLIE: When we’re talking about decluttering our wardrobes, what we’re wearing comes up so much, so I’m so glad that we’re doing this together. What would you say to people who are worried about those events that aren’t super often, like weddings and events that you’re dressing outside of your norm, especially if you’re a mom and your body’s fluctuating. Do you have any helpful tips for things like that?

JAMMIE: So that definitely doesn’t have to go with the rules of dressing for your everyday life. I think that we need to remember that fashion is fun. Those one-off events like a holiday party, concert, an anniversary, or something really fun like your 30th birthday need to be celebrated. And clothes are such a way to celebrate. 

If you have something that you love but you don’t know if you’re ever going to wear it again but it just brings you so much joy because you celebrated turning 30 in it and you drank champagne and you have these gorgeous pictures of it and so you want to keep it, keep it. 

Put it in your closet. But it doesn’t need to be with your t-shirts. It can be stored away in a different closet. It doesn’t need to be right there in front of you every single day. 

When you do have those kind of events and you want to buy something new, let yourself buy something new, as long as you budget and plan for it. Maybe your weight will fluctuate 10 pounds in six months. That’s fine because you really want to be able to celebrate life and not put those rigid rules around a dress. 

It’s still just a dress or just some fancy shoes. They’re meant to be fun. I want to encourage everyone that life is short so have fun and play dress up.

ALLIE: If there’s an event that’s coming, there’s a celebration, there’s a wedding, or it’s my birthday and I’m going to get a new outfit for this event, that outfit is supposed to support me where I’m at on that date. 

We were talking in Up & Up Academy about money and how women are conditioned to squeeze every last dime out of every purchase they make. It’s like if I buy a dress I’ve got to get my use out of it. 

But where is your body right now? Get a dress that makes you feel good for where your body is right now. Get a dress that makes you feel good for this event that’s coming. 

And if you gain or lose weight or your body fluctuates afterwards, it’s OK. The dress served its purpose. 

You’re allowed to spend money on a one-day thing, and not think, “Oh my God, I’ve got to get my money’s worth.” It’s such a low vibe to buy a dress in.

JAMMIE: It is. And aren’t you worth it? Isn’t that day worth celebrating? Isn’t that your money’s worth?

I see this a lot in clients who are having family pictures done. Maybe a mom of three is gung-ho about buying all her kids the most beautiful, trendy dresses and cutest little boy outfits. But then for herself she’s like, “I have this dress that I’ve had for 10 years, but it should be fine, right?” 

No.

Maybe you have to put on Spanx because you’ve had three kids, but let me help you put on a minimizing bra and put on some amazing shoes and look as beautiful as you want to look in that photo. Don’t settle just because it’s a one-time photo. That’s a memory you’re going to have forever. 

And I would say, take a photo in those outfits, those one-off outfits. Take a picture so you can remember how good you felt.

ALLIE: Yeah. That’s so good.

This is a total gear shift, but I’m going to forget if I don’t ask you now. You just said something about bras. Can we talk about the sag? The sag in the bra? 

Let’s talk for a second about how when you have a bra on and you’ve got the cups and they’re the right size but within the cup your boob is at the bottom. It’s like sand sinking to the ocean floor. Like tube socks with tennis balls in them.

I put so much energy into my bra. I want to feel good. Even when I get the one that has the little bit of a lift, not like a pushup, but a little lift (the Spanx bras are so good), there’s still that drop. Is there some kind of bra secret that I don’t know for not having a drop?

JAMMIE: I learned this, but not until after I had Max. I went to get fitted for a bra and I was amazed. I was so embarrassed and amazed at the same time.

There’s a trick to putting a bra on. You have to bend over so that the tube socks are hanging down and this way you get all of your tissue into the cup. 

Then you put the bra on and then you stand up all the way and you literally take your hand and you pull your breasts up. You take your fingers and you lift up the tissue right under the top of the bra.

I was amazed when I learned the difference between just putting on a bra and actually doing the work to put on a bra the correct way. If you don’t have perfect breasts anymore it’s game-changing. Your tissue will fill up that cup instead of just being down inside, and then smooth out the skin. 

ALLIE: Yeah because it gets loosey goosey. 

JAMMIE: Yes. Okay. So at least I’m not alone. When I did this, I was like, “Oh my God, am I the only person that has to do this?” 

ALLIE: Everyone just take a second. I’ve had four babies. One of them I pumped for nine months and that pump sucked my boobs so rough and hard. I hated it. 

And then two I breastfed, and one of them breastfed for 21 months. So you can just imagine. 

I love my boobs. My boobs  are great. I have great boobs, guys. I’m proud of them. They’re amazing. 

However, it is what it is and there is like a crepiness. I don’t like this word. It’s like moist. Let’s change it. I don’t like crepe. 

What’s the word? It’s boob skin. It’s post feeding boob skin. That’s what we’re going to call it. 

Okay. So, you took your fingers and you were moving the tissue up with your fingers.

JAMMIE: Yes. And you smooth it out. 

Saggy boobs in a bra is a thing. Also four boobs in a bra is a thing. If your boobs are spilling out that bra is too small for you. 

You know how if you wear regular underwear that aren’t a thong and they don’t fit you right you have four butts. You have four boobs if you don’t have the proper fitting bra. So, you have to get the proper fit and then put them in properly.

ALLIE: Okay. Do your boobs stay put, though, when you do this massage thing?

JAMMIE: Yeah, they do. It really works. I’ve had clients do it. It actually does work and I don’t mess with it again. 

Now, you have to have a good bra. Not a Victoria’s Secret bra that’s made for a 22-year-old who’s never had any kids. But if you have a bra that’s good for your size, it should work.

ALLIE: What’s your favorite bra? 

JAMMIE:  Wacoal from Nordstrom. 

ALLIE: Okay, we’ll put that in the show notes.

I’m thinking about all the times that I’ve used boob tape, the double-sided body tape in the cup to keep them at bay. My mind is blown. Will I not have to do that again? I’m going to try this massage thing to move tissue.

JAMMIE: It’s really quick and once you get in the habit, you just do it every day because you notice the difference when you don’t do it.

ALLIE: Okay. I’m going to try this today. TBD, everybody. I am literally going to record an outro that’s an update. “Update on boob gate.” 

Okay. Away from boobs and back to style. 

We’ve got your style type, your body type, your lifestyle type. I’m sure everyone who missed episode one with us is going back and relistening. So now you know who you are. You’ve got your measurements and you know what you’re dealing with. 

How do we make sure that the closet we have is actually reflecting our bodies, our style, our lifestyle? It’s such a huge project if you’ve spent your whole adult life shopping aimlessly at Target, grabbing whatever you saw an influencer wear. 

How do you rebuild? It’s so expensive. Talk to us about all the things.

JAMMIE: It’s a whole situation. And it’s not a magic pill, right? There’s no magic pill that’s going to fix all of this for you. You have to change your mindset and you have to do the work. 

But then the rest is just going to become this habit that you just do every day. So when you open your closet, you just need to make sure that it reflects who you are today. Not who you were before you had kids or who you were last year, but who you are now and also supports where you’re going. 

If your kids are not toddlers anymore and you’re not playing on the floor with them or going to the playground, your closet might still reflect that season because you didn’t take the time to take a look in there and say, “Okay, I need to change things a little bit.” 

We wear clothes every single day, but we forget to make them match what we’re doing. So often as moms we just sacrifice that.  We say, “Well, it’s fine. I mean, I’ll just grab a shirt at Target. It’s fine.” 

That needs to stop because it’s just a domino effect. Open your closet and do a closet edit. I have a freebie outline for that. It’s five simple steps and I make it fun. 

Turn on your favorite playlist. Pour a glass of your favorite drink, whether it’s wine, tea, coffee, or whatever. Have fun with the process. 

Get a cosigner. Try things on and notice if they fit your body. Do they fit your lifestyle? Do they fit all of these things? 

There are a few key things to take note of: What silhouettes do you like? What fabrics do you like? What makes you feel good? What do you love? What do you hate? 

Do you have this shirt because you have six v-necks from Target and it’s just what you have and you make them work? Or do you have six v-necks because you love the way a v-neck looks on you and you feel confident in it? Or do you need to switch to a crew neck? 

What do you love? What do you hate? Why do you keep it? Why do you hold onto it? 

Do a ruthless edit on your closet. And you are going to curse my name and say, “Jammie left me with nothing to wear.” 

But the next step is to fill in the holes. Once you’ve noticed what you love and don’t love and you’ve got the foundations of your style, you can start to build. 

If you realize that you love dark, skinny, stretchy jeans and you hate jeans without stretch, get rid of all the jeans without stretch that you used to wear and build a new wardrobe. Buy as your budget allows and then each time you go shopping, you’re not wasting money. You’re investing in yourself. 

The budget just works out differently because yes, it’s overwhelming to just go to the store and buy a whole new wardrobe. But how many times do you go buy a new shirt that you don’t actually wear or a new dress or shoes? 

When you’re doing this with intention, you’re not wasting money. The guilt is a total mindset thing you need to work on, but the guilt should not be attached anymore because you’re not doing anything to feel guilty about. We have to wear clothes every day. So you’re investing in showing up every day.

ALLIE: I love that. 

Can you explain what you meant by “get a cosigner” when you’re doing this? 

JAMMIE: Yes. Okay. So I need a cosigner to make big decisions. I’m the worst decision maker. 

Do I have a cheeseburger or do I want a club sandwich? I don’t know. I need someone to tell me, “You love a cheeseburger, let’s go do that and eat that.” Or, “You love a salad. You feel awful when you eat a cheeseburger.” 

I’m the co-signer for my clients’ closets, but I need my own cosigner. If I’m doing my closet my cosigner is not my husband. It’s probably someone like my sister or best friend. 

Someone who is going to be totally honest with me and say, “That dress looks awful on you.” Or, “Do you really need six pairs of jeans in the same color?” Or, “When was the last time you wore that dress? You need a new one.” 

Someone that’s going to tell you it doesn’t look good on you and you don’t need it, but also tell you, “Oh my gosh, yes, you need a black sweater. That’s going to be perfect.” 

So both ends of the spectrum. Not just, “Get rid of it,” but also, “Oh, if you had a black blazer, it would totally finish out your wardrobe.”

ALLIE: Yeah. And just be honest with you. 

I don’t know if anyone else listening is going to feel this, but I’m also fitting in the puzzle piece of my life that I think I’m the cosigner in all my friendships. I’m the blunt one that will be really honest. 

And what a cool test for friendships. Can this person be honest with me? Is this one of my wardrobe check friends? If not, hmm, I don’t know if we’re going to work out together.

JAMMIE: Have fun. Have a dance party while you’re doing it. Listen to music that you love. It’s not this rigid, serious thing. Remember fashion is fun. It’s not that serious.

ALLIE: Yeah, totally, totally. 

And it’s not fun when you’re dressing against your body type and you feel like crap all the time and the most expensive thing in your closet is $9. It’s not fun. It’s so limiting. 

I want these women to feel so empowered and so woken up, no matter what their budget is. No matter what their body type is, no matter if they just had a baby, I want them to feel so ready to support themselves and support their bodies where they’re at right now. 

I want them to change the way their closet feels, so they can walk in there and be excited to put outfits together.

JAMMIE: Yes. And it can be exciting. When you do that closet edit your goal should be to turn it into your own boutique that you can shop from where everything goes together and everything fits you. 

Think of how much happier you are when your outfit is good. You feel like, “I want to see everyone today. I want to do my best. Someone take my picture.” Versus, “I cannot run into Susan at the grocery store today. She will judge me.” 

There’s a difference in the way you do life in that abundance mindset versus hating life because your pants are too tight.

ALLIE: I think every outfit needs to pass the “I hope I run into somebody today” test.

JAMMIE: Oh, I like that. 

ALLIE: Even my sweatpants do. Even my pajamas do. Everything is here to support me and whatever I’m needing it for. I wouldn’t mind running into somebody in anything that I have.

JAMMIE: We should do that with everything we wear. Yeah, you’re wearing pajamas at night, but you’re around your family. You don’t want to feel awful around your family at night. You should still feel cute. 

I think a big hangup for people, which you probably run into this a lot with what you do, over and over again, is they have a hard time getting rid of things. “Well, I spent $80 on these jeans six years ago.” A way to flip the script on that is to think, “Okay, well, I’m grateful that they served me, but now they can serve someone else. Maybe there’s a place I can donate these to where somebody doesn’t have $80 and they will fit her perfectly and she can wear them. And I have $80 to buy new ones that fit me perfectly today.” And we both win. 

ALLIE: Even if you did it a month ago or 40 days ago, so you can’t return them, but it was really recent. If you’re in a position where you could spend $80 on jeans that you didn’t even like or know worked for you, I feel like it’s okay to let it go. It taught you a lesson and it’s not going to do what it needs to do for you. You’re worth more than holding onto a pair of jeans because you spent money on them a little while ago and they’re not serving you. 

I think we need to level up for ourselves and get rid of things that are literally making us look and feel worse. We should be wanting to get dressed and feeling even better. When I get dressed really well it makes me want to eat healthy that day. It makes me want to drink more water. It makes me want to do things that are good for my body versus when I’m just thrown together and not aligned with how I want to feel. Then that leaks into my decisions as well, with what I eat, how much water I drink, and how I’m carrying myself that day.

ALLIE: I was also thinking when we were talking about pajamas. We’re all women here, so can we just take a second and talk about the pajamas that you wear. You’re still around the person that you’re having sex with. 

JAMMIE: Okay. Amen.

ALLIE: I have several pairs of matching sets of pajamas. Those are typically not sexy, but I have really cute ones. I love Anthropologie’s matching sets of pajamas. They’re really unique. 

They’re flannel and dorky or whatever, but they’re so beautiful. I feel so cute and put together when I wear them and that shows up in the way I act. Brian always says, “You look so cute and snuggly. I love this.” 

He always comments on it. It makes me feel cute. I feel good. I have cute little boy shorts and things that I can wear that are not that too.

I just feel like we need to remember that you’re sleeping with this person and you’re hanging around him at night. Get a little zzhuzhh in there and don’t feel like crap at that time of day. 

JAMMIE: You’re putting that energy off and your husband is obviously receiving that energy. “Oh, you look so cute and cozy. Let’s cuddle.” 

One time I was wearing my husband’s sweats. I think this was like pretty end of pregnancy or something, so I get a little pass. I had on his big, college sweats and t-shirt and he looks at me and he goes, “I just love taking my clothes off of you.” 

And he was being totally sarcastic. And that just stuck with me, like, “Okay, yeah, this doesn’t need to happen again because this is not putting off the vibe we want in our bedroom.” 

And you’re right, so many people forget that.

It’s the same thing with date night. Isn’t the point of date night to take off your clothes after the date? Not to take off six outfits before the date and be frustrated. 

We want to take off the clothes after the date. That’s the whole point. But if we feel gross the whole time, all we’re going to want to do is take off our clothes and put on more gross clothes that are too big.

ALLIE: This is also why I’m always saying that not only do you need to feel amazing, but you need to be comfortable. It’s such a bad vibe when you’re on date night and then you get in the car and you’re like, “My God, I just need this bra off. I just need these shoes off” and you’ve got on a million layers of Spanx and you’re just miserable. 

Be comfortable. Wear stretchy jeans that support you. Wear a bra that feels good and looks good. You know what I mean? You wouldn’t do that in any other date situation.

Brian and I are comfortable together. We’re married, but we’re also going on a date. I want to get down with him when we get home. I don’t want to be all miserable, uptight, and uncomfortable. 

I think about those things. Even if we’re going to go grab lunch together, I think about those things. 

How do I want to feel? How is this going to go? What are my goals for our conversation? 

Being miserable because I’m all wrapped up in the worst bra of all time is not a part of that. It’s not good. Like you said, it’s not putting out the energy that I want to put out. 

I feel like sometimes I’m the only wife that’s been married for 13 years that thinks about these things. And I think we should put a little bit of thought into how we feel for us for the end of our night. Not really just for him and the end of his night. 

What about me? I want to feel good too. I just think it’s empowering to feel so good through and through and look really good. 

JAMMIE: It’s so empowering and it’s so important. Marriage is important to me. Obviously it’s important to you. 

Like you said, if you have on a bra on that’s just not comfortable and pants and Spanx and all of those things, you’re so bogged down with thinking about the discomfort of your outfit that you’re not thinking about having fun in the moment. 

And when people talk about, “Oh, I don’t care what I wear. It’s just vain. I don’t care.” Well, you know what? It ends up taking up space in your brain.

It ends up taking space in your marriage, space in your motherhood, space in your closet, space in all parts of life. And that domino effect is real. You might think it’s just a shirt, but a shirt that feels good versus a shirt that feels frumpy is life-changing.

ALLIE: Absolutely, it is. Oh my gosh. So good. 

Ok. So what do you do? How does a person look put together? What constitutes an “I look put together, I feel put together” outfit?

JAMMIE: I think that’s probably the number one question I get, or the number one goal: “I want to look put together. How do I look put together?” 

And it’s the difference between knowing yourself and copying someone else. A lot of times people will swipe up, buy what the fashion blogger has and wonder, “Well, why doesn’t it look the same on me? Why do I look like this in a t-shirt and jeans and she looks like that?” 

It’s little styling tips. Putting on an outfit is not enough. Putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt is just whatever. It’s not enough. 

But doing a little half tuck, adding a necklace, putting on a bold lip, painting your nails, adding a layer, putting on a headband—those little things are going to be what pulls you together. It’s the details. It’s not the overall outfit. 

Being comfortable in it is going to show. If you’re not comfortable in it, you’re never going to look put together. But those little styling tips are what’s going to take you from eh to amazing. 

ALLIE: Yeah. Okay. And that’s so easy. 

JAMMIE: Don’t over-complicate it. You don’t have to worry about designers, labels, costs and looking like a particular type of person. You just need to add on those simple little tips, like adding accessories and putting on lipstick and doing a half tuck. Keep it simple.

ALLIE: I went to Target the other day and I walked by the accessories department. I haven’t been there in a year. They have some really cute things like simple, gold, detailed necklaces. That’s the kind of stuff you mean, right?

JAMMIE: Yeah. Just little details. Whether you like a big, bold statement necklace, or some layered delicate. The line Sugar Fix by BobbleBar is at Target. Is that what you have seen? It’s so good and so inexpensive. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming and expensive.

ALLIE: Yeah, totally. 

And Etsy has so many cute things. I love shopping small when I can. You literally just Google ‘dainty, gold necklaces’ and you can get layered, super cute, like boho necklaces. 

I get all my jewelry from Etsy shops. The rings that I wear. Just little accents. It looks like I tried, but really I’m wearing a t-shirt, jeans and a couple of boho, chunky rings and boots. 

JAMMIE: It makes all the difference. And that’s one of the best ways to switch up your style or to add personal style to basic. 

Like you said, you have on a t-shirt and jeans but you put some cute boots and boho rings with it and you have made your outfit yours. You made it boho, where I would probably put on three dainty necklaces and a leather jacket and make it edgy. 

Focusing on those basics is the most simple way to get dressed and to make sure you have the most amount of outfits and the least amount of clothes.

ALLIE: Yeah. That’s so good. That’s such an easy, affordable answer too. 

Can you break down for us the process of actually putting a full outfit together? I don’t know if that’s something you can do without visuals, but give us anything you can on actually putting an outfit together from start to finish. 

I hear from a lot of women who label themselves as totally out of their element with this stuff. They don’t even know where to start. Could you walk us through this in terms of putting an outfit together?

JAMMIE: This is my favorite part because this is so simple. Everybody can do this. Everyone can learn this. You don’t have to be some sort of fashion expert or love Vogue magazine. Personally, I actually don’t like fashion magazines. 

Anybody can do this. It’s thinking of an outfit like a puzzle versus thinking of it like, “I saw this on an Instagram blogger and I bought the pieces and it doesn’t look like that on me.”

Or, “I bought the pieces and this is what goes together. This shirt goes with these pants and these shoes and that’s the outfit.” 

Before you know it you have to buy 30 different outfits that somebody else put together to get dressed for the month, right? 

But if we start thinking of it as a puzzle piece or an outfit formula versus “this shirt goes with these pants,” it breaks it down into such a simple tool to have in your back pocket when you get dressed.

This is how I like to break it down: A basic top, a basic bottom, or a basic one piece—a jumpsuit, romper, or dress—a pair of shoes, a layer and accessories. So you have five pieces to put together. 

And the easiest way to do this is to go to your closet and take a top. Start with a basic top like a white v-neck t-shirt and just try it with every bottom you have. 

Maybe you would have never put those corduroy flare pants with your basic white tee because those pants are extra, they’re for the blouse and the party. But maybe you take it down a notch with the white tee and some sneakers and you have a whole new outfit you never thought of.

You’re just trying to put the puzzle together instead of overwhelming yourself with questions like:  Does this actually match? Does it go together? Is it on trend? Is it in style? 

Don’t worry about all that fluff. Don’t worry about if you saw it in a magazine or on a blogger. Worry about if it looks good and feels good to you. 

ALLIE: And this is so good, too, because you’re basically saying to shop your own wardrobe. 

I always talk about this timeline when we were super broke. I think I had just had Hudson, so it was right when I was starting to declutter and minimalism was my theme of the year. I was gutting out my wardrobe because a lot of it wasn’t really serving me. 

People always ask me like, “Oh, I see you were super broke. How did you do that?” 

I shopped my own wardrobe. Not every single piece that I had looked terrible on me. I’m not an idiot. I looked okay. So, I didn’t get rid of everything. 

But I wasn’t being creative. So, I got in there and started rethinking. I got rid of everything that wasn’t fitting my body well. And I did have way less.  

But I had several palazzo pants and those were really flattering for me. I would dress them up or down and pair them with unique things that I wouldn’t normally think to pair them with. 

Shopping your wardrobe is huge for anyone, and for not being wasteful. Especially if you are budget conscious or you need to watch what you’re spending. You don’t realize how much is in there and how many mix and match options you’ve got right in front of you.

JAMMIE: You have so many outfits in your closet. You just need to set aside the time to play with them. Play dress up and make it work. If you get creative once, then those creative juices start flowing and it might even become fun to you. 

You might say, “I hate fashion. I’m not good at this.” 

Give it a try. Don’t knock it till you try it. You might have fun expressing who you are with your clothes instead of always thinking, “Oh, I have to get dressed again.” 

It’s just a different mindset, a different way of looking at clothes. And it just opens up a whole new world.

ALLIE: Yeah. And coming at it from a place of loving your body and feeling worthy of spending time and energy fixing it up and feeling good instead of feeling like this is something that you have to do. It’s just a different energy. 

JAMMIE: Think of what you can accentuate. Think of what you love. Challenge yourself. 

If it’s your collarbone, wear an open neck shirt. If it’s your arms, wear a tank top or a cap sleeve. What do I love to show off versus what do I have to hide today?

ALLIE: Yeah, absolutely.

JAMMIE: The easiest way to make more outfits (in my opinion) is by switching the layer and the shoes. If I put a denim jacket and sneakers with a dress, I can “dress” that dress down. 

Allie, the dress you recently wore to Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving was so cute. It would be so cute with the denim jacket and some sneakers. Fashion sneakers, not running sneakers. 

Or you could dress it up and wear it with heels. If you were somewhere cold you could put a little fur shawl over your shoulders or a big, fancy, fur coat. It’s just taking those two layers and switching them up.

Or what kind of jewelry do you have on? Do you have on a big statement piece or some fun boho, chunky rings? That gives you two totally different looks with the same basic outfit formula.

ALLIE: So would you say that a safe place to maybe spend a little bit more of your budget is the layers and the accessories, and then maybe keep your outfits basic?

JAMMIE: You can look at that two ways. Basics, you’re going to wear more. I really do believe in quality jeans and t-shirts that are gonna last. 

And if you’re going to wear the shoes and those details more often, yes. Things like faux fur that you’re not going to wear very often, you wouldn’t want to spend the money on. 

But if the detail makes you feel so good, you have a certain budget, and you can go get the white t-shirt from Target and the jeans that still make you feel good, then do that. 

Maybe the basics won’t be the best quality but that sequin bomber jacket makes you feel incredible like you can take over the world. Spend the money and get the jacket.

ALLIE: Yeah. I love it. 

Can you drop some brands for basics that you love? I think we did a little bit in the other episode, but just in case, I would love for you to do that now. 

Ladies, this isn’t sponsored. We’re just sitting here having a conversation about this. Jammie, what are your brands? What are the ones that, if you can swing it, are your go-tos?

JAMMIE: For jeans I always start with Good American. I know that your jaw is probably going to drop. But if you’ve never spent more than $30 on a pair of jeans, try them. They make your butt look amazing. Allie, I think you have a pair, right? 

ALLIE:  Yeah, I bought my first pair recently and was so shocked. I got stopped by everyone telling me, “Oh my gosh, you look amazing.” 

Like, it’s the jeans. I think they’re right there with Madewell for me, which everyone who’s listening probably knows how much I love Madewell. Good American is better in a lot of ways.

JAMMIE: Madewell is another really great brand for jeans. I would say it’s in the top three. The other jeans I love are Agolde. If you’ve never tried the Agolde jeans, those are amazing too. 

For shirts, I love the basics by Z Supply. And there’s a brand called Everlane that is a really great high quality basic.

For jackets, I love Blank NYC for faux leather or suede jackets. I think those are great. 

I love Able for denim jackets. They make the most incredible denim jacket. It is not cheap, but I promise it’s flattering on everyone.

I love Nordstrom for shoes. I think you can find what you need. Know what you like. What heel height do you like? Do you have a wide foot or a narrow foot? 

Knowing those details when you shop for basics is really important. You can go to Nordstrom and say, “These are the specs I want to look at. This is my budget.” They can bring you an array of shoes and they’re going to be good.

ALLIE: Yeah. That’s so true. 

It’s nice that you mentioned the denim jackets from Able being flattering because jean jackets are not flattering for me.

JAMMIE: They can be so boxy and bad.

ALLIE: Yeah, especially the look right now has been “I slept at my boyfriend’s house and then left.” 

The jean jackets are just giant boxes. And it literally makes my arms and my shoulders look so much bigger. I shopped online for one and I had to send it back. 

I love denim jackets, but have you ever seen me in one? 

JAMMIE: No! Try the Merly. I never guarantee an item works for everyone, but generally the Merly jacket from Able works.

It’s all made in the US, sustainable, ethical, all of that stuff. I think they are made in Nashville. It’s not cheap, but you know your money is going to a good place. 

The key to a denim jacket that is flattering is going to be one that comes in, fitted at the waist. 

ALLIE: Yes. Especially for me. That’s my shape anyway. 

But then you take the boxy jean jacket layered over a dress and it’s just not doing me any favors. And then I’m like, “Well, what the heck? How the hell am I supposed to dress this down?”

ALLIE: This is so helpful. You are a treasure, Jammie. Seriously. 

What you do is not surface. This is deep work. And maybe some women don’t realize it, but they will if they take action on what you’ve said today. 

Thank you for helping us and guiding us.

JAMMIE: Thank you for having me. I forget that we’re recording and it’s like I’m just talking to a friend. I love it. I appreciate you for even having me. 

ALLIE: You are literally just buckets of wisdom for showing up for your life and getting dressed for what you do. And I love it. Thank you so much. 

JAMMIE: Thank you. And same kudos to you. You’ve taught me so much about really making sure everything in the house serves me. 

ALLIE: Yeah, it’s going to be so good. Thanks for being here with us! 

Thanks so much for hanging out with me! In case you didn’t know, there’s actually an exclusive community that’s been created solely for the purpose of continuing discussions around The Purpose Show episodes. It’s designed to get you to actually take action and make the positive changes that we talk about here. I want you to go and be a part of it. To do that, go to alliecasazza.com/facebookgroup. 

Thank you so much for tuning in! If you’d like to learn more about me, how I can help you, how you can implement all these things and more into your life to make it simpler, better, and more abundant, head to alliecasazza.com. There are free downloads, online courses, programs, and other resources to help you create the life you really want. 

I am always rooting for you, friend! See you next time! I’m Allie Casazza and this is The Purpose Show.

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