"Test Driviing"

And I'm not referring to a car my friends. I see males and females make this mistake constantly. Wearing that outfit that you tried on momentarily in the mall, or the one you thought of in your head to an actual event and to your surprise (and perhaps demise) it is UBBER UNCOMFY! Don't you just hate that!? As a result, your swag is utterly destroyed for that evening because you spend the entire night a-pullin and a-tuggin, adjustin' and a-fixin'.

Two Words: Over it!

I think my sister and I came up with this term "test driving" a long time ago. The process goes a little something like this. We envision an outfit in our minds and get excited thinking about how wonderful it will look when we don it, but we must first put it to the test. I test drive outfits for every type of function. Just because it looks good in your head doesn't mean that it will look good on. And more importantly, it does not mean that it will feel comfortable throughout the night.

Here are the basics to test driving an outfit (feel free to add some ideas in case I leave some out):

1. Try on every article of clothing that will comprise the entire outfit, UNDERGARMENTS INCLUDED! Shoes as well. Ladies, I can't stress this one enough. If you want to avoid those unsightly panty lines, this is a must do!


2. Perform similar actions and movements in the outfit that are typical of actions that you will make while actually wearing the outfit. Do this for at least 15 minutes. Walk around, sit down, bend over, dance, jump, clap...whatever's clever.


3. Take note of how the outfit responds when making certain movements and decide if this is what you want. Is this how you want to portray yourself? Does that skirt show half your back side when you bend over? Do those pants fall down by your knees (men) while your walking? Does that dress creep, creep, creep up while you dancing? If that's what you want, GO FOR IT! If not, you better rethink your clothing selection.


4. If needed, make the appropriate adjustments and repeat steps 1-3.

Test driving is one of my favorite things to do because I get to use my creativity. There maybe articles of clothing that you have vowed to never wear again, but after test driving it and coordinating it with some new pieces, it has a new life. For all my budget fabulous peoples out there, this can save money while helping you to grow your wardrobe. You can find one piece that mixes and matches with several other pieces after taking the time to be creative and test drive your ideas.

If this concept is new to you, I encourage you to try it. C'mon, get out of the passenger seat and let's drrrriiiiivvvvveeee!