Update Your Wardrobe Without Changing Yourself With Tan France's Swap Tips
While trends and seasons come and go, your personal style should constantly remain a representation of who you are. Ultimately, if you don't love a particular trend, don't spend money on it or try to convince yourself to love it just because everyone else seems to. After all, fashion is subjective — that's what makes it so fun. With that being said, if your wardrobe has grown noticeably stale and outdated, starting with seasonal trends is a good jumping-off point from which to tackle a refresh. Revamping your wardrobe with the change of every season can help your style stay current without requiring you to compromise who you are or what you love.
Star of "Queer Eye" and "Next in Fashion" Tan France recently revealed his tips for updating your wardrobe every season without compromising your personal style — or feeling like you have to totally reinvent who you are.
Elevate what you already have
Updating your wardrobe becomes a lot less daunting of a task if you don't treat it like a complete transformation, but instead as an opportunity to elevate what you already know and own. "Don't feel like you have to have a massive overhaul if you're not the most comfortable with reinventing your style," France says (via PopSugar). "Go for really easy swap-outs. If you're the kind of person that always lives in black, maybe go for not a bright color, 'cause that's going to be too much of a shock for your system. Maybe a really dark jewel tone or a navy, or maybe graduate to a brighter look. Start with something that feels relatively close to what you're used to but not massively — a hop, skip, and a slight jump."
For example, if the colder months have you living in comfy, oversized sweatshirts, France recommends switching it up and rocking a cozy, cashmere sweater instead for a more sophisticated look that provides just as much comfort. "[These are] easy swap-outs that make you feel like it's still you and you're not trying to be somebody that you can't possibly be." Looking at a trend through the lens of your own personal style can help you look fashionable all season long without compromising what you love.
Consider the cyclical nature of fashion
Before emptying out your wardrobe every season or donating all your jeans every time a new fit becomes the trend, France recommends holding onto pieces that might become on trend again. After all, fashion is cyclical by its very nature — and everything that has come and gone will inevitably come back around again. "No one style ever truly dies," France says (via Pop Sugar). "I think that there's no such thing as it's just gone away. It might have a break for a moment, but we cycle through trends quicker than ever because of social media."
Because trends are reappearing faster and more frequently than ever before, France recommends rethinking purging your wardrobe of certain pieces that might become trendy again in the next season. "Don't feel like it's something you have to throw away; if it's a piece that you might wear in the next year, give it another shot," he says. "I do hate the thought that every three to six months, we're like, 'OK, well, let's throw all of those things out that I spent so much money on, that people worked so hard on, that the whole world embraced for three months, and now I'm going to get rid of it as if it didn't matter,'" he says. "I actually like the idea and the fact that we keep our clothes a little bit longer."
Rotate accessories seasonally
In the interest of saving money and behaving sustainably as a consumer on our planet, accessories can easily be kept for longer periods of time. These can be re-incorporated into your wardrobe at the turn of every season. According to France, his go-to accessories that he loves to incorporate into his year-round style are a stylish bag and a pair of shoes. "Over the last couple of years in particular, I always like a smaller bag, like a mini," he says (via PopSugar). "A bag I will always throw on and I will rotate throughout the year. There are bags that feel much more spring/summer, and there are bags that feel definitely more winter."
While a chunky black bag might no longer feel as chic or pair as well with the rest of your look when the weather warms up, consider simply rotating these items out seasonally and taking them back out again at the same time next year — as opposed to buying new ones every time the trends change with the seasons. "There are certain things that just make so much sense for summer," France says. "Footwear I keep for years and years and years. I don't care if anyone thinks that's not the style anymore. If I like it, I'm going to wear it. So my bags and my footwear are on constant rotation depending on the season."