So at the beginning of 2020, I made a commitment to myself to “elevate” my style – so pretty much making more of an effort to look stylish and put together- more than I do now. Of course this was set to kick in only after winter because winters in the western hemisphere are brutal, and there is no time to look cute! When you walk about 8-10 minutes to your train station every morning (as most NYers do), then you will wear a bulky winter jacket, you will wear warm winter shoes and you will wear warm headgear, and I promise you, none of it looks cute or remotely stylish.
Towards the end of winter, I started creating various style boards on Pinterest: comfortable, classic, casual and showstopping. These were pretty much the categories I had narrowed down for Project Step-my-fashion-game-up, and I hope to share more of my style picks over the next couple of months. The Coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing lockdowns and stay at home orders put a little dent in my plans because ultimately, I couldn’t justify (to myself) buying new clothes with nowhere to go. Fortunately, as of a week ago, NYC is slowly lifting its stay at home orders and we are all slowly (and safely) starting to venture out into this scary new world, which also means Project Step-my-fashion-game-up is back on track!
My first style pick that I am genuinely obsessed with, is the padded muscle tee. This very versatile and comfortable t-shirt style tank top is perfect for lazy fashion girls like me who want to step it up, but don’t want to sacrifice comfort for it. I kid you not, this piece sells out regularly across the various retailers that stock it.
I managed to snag one in black and white from Nasty Gal, and I have been absolutely loving how easily I can take my look from rich and bougie to Brooklyn casual in an instant. The shoulder pads are the secret ingredient to this piece. They completely elevate what would have ordinarily been a basic sleeveless tank by infusing a sense of luxury, structure and elegance.
The rather large arm holes can be a bit tricky if you’re worried about showing too much side boob, but that can be easily fixed by wearing a cute matching bra or vest underneath and voilà, très chic!
