Fashion is a harsh mistress – it changes its mind regularly and with every season it presents something different as fashionable. It’s hard to keep up with it, and frankly, it can really get on your nerves. Stop being such a wavering pain in the neck, fashion! It’s like, you wake up in the morning all fresh and rested (like that ever happens); you go to your wardrobe with intention of wearing your favorite sweater today, only to discover that the sweater is no longer fashionable. People are giving you strange looks when you wear it, they talk behind your back, they point fingers at you, but you know what’s going on. The truth is, fashion has pulled a fast one on you and now you feel like an ass (an unfashionable donkey, that is).

Everything stated so far suggests that we all have to be extremely careful when we are dealing with fashion. It needs lots of our attention and a lot of dedication. However, there is a shortcut that allows us to cheat a little bit, and if you do it right you will never get caught cheating. It’s like you are back in high school. The only difference is that nowadays you don’t have to make all kinds of improvised tactics in order to cheat – it’s enough to make a fashion statement.

What is it?

A fashion statement was probably invented by someone who knew nothing about fashion but wanted to be fashionable, or someone who knew everything there is to know about fashion but simply didn’t have the time or the nerves to deal with it all that much. It simply presents a practice of wearing something in a way that wasn’t intended, but doing it on purpose.

For example, if you accidentally wear socks and sandals, you will come across as poor dresser and possibly a German tourist. On the other hand, if you wear fancy sandals and knee-high socks on purpose, you will be making a fashion statement. Needless to say, this particular example only works for women, but hopefully everyone gets the picture. Now let’s get to the real deal, starting from the top.

Headwear

Anything that goes on the head can be used as a fashion statement, from sunglasses and earrings to face tattoos and mustaches. Nevertheless, hats present the most potent weapon of them all, or at least something that won’t haunt you for the rest of your life. With all the styles, shapes and sizes, you can go nuts from trying to find the best hat for your fashion statement. Well, now you can stop searching because often the simplest thing that’s been in front of your nose is the best solution.

In our case that thing is a beanie. A beanie hat is probably the simplest hat in human existence. Yes, they do come with variety of decorations, like pompoms or prints, but in their basic form they are pretty simple. That’s the most iconic and most recognizable winter hat out there, but how to make a statement of something so simple? It’s quite easy, actually – use its simplicity to your advantage.

Now, even though the easiest way to make a fashion statement is to wear something in a way that wasn’t intended, that doesn’t mean that you should wear a beanie in the summer. The only statement that you will make that way is that you are a jackass. The way a beanie should purposely be worn wrong is when the weather is just warm enough for you to be wearing a sweater or a sweatshirt, but still cold enough that your brain doesn’t boil and turn into a gooey, pink liquid. In other words, only combine beanie and sweaters or sweatshirts in spring or fall.

If a simple black beanie gets boring, you can always kick your statement up a notch and wear a beanie that is not that plain. Combine all kinds of prints and decorations to really stand out.

Middle layer

There are numerous ways to accent your clothes in the abdominal area, from wearing a tie with a short-sleeved shirt, to wearing belts with oversized buckles. However, since we strived towards simplicity with beanies, let’s continue our humble journey in this area, too.

The best way to do it is to combine colors and layers. Choose a colorful, flamboyant shirt and wear it as a bottom layer and put a charcoal grey or rosewood button-up cardigan or sweater vest on top. The shirt, of course, needs to be long-sleeved, especially if you opt out for a sweater vest. The vest can be with or without buttons because, either way, the shirt is visible. If you choose a cardigan, on the other hand, it’s better for it to have buttons so you can easily show as much of the shirt as you want. A V-neck is also a great option as you do want to show as much of your wacky shirt as possible.

Bottom

The lowest of clothing may very well be the most challenging to accent and make a statement of. There is only so much you can do with your pants and, while shoes do have a huge fashion statement potential, it’s really easy to overstate with them. The only thing that’s left is socks.

There is no room for fear however, since unlike pants or shoes, there is virtually no way to make a mistake when making a statement out of socks, unless you are making one while wearing a suit. It is possible, but extreme caution is advised. Also, it should be avoided when the suit-wearing event is mega-formal.

Casual clothing and funky socks go hand-in-hand. They are a duo made in heaven and what’s best of all – it’s extremely easy to make it work with virtually no possibility of screwing it up. Simply put on a pair of socks that is different in color or pattern than anything else on you, and you are done. Try not having too many colors and patterns on the rest of the outfit as it will get to a point where you are overdoing it, but that point for casual outfit is really far when done tastefully.

Another way to do this is to wear two socks of different colors. The colors don’t have to match, but they should preferably be plain. Now go, buy as many crazy socks as you can. If you don’t think you can afford it, you can always go crazy with wholesale fuzzy socks, colorful dress socks or any other socks that can be bought in bulk. Just remember to keep it colorful and funky!