fashion

LEIGH CAMPBELL: 'How I'm styling my old wardrobe pieces to make them feel new for spring.'

Welcome to the Nothing To Wear edit, where each week, we delve into the topic we spoke about on the podcast, just for subscribers. If you want to support independent women's media, become a Mamamia subscriber. Get an all-access pass to everything we make, including exclusive podcasts, articles, videos and our exercise app, MOVE.

***

You might wonder why we have such an obsession with Copenhagen Fashion Week. 

From unpacking the backstory of this relatively new fashion capital on Nothing to Wear with PR and Branding expert Lucinda Pikkat to breaking down what cool women are wearing in Denmark's capital city, we've covered a lot of Copenhagen ground.

Closer to home, I made sure I set aside time to flick through the myriad of images of attendees and what they wore.

Street style is often where I get most of my inspiration, and last week was an absolute feast for the eyes. 

Colour. Stripes. Polka dots. Headwear. As you can see in the video below, it's a lot.


Video via Mamamia.

Copenhagen style might feel 'out there', but after dissecting a lot of the photos, I realised I can recreate so many of the looks with my existing wardrobe, putting my own style spin on the final outfit.

Lots of women were essentially wearing timeless or classic staples, but in unexpected ways or quirky combinations. 

Rather than shop the trends, I've decided to play dress ups to get more out of the clothes I already own, using the below as my spring fashion inspiration.

Here are the key pieces and outfits I'll be leaning into.

Similar shades head to toe.

My spring blueprint, minus the bike. Source: Getty.

As much as I love colour, the majority of my wardrobe is a sea of neutrals. Different tones of classics like brown, grey, navy and beige. 

I generally hesitate when pairing varying depths of the same (or similar) colours together because I worry my outfit will look like I'm trying to pass it all off as a matching set.

But this spring, I'm going to pull out all my shades of grey or various versions of brown and tan to see what I can come up with. 

You can do this with any colour, of course, and most people have one or two favourite neutrals or brights, meaning you should have a selection of garments you already love, ready to be paired and played with.

Re-styling my cargo pants.

Now this looks cool. Source: Despi Naka.

I love that cargo or 'utility' pants are cool again because I still have a few pairs and they are crazy comfortable.

I never really stopped wearing them, if I'm honest, but they were more for running up to the post office or throwing on for the school run. 

This spring, I'm going to give my existing pairs a glow-up and try styling them with a belt, ogo tee (because I'm not a massive graphic tee person) and a kitten heel. 

All-black outfits.

It's giving Melbourne summer. Source: Getty.

I have a decent amount of black clothes (don't we all!), but for some reason, I feel defeated or like I've given up when I reach for them.

I need to stop telling myself "black is boring" and instead experiment with the cuts, silhouettes and textures of my black pieces. 

It's a good reminder that it's not only colour that makes an outfit impactful or interesting.

An all-black outfit can be super stylish when the shapes are unique (and bonus points, I don't have to worry about clashing colours).  

Outerwear as the outfit.

This is everything. Source: Getty.

It's still chilly in a lot of places across Australia well into spring, especially in the early mornings and evenings.

That's good news for our outerwear.

Maybe, like me, you've forked out for a fancy piece or have a coat that's 'meant' to be worn with a dressy outfit.

A long structured trench or coat with a statement collar can be enough to make an entire outfit. 

Sure, I'll still wear clothes underneath, but what exactly doesn't really matter.

If I'm going somewhere that allows me to keep the coat on (AKA no heating and hopefully no peri sweats), I'll let my outerwear be the whole point.    

Doubling down on my '10 per cent'.

I aspire to look 10 per cent as cool as this woman. Source: Getty.

While it's always important to try and get the most out of ALL the clothes we own, there's a reason 10 per cent of our wardrobes is in such high rotation.

When I study my own '10 per cent', it's mostly made up of white t-shirts (or tanks when it's hot), jeans, maxi skirts and blazers.

Each morning, I aim to mix these favourites with something more 'interesting', but Copenhagen street style reminded me it's perfectly fine to wear my ride-or-die staples all at once.

Sure, it might not be the most creative outfit, but there's something to be said for classics that you know are comfy.

Plain pants, a simple singlet with a leather jacket (or in my case, maybe a blazer) and sunglasses can be boring, or timeless.

It all comes down to how you look at it.    

Feature Image: Supplied.

Listen to the latest episode of Nothing To Wear below.

Did you know you can now watch Nothing to Wear? Subscribe to Nothing to Wear on YouTube so you'll never miss an episode.

00:00 / ???