The Cheerful Closet: My Go-To Outfit Formula

All the talk of outfit formulas during Blogging Besties a few weeks ago made me realize, I don't think I've ever shared my top-secret, go-to outfit formula! This wasn't a developed formula until a few months ago, but I realized that I've been subconsciously doing it for a while! To assemble an outfit using this formula, choose items from the following categories:

Two pieces in one color
Two pieces in a neutral
One patterned piece in a third coordinating color or neutral (if one of the pieces in the first two categories is patterned, this can be a solid-color piece.)

The pieces can be clothing items, shoes, jewelry, or accessories. The trick is to make sure the colors in your scheme go together well, and that everything in your outfit fits into that scheme! The use of accessories is what takes an unexpected color combo to a full-blown ensemble.

I used this formula to create the outfit below. See how the pieces fit into the categories--

Turquoise skirt and necklace
Gold shoes and belt (I count metallics as neutrals because they more or less go with everything)
An Oxford striped shirt

My gold watch and earrings also fit into the color scheme as well! To find more examples of outfits that either knowingly or unknowingly followed this formula, check out the past outfits at the bottom of this post!