5 Style Lessons Courtesy of Jacqueline Laurean Yates

19 Oct 5 Style Lessons Courtesy of Jacqueline Laurean Yates

New York is full of those girls. You know the ones—on the train, ahead of you in the line for coffee, on the ‘gram with an aspirational feed you can’t help but scroll 85 weeks deep into—that leave you wondering ‘why haven’t I thought to wear that?’ These are their closets. Welcome to 5 Style Lessons.

Jacqueline Laurean Yates is a prolific freelance writer and consultant. Her byline appears on Allure, Yahoo Beauty, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and more. She writes about her personal lifestyle musings on her website, Live Love Laurean. We met six years ago at a beauty event when she was a beauty assistant at Essence magazine. She went on to write for Ebony magazine and recently launched her own creative consulting business. I love that whenever I run into Jackie, not only does she look super cute, but she exudes such a positive energy. She literally glows. Though, that might have something to do with her beauty regime (you’ll see what I mean in a bit).

Keep scrolling to read Jackie’s five style lessons.

1. Smile While You Shop

“There’s nothing like going shopping when you are not quite feeling your best,” Jackie told me. “Maybe you had a long day, perhaps your hair isn’t quite the way you like it, or worse, you’re bloated. This probably isn’t the best time to shop. The last thing you need is any unnecessary distractions in the fitting room. On the flip side, if you are just having one of those ‘I’m feeling myself’ days, it’s probably a great day to take a stroll down Fifth Avenue.”

2. Start From the Bottom

“While I can’t 100% say this is the case for everyone, but for most of us, or at least honestly speaking for myself, I have way more clothing than shoes. Because of that, I usually try to begin my outfit from the bottom since I’m a tad more limited there. Working my way up with shoes being my starting point, makes getting dressed (and out the door!) in the mornings that much easier.”

3. Staple Pieces Make Life Easier

“Whether it’s my denim button-down shirt or my black blazer vest, there are certain pieces that I can always count on to be easy to coordinate or layer. I have staples that I’ve literally been wearing in more ways than one. I think it’s always good to have a few solids like this, because they’re buildable in ways that a printed or polka dot piece may not be, unless of course you going for the ‘prints-on-prints’ trend.”

4. Underpinnings Matter Too

“I can’t preach enough, that underpinnings can definitely play a role in making or breaking an outfit. Yes, those white jeans with that red thong will equal lots of laughs and weird stares. Whereas on the flip side, an amazing bra can accentuate the look of your blouse just like a pair of seamless underwear can be just what you need under your fitted date-night dress. Bottom line: what you wear under it all matters just as much as what people will see on top.”

5. Organize Your Closet Accordingly

“I wouldn’t quite say I am the most organized person in the world, but I think I can pride myself in being pretty far up on the list when it comes to my closet. It used to be all jumbled, thrown together and I would just jam everything wherever it fit. After too many frazzled moments of trying to quickly look for clothes, one day I decided to organize my rack in categories like, tops, pants, skirts, dresses, and so on. Let’s just say, I’ll never turned back! An at least somewhat organized closet is vital for me. This helps me out so much and I’ll probably never have any more of those messy ‘where the hell are my clothes’ days again.”

Isn’t her space so grown-up and warm? I have to say, my favorite thing about peeking into Jackie’s New Jersey apartment that she shares with her boyfriend, is seeing the way the two of them were able to blend not just their aesthetics but their wardrobes. What do you think?

Follow Jackie on Instagram, Twitter, or her blog for the best beauty tips and style tricks, as well as the latest updates on the where you can find her writing this week.