Every woman has her idea of what it means to look classy.
For some women, it’s designer handbags and expensive shoes.
For others, it’s neutral colors, pearl earrings, perfectly manicured nails, and walking around looking like they just stepped out of a Pinterest board.
Each to her own, but I believe class is not something you can just buy and put on.
You communicate it.
Some women wear outfits that cost more than some people’s rent, yet nothing about them looks elegant.
Money is good; I’m not a hypocrite.
Having money gives you access to better fabrics, tailoring, skincare, hair, shoes, and all the other lovely things.
But money cannot buy taste.
And sometimes, in an attempt to look classy or expensive, women end up achieving the exact opposite.
If you’re trying to look more put-together, here are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid:
10 Biggest Mistakes Women Make Trying to Look Classy
1. Thinking Expensive Automatically Means Classy
One of the biggest mistakes women make is assuming that if something is expensive, then it is classy.
Lies!
There are ugly things in expensive shops too.
A designer can slap a ridiculous price tag on something, and it doesn’t make it beautiful.
I’m sure you’ve seen women who spend serious money on clothes that don’t flatter their bodies just because the label is prestigious.
Meanwhile, you can wear a simple dress that fits you beautifully, pair it with a nice pair of shoes, neat hair, and minimal accessories, and look more sophisticated.
That’s why I don’t believe you should buy something just because it’s expensive or because everybody recognizes the brand.
Does it suit you?
Does the color flatter you?
Does it fit properly?
Does it work with your lifestyle?
Do you like it, or do you like the fact that other people will know it was expensive?
Class isn’t measured by the price tag hanging inside your dress.
It’s about how everything comes together.
Sometimes, a $50 dress that fits you like it was made for your body will do more for you than a $2,000 dress fighting for its life on your frame.
2. Wearing Too Many Designer Logos
I love beautiful things, so you’ll never hear me pretending there’s something morally superior about not liking luxury.
If you can afford designer pieces and you love them, please enjoy your money.
You worked for it.
However, that doesn’t mean you should look like a walking advertisement for five luxury brands at once.
Logo on the handbag, on the belt, on the shoes, on the shirt, and another one on the sunglasses, just in case somebody didn’t get the memo. 😂
Hello sis, we can’t see you. We can only see brands.
That’s where trying to look expensive starts to look like you’re desperately trying to convince people you have money.
You don’t need that.
Wear your beautiful things, but allow you to remain the main attraction.
3. Following Every Fashion Trend
Social media will make you feel like you need a completely new wardrobe every three months.
One minute, everybody is wearing oversized blazers.
Then it’s quiet luxury.
Then we’re all supposed to dress like wealthy women spending summer somewhere on the Italian coast.
They call it ”old money” style.
Please. 🙄
Next week, something else will come.
If you chase every trend, you’ll end up with a wardrobe full of clothes and still feel like you have nothing to wear.
There’s nothing wrong with trends. Fashion is supposed to be fun.
But you need to know yourself well enough to understand that everything fashionable is not necessarily fashionable on you.
I took a styling course some time ago, and one of the best things I got from it was a better understanding of my body.
Once you understand your body type and skin undertone, shopping will become different.
You don’t have to participate in every trend.
Take what works for you and leave the rest for the children of God it was designed for.
4. Ignoring Grooming
This is where many women get it wrong.
They keep buying clothes when what they really need is to pay attention to the little things.
Wrinkled clothes, dirty shoes, untidy hair, crusty lips, chipped nail polish, poor hygiene…
You don’t necessarily need another shopping haul.
Sometimes, you need an iron.
Looking well-groomed doesn’t mean your nails must always be professionally done or that you must wear makeup every day.
Nope.
Your natural nails can be clean and neat, and your face can be completely bare.
It’s the overall neatness that matters.
5. Wearing Clothes That Don’t Fit Properly
A good tailor is one of the best investments a woman can make in her wardrobe.
Because fit is everything!
You can buy a gorgeous dress, but if it doesn’t fit, you won’t get the effect you want.
This is one reason I don’t believe blindly following clothing sizes makes sense.
Bodies and brands are different.
Two women who wear the same size can have completely different proportions.
So, stop being emotionally attached to the number written on the label.
If the bigger size fits better, buy the bigger size.
And if something you love doesn’t fit perfectly, alter it.
A well-fitting, affordable outfit will always look better than an expensive one that doesn’t sit right on your body.
6. Confusing Revealing With Sophisticated
Looking classy does not mean covering yourself from your neck to your ankles.
I love showing some skin when the outfit calls for it, but there’s an art to it.
When you’re trying to show everything at once, the outfit loses the sophistication you were going for.
Boobs are fighting to escape, thighs are outside, back is outside, stomach has reported for duty too…
Choose your fighter, sis.
You need to know about balance.
Sexy and classy are not enemies. You can be both.
But you don’t have to display everything you own before people understand that you’re attractive.
Leaving something to the imagination always does more.
7. Wearing Uncomfortable Shoes Just Because They’re Fashionable
Ladies, pleaseeeee.
We’ve all seen a woman wearing gorgeous heels while walking like a newborn giraffe because the shoes are uncomfortable.
Nothing about that looks elegant.
I don’t care how expensive the shoes are.
If every three steps require negotiations between you, your ankles, and Jesus, perhaps those shoes should have stayed home.
I understand suffering for fashion to an extent.
Some shoes are too beautiful for comfort to be the priority, but there’s a limit.
You should be able to walk confidently in whatever you put on your feet.
And if heels aren’t your thing, wear flats, loafers, or beautiful sandals.
Nobody has ever lost her classy-woman membership because she wore comfortable shoes.
The whole point is to look good and carry yourself well.
You can’t do the second one when you’re silently praying for somewhere to sit down.
8. Over-Accessorising
I love accessories because they can transform an outfit.
A beautiful pair of earrings can take a simple dress from nice to damn.
But accessories are supposed to complement your outfit, not hold a conference on your body.
Huge earrings, chunky necklace, stacks of bracelets, ten rings, statement watch, oversized sunglasses, flashy handbag….
All at once.
Where exactly should we look?
Less is more, most times.
It doesn’t mean minimalism is the only classy aesthetic.
Some women can pull off bold jewelry beautifully. But there should still be some harmony.
Let one or two things have their moment instead of making every accessory fight for attention.
9. Wearing Too Much Perfume
I am a fragrance lover.
My house, bathroom, and car have fragrances.
I love perfumes, diffusers, all of it.
So believe me when I say I understand the desire, or better put, the obsession, to smell GOOD.
But please don’t marinate yourself in perfume.
There is such a thing as too much.
Your fragrance shouldn’t enter the room five minutes before you and remain there after everybody has gone home.
And because you get used to your own perfume after wearing it for a while, it’s very easy to keep spraying because you think nobody can smell it anymore.
Oh, we can.
A beautiful fragrance should add to your presence.
Smelling good is classy, but giving everybody within a five-meter radius a headache is not.
10. Believing Class Is Only About Appearance
This is probably the biggest mistake on this entire list.
You can get everything else right, then open your mouth and destroy it all in three minutes.
Because class has never been only about appearance.
How do you treat others?
How do you behave when you’re angry?
How do you talk about people when they’re not there?
Can you disagree without becoming nasty?
That’s the part of elegance Instagram aesthetics cannot teach you.
You can dress like old money from Monday to Sunday and still have terrible manners.
One of the quickest ways someone loses points in my eyes is treating people they consider “beneath” them badly.
If you’re only kind to people you want to impress, you’re not kind.
You’re strategic.
Real class shows in your character.