Are Your Outfit Details Accidentally Making You Look Sloppy?

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There are some secrets that people who always look put together just know to follow. For the rest of us, it’s a mini-miracle if we make it out the door with our hair done and shoelaces tied. But it really doesn’t take that much time to go the extra mile and look polished. Here are eight outfit details that make you look sloppy, whether you realize it or not. 

1. Your bra straps are showing. I don’t mean this in a purposeful way; some bras are meant to peek out and say hello (i.e. anything by For Love and Lemons). I’m talking about bra straps that are supposed to stay hidden—especially any strap that is nude. If your bra strap threatens to reveal itself, consider wear a strapless or racerback style.
2. You didn’t cut the string on the skirt or jacket vent. Consider this a PSA: The little string—usually an ‘X’ stitching in a contrasting thread color—holding together the slit in the back of your pencil skirt is only there to keep the garment from getting wrinkled or damaged during production, and to help it hang flat and neat in a retail setting. It’s not meant to stay sewn shut. Remember to cut this immediately. (Yes, people will notice if you don’t.)
3. Your outfit is wrinkly. Captain Obvious here, just telling you what you already know. But I’m as guilty as the next gal of simply running out of time and saying, “It’s not that bad; no one will even notice.” They notice. Buy a good mini steamer (my favorite; it heats in about 30 seconds), and give your clothes a quick pass before you put them on.
4. Your bra cups are showing. Whether it’s an ill-fitting bra cup that creates two lines above your bust or a lacy texture that shows through a chiffon top, it just looks sloppy. It’s all about the details, people.
5. Your pants don’t really fit. Pants that are too baggy in the butt or too long in the hem have a way of turning even the cutest outfit into a lackluster look. Get your pants to the nearest tailor, and they’ll make the pants look like they were custom-made and not plucked from the Zara sale rack.
6. Your flats are well past their prime. Ballet flats—the everygirl’s commuter shoe—take a hard beating, and quickly show their age with beat-up soles and scuff marks. Take a good, hard look at your flats and invest in a new pair if yours are looking worse for the wear.
7. You’re not wearing a belt—or you haven’t removed flimsy, unnecessary loops . This goes for dress pants, long cardigans and dresses that have clearly visible belt loops. Just wear a belt; we can see the empty loops drooping from down the block.
8. Your shoelaces are tied all wonky. It might seem trivial, but a wonky shoelace loop always looks disheveled. Take two seconds to tie your shoelaces nicely, or if you’re feeling fancy, try lacing them in the opposite direction so that they tie at the toe—now that’s turning a fashion blunder into a win.