Why Most Style Rules Were Never Really About Style (and what you could do instead)

Some of the most “accepted” fashion rules we still follow today didn’t come from creativity at all — they came from marketing.

Take the idea that your shoes and bag should match. It’s often traced back to mid-20th century advertising when brands realised something simple: if they convinced people to buy coordinated accessories … they could sell more of them. 

The result wasn’t necessarily better style — it was consistency, repetition and a quiet kind of commercial logic dressed up as taste.

And yet … we’ve held onto it.

But style has never really lived inside rules.

Designers and Stylists have been breaking them for decades — long before TikTok gave anything a name. 

The difference now is that ideas like contrast dressing have simply made that instinct feel more accessible again.

Outfits often feel “finished” in an automatic way — you reach a point where everything aligns with your original idea and you stop questioning it … that’s usually when things start to feel a little predictable.

Instead of defaulting to the most obvious finishing touch … try introducing something slightly unexpected at the end.

It could be a piece of jewellery, a bag, shoes or even the way a layer is worn — anything that shifts the balance just enough to make you look twice.

That small disruption is often what makes an outfit feel more modern.

And the best part?

It costs nothing. You’re not buying anything new — you’re simply rethinking what you already have.

If it doesn’t work … you change it.

No risk … no commitment.

So give yourself permission to experiment a little more than you normally would.

Next time you’re getting dressed … don’t just finish your outfit.

Test it.

Change one thing — the jewellery, the bag, the shoes and notice what happens when you stop choosing the obvious option.

You might not go back.

I’ve started a Pinterest board exploring styling contrasts that bring this idea to life visually — you might just find something that inspires you to experiment a little differently.