“To me, a good outfit is one I don’t have to think about too much,” says Laura Tully, a personal wardrobe stylist who lives in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and three kids. Her ethos — for herself and her clients — is that your wardrobe should serve your life right now. “Style is about caring for yourself in the season you’re in,” she says, “not chasing the hope that one day you’ll be this person or that person.” Here, Laura shares five outfits she wore in a week…
Jacket: H&M. T-shirt: Leset. Jeans: Citizens of Humanity. Belt: Old Navy. Sneakers: Reebok. Baseball cap: Clare V. Earrings: Gorjana.
“I have tried a million white T-shirts, and Leset is by far my favorite. They’re slightly cropped, but I’m 5’9 and I can still raise the roof in these tees without worrying about my bra showing. What I love is that they always come through the wash in good condition and still looking white.”
“I know people love accessories, and so do I, but dressing yourself is like cooking, where sometimes a really good meal has just five ingredients. This barn jacket is like a chunk of really good Parm that you keep in the fridge and use over and over until it’s down to a tiny nub.”
Blazer: Eaves. Jeans: Citizens of Humanity. Shoes: similar.
“I wear this outfit to work meetings. The jeans are super comfortable, which is important to me. I have a three-year-old daughter, a six-year-old son, and a twenty-year-old stepdaughter. I work in and out of the house, and one day I’m crushing it, and the next day I’m like, ‘That could’ve gone better.’ So, I want clothes that don’t require management, because I’m already managing plenty of other things.”
“I’m also really practical when it comes to makeup. I stick to two lip colors: MAC lip pencil in Chicory, which is a warm nutmeg, and if I want more depth, I’ll layer it with the Ilia crayon in Gala, a hydrating dark rose.”
Denim shirt: Madewell, similar. Dress: Bardot, similar.
“For date nights, this dress initially felt a little bit out of the box, since I don’t wear a lot of prints. But now I wear it everywhere! It also has pockets, which I think is just proper math when it comes to skirts and dresses.”
“I grew up in Jamaica. My dad was a shoemaker, and my mom had several jobs, including seamstress work. We had very little means, but my parents instilled in me the idea that, regardless of money, you can be intentional about the clothes that you put on your body. And that can be just as important as the words that come out of your mouth.”
Jacket: Anine Bing, similar. Shirt: Ralph Lauren. Jeans: Citizens of Humanity. Sneakers: Reebok. Earrings: Gorjana.
“I’m in jeans 90% of the time, and I like cuffing or creasing them so it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing the same thing over and over. The key is having denim with a good amount of weight. The higher the cotton percentage, the easier it is to make it look sharp.”
“With my ‘professional’ jeans, I take them to the dry cleaner for what’s called a wet press or cowboy press, which is basically super-heavy starching. Then I bring them home, cuff them, and put a book on top of them for a day. After that, I can wear them for weeks, and they’ll still look crisp and polished.”
Top: H&M, similar. Skirt: Rails. Purse: Saint Laurent. Sneakers: Converse.
“Cute sneakers are my love language. They’re comfy, of course, and sneakers can decompress an outfit, in a good way, you know? When you feel like, ‘This work outfit may be too stuffy,’ throwing on cute sneaks adds something personable that invites other people to let their guard down.”
“Before kids, I had this vision of myself as having it all together. And I hear it all the time from other moms: ‘I just want to feel pulled together.’ I think that phrase can sometimes translate to this ideal Pinterest-board version of your life, and that’s not really going to serve you. You’re always going to feel like, ‘Ugh, I’m not there yet.’ My approach with style is, ‘What’s going on here? What do we need now?’”
Thank you so much, Laura!
P.S. More weeks of outfits, including a New England grandmother and an afrofuturist in Detroit.
(Photos by Maggie Grace for Cup of Jo.)
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