The Third Piece Rule

Hi everyone,

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day! I  had a double celebration: Birthday & Mother’s Day. This is the second time that the date coincides since I became a mother. What a blessing! Anyway, let’s talk about the topic of the day: “The Third Piece Rule”. Here we go again! More rules, but stick around and hear me out.

When I’m working with my styling clients, I like to create fashion rules to make the process more manageable. Looking put together and polished can feel overwhelming at times. There are societal norms, fashion trends, and on top of that, everyone has their own mishegoss (long legs, short legs, big bum, not a big enough bum, loves to wear heels or not…you get the picture). My role as a coach is to take what may seem like fashion babble and help translate it in an understandable and easy to execute way. So what’s is the rule about?

The idea behind the third piece rule is that for an outfit to go from good to great, it needs three key elements. Your top and bottom (pants or skirt) are your first and second elements. The third piece is that extra something that finishes off the whole look. It could be a sweater, blazer, vest, scarf, hat, or even a statement piece of jewelry. And for a man, the third piece can be a sport coat, vest, sweater, tie, or pocket square. The trick of adding a third piece is pretty magical because it’s easy to implement and instantly elevates your outfit.  And the cool thing is that the formula works for both women and men. The third piece adds the finishing touches to the outfit. It takes a rather ordinary outfit, jazzes it up, and makes it look like there was some extra effort put in. 

Women Dresses

 

Now I know you might be thinking, “Moumous, what about shoes?” Yes, shoes can certainly add something to an outfit but it is not part of this formula. Adding a third piece is a fool-proof formula that my clients are probably sick of me droning on about. But it never disappoints and always makes outfits feel finished. If it’s summer and too hot to wear a jacket or sweater, you can throw on a necklace or bandanna or even a hat to give the outfit some warm weather pizzazz. 

Outfit Details

Blazer @lilophia | Pants @khiani | Handbag @luminescence 

Shoes @khiani | Sunglasses @glamur

 So what do you think about the third-piece rule? Have you ever tried it? Comment below and let me know. Until then,

Thanks for stopping by.

XoXo,

Moumous

Linking up with those wonderful ladies here

Camera @MJPhotography