How to Always Look Polished

One way to immediately look polished is to limit the amount of colours in your outfit, with an absolute maximum of 3 colours in one look and no more!

(Obviously you can do what you want, but this post is for people who want to look polished without making loads of effort, so I hope this tip works for you.)

In the above outfit, which I wore to explore the area near our apartment in Naples on our last day (my feet were very painful by this point from all the days out so I didn't want to venture too far!) I paired my white midi dress from Silkfred with tan sandals, a tan crossbody bag and tortoiseshell glasses (I was also sick of contact lenses by this point).

If you've read my posts or watched my YouTube channel before now, you'll probably recognise this skirt because I wear it for literally every occasion. A ribbed knit midi skirt is not something a lot of people would see as a staple, but believe me, once you add one to your wardrobe you'll be amazed by its versatility and you'll want one in every colour.

It is a more lightweight knit so it was fine for the Italian weather, and I paired it with a simple & Other Stories black vest top and of course, trainers (I lived in trainers on this trip!).

My number one tip, although it's not a quick tip and more of an ongoing journey, for looking polished every day is to really take the time to get to know your wardrobe and your style and curate a collection of pieces that you love and that work for all sorts of occasions. I like to buy separates in neutral colours so they all work together, and if I want to add colour to my wardrobe, it tends to be a dress so all my coats and accessories still work with it.

One day, we got the train from Naples to Rome, and this beautiful Karen Millen dress is what I decided to wear. It's actually a little long for me but this meant it covered my trainers, which was great because I did feel they made me look a bit like a tourist!

Wearing a dress is such a quick and easy way to look put-together. People always comment when I wear a beautiful dress, even if I'm wearing no makeup and haven't done my hair! The dress speaks for itself and involves very little decision-making in the morning - I just throw it on. I also find dresses so much more comfortable in warmer countries.

For our day trip to the ancient ruins of Pompeii, I knew I couldn't wear my sandals because my feet would end up looking disgusting! If you want to wear comfy footwear but still look polished, opt for a smarter pair of trainers such as this leather pair from Ted Baker. I also think it is good to go for a white or black pair with very little detail on them - it draws less attention to them and they just look like part of your outfit rather than just some shoes you grabbed because you knew you'd be walking around all day.

Finally, try to always match your shoes and other accessories to your outfit if you can. This outfit slightly breaks the 3-colour rule because there is some green on the floral pattern of the dress, but it's quite subtle so I don't think it matters. However, the white trainers match the white in the floral pattern and my tortoiseshell sunglasses match the brown bag, so it all looks a little more well-thought-out even though I was just using the 1 bag and 1 pair of sunglasses I brought on my trip.