Green Gal Riri

The best part of styling is the experimentation — the oscillating between ideas & inspiration for a look that is not only wearable but creatively stimulating.

When I saw these killer green embroidered satin boots at Zara, they gave me total Rihanna-in-Balenciaga vibes from her “Wild Thoughts” music video. I love when something dope from the past manifests itself in a completely fresh way. Rihanna looked like a goddess in the video with the Balenciaga boots, the gangsta gold jewelry, tinted shades, and the green & red hues, which was all very on trend, yet very Rihanna.

But let’s be real, no one is trying to be Riri, and frankly no one can, so how do I take all that inspo and have it reflect me?

The Zara boots started the process (which I’ve linked below) and then I thought about that particular brilliant shade of green. I monochrome often, but it is tricky. You would think picking a color and matching everything to it is the most basic type of styling, but it is much more complex. The uniformity of color is visually pleasing, but to really take it there, you move beyond hues and get into textures and patterns. When the shades are the same, it emphasizes everything else (psych plug: ask me more of about the visual perception of color related to cognitive processes if you ever have time).

As a result, you have to style the rest of the look with purpose. That’s where the trench coat, t-shirt dress, and accessories come into play to make for a truly bad gyal look.