Style Jacking, a valid styling exercise
Jenna's guide and warning for recreating outfit inspo
I’ve stolen some of my best outfits.
Whether scrolling Pinterest, Instagram, more recently TikTok, or covertly jotting down the details of an IRL fit, I’ve been known to riff off of someone else’s outfit.
The most sought-after working stylists will tell you this practice is completely hack. That copying an outfit off of someone else is derivative and a myopic mistake, revealing a poor sense of self and style. I sort of agree. Then again, mistakes of great irrationality and impulse are formative, like dating the person who rides a motorcycle and drags you, drunk, to the middle of an abandoned highway at night to scream how you love each other. Does the relationship have longevity? Absolutely not. But it tells you something about the shape of your id, a shadow eroticism and desire. My point is, what I call style jacking has been an undeniable practice in my personal style journey, an exercise to unlock new combinations and characters from my closet.
Style jacking is a method best used as a jumping off point. Maybe you can recreate the outfit exactly, but there’s untold satisfaction to be had when the limits of your closet require your savvy and creative adjustments that ultimately make the resulting look more singular, one’s own. Successful style jacking renders your source into a reference among many, a lens on the clothes you have at home. (We have clothes at home!)
Jacking someone’s style wholesale, by which I mean following tagged brands or a catalog to the unnatural conclusion of new purchases based on (1) single look, is not the move — no matter how fire the original fit is, or how you’ve convinced yourself each piece belongs in your wardrobe. Beyond the likelihood of creating landfiller, looking like someone else will never be as exciting as breaking down which details interest you and leveraging this data into further discovery and expression of yourself.
Hey, I’ve brought case studies:
Style Jacking Case Study #1
Jacked
Ankle length lace dress + t-shirt template
Drawn to the combination, giving a lace dress more everyday utility
Adjustments
Subbing in a more fitted, yellow tee switches up the silhouette, with a slightly more defined waistline and a glimpse of intentional underwear.
I have sneakers and Western boots, but in an out-of-character twist, I wanted to lean into the fun-on-the-farm (Bonnaroo, probably) spirit and complement the lace and sunshine yellow with suede loafers. The choice is not entirely without its contrast, as it’s menswear-coded and brings a somewhat grandpa stateliness to an otherwise little girlish look.
Topping off the look, I’ve made another complementary choice, a woven leather bag that teeters on the edge of an upstate farmer’s market costume, but ultimately remains grounded. Not pictured, but I’ve also finished off this outfit with my studded black shoulder bag that adds some city contrast.
Results
I’ve worn some variation of this all summer, adjusting the accessories for park hangs (including an outdoor Midsummer Night’s Dream performance), trips upstate, and casual dinners.
Style Jacking Case Study #2
Jacked
Athletic shorts x closed toe heels template
I am drawn to this particular contrast, which is sporty/refined or butch/ladylike, borderline sexy, but a closed toe, rounded heel is a touch more precious and Mini Mouse.
Silhouette
Getting the proportions (top sleeve length, shorts length and inseam) as close as possible feels important.
Adjustments
Instead of a sporty numbered jersey, I’ve subbed in a white lace tee to provide some tension up top and I definitely prefer it. I’ve also opted not to tuck it in because I felt that would make a lace tee toooo fussy and deviate too much from the effortlessness of the source look.
Wearing my hair in an updo, as I was between washes on errand day
Betty Boop-ass Mini Mouse-lookin’ color scheme
Results
Really excited that Chloe Sevigny inspired me to revive items that had been collecting dust in my wardrobe: my Nike running shorts and the red day heel! I wore this to run errands and felt super comfortable and cool.
Style Jacking Case Study #3: Failed
Jacked
General color scheme
Materiality
I love the way leather and mesh spices up white wool and tweed
Ribbed white sweater + knee high boots + mini skirt template
Adjustments
The coat is the thing for this inspiration, so maybe not having one of the major ingredients was bound to be challenging, but I did throw on my thrifted green button-down in a waxy material
Lacking a leather mini skirt, I substituted a tweed, brown number to incorporate the colorway and pattern from the Barbour x AlexaChung jacket’s lining
Added the highlighter-yellow Free People sweater to pull in the tone of the sunnies’ lenses from the inspiration, but I’m not sure about it — sweater draping pushes the preppiness over the edge, which certainly doesn’t feel like me
Results
It’s missing some kind of modern or urban detail to reduce the horse girl energy that doesn’t suit me; The model has groovy Lexxola frames to shake up the country club vibe. Here am I, resisting the urge to search for a yellow PVC or lucite bag on Etsy. I might try my yellow MNZ Olympias with some high mesh socks to preserve the mini skirt-knee high proportional relationship, but I fear that would make the outfit too starkly divisive between top half and bottom half, not cohesive.
There’s more work to be done on bringing in the source’s contrast of texture. Next iteration, I would add mesh tights or socks to disrupt the tweed and cotton.
As it is, this combination of my clothes doesn’t yield enough artful tension or contrast, nor does it express anything about me. Ultimately I’m left with a costume, something that would wear me and not the other way around.
Style Jacking Case Study #4
Jacked
Bralette + cardigan + long shorts + sandals template
Mostly* stuck to the proportions
Adjustments
All new color scheme thanks to my not being a “Summer” and not owning a baby blue bralette, a pale yellow cardigan, or charcoal shorts
My longest, baggiest denim shorts aren’t much of either metric, but I love the wash, particularly for how it plays with the color of the Tibi cardigan.
Without a medallion belt, I’ve add some metal texture with my tried-and-true black studded bag, though I was hoping it would also mix in more of a skater vibe
I figured that because my bralette is black and not baby blue, I should go with a subtly lacy one with underwire to keep the softness, though I’m not sure it landed.
Results
What do you think? I wore this out because I love a slutty little errand outfit, though I realize the oomph and skater boy essence from *the source’s long, baggy shorts is noticeably absent. Perhaps this source deserves another go with long basketball shorts.
As you can see, it’s damn near impossible to style jack holistically, unless you own every garment and accessory of the source (not that I’m not in effect working towards this with each passing MNZ sample sale). That said, using this method to develop your own style takes time, iterations, and most importantly, a clear-eyed and detailed analysis of what inspires you. Before you discount style jacking, I recommend taking your style Pinterest boards for a spin without buying a damn thing.
Outfits? Served. Notes? Taken. I’m KICKING myself for having sold my vintage lace tee many moons ago after seeing this styling 🥲 I’ll absolutely be recreating looks #1 and #2 post haste!