The 7-rule dressing formula women with great taste follow without realizing

If you’ve ever looked at a woman and thought, “She just has it,” you’re probably right—but “it” isn’t magic. It’s a handful of habits that repeat like clockwork.

After years of building spreadsheets as a financial analyst, I see patterns everywhere—including in great style. There’s a quiet little formula women with taste follow almost on autopilot. Think of the seven rules below as your personal blueprint.

Use them together, remix them, make them your own.

For context, I write in a practical, conversational voice as Avery—the friend who will tell you if your hem is swallowing your ankles and then hand you safety pins for the fix.

Let’s get you dressed like you mean it.

1. Fit first

When nothing fits, nothing looks expensive—not even expensive clothes.

Great dressers start with the foundations: shoulder seams that sit on the shoulder, a waistband that hugs without gouging, and hemlines that meet the shoe (not the sidewalk). I do a quick “three-point fit check” before I buy or keep anything:

• Shoulders: seams align with the bony edge.

• Waist/seat: you can slide two fingers under the waistband, no more.

• Length: pants skim the top of your shoe; sleeves meet your wrist bone.

If something is 80% there, they tailor the last 20%. A $20 skirt with a $15 waist-nip reads as “custom.” That’s the math.

2. One focal point

Have you noticed how the chicest outfits feel calm, even when they’re bold? That’s because there’s one star and everyone else is playing supporting roles.

Pick a focal point—shoes, a jacket, a print, a lip—and keep everything else quieter. Red boots? Then the coat goes neutral. Statement earrings? Hair back, neckline simple.

The eye wants a place to land. Too many exclamation points and no sentence gets read.

This is also why the plain white tee is a secret weapon. It’s a dimmer switch for the rest of your outfit.

3. The three-color move

Color can be scary. Here’s the simple rule I reach for on Tuesday mornings when the coffee hasn’t hit yet: wear up to three colors, total, including neutrals.

Denim counts as a blue. Black-and-white stripes count as two colors (black + white). A print that already mixes shades can stand in for two on its own.

If you’re craving variety, mix textures inside one color family—say, cream denim + silk ivory blouse + oatmeal knit. You get depth without tipping into chaos.

If you love brights, make one of your three colors loud and keep the other two whisper-quiet. It reads intentional, not accidental.

4. Balance structure with flow

Great taste lives in contrast: soft with sharp, slouch with sleek.

Pair a rigid fabric with a fluid one (think: crisp cotton button-down + bias-cut skirt). Or a sculpted top with a relaxed bottom (tailored blazer + wide-leg trouser). That push-pull is what gives an outfit dimension.

When everything is stiff, you look boxed in. When everything is drapey, you risk looking undone.

If you’re not sure where to start, swap just one element. Boxy tee? Add a sleeker skirt. Floaty dress? Ground it with a structured denim jacket. Easy.

5. Work the rule of thirds (not halves)

Cut your outfit into thirds, not halves. Halves usually look stumpier; thirds look intentional.

Here’s how I apply it:

• Tuck or half-tuck to shorten the top to one-third and let the bottom be two-thirds.

• Choose a cropped jacket that ends around the top of your hip.

• Go high-rise to lengthen legs, then balance with a shorter top.

Play in the mirror for sixty seconds. A quick tuck or cuff often transforms the whole silhouette.

6. Upgrade textures and finishers

Fabric and finishing are where outfits go from “fine” to “how is that so polished?”

Swap shiny synthetics for matte weaves where you can. Choose leather or faux-leather over plasticky finishes, brushed hardware over super-glossy, real buttons over flimsy ones. These micro-choices add up.

And then, editing. The line often attributed to Coco Chanel—“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”—is famous for a reason.

Even if the exact origin is debated, the spirit holds: remove the extra belt, the competing bracelet, the redundant layer, and you’ll reveal the idea underneath.

7. Dress for the life you actually live

Taste isn’t about owning “everything.” It’s about coherence. Women with great style tend to dress for their real calendar—on repeat.

If your week = school drop-offs, a commute, and a standing Thursday date night, build a tiny uniform for each: polished sneakers + tailored trousers + knit jacket for mornings; loafers + column dress for desk days; heeled boots + silk top + dark denim for dinner. Repeat, remix, breathe.

Two science-backed nudges help here:

• What you wear shapes how you feel and perform. Researchers Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky call this “enclothed cognition”—the idea that clothing carries symbolic meaning that can shift our mindset and behavior. If you want to feel focused, choose pieces that signal “focused” to you. Lab coats changed task performance in their famous experiments; your “power cardigan” can, too. 

• Formality can sharpen big-picture thinking. In a set of studies, wearing more formal clothes nudged people toward more abstract (strategic) processing—useful if you’re presenting, planning, or negotiating. Translation: some days the blazer is not just for show.

The takeaway isn’t “always dress up.” It’s “dress on purpose.”

Putting it all together (a quick morning walkthrough)

Here’s how I use the formula when I’m getting ready in real life—say, for a Saturday farmers’ market volunteer shift followed by lunch with friends.

1. Start with fit. High-rise straight jeans that actually meet my waist. No gaping, no tugging.

2. Choose the focal point. Today it’s a moss-green utility jacket I love because the pockets hold everything.

3. Set the palette. Three colors: indigo denim, white tee, moss jacket. Tan sandals read as a neutral.

4. Add balance. The jacket is structured, so I keep the tee drapey.

5. Find thirds. Half-tuck the tee so my legs read longer.

6. Upgrade finishers. Swap the default belt for a braided leather one, but skip a necklace—earrings already pull attention up. (Take one thing off!) quoteinvestigator.com

7. Confirm purpose. I’m hauling peaches and answering questions, so I throw on a crossbody and a cotton bandana I can tie back in my hair when it gets hot. I feel like me, and I can move.

The outfit looks simple, sure. But it’s following a quiet checklist that keeps the whole thing cohesive.

A few smart swaps that always work

• Trade flimsy camis for ribbed tanks—they hold shape and layer better.

• Replace tired leggings with ponte pants—same comfort, sharper line.

• Pick one signature metal (gold or silver) for the day; mix textures instead of metals if you want variety.

• Go monochrome on tough mornings; add interest with texture (knit + suede + patent).

• If shoes look “too sweet” with a dress, add a hint of edge (chunky sole, lug loafer, moto boot). The friction reads modern.

Final thoughts

You don’t need a closet overhaul; you need a repeatable filter. Fit, focus, color, balance, proportion, finishers, and purpose. That’s the seven-part loop I see in every woman whose style quietly turns heads.

Try it for a week. Notice which rule gives you the biggest lift. Maybe it’s tailoring a pair of pants you’ve been fighting with. Maybe it’s editing down to three colors. Maybe it’s dressing “on purpose” for the job that requires big-picture thinking (and yes, some days that means Yes to the blazer).

Great taste isn’t loud. It’s consistent. It’s you, distilled—again and again. And once you start to feel it, you won’t need to think about it. You’ll just get dressed and go.