CAN fast fashion look elegant and luxurious? Apparently it can, according to one elegance coach.
Anna Bey created a shopping haul of H&M pieces that she thought looked sophisticated and offered her honest reviews, and tricks and fashion hacks for elevating them.
“I went on H&M’s website, and I bought all the classy and expensive-looking items that I could find,” Anna said, opening up her YouTube video.
The consensus of the 20 timeless and basic wardrobe pieces she picked was that they were in solid, neutral colors and were picked based on quality-looking and feeling, thick fabrics.
First she tried a Wool-blend Bouclé Dress that retails on the site for $65. The tweed-inspired minidress had short sleeves and gold-buttoned front pockets.
While she said the gold buttons gave away that the dress was fast fashion, she liked the style in both the cream and black versions.
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“Tweed dresses do look quite elegant and classy. This is the ‘easiest’ way if you want to look classy on a budget,” she said.
Anna added her final verdict and a disclaimer, saying: “I think these look decent … I am taking into consideration that we are talking H&M and we are talking on a budget.”
After some dull try-ons, her next favorite piece was an off-white Rib-knit Top with a unique neckline for $28.
“Long sleeve simple tops in this type of color are actually something that I tend to wear almost every day,” the elegance coach approved.
Then she tried a matching suit set. While Anna said she usually steers clear from buying fast fashion suits, she thought these $45 Pantalon habillé trousers and a $60 Single-breasted Jacket were “decent.”
In addition to the feminine-cut of the waist-defining blazer, Anna offered: “One of the tricks I have noticed is that oftentimes grey tends to look better in suits than other colors.”
Then she went on a spree of trying many knitted long-sleeve midi dresses, which she says are staple classy wardrobe pieces for the fall and winter.
Anna first wore a cozy $65 Rib-knit Dress. She liked the fabric but didn’t like the oversized frumpy silhouette, so she offered her next fashion hack.
“We need to fix this because this dress is not that bad. It needs a little pick-me-up and that pick-me-up is a belt,” she said, demonstrating how to quickly create a body-hugging silhouette.
“Invest in belts because they’re going to serve you,” Anna continued.
As she tried on several variations of this dress style, she explained that the pieces could be mistaken for expensive because of the fibers, knitted construction, and neutral colors.
“Everything looks more natural than manmade, which we often associate with fast fashion,” she added.
She also moved onto more elevated dresses, like a wrap dress with an attached fabric belt that retails for $50.
“Diane von Furstenberg made this dress really popular but now you can get a dupe at H&M. Why not?” she asked.
Anna then moved onto and liked some of H&M’s party dresses including a $35 Off-the-shoulder Gathered Dress – which she thought was a bargain – and a $50 Tie-belt Satin Dress.
These pieces had soft and shiny fabrics and were figure-hugging without being too revealing or “raunchy.”
“Sometimes you can look more expensive for less [money], definitely,” Anna officially declared.
