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The Sandwich Rule Is My New Favorite Viral Styling Trick (& It’s So Easy)
By Abby Hepworth,
14 hours ago
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“If you think about a sandwich, it has the bread at the top, the bread at the bottom and something different in the middle,” Tomlinson explains in her first post. “This in turn creates a balanced effect. And, the same rules can be applied to your outfits.” Basically, her Sandwich Rule of Dressing entails balancing one piece on your bottom half with another on your top half and including something contrary in the middle.
How to Choose Your “Bread” and “Filling”
As Tomlinson demonstrates, this can be achieved with color, fabric weight or proportions. In her first example, she shows how chunky black boots worn with cream-colored jeans and a white sweater can look heavy on bottom. But with the simple addition of a black scarf or belt the outfit becomes much better balanced. “The key is to bring some of the color on your shoes through to the top of your outfit to create that balance. Another way to do this is through coats and jackets.”
Similarly, oversize tops in heavier materials, like Tomlinson’s plaid blazer, don’t mix well with slim-fitting jeans and dainty ballet flats . Instead, she suggests pairing them with a more substantial shoe, like a tall boot or exaggerated lug sole. In this instance, the bread is the blazer and boots, and the sandwich filling is the skinny jeans .
Lastly, Tomlinson talks about how to apply the Sandwich Rule when styling voluminous pieces. Sporting a sweater with padded shoulders, a black waist belt and black skinny jeans, she explains, “Skinny jeans make the [sweater] feel top heavy and detract from the flattering shape at the waist that we’ve created with the belt. In order to emphasis the shape at the waistline and balance out the padded shoulders, a slightly wider leg looks more flattering.” She goes into more detail on this in her second video, which specifically addresses the Sandwich Rule using proportions.
How to Get the Look
So, what does this look like IRL? Here are seven examples from some of my favorite street style stars.
1. Red Sweater and Ballet Flats (Bread) + Neutral-Hue Separates (Filling)
Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images)
Perhaps the easiest example to visualize is with color. In the above outfit, the two “slices of bread” are a red sweater draped over her shoulders and a pair of red ballet flats. The “filling” is comprised of contrasting separates in neutral hues, which helps emphasize the red even more. You could recreate this look with a more vibrant filling, as well, but I love the more overt juxtaposition between the cherry pops and basic beige.
2. Long-Sleeve Knit and Sneakers with Socks (Bread) + Sheer Lace Skirt (Filling)
Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images
Balance the heaviness of sneakers with calf-length socks and a cozy knit pullover with a lightweight bottom in-between. In this instance, a lace skirt filling works to lighten the two heavier pieces of bread, but you don't need to go totally sheer to make this combination work. Linen, cotton or lace with a lining will all lend the same airy vibes without showing quite so much skin.
Trying to figure out how to make a curve-hugging skirt work for an afternoon with friends? Opt for an oversize T-shirt and a pair of chunky flat sandals or even sneakers to balance the proportions of your skirt. And while Gen Z would advise leaving your tee untucked, millennials are all but guaranteed to tuck it in. The good news: Both options are cute, chic and fit the Sandwich Rule to a T (pun intended).
4. Billowy Blouse and Wide-Leg Pants (Bread) + Belt (Filling)
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
One of my favorite no-fail outfit combinations is a voluminous blouse tucked into a pair of wide-leg pants . Adding a contrasting belt to really emphasize the look of a cinched waist is a perfect example of how to use the Sandwich Rule with contrasting proportions.
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5. Cropped Jacket and Fitted Boots (Bread) + Full Skirt (Filling)
Streetstyleshooters/Getty Images
On the flip side, why not try a voluminous “filling” instead of voluminous “bread”? In this instance, choosing a cropped jacket that fits close to the body and boots that similarly hug the calf (rather than slouching or pulling away from the leg) helps to balance out a full A-line skirt. For spring or summer, you could also swap the jacket for a slim-fit T-shirt and the boots for ballet flats or simple sandals to achieve the same effect.
6. Tiny Tank and Floaty Skirt (Bread) + Statement Belt (Filling)
Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images
Hot weather calls for lightweight fabrics and skimpier silhouettes, making a tank with thin straps and a floaty midi skirt excellent options to beat the heat. But by adding a heavier belt, like this leather and gold statement piece, your outfit becomes much more interesting and feels more like an intentional fashion moment. If your leather belts just aren’t vibing with your summery staples, try rolling up a colorful silk scarf and tying that around your waist instead. The vibrant colors and slight shimmer of the silk will still provide enough contrast to fit within the Sandwich Rule.
Sometimes applying the Sandwich Rule is less about color or shape and more about vibes. In the outfit above, you could argue that the black top and black shoes are the colorful bread to the muted white shorts, but there’s also another way to break it down. Even if her shorts were also black, this outfit would still fit within the Rule. Going by vibes, both the button-up cardigan and the ballet flats feel inherently polished and posh, whereas the cut-off denim shorts are far more casual.
As a fashion editor, I adore playing around with my clothes, accessories and shoes to create funky combos and unexpected pairings. But not everyone finds pulling outfits together to be quite so fun. I love any hack , trick or “ rule ” that can take the stress out of getting dressed, and the Sandwich Rule achieves exactly that, with the added bonus that it can be interpreted in so many different ways. It’s a phenomenal trick you can whip out if you’re in a rush getting dressed, aren’t quite sure what shoes to pick or simply want to try mixing and matching more items from your wardrobe. All told, it’s an outfit-building game-changer that I’ll continue to use time and time and time again.
PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.
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