5 Things That Are Making You Look More Tired

Sleeve, Shoulder, Textile, Joint, Pattern, Dress, Style, One-piece garment, Waist, Fashion,

(Image credit: Getty, design by Dana Tepper)

published 13 April 2016

Exhaustion can be very chic (like, "Whoa. What was *she* up to last night?"), but fashion-wise, boo-boo, it's always chicer to err on the side of polish. Here, we dissect five styling mistakes that read more lazy Sunday than stayed out all night.

Your jewelry is wrong

Jewelry = a Lumee but more portable. Shiny stuff dangling or hanging close to your face draws light to your features, so if you're feeling a bit haggard, pop a Berocca and put on your biggest diamond earrings. (CZ will do just fine.)

Your glasses are letting you down

Unless you wear them every day, people *will* assume that you are sick and/or hungover when you roll up in spectacles—UNLESS you treat them as a Gucci-esque accessory that actually adds something to the look. Better to be more dressed up if your Warby Parkers usually don't see the light of day.

Your pants are giving you Saggy Butt

Like, wear whatever you want, but just know that ill-fitting trousers signal to the world that you've given up. (We're pretty sure Gwyneth's were an honest mistake, though.) Loose doesn't have to equal shapeless, and a sliver of ankle is always a good idea.

You're not doing strategic volume

Want to know why tent dresses work? Because even though your middle looks like it could be shaped like a barrel, your relatively tiny limbs visually remind onlookers that, no, you're a human woman. This tracksuit isn't bad at all, but see how the outfit on the right has even more fabric than the one on the left but appears more put-together? Raising the hem just a few inches higher to expose more leg, a heel, and one color HTT will do that.

Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.