- I'm trying to get dressed quicker so I tried the "sandwich" outfit trick from TikTok.
- The trick suggests matching the color of your shoes to your shirt to balance an outfit.
I love to sleep in and often find myself rushing out the door to get to my destination on time, so the fewer minutes I spend in front of my closet, the better.
And when the "sandwich" styling hack first popped up on my TikTok For You Page, I saw an opportunity to streamline my morning routine.
It seems simple enough: As style creator Lydia Langford explains in her TikTok, which has over 75,000 likes at the time of writing, the trick is matching the color of your footwear to your shirt or accessories for an effortlessly cohesive outfit.
@lydia.langford The sandwich rule: when putting together an outfit, consider choosing the same color on the bottom as you would the top. #styletips #ootd #fashion #stylehacks #datenightoutfit ♬ original sound - Lydia
Your top and shoes are serving as the "bread" of your outfit sandwich and your bottoms are the filling.
This combination or strategy isn't new — stylists, bloggers, and fashion experts have shared this clever trick for years. Plus the hashtag #SandwichMethod currently has over 23 million views across the app.
In 2022, style creator Lydia Tomlinson also explored the basics of color balancing to create a sandwich effect in a video series on TikTok. In it, she suggests playing with a variety of proportions, colors, and details to help an outfit seem more polished.
@lydiajanetomlinson Link in bio #coloursandwich #colours #stylingcolours #stylingcolourcombos #stylingcolors #stylingtips #fallstyle #fallstyle2020 ♬ original sound - Lydia Tomlinson
I used this sandwich trick to get dressed for a week. Here's what I learned:
It's easiest to begin with footwear and build from there
As someone who spends most days walking to my destination, I try to prioritize functional footwear when getting dressed. After landing on a pair of chunky loafers on day one, I found it easy to choose a matching knit top.
Since I have more tops than I do shoes, I also found it easier to choose my footwear before building the rest of my outfit.
Playing with proportions levels up an otherwise neutral outfit
In an Instagram video, Tomlinson also advised balancing items with similar shapes and textures.
Before heading to a diner in the East Village, I paired dainty square-toed heels with thin sunglasses. I felt like the coordinating colors and delicate shapes made my look feel more polished.
The biggest challenge of the sandwich method is matching colorful tops to sneakers
Pink dominates my closet — but, unfortunately, not my shoe collection.
My solution was pairing funky socks with some basic sneakers to pull together the outfit, even if it wasn't an exact match. Bonus points if you add coordinating eyeliner, too.
I found colorful socks or tights could be a fun workaround for those who have a lot of vibrant tops but not many pairs of shoes to match.
Ultimately, this hack made me feel more put together, even on a lazy day
This week was very hot and humid, so I spent lots of time indoors. Even while wearing casual clothes, I thought I looked a little more polished with a color-balanced outfit.
Pairing white socks with a white T-shirt may not be revolutionary, but I liked how balanced it looked.
This might not be a trick I use with every outfit, but I'll definitely try it when I'm running late
Sandwiching my outfits made my mornings significantly easier — and even gave me an excuse to invest in more funky shoes. I won't do this trick every day, but it's definitely nice to have a formula in mind when I just can't decide what to wear.