Life is busy right? Kids, husbands, broken alarm clocks (or just hitting the snooze button like me) it all leads to very little time to think about what to wear every morning!

Building outfits for different occasions is something I talk to my personal styling clients quite a bit – it’s nailing that combination of comfort, style and wearability right?

So when McDonald’s invited me to lunch with two other amazing bloggers (Hannah from The Modern Girl, and Leonie from The Style Insider), to try their new Create Your Taste menu (build your own burgers basically!), my first thought was “what am I going to wear that is ‘fashion-y enough to hang out with other bloggers, but relaxed enough to not look out of place at Maccas” haha!

So here are my tips for building the right outfit for the right occasion

1. Start with the shoes

Are you walking or standing most of the day? Or is there the option to sit? Think about how your feet are going to feel at the end of the day and work back from there.

I chose these wee Country Road boots as they are a nice summer colour, and they have a small heel I can walk in (I had a few meetings before lunch all over the CBD so walking was on the cards)

2. Comfort is key

If you are wearing something all day (rather than just for a meeting or event) then it’s important to be comfy. I also knew I was going to lunch, so skin tight was NOT on the menu!

This great frock from Trelise Cooper is fun and light (and still lets my show off one of my fave features, my legs) but it’s loose and comfy to wear in and out of the car, yet dressy enough to be appropriate for meetings.

3. Layer for interest

Layering always adds interest to an outfit. It wasn’t SUPER hot yesterday, but I didn’t need to wear a jacket, I just wanted to add some depth to my outfit. The blue from this Trelise Cooper jacket plays on the blue in the dress and the slight print clash gives me that “fashion” edge I wanted.

Add something that shows off your personal style, rather than JUST being practical. Something that makes a statement is always good – shoes, a necklace or jacket.

So that was my thought process in building this outfit for my blogger lunch.

And not only did I get to build an outfit, I got to build my own burger!! Now part of what I love about hitting the Golden Arches is that it ALWAYS tastes the same right? Order a cheeseburger anywhere in the world and it’s a cheeseburger.

BUT I do love a bit of gourmet (anything with sliced gherkins is gourmet in my book) and McDonald’s are bringing the gourmet burger to you with their Create Your Taste menu – you can literally build your own burger (bunless option included!).

yes we all eat McDonalds…. weekly haha!

So very much like I built my outfit for the lunch, I then built my burger – and it was DIVINE! (for the record, I went with the bakery bun, 100% angus beef pattie, lettuce, tomato, gherkins, red onion with mustard and ketchup – in a meal, with chips and a coke of course!)

Create Your Taste options are available at the Balmoral McDonald’s in Auckland (it’s like the Maccas test lab, it’s awesome!) and will be rolled out across stores nationally over the next 12 months. NZ is only the 3rd country in the world to have this option, little innovators we are – Aussie it’s making it’s way around the country there too so keep an eye out!

Do you struggle with building outfits? Would you like to see more tips on building outfits for different occasions? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below, I’d love to know!

Until Next Time,

In Love & Style Always

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