If you’re a fan of browsing Pinterest in search of great style inspiration you’ve probably seen lots of the beach-inspired classic California-girl style floating around the boards. California style, also called beach style or surfer girl style, is a great look that encompasses a sense of casual cool, and effortless chicness.
If you’re looking to add a little beach girl style to your look, consider these tips:
- One of the key features of good beachy style is being able to great straight from the shoreline to a bar or social gathering. Even if you’re not actually leaving the beach you want to look like you just threw your clothes on over your bathing suit and hit the road. To achieve this it’s a good idea to choose your cover-ups carefully. Try investing in lightweight, casual dresses in a variety of lengths that can be worn on their own so you’re not putting together an entire outfit when you’re on-the-go.
- Layer your jewelry. One of our favorite features of beach girl style is the look of effortlessly layering pieces like bracelets and necklaces to create a great bohemian look that’s rich and full of depth. When choosing jewelry to layer you definitely shouldn’t go for matching pieces—in fact it should be quite the opposite with a variance of colors, textures and materials.
- You can keep up the beach girl look year-round, even when the weather is cold. To do this, think about pairing items like chunky knit sweaters and dresses on top of pieces like overalls or a great pair of well-worn jeans. Sweaters are also a good transitional piece in spring and fall when paired with shorts or even just worn on top of a bathing suit.
- In general beach girl style is not about matching, at all. Think about pairing several bold prints with one another, like florals and stripes or stripes and polka dots and the less you think about matching your items, the more effortlessly chic you’re going to look.
- Great sunglasses are part of beach style, obviously. Right now the on-trend look in California girl shades are often round and inspired by the 1960s, or you can opt for something like aviator-style glasses with colorful lenses. You may want to have several unique pairs of sunglasses on-hand so you can always find the pair that matches your mood that day.
- Choose a multi-purpose bag and one that can easily go from the beach to whatever your evening plans may be. A backpack or a large slouchy bag is a good surfer option, even if you don’t surf. You can throw everything in it and go—but, whatever you do, don’t go for a bag with a structure shape because that’s the antithesis of beach girl style.
- When choosing footwear you really have three primary options: combat boots, sandals or really cool sneakers. Any one of these options are going to make you look ultra-cool and on-point with trends. We particularly love the look of leather gladiator sandals and high-top sneakers right now.
What are your favorite ways to capture that beach girl style no matter where you live or what season it is?