Wardrobe Tips

14 Things That Make You Look Cheap

By DeAndrea
Updated:
things that make you look cheap woman

We ladies spend a lot of time on our appearance and rightfully so! Pretty privilege is a real thing and is always worth the little bit of extra effort it takes to get some. As with pretty much everything in life, the devil is in the details. Spending a lot of money on clothes doesn’t guarantee that you’ll look good or expensive. There are plenty of things besides clothes that can leave you looking very cheap but don’t worry. Here are some tips that will help you avoid looking cheap and make it easier to look expensive.

What Makes A Girl Look Cheap?

things that cheapen your appearance

Chipped Nail Polish and Grown Out Acrylics

Chipped nail polish is like a broken window. We understand that these things can happen, but it makes us (and the house or building) look like no one cares about us. The same thing goes for grown-out acrylics. Life happens and sometimes it can be hard to make it to the salon for refills and manicures, but when you have nails that are unkempt people are led to believe that you don’t care about your appearance and will cut corners on the small things.

Wearing The Wrong Foundation Shade

The goal of wearing makeup is for it to look like you’re almost not wearing any. At least if you’re going for a more elegant and clean appearance. A clear line between your face and your neck is the fastest way to make it obvious that you’re wearing makeup. Make sure that you are matching your shade and undertone correctly. The best thing to do if you’re new to this is to get a sample of a foundation you want to try and wear it all day. You’ll want to see if the color gets darker or redder throughout the day and see if the shade matches you all day long.

Scuffed Shoes

Wearing scuffed or dirty shoes will always look unkempt and cheap. Because you walk around in them all day, you should take care of your shoes. Scratches can be fixed with shoe polish or shoe shine and they can keep your shoes looking newer for longer. Get your shoes resoled and heels recapped as often as you need to keep them looking as fresh as possible.

Wrinkled Clothes

Wrinkled clothing is something everyone will notice. You want to look like you care about your presentation, not like you just rolled out of bed.

Wearing Clothes That Are The Wrong Size

The oversized look can be done well with a little effort, but that look isn’t for everyone and should never be done with suiting and classier outfits. Your blazers, jackets, and coats should fit through the shoulder, have an appropriate sleeve length, and not be too baggy throughout the torso. It may be hard to fix this fit off the rack, but a good tailor can help your clothes look made for you.

On the other side of the coin, clothes that are too small are never cute. Wearing clothes that are too small makes you look like a stuffed sausage and bigger than you are. No one can see the number or letter on the tag of the clothes you wear. Opt to look good instead of trying to squeeze into something that’s too small.

things that look cheap

Poorly Maintained Hair Dye

Changing your hair color is a fun way to play around with your look. If your goal is to look expensive you have to make sure that you properly maintain your hair dye. If you’ve gone blonde your hair should never be orange and brassy. This may mean washing your hair with purple shampoo and frequent trips to the salon for toning. And no matter your hair color, grown-out roots are never classy.

Also, though I love the look of unnatural hair colors like pink, blue, purple, and green, these shades make you look cheap no matter how expensive and expertly applied the dye or wig is. This is because no one’s hair naturally grows in these colors. Anything obviously artificial isn’t going to give you the elegant appearance you are going for.

Wearing a Hair Tie As A Bracelet

Speaking of hair, you may want to tie up your hair throughout the day if you have it down and want your hair tie to be handy. But having your hair tie or scrunchie on your wrist all day long looks cheap. Just like cloth bracelets look cheap. Place a spare hair tie or two in your bag so you’ll never be without one, but don’t wear it on your wrist if you want to look classy and more expensive.

Poor Etiquette and Bad Manners

You can look the part all you want but if you can’t act like it there really is no point. Be mindful of how you speak, how you move, your body language, and your posture. All of those things add up. When you have a disconnect between how you look and behave, it cheapens your appearance. Your appearance and how you behave have to match for your personal branding to match.

Bad Mouth Appearance

Your mouth is almost always in focus, especially if you are talking. Straight, white teeth with minimal spacing between them are ideal. Save up for braces or aligners if you need to. It makes a world of difference. While you don’t have to go get veneers or braces, because those can be expensive, you can do a lot of other things to make sure your mouth is presented as nicely as possible. Make sure you are keeping your lips moisturized, have removed any obvious hairs or peach fuzz from around your mouth, and have good breath. Keep mints on hand for fresh breath, not gum. Chewing gum can make you look like a cow chewing cud. Not classy.

Scratched or Dirty Glasses

This is especially difficult for those of us who need corrective lenses to see, but the devil is in the details. You can purchase anti-scratch coatings for your glasses if it isn’t included. That will basically eliminate the possibility of getting your lenses scratched up. Keep lens wipes handy to take care of any smudges or debris that gets on your lenses throughout the day. The same rules apply to sunglasses. You don’t have to go as far as getting anti-scratch coatings on them, but make sure you’re storing them in a way that will keep them from getting scratched.

Graphic Tees

Wearing a t-shirt with words on it comes off as juvenile and when is the last time someone called an average child classy? Graphic tees for women are typically found in clothing stores that have lower prices and cater to the masses. If you are intent on not looking cheap you are operating differently from the average person. Take inspiration from the designers and stores you want to shop with. The vast majority of them do not carry graphic tees in their women’s section.

how not to look cheap lip filler

Overdone Fillers or Plastic Surgery

Opting to enhance your appearance with surgery is a personal choice each woman can make for herself. We also believe that a woman is allowed to go as heavy or as light with her transformation as she wants to. If looking classy, not cheap is your objective, less is often more. Again, anything obviously artificial does not look classy. The average person should not be able to look at you and name the procedures you’ve done.

Wearing Cheap Perfume

You know a cheap perfume when you smell it. It isn’t complex or enticing at all and pretty much smells only like sugar or musk. Think about that one store in the mall that sells all of those candles and bath gel. Simple scents that smell good, but don’t smell expensive. That’s not the objective. To not be perceived as cheap your fragrance should smell complex and have more than one note. It’s also worth noting that practicing proper perfume etiquette is key when wearing fragrances. You could be wearing a bespoke scent that costs you $1,000 but still be seen as cheap because you don’t follow the right protocol for wearing it.

Wearing Too Much Makeup

Again, less is more. When you cake on layers and layers of makeup or have lashes that are obviously artificial you look cheap. Opt for lashes that look like yours but better and use minimal makeup. This doesn’t mean that you can’t wear that smokey eye or winged liner at all. It means using them in moderation and at the appropriate moments. Dramatic eye makeup is for special events, not daily use. There is nothing wrong with a little winged eyeliner action on the daily, but it shouldn’t be obvious. The goal is for people to wonder for a brief moment if you are wearing makeup or if you just get to walk around looking beautiful and radiant all the time.

how to not look cheap

Don’t Look Cheap, Look Classy and Expensive

It takes a little effort not to look cheap, but it doesn’t have to break the bank. If more expensive clothes aren’t currently in your budget that’s perfectly fine. We all have to start somewhere. Use the tips outlined here to make small changes to your daily appearance to make sure you’re looking as classy as you can and the opportunities to upgrade your look will come naturally.

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14 Things That Make You Look Cheap | The Lady Loves Living