Have You Heard of The 2X2 TikTok Trend? Because It Will Make You A Better Dresser in Two Minutes.
by The Candidly Team
Believe it or not, we’ve reached a point in life where we own some clothes we actually like. So the issue we have when getting dressed really just comes down to one conundrum:
How do we put those clothes together in a way that we also manage to like?
Realistically, we lack the energy to “style” our outfits each day. And even when we do manage to do it, how demoralizing it is to have those outfits look jusssst a little bit off? Not as good as we hoped or imagined. Too formal. Not formal enough. You know the feeling.
For this reason, we do appreciate a good rule. Any formulaic hack for dressing better without having to think too much about it. And there’s actually very simple one floating around TikTok right now that we have found to be a tiny little gift. Here’s a quick explanation of what it is:
If you didn’t feel like watching, it’s called 2x2 and all it involves is creating an outfit by choosing two smart or “nice” pieces to pair with two casual ones.
So stupidly simple, right? Almost too basic to be taken seriously. But try it, and you’ll see, it really works.
Why is this?
1) When you choose two “smart” items, you anchor the outfit in something reliable that fits you well and makes the whole look appear more expensive (even if that nice thing wasn’t actually that expensive).
2) When you complete the look with two casual pieces, you make the whole thing more versatile - something you can wear from work to errands to dinner and look effortlessly cool all the while.
Now the absolute, critical trick to making this all work is to own key staple pieces in both the smart and casual categories - things that you can completely rely on over and over again. You can mix and match them in dozens of 2x2 configurations, plugging them in to make you look masterful at styling your clothes.
And because we loathe a rule that doesn’t offer specifics or examples, here are the staples in both the smart and casual categories we strongly recommend to start building your own 2x2 ensembles.
THE SMART PIECES
1. The All-Seasons, Everyday Jacket
Quince 100% Merino Wool Cropped Shirt Jacket
A luxe-looking piece of outerwear can turn dumb clothes into smart looks all by itself. Yet, it’s oddly hard to find a jacket that really and truly works with everything we wear. So when we found this one, which comes in several excellent color options, we got excited. Could this be the magic jacket we’ve been waiting for?
Price: $90
2. The Two-Tone Ballet Flats
What is it about a two-tone shoe that screams “quiet luxury?” There is nothing we could wear that isn’t made more interesting and lovely by this flat. Black and white is the chicest color combination, and it also ensures they match most of what we pick out daily.
Price: $128
3. The Very Best Linen Trousers
The Avery Pleated Wide-Leg Trousers by Maeve: Linen Edition
Tailoring is a way to make every outfit chic. And the non-linen version of these pants are in fact our favorite pants of all time because they look tailored to everyone who wears them. So naturally, it makes sense that the linen version would be our favorite linen pant.
Price: $148
4. The Statement Belt
Favorite Daughter The Statement Belt
Belts are under-appreciated. Add a good one to our plainest tee and jeans and poof, we’re sophisticated. Put together. We never get more compliments or questions about where we got something than when we wear this belt from Favorite Daughter.
Price: $118
5. The Black And White Silk Scarf
Tie this around your neck, to your bag, or round your ponytail and suddenly, you’re chic. Not just your run-of-the-mill chic. French-lady chic.
Price: $49.50
6. The Woven Sling Bag
A sling bag is special because you literally wear it as part of your outfit. So when you use it as one of your smart pieces in 2x2, you could pretty much have both your casual pieces be sweats, and you’d still look perfect. This particular sling comes in a dizzying number of colors and patterns we badly want.
THE CASUAL PIECES
7. The Base Layer Tank
Z Supply Hadley Striped Rib Tank
A tank is always casual, whether it costs $19 or $90. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t make an outfit wildly better. This one is so smoothing and flattering, and the stripes make it look especially good as part of a chic 2x2.
Price: $44
8. The Classic Jeans You Look Your Best In
Quince Bella Stretch Wide Leg Jeans
We’re almost hesitant to write about these jeans because we watch them sell out way too often. But they are the most definitive proof we’ve ever seen that jeans don’t need to cost $200 to look and feel amazing. They stretch, the glide, and they keep their perfect shape, all while costing 4x less than designer.
Price: $50
9. The Gauzy Button Down You Can Layer Over Everything
The length of this button down makes it stand out from all others. It hits at the exact right spot to be incredibly flattering - not too long and loose. Plus, the gauze is so light and soft, we can wear through the hottest months. Z Supply is doing so many clever things like this, which we wrote all about HERE.
Price: $74
10. The Casj Everyday Skirt
Most skirts would end up on the smart list. But not this skirt. It works with white sneaks and a baseball cap or a leather jacket and heels. Or better yet, mixed and matched with either to create a flattering 2x2. It’s stretchy and soft, and feels like leggings, but it also has real structure and holds you in - also like leggings - so we don’t feel daunted to wear something fitted. Finally!
Price: $59
11. The Low Leather Sneak
Soludos The Ibiza Platform Sneaker
The trick to fitting in on all occasions is to wear a little, white, leather sneak with skirts and dresses. It pretty much subs in for a ballet flat and comes off effortless and understated. This pair is also great with all lengths of jeans.
And Soludos gave us a code! Use THECANDIDLY20 to get 20% off.
Price: $40
12. The La Di Da Baseball Cap
By Anthropologie Embroidered Icon Baseball Cap
The best way to complete an outfit in our humble opinion is by adding something that takes away the need to wash or do our hair. This entire hat series from Anthro also happens to have stolen our hearts. Which one to get?
Price: $38
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
We have to eat.
