How to Wear Gingham Without Looking Too Girly 101

First and foremost, I'm a girly girl. I always have been — so much so that when I recently told my father I had an interest in taking up boxing, he thought I was having a nervous breakdown.

In fairness, he was imagining a recreational boxing class as something more along the lines of Fight Club, but alas, I digress. The point is, I like to look feminine. It's very much part of my aesthetic.

Another thing you should know about me? I love gingham, and I love anything off the shoulder, which is pretty convenient given how of the moment those trends are right now. So, Monday, I started my day with my recent favorite top that I picked up at Zara (see below), and I paired it with a nude lip as Brigitte Bardot would have done. I'm having a Bardot moment, bear with me. Little known fact?

Brigitte wore gingham to her wedding with Jacques Charrier, so obviously I'm even more into gingham because of that trivial tidbit.

I was going about my chic, but somewhat unremarkable business and chugging along with my day when, well, I had a moment of genius about half-way through my day that completely changed my outfit.

So what was this idea? I popped on a deep eggplant matte lip and all of a sudden compliments were flying at me from every angle. So maybe if you're reaching for some gingham or off-the-shoulder action, but you don't want to look run of the mill, grab a deep lip. Besides, rules are for breaking. It's fun to be the center of attention and springtime does not mean that you are barred from a moody lip.

If you're into it, try Bite Beauty Lipstick in Nori ($26; sephora.com) or even Tom Ford Lip Color in Purple Noon ($52; sephora.com).

Consider this microphone dropped.