to complete outfit
- phrasal verb
:
completar el atuendo
- To elevate her style, she decided to complete the outfit with a statement necklace.
Examples
-
White silk stockings and black leather pumps completed the outfit, as he could not bring himself to wear the remainder of the French Restoration ensemble, which consisted of a sword hung from a special belt, limiting himself to his usual restrained jewelry.
Fiction book (1991) -
And then I really wanted to like complete the outfit, so I also bought a little shacket to go with it.
-
Silver bracelets, earrings, and narrow suede boots completed the outfit.
Fiction book (1991) -
He added a bright scarf to complete the outfit for the formal event.
-
The designer suggested accessories that would complete the outfit for the photoshoot.
Synonyms
178
2.7
Put on special clothes for an event or to look attractive
56
3.4
Make something look nicer or more attractive for a special event
16
3.8
To add small items like jewelry or scarves to clothes to make them look nicer
15
4.1
To make a person or a room look special with clothes and decorations
To put on special clothes to look nice for an event
How Complete
8
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to finalize or enhance a clothing ensemble' is directly compositional: 'complete' (to make whole/finish) applied to 'outfit' (a set of clothes) yields the meaning of adding items to make the outfit whole. This is a regular verb + object construction found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Complete outfit comes from the simple image of adding the last pieces to your clothes — when you complete an outfit you might add shoes, a belt, or a scarf to make everything look finished. So, to complete outfit today means 'to finish or improve a look' by adding those final items.