What is TikTok’s viral eight-point system and how can it make your outfits more interesting?

Tally them up.

As a fashion writer and editor, over the years I’ve written a lot about the act of getting dressed. A big reason for this is that, despite my deep love of fashion, putting together an outfit has almost always been a challenge for me. Anxiety, chronic lateness, self-confidence issues and fluctuating weight are all somewhat to blame, but these struggles also make me the ideal guinea pig for outfit-related hacks.

TikTok is a platform where these hacks – and discussions about their usefulness or lack thereof – seem to thrive. We’ve covered many of them before (clothes sandwiching anyone?), and we’re always eager to discover new ways of streamlining the getting ready process and creating outfits that we feel genuinely great in.

For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.

A hack that recently caught my attention is the ‘eight-point system’ for building outfits. Australian fashion photographer Liz Sunshine used this approach when curating her outfits for the recent PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival, and her videos sent me on a deep dive into content creators planning their outfits using this simple mathematical equation. So what is it and how exactly does it work?

Getting to know the eight-point system

As far as I can tell, the eight-point system originated from stylist Marissa Fair, who outlined the system in a video shared to TikTok late last year. She describes it as a “counting method that determines whether your outfit is overwhelming, underwhelming or right on the money”. Each item, including shoes and accessories, is allocated a point value. Your top, bottom, shoes, socks, belt, hat and each hair accessory and piece of jewellery is worth one point, whereas dresses, patterned items and overcoats are each worth two.

@marissafair This beginner’s style tip will help you achieve all of those aesthetic fall outfits you’ve been eyeing on pinterest! Stay on my page for fashion inspo, cozy fall outfits, and allllll the style and closet tips! #cozyfalloutfits #beginnersstyleguide #styletips #buildinganoutfit #fashioninspo #findyourstyle #fallblazeroutfits #millenialsoftiktok #fallfits ♬ Pink Champagne – Abby Roberts

She then uses this system to create an outfit that amounts to between six and eight points to create a look that’s appealing and interesting without being too little or too much.

How do you use it?

In her video, Marissa shows how you can use the eight-point system to elevate a ‘boring’ outfit. She starts off wearing jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers, which only totals three points. After she adds a necklace, Prada bag and printed blazer, her outfit comes to seven points. Whether the resulting outfit is to your taste or not, it’s easy to see how using the system can help inject life and interest into your go-to outfits.

@liz_sunshineMelbourne fashion festival is one of my favourite to photograph in the world, maybe it’s because i’m on home turf, or maybe it’s because girls really dress however they want – drawing influence from all the corners of the globe and then their own creative imagination. ❤️♬ Worth It. (Sped Up) – RAYE

Something to note is that no item ever totals more than two points on the scale, so even if you wore a patterned overcoat, it would still only be worth two points.

Of course, minimalists and maximalists might balk at the idea of an outfit ever being either ‘too little’ or ‘too much’. After all, one person’s ‘too much’ is another’s ‘too little’, so if you prioritise freedom of expression or a more refined, uniform-like approach to dressing, this might not be the system for you.

If, however, you crave order and find yourself leaving the house a flustered mess each morning (and in an outfit you don’t even like) then the eight-point system might be worth trying.

For more TikTok outfit hacks, try this.