Fresh off her rocky It Ends With Us press tour, Blake Lively still managed to look stylish and relaxed on back-to-back strolls through New York City with husband Ryan Reynolds. Perhaps that’s because the embattled Gossip Girl star has a trusty outfit formula she can always fall back on when the going gets tough. The recipe starts with a T-shirt and jeans, but builds on those basics with colorful statement accessories—and a few affordable shoes—for a look that feels truly hand-picked and personal.

Take, for instance, the fitted black T-shirt Lively tucked into her wide-leg, distressed black jeans to walk hand-in-hand with Reynolds on Tuesday, Sept. 17. What could have been a standard daytime ensemble is made infinitely more interesting with the addition of a large gold chain charm necklace hung with colorful gems, black platform Ugg clogs with a silver buckle, and a Chanel houndstooth tweed flap bag woven with colorful ribbon.

Reynolds loosely color-coordinated with Lively in a dark gray button-up, olive green pants, brown shoes, brown sunglasses, and a large gold watch.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds walking together in New York City

Frame Le Slim Palazzo Jeans

Skims Fits Everybody Short Sleeve T-Shirt

Ugg Tazz Platform Slipper

The previous day, Lively relied on the same outfit formula for yet another jaunt with Reynolds. This time, however, she put a much more colorful spin on the same ensemble, pairing baggy jeans with a pink long-sleeve shirt. For an added flourish, she even matched her top to her pink Nike sneakers and swapped out her black-and-white houndstooth Chanel bag for a navy blue and rainbow tweed edition with gold hardware. Her rainbow charm necklace, however, appears to be the same one she’d don the following day. After all, outfit-repeating doesn’t have to feel stale so long as you’re iterating some aspect of the look, such as the color palette, shoes, or accessories.

Piggy-backing off the pink in Lively’s outfit, Reynolds opted for a navy blue button-up with embroidered pink doves, a navy baseball cap, grey pants, and white Converse Chuck Taylors.

Lizzie Fortunato Rose Mesa Necklace

Nike Dunk Low Basketball Sneaker

The back-to-back outings directly follow an important date for the Hollywood power couple, who recently celebrated twelve years of marriage on Sept. 9. It seems the two are standing strong despite the rumored feud between Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, and the backlash around Lively’s approach to the press tour more broadly. It just goes to show that in hard times, joy can always be found in the simple act of getting dressed.