Finding My Personal Style: A Struggle
November 3, 2023
I have been wanting to develop my personal style for a while, but it is difficult because styles are constantly changing. I feel like I have always had a hard time keeping up with styles and fashion. It changes so fast and I don’t want to purchase something right when it is gaining popularity and then it is a short lived fashion statement. Something that is also heavy on my heart is sustainability; I really want the clothing that I buy to not only last me a while, but also work in a lot of different settings.
Here are the rules that I am sticking with for my closet:
Comfort: if I am not comfortable in the piece of clothing I am not going to wear it. If I am not comfortable in the changing room and don’t have a plan to make it more comfortable when I wear it out then I am not going to wear it out of the dressing room. This mean both the fit and the fabric. I am someone who is very sensitive so it is very important to me that there is not a scratchy fabric or a button digging into my side all day long. This also means I am going to be picking out thicker fabrics because I am someone who runs on the colder side. I want things that are going to keep me warm as well as comfortable.
Color: I really love cozy, warm and earthy colors on me ( I am an autumn after all ) and I want to lean into the colors that I already know I like on my skin tone. This is not to say that I won’t get adventurous pieces that are a little out of my color comfort zone, but I will be much more likely to wear something that I am a little less comfortable in if it is in a color that I already know that I like myself in. This is also helpful in getting dressed in the morning because then everything kind of already goes together – like the capsule closet trend that was going around there for a little bit, there are still great things to take from the idea of a capsule wardrobe.
Quality: saving up for an item of clothing, or splurging on it, is a much better purchase than buying a bunch of low quality things that are going to wear out in a season. This rule especially applies to shoes. I am someone who wears shoes until they fall apart and really just wears that pair with anything and everything. This has lead me to purchasing Blundstones, which I wear with just about everything in the cooler months. They are comfortable, high quality, cute and versatile. I can go from walking around the mall to going on a small day hike and be wearing the same shoes. In the warmer months Burkenstocks are my go-tos because I can dress them up with a little sundress or dress them down with bike shorts and an oversized-tee. It is important to find pieces that you know you will use for a while – like really good denim – and that way the more fun pieces in your closet don’t have to be as adaptable and can be elevated by these timeless and versatile pieces.
Sustainably: any time that I can, I do my best to buy second hand or, at least, sustainably. Second hand often is my go to being that it is much more cost effective, but sometimes it is necessary to buy new and in that case I do my best to lean into brands that take really good care of the environment and their employees. I get a lot of my formal wear from Poshmark and love looking there for denim as well as long as I already know my size in that brand of jean, because who doesn’t love a good worn-in denim?
I am still not sure I know what my personal style is, but this has helped me get closer to what feels the most “me” as well as following accounts on social media that I am fond of the way that they dress. Seeing the things that I am drawn to, and the things that I am not, is helpful in finding the pieces that really make me feel my most beautiful.
