The easiest way most people think they can improve their style is by copying outfits from Instagram influencers or from Pinterest. It seems like a good plan: “If this outfit looks so good on them, why can’t it look good on me too?” The problem is, this strategy rarely works.
It doesn’t work because your style is never just the clothes you’re wearing; your style includes your body type, your personality, your lifestyle and even the way you move your body. Copying an outfit doesn’t allow for these things to work, because the original wearer of the outfit doesn’t have to worry about any of that.
Trends are for inspiration, never for direction. If you’re following trends, you probably want one style one month, and then a completely different style the next. Trends won’t ever help you to define your personal style if they’re just changing so often. What you should do is look at trends and see if there’s anything you really love in them. Pick what you like, then make it your own rather than just trying to recreate the whole look.
Check your clothes and find the answers there. It doesn’t have to start with you starting a new wardrobe; your style will already be in the things you currently have. Look at the things you wear the most—not what you want to wear, but what you actually do wear. Even if you’re not sure what your style is yet, you’re probably wearing the same type of clothes or colors again and again. You’ve already created your style and your style is already in these clothes. Just find the elements that you are drawn to.
Don’t get style mixed up with a life. When buying new things, make sure that you’re getting style for who you are now, and not who you wish you were. If you have a lifestyle that involves you doing X, don’t buy clothes for if you’re actually doing Y. There’s no point in buying things for a style that doesn’t actually work in the life you lead.
What matters more are the fit and proportion. You can be wearing the simplest thing and you can still look amazing if you have the right fit. On the other hand, you can also wear all of the right trends and the right pieces of clothing but you can look bad because of how the pieces sit on your body. It’s not easy to find out what works and what doesn’t on your body, but if you do it will make dressing up so much easier for you.
The thing to remember is that you can only feel confident when you’re wearing something familiar. It’s so hard to be confident when you’re not familiar with how the outfit looks or feels, and how it fits, and how it sits when you wear it. It makes a massive difference when you’ve been wearing something and know that you can move, breathe and function in the outfit without thinking. It’s easier to build confidence if you’re already wearing your own style, rather than wearing something that someone else has worn.
Experiment. If you know that you wear a certain type of outfit, maybe a specific color or style, then try something completely different and see how it feels. Don’t worry about making a mistake or buying things that you don’t end up liking; you can always get rid of them or give them away once you decide whether you like them or not.
Make sure that you’re not only buying things that work together and work as a wardrobe. When your wardrobe isn’t working together, you’ll constantly try things that don’t look good together, but this won’t be the case if you’re working with things that actually go with each other.
Your style will only come together when you know how you should wear your clothes. You’re not going to “find” your style; it’ll develop as you learn more about who you are and what you like. The more you try things out and learn from your mistakes, the more your style will develop and become clearer.
This isn’t style that you’re copying from someone; this is style that you’re developing. When you focus on what’s actually working for you, everything will start to make more sense and your outfits will look that bit more natural. This is real style; it’s when your outfits don’t feel like they’re forced, but look as if they were meant to be. This is style that is just as real as you are.
