Style, Simplified: 10 Tips for Finding your Personal Style

In an era of coastal grandmothers and granola girls, it can be easy to feel like you are playing dress up rather than expressing your unique identity. Embracing personal expression through fashion can be very rewarding without needing to be complicated at all. Read on for 10 guidelines to finding a sense of style that feels authentic, original, and exciting.

It’s Always a Great Day for a Great Outfit

Finding a sense of personal style can take trial and error, so it’s important to give yourself opportunities to see what feels comfortable and what doesn’t. However, since most days are simply filled with clubs, classes, and work, chances for experimentation will never come if you keep reserving daring outfits for “special days.” Instead, avoid developing a second-rate fashion identity by debuting clothes you love instead of saving them for remarkable occasions.

Multiply Your Outfit Options with Fashion Formulas

A ready-to-go set of fashion formulas are like the equation sheets that are so valuable in exams. Outfit formulas can provide scaffolding when experimenting with a new style as well as making it easier to put outfits together on days when it seems there’s nothing to wear. Some classics include fun bottoms with a simple top, a skirt with boots, an oversized shirt and shorts, a tank top and baggy jeans, dresses with chunky jewelry, and a neutral base with pops of colored accessories.

Create Outfits That Are Picture Perfect

Every time you wear an outfit you feel good in, take a picture of it. These photos can supply ideas for mornings when time is running short but a cute outfit is still a priority, as well as illuminate patterns of colors, pieces, and combinations that you like.

Pay Attention to the Little Things

Pattern matching can also be done with other people’s outfits, not just your own. When you come across an outfit you like — whether it is worn by a classmate, Pinterest model, or a TV show character — take a moment to understand why you like it. Is it the colors? The silhouette? The textures? This extra minute can spotlight what exactly you are drawn to, which is the key for developing a signature look.

Be a Pinterest Pro

Learning how to use Pinterest effectively can be invaluable for one’s fashion endeavors. For instance, search “outfits with (insert piece you love)” for inspiration on how to wear pieces that are promising but difficult to style, as well as pieces that are sitting in the back of your closet. Similarly, you can image search by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of a photo, which will provide similar outfits and key words to help define your aesthetic. Hence, if you come across a piece or combination you like, you can use this function to easily find similar styles.

Make Outfits in the Dressing Room

While the previous tips help for emphasizing personal style when building outfits at home, building outfits while shopping also helps support personal style by ensuring new pieces fit cohesively into one’s wardrobe. Before buying a new piece, imagine five outfits in your head with pieces already sitting in your closet to check that the new article fits into your fashion vision. This process ensures that new clothes go towards your goal of feeling good and not towards buyer’s remorse.

Wait a Month Before You Buy Anything

Microtrends are a culprit for losing a clear sense of what one personally enjoys wearing. Waiting a month before buying an item is better for the planet, your wallet, and your personal style endeavors. It helps ensure that you genuinely want the desired piece and not that you like the idea of it.

Analyze Your Activities

Think of your most common activities. Class? Work? Gym? Establishing your personal style stems from building a wardrobe that suits your needs. Recognizing your most common activities will help you buy clothes you will actually wear rather than pieces you like on the hanger. Bonus points for identifying pieces that fit in multiple categories, like a top that can be dressed up for work or dressed down for classes.

Categorize Your Closet

When building one’s personal style, it helps to pick basics that connect. This can be done by choosing white or cream, picking between black or blue, or committing to silver or gold. These choices help build cohesion in your pieces, since it ensures your bag is always the same shade as your top — which also matches your favorite pair of sneakers. If you prefer to combine seemingly distinct categories (a big theme on many Pinterest boards and fashion runways), having key pieces that contain elements from both categories, like mixed metal jewelry or a brown belt with black threading, can protect cohesion while still showcasing your identity.

Confidence is Key

It may seem cliche, but many idolized fashion trends like the “Cool Girl” or the “It Girl” are actually just admirations of confidence. Carrying oneself with confidence is so much more important than the clothes themselves. Wear outfits that make you feel comfortable, joyous, and like you rule the world.