How to Find Your Style
Binge a little too much Marie Kondo and suddenly realize most of your closet doesn’t actually spark joy? Or maybe the power of capitalism’s finest advertising schemes has finally gotten to you and you want a wardrobe reset. Whatever the reason, it can be daunting when you realize you’ve grown out of your own style and have resorted to mindlessly wearing fits you don’t love on rotation.
Fear not! While quite the endeavor, rebuilding your wardrobe into a new style that suits you better can be a very worthwhile exercise, especially if it makes you feel more confident and comfortable day to day. I found myself in this exact position during my sophomore year, and here are the phases I used for myself, refined of course through the fire and brimstone of trial and tribulation.
PHASE I: But What’s The Vibe?
First off, you need to decide what your style vibe is going to be. The simplest route is to pick a trending persona and emulate that (think: VSCO girl, e-girl) by following the necessary tropes. A slight variation from this is to find a celebrity or influencer whose style you really admire and try to replicate certain fits that you are more drawn to.
But if you’re looking to carve out your own niche and create something uniquely you, I find that the best way to do so is to compile a personal mood board of various people and brands that you find yourself reacting to favorably. The easiest way to do so is to create a private Instagram or Pinterest purely for this purpose, following handles you like and saving certain posts you love. Be broad in who you follow and where you look for inspiration! It’s not about finding exact outfits to copy, but rather gauging your own reaction to certain styles and combinations. Think:
Why do you like this look?
What part specifically?
Why do you think this look is hella weird?
How would you improve it?
You can discover a lot from your initial reactions and infer what kind of vibe you want to aim for! Here are some visuals to get you started:
PHASE II: Build Your Basics
Now that you have a direction, it’s time to load up on staples. Depending on what your vibe is, the silhouettes you pick out will differ. The possibilities are endless, so keep your overall vibe goal in mind when choosing! Below are three examples of different bases for very different styles:
A good tip is to build up a trove of staples that are within a cohesive color palette. That way, your clothing will always match itself, and even if textures and silhouettes are out of the box, your tones are cohesive. Think warm neutrals, cool stone tones, black and white, rainbow, etc.
Part of this exercise is finding pieces that you want to become part of your signature look, and a lot of it has to do with accessories. This is a way to bring consistency to your look, so even as you explore a range of styles, if your accessories are consistent, it’ll still look like “you”. Typically, a type of shoe style that you prefer paired with some statement (or not) jewelry is plenty to fulfill this aspect!
PHASE III: Spice Her Up!
Now that you have a general look down, it’s time to keep things innovative and fluid. An easy way to achieve this is to add a few pops of color to your wardrobe, and if you keep this pop of color consistent, you’ll find you can very easily put together some seemingly intricate outfits due to A1 color coordination. A good way to incorporate pops of color and/or pattern is to so with your accessories, like with some fun shoes or sunnies.
Ideally, you’re now in it for the long haul. You found your niche, you love your options, and it’s just a gradual process of exploring from here. Look for unique, otherworldly pieces that will make others ask you where you got them from. Hopefully, as you’ve become more comfortable in your look and clothes, you feel ready to branch out! Hallelujah, amen. You have arrived at the moral of this piece: Finding one’s individual style is a scam because that stuff is always evolving!! But, it’s always a good exercise in challenging oneself and building one’s confidence, and there will be pieces from that base wardrobe you’ll want to hold onto. Hopefully, some of those more adventurous or crazy inspo posts from Phase I are a little less daunting now. ;)
(DISCLAIMER: I ain’t telling you to buy everything new because we do nOT have the money for that. This is a slow process!! Comb your local thrift shops! Use the thrift apps! You can do it!!)
Words by Karina Sun
Photography by Sierra Margolis