Style Matters

I’m hardly the most in vogue person, but I see the value in style and cultivating you’re own sense of it. I also think its important for everyone to consider what they’re own style is.

Whether you’re a man or a woman there are certain things you can do to figure out what your style is and elevate it through research, and some experimentation. Here’s some tools I’ve found helpful for developing my style, though this is hardly the end all be all.

Don’t know where to start with determining your style? Pick out three different stores that come to mind when you think of your style, or the style you’re going for. This is not the end all be all for your style and you shouldn’t look like a model from any of them. Instead, you should simply know better how to put the pieces together based on what you see on the store’s models/mannequins. This is instead a way to gauge your own aesthetic.

For example about 3 years ago, I thought through this and I came up with mine based on where I bought jeans, where most of the clothes I was given were from and what my aspirational style was. Now my style has grown up a bit, and I like some more formal inspired styles but I still like classic, and laid back pieces, but I enjoy finding current pieces that fit my aesthetic as well. Plus I like to throw in some edgier elements more now too.

Another way to find your style is pick out some telling adjectives, here I’d suggest looking at your Pinterest board, or your closet if you want to judge what you already have, or even recent pictures if comparing your style to other’s helps. Center on about 5 descriptive words or phrases. Mine I keep listed on my Pinterest board description and are as follows: Classic, Chic, Sharp, and a little bit of edge. Modest is best. These aren’t all inclusive, but they are a helpful guide for me to think about how I communicate, through my wardrobe.

This isn’t perfect obviously, especially since I enjoy getting pre-owned items, but often I put together what I have to fit these terms in some way because its the way I feel most myself.

If you’ve done all of this based of your current wardrobe and you don’t like what you come up with, pick the places that do inspire you and start buying pieces, that pertain to what you want to communicate through your style.

And after all this know that not every outfit has to match your “personal style”. I have pieces that I’ve been given or purchased for a certain occasion that I’ve found to be unique and fun to work into my wardrobe.

If you already know what you like, and what brands fit best think about the message you’re sending anyway. Keep in mind the adjectives others might find to describe your style and try to figure out if there’s an element that could better communicate your style. Style is a form of communication, use it to your advantage and learn the language.