SHOP THE POST
top: nordstrom // pants: nordstrom // heels: jimmy choo (less expensive option) // purse: louis vuitton // earings: shoptiques
A few weeks ago, I was in my little sisters room, touching up my makeup in her mirror before heading out to dinner. She was sitting on her bed, and she turned to me and said “I wish I had your style”. This statement kind of took me back for a second because in my mind, I think she is so cute. I mean, she dresses way cuter than I did at 15 and in my defense, 2007 was a rough year for fashion #abercrombieeverything, but at the same time, I still think she always looks adorable. So at that time I didn’t really know what to say.
In my mind, I was like she is 15….. she has years to figure out her style and the more and more I thought about it, the more I got inspired for this post.
One of the reasons I love blogging and following other bloggers is because I like to gain inspiration from everywhere and everyone. I don’t think myself or other bloggers ever claim to be the most fashionable people in the world (we all have had our fair share of fashion faux pauxs!), but what we do accomplish is showing our style. We take pieces that we see from the runway or from models online and fit them into our daily lives.
What I have learned from over the years is that finding your style is a long process of trial and error. It’s not impossible and is very doable. The point is to find your style and not fixate on someone else’s. To find things that work for you, your body and your lifestyle. Follow my tips and I promise you will be one step closer to finding your style and being a more stylish and confident you.
Five Tips For Finding Your Style and Building Your Wardrobe
- Look Everywhere For Inspiration. Pinterest is the best platform for gaining inspiration. You could search things as simple as “women’s fall fashion” and see what pops up. As you start pinning things, start to look for similarities. Are there certain styles you notice yourself gravitating toward? Are you inspired by prints?? Or do you find yourself leaning towards more neutral and traditional styles? This will give you a good starting base in developing what you like and what you tend to gravitate the most towards. You can follow me on Pinterest here.
- Take Your Lifestyle Into Consideration. Are you a mom? Do you walk to work? Do you work from home? What is the weather like where you live? All of these things come into play. While on Pinterest, I to gravitate more towards really feminine & kind of over-the-top pieces, the truth is, a lot of those looks do not fit into my daily lifestyle. While I love to dress up, the atmosphere of my office is more laid back. So on an average day, you will find me wearing a pair of nice dark denim jeans with some sort of blouse and heels. It is laid back, yet still shows my love for dressing a little more feminine. My little sister and I are another great example. I am 25 and she is 15…our daily lives are different. I could never expect to dress just like her or her like me.
- Dress For Your Body – Not A Particular Size. Dressing for your body and wearing clothes that fit make all of the difference in the world. You may think that being able to squeeze into that smaller size means something, but if you can’t breath and it clearly looks too small on you, then the outfit is going to look all wrong. I know it is hard to process, but no one can see what the size on your tag says and quite frankly no one cares. What they can see though is confidence. When I was in middle school and definitely going through my chubby faze, I desperately wanted to look like my best friend at the time who was very, very thin. I would try to squeeze into her clothes and felt honored to be able zip up the skirt to one of her outfits, but in reality it looked horrible…. I look back at the pictures and cringe because if I would have only chosen to have worn something that fit me and was flattering on my body type, then I would have been more confident. The exact same thing goes for wearing pieces that are too large. If you’re insecure of your body, you don’t have to hide behind clothing that is too big for you. You have every opportunity to dress just as stylish as the girl next to you. It’s amazing what happens when you start buying clothing that actually fits you.
- Stop Wearing What “She’s” Wearing. We are all made different. All of our bodies are different and what may look good on your friend or the model online, may not look good on you and vice versa. This is also a huge problem with trendy clothing because we tend to buy clothing that’s “in style” as opposed to thinking about how the clothing will actually look on our bodies. For example, I am very petite, but for my size I have larger shoulders and a very small bust. Over the years, I have learned that high neck and halter pieces look the best on me. Where as strapless and low-cut items tend to not be the most flattering. Lets also take my friend Tera as another example. She is taller than I am, has the cutest little waist (my waist on the other hand is non-existent) and a larger chest than myself. She always looks so cute and while I love her style, I know that I could never wear some of the pieces she wears because we have different body types. And that is perfectly okay! Take your body type into consideration and come to terms with the fact that not matter what your size is, some pieces are jut not made for your body.
- Take A Look At Yourself & Your Wardrobe: My advice is to too look back at photos of yourself, as well as items in your closet and start marking down which pieces you liked yourself in and which ones you didn’t. Think about that one top you bought a few years ago. You know, the one you saw online and loved…. but after wearing it to a party and seeing yourself in it, for some reason you haven’t worn it since. Why is that? What did you not like about it? Was it the cut? The fabric? Did it hit you in a weird spot? These are all factors that should come into play when building your wardrobe and when buying clothes. If something doesn’t look good on you, stop buying identical pieces. Take this mentality when purchasing anything for your wardrobe. After awhile, you will start to see a trend and will start developing a style that works best for you.
I hope you all found this post helpful! If you have any questions or would like to add something to this list, please leave a comment!
xo,
Lauren