As much as personal style is supposed to eliminate the doubt around your clothing and how fashion relates to you, it can be a tad bit confusing. More often than not, you'll hear stylists encouraging you to try not to follow all fashion trends you see on TikTok or Instagram and develop your own personal style. Even though they do mean well, it might be baffling to the majority of us. To someone new to styling, it may feel like 'finding your personal style' is yet another trend. Most of us are chronically online and without proper discernment you may give in to the thought of personal style being touted online as just another trend. Personal style should help you view your clothes as more than 'just clothes', and as a means of expressing yourself, what you stand for, and who you truly are. As it is a very important topic, I'll try my best to help widen your view on personal style and just how important it is for you.

It's not that complicated just from the words themselves we can deduce that personal style is style that belongs to you. To me, personal style is just a way of expressing myself/character through the clothes I wear, jewelry, bags, shoes, and even the type of hair I decide to rock. Everyone has their own personal style even those who haven't really set out on the journey to develop it. We usually assign certain aesthetics to ourselves in the rush of 'finding your personal style', but truly aesthetics is not the same as personal style. Aesthetics like boho, minimalist, etc are great and all but your whole personal style can't just be defined by the aesthetic. Most of us embody different aesthetics and that is okay, remember it's all about how you feel in clothing and not how society wants you to.

Trends, Overconsumption, and Finding Your Baseline
Speaking of, the pressure of always being on top of trends when it comes to fashion shouldn't be running your closet darling. Trends will always be there, and though some may be fun to partake in, you should really work on developing your baseline when it comes to fashion; not only will it help you overcome the gripping jaws of overconsumption but it will also reduce the need of being performative in fashion. However, this is not to discourage you not to try a trend that really speaks to you, but to help you to be more intentional with them.

The most important thing you need to remember as you embark on your journey to develop your personal style is that it is an evolving subject. It is not meant to stay stagnant for eternity, as you grow so does your style. A nice example that can help sink this in is by looking at your own wardrobe, are you still wearing the same type of clothes you did in high school? (if you're done with high school that is) Most of us have developed a totally different style and that's okay, and if you still rock the same style that is also still okay.

I like to believe that how I live from day to day can really have an impact on the development of my personal style. What kind of activities do I do on the regular? What will I feel comfortable in as I do these activities? Is what I'm wearing a reflection of how I want to be perceived?

As I said earlier, your clothes are supposed to be an expression and it is a wise decision if you choose your clothing in a way that it's helpful to you rather than being an inconvenience. Look at your daily activities, are there activities that you know you're only comfortable in certain outfits? Be considerate of such as you're developing your style. How do you want to be perceived? I feel like as a society we've really set cages in certain settings for example some may feel like a person who dresses in the " Boho" aesthetic doesn't really hold very serious position, which is really disheartening. We're focusing on non-issues truly. But even as a manager, a CEO, a 'corporate baddie', etc you should be able to dress how you feel like expressing yourself and be confident in it as well.

Take a look at your wardrobe, what items do you feel like they don't really resonate with you? Maybe you got them to fit in a specific group, or maybe you were stuck in the overconsumption cycle when you got them and now you don't really think they represent you. The next great step would be giving them away. Yes darling!! You read that correctly. You don't need to hoard stuff you clearly know you're past.

There are so many misconceptions, rules and absolute confusion surrounding this topic of being aware of your body shape/silhouette. I don't know about you but at least once a day I come across a TikTok of how I've been dressing wrongly my entire existence because as a pear body shape I'm not supposed to wear tight bottoms or low rise pants, which doesn't really sit well with me because they look nice when I wear them. I truly think that even as you seek guidance on how to dress your silhouette, you should not take all the rules you see as the absolute law and leave room for adjustment. You may be an hourglass body type and feel like a straight skirt actually does you justice but according to the fashion police you shouldn't be considering it, please ignore them!!!
If you're a plus-size babe don't make your whole closet to be full of dark clothing because a lady on the internet said color doesn't look good on your body. First of all that is total crap and avoid taking any advice from such people, color looks amazing on everyone you just need to find colors that work perfectly with you.

Understanding your body should not be a restraint but a tool to help you develop a perfect wardrobe and bring out your style without compromising expression.

Okay we've talked a lot on personal style and you may be exhausted by now but have you ever felt like you have no clothes to wear but your closet is literally falling apart from all the clothes you have😏 It's something 7 out of 10 people experience on the daily and definitely nothing to be ashamed of and actually it's a serious matter that can be easily resolved. Most likely the reason you have this feeling is because you usually buy clothes just as pieces themselves obviously because they looked like a great piece that would have flattered your body but you didn't really think of it as an outfit. I know what you're thinking "Why would I buy an item if I didn't know how I'll wear it?" Yes you probably bought it with an outfit idea in mind but that only means you'd only wear it in one way each time you wear it🤔.

A habit you should really start practicing is, when you want to buy an item be it online or in a store try putting together outfits in your head and see if the piece is really compatible with your wardrobe. It will help you not to be a victim of overconsumption and help you save your money for other causes.

Personal style will help you greatly in building a cohesive wardrobe, trust me😊. When you've nailed down your personal style it will be easier for you to put together outfits(plus the little habit we'll start practicing😉), the feeling of no outfits to wear will be a myth to you. If you're a person who leans more towards minimalism and classic wear, you probably love wide leg trousers, basic tees, blazers, structured totes etc, you'll know what item you'd buy with little to no struggle. Personal style will help you shop for items you need and not items you'll never actually wear. This will help you not spend all your earnings on 'fashion' and make you have a functional wardrobe as well. Say goodbye to all the time wastage you previously had because as you start developing your personal style your time will be used on things that actually need the extra time.

As we come to the end of this post, I hope I've helped you understand personal style with a different perspective and that it doesn't need to be such a vague topic from now on. Go to your wardrobe now and play a little dress up with the items you have, which items don't feel like the person you are now, is there a chance you'll want to embody that version ever again? If not, let those pieces go babe. Remember, don't be a hoarder😛.

As you dress make sure you are dressing for your eyeballs and not to please society. If you'd like to embark on this beautiful journey of understanding your body and developing your personal style, I suggest you subscribe to my newsletter and get ready to receive updates weekly.

If you want a rough structure for your personal style as you begin your journey click the link below 👇

Love you loads and I hope we'll be together in this journey❤.