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The words “style” and “fashion” can seem daunting to most: like an intimidating mountain of clothes no one dares to climb, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Even for the most stylish, balancing trends and personal style can be a headache. So I want to share 5 tips that I myself have applied to my closet to rediscover and evolve my style.
1. Stopped Buying Trendy Clothes
I began working in retail at a young age where I was surrounded by the latest fast fashion. The result of that was me purchasing too many trendy clothes that then clouded my own personal style. I approached shopping in a FOMO (fear of missing out) manner that geared me toward buying for the moment instead of buying for what represents me.
Years later I ended up giving numerous bags to thrift stores because the items weren’t to my liking anymore. There were even a few that I couldn’t believe that I bought because they were so ugly. I was truly offended. 😅
I had to ask myself, “What IS my personal style? What do I want to represent?” I then realized I used to know what it was back in college and the years thereafter but life just kind of stripped me of the creativity and freedom I once had.
But please do remember that it’s okay to buy trendy clothes sometimes. It’s nothing wrong with it! The issue only occurs when your entire wardrobe encompasses seasons of fast fashion that are in one moment and out the next. If we instead buy items that represent our personality and views: those items never go out of style.
2. Re-evaluated My Closet
After I intentionally stopped buying overly trendy items, I then took the time to access my closet. Earlier I mentioned I donated numerous bags. Well that exact number is about 12. I had to purge and make room to be able to actually access what I was missing, what I needed, what didn’t fit and what could be restyled.
I found I was holding on to clothes because I wasn’t sure I could fit them anymore. So instead of taking the time to try them on, I just left them on the hanger taking up space. There were even items I could fit, that just weren’t my style anymore. If felt like a weight was lifting letting go of a large amount of material things I was hoarding.
The purge also revealed my resistance to purging items I had when I was young. Cute Hello Kitty or random old Baby Phat stuff that I knew I couldn’t fit nor would wear again.
To address that, I made myself wear everything I was still holding on to to basically embarrass myself into throwing it away. Probably not the best advice 😅 but it lit a fire under me to get rid of the stuff. The clothes I was holding onto didn’t give me confidence while wearing them so I couldn’t wait to get home and throw them into them donate pile never to be seen again.
3. Made Thrift Stores My First Place to Shop
I’ve been a thrift girl for decades: I absolutely love finding vintage pieces for my home. Even now my home decor consists of about 60% thrift items while my closet is about 30%.
For one of my most recent videos, I wore a chic Madden Girl dress I found at Goodwill in San Antonio for only $3. It panned out to be a great post-apocalyptic dress to go with the look I was needing. You just never know what you’ll find!
I used to treat thrift stores as special places where I could find unique pieces rather than my first stop for items in my closet. Now when I want something new, I search thrift stores first as well as follow the next two tips below. One caveat is thrifting usually leads me to spend more than I budgeted since I ALWAYS find more than one item I can’t leave without. 🤷🏽♀️
One thing to note is that the sad result of our over-consumption for fast fashion has led to thrift stores lacking actual vintage items. You now have to travel to various locations and really search for the vintage items but overall buying secondhand is better than buying new.
4. Find Inspiration from Pinterest
Above I mentioned that the final two tips on this list were steps I’d take if I did want to get something “new” added to my closet.
It’s Pinterest: your BEST friend.
Why is PT the B.E.S.T? You can search any and every style you can think of. It’s always an amazing place to find inspiration of all types of random things: it’s one massive moodboard. My creatively goes through the roof while viewing the site.
I use Pintest to curate looks that I’d like to add to my wardrobe. It’s a great way to mood boards that allow you to see an overview of your likes. You might find out that you save a lot of whimsical clothing but before you never realized. You now could search for Fairycore and more to get all types of outfit inspiration for you closet.
Here are a few categories to help you organize the images that inspire you;
- Pieces to add to my closet:
- Inspiration
- Accessories
- Styles to try
- Workwear
- Glam/Hair
From there, click on whichever board you’re in need of. For example, when I’m in need of outfit inspiration for work or an event I open my Avant G board and scroll until I see an outfit I can recreate. So utilize these for reference when going shopping to keep track of what items are needed in your closet.
5. Started to make my own stuff/DIY
This is actually number one for me personally but I wanted to go through the entire process of evaluation before jumping to the creation part. This is also one hobby that scares people the most, which is understandable because it can be daunting but it’s extremely fun.
I describe myself as a beginner sewist with an advanced confidence (which means I usually get ahead of myself.) But that’s what fashion is all about! Exploration, trial and error, confidence and imagination.
Blame my confidence on my grandmother’s sewing room which I would be in all day as a child, making doll clothes, while she sewed couture gowns while watching the Price is Right.
There’s no bigger pride than someone complimenting what you’re wearing and your reply is “Thanks! I made it!” Literally makes my entire day.
I’ve gotten a bit off track because I love sewing so much but the reason why I recommend it is because of the self expression that it represents. You don’t even have to MAKE anything: you can also recreate. Just scroll social media and see how so many people have completely redone old outfits with just some thread, paint and scissors.
Handmade/DIYed clothing and accessories are truly one of a kind and share YOUR story.
Since I’ve started to sew I discovered my love of opera gloves. It’s so random but I love pairing them with something unusual which forces others to look past what society says must be worn together and what can’t. It’s now become a signature of mine that I never would have discovered had I not started to DIY and sew my own clothes.
So grab an item you’re unsure about keeping, grab some utensils, scroll through Pinterest and see what amazing creation you can change it into.
Hopefully these 5 tips helped you on your journey to finding or re-discovering your style.
April Jay is a style and travel content creator who loves sewing, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and rocking out to coldrain.
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