Struggling to find your style? Here’s how to solve your ‘style war’ using what you already own.

Finding your style is something that can consume a lot of your thoughts, especially if you’re a fashion lover. With so many trends arising, it can be hard to decipher what’s You and what’s trending. Sometimes, seeing so much information about styling, fashion, what looks good and what is a fashion “no-go” can become overwhelming and confusing. If this sounds anything like you, just know, your experience is valid. It’s hard! So here are a 4 tips you may not have heard before that may help bring you just that bit closer to taking the ‘war’ out of your wardrobe, using what you already own.

1. Make a style moodboard with the items you already own.

   

Yes, you’ve probably heard about making moodboards before, for style inspiration and the like, but have you ever tried making a moodboard out of items you already own and outfits you’ve already worn? Sometimes when trying to find our style, we look externally to others for inspiration, but the contents of your wardrobe already have hints of what you like. Seeing everything or at least most of what you own on a moodboard can help you to create new outfits, and become more experimental with things you own. You can make different ones too! One can be of all your favourite/most worn items, and another board can be of all your least favourite/least worn items. Soon you’ll hopefully start to notice recurring patterns in both boards of what you like and don’t like. This could be the colours, patterns,

silhouettes, the way each item sits on your body, anything! Starting with what you own first can possibly give you more insight than buying lots of stuff that you may or may not like, upping your chances of making more intentional decisions when you shop.

     2. Experiment with your wardrobe

Building on the last point, sometimes to find your style you have to become slightly more adventurous than usual. One way to

do this in a way that won’t feel as daunting as buying new pieces is to experiment with pieces you already own. Layer items you never thought of before, combine colours you’ve never combined. Make it fun, play with website like coolors.co to create colour palettes at random and choose your outfit based on those colours. Play with accessories more than usual. Use Pinterest to see how people layer clothing, accessories and style things, and use your wardrobe to try and recreate the outfit. Doing these things can help you get a feel for what you like in and about your wardrobe versus what you don’t like. Now you can start shopping intentionally.

   3. Shop to build your wardrobe

Now that you’ve spent time playing with your wardrobe and feel more acquainted with what’s in it, when you shop, look to build on that. For example, whilst experimenting, you may have gotten a feel for what was “missing” in certain outfits that would have elevated it to the next level. Now you have a specific item you want to buy so you can shop with intention. Maybe you realised you have 10 outfits that would look incredible with a blazer, but before doing that experimenting you never thought to buy a blazer. This is the point of starting with what you own. Finding your style is a process of trial and error. Sometimes, if you’re anything like me, you may get the urge to go on shopping sprees to match a trend, or you get so inspired by a particular aesthetic you want to own all of it, then once you start wearing it, something feels off and maybe “not like you”. This tactic creates more error than necessary and leaves little room for truly trialling your style. The point of finding your style is to find the You in it. I can’t count the times where I’ve wanted to look a certain way, maybe even wanted to feel a certain way in my clothes and thought that buying things would make that happen. Then of course, I get the item and I’m like oh… that wasn’t it at all. To counteract this, one thing you can do is borrow before you shop. If you’re blessed enough to have friends or family that may own the item you’re thinking of purchasing, borrow it first and see if you really like it before buying it. Shop to build, not to own.

    4. Don’t be afraid to learn new things but don’t overwhelm yourself

There’s so much to learn about fashion, styling and personal style. This can be a blessing and a curse in the beginning. You want to start but don’t know where. That’s OK! You can start by just watching videos of people who’s style inspires you. Study them. See how they layer things, style things or wear their hair. Feel free to learn about colour theories, or style essences to see where you fall in any of those styling theories and tactics. Or if this is too much, don’t be afraid to seek the counsel of those who know! Personal shoppers and stylists learn these things for their job! They hold all of this knowledge so that you don’t have to. Having someone who can help you discover more about yourself and your style through getting to understand you can be extremely helpful. As they always say, “two heads are better than one”! A guiding hand can help. If it feels like a good investment, seek the help of a stylist.

Hopefully these 4 tips provide you with a solid foundation to start making baby steps towards change. I hope this is the beginning of a healthy cycle for you! A cycle that includes less throwing away of clothes that just don’t fit who you are, and more happiness in feeling well expressed and comfortable through and with your outfits.

Take care!

Written by Abi Grizzle (freelance stylist, personal shopper and small brand owner)