Trends can be lots of fun! But sometimes they can lead to overconsumption of fast fashion as you rush to try out every new “aesthetic” or cute, trendy item and soon realize you never reach for it again. In this article, I’ll be sharing a few tips that have helped me curate my own personal style in hopes that you can find some pieces that you love and be more sustainable in the process.
Curating Your Dream Closet:
1. Think back to your younger self.
What kinds of outfits did you gravitate towards when you were younger? If you can, find old pictures of when you felt happy and expressive when you were little. In my case, I tended to gravitate towards long skirts and comfy, flowy styles, and I loved jewelry/sparkles. This can be really eye-opening because most people tend to forget what they loved as a child throughout the years of experiencing the social pressures of school, trends, the internet, etc. Now that I can look back on these pictures, I can more easily combine all of these observations into a few aesthetics that will be useful when searching for pieces to fill your closet. Additionally, you can piece together styles from your preteen/teen years that you still love. Start from the younger ages and work forward to ensure that you’re weeding out all of the trends you wore at the time but didn’t actually vibe with.
2. Gather ideas from the media you enjoyed as a child/teen.
In conjunction with pictures from your younger years, look back on your favorite cartoon characters, shows, movies, book series, etc. See if you can find any running themes between these pieces of media and the clothes you liked wearing before you were influenced by trends. Personally, I noticed that I loved fairy media as a kid: Tales of Pixie Hollow series and the Rainbow Magic fairy books. This tied in very well with the long skirts and flowy items I was seeing in my research of “little me’s” style choices.
3. Identify your personal closet staples.
When you look into your current closet, what staple items do you tend to flock towards? Why? Are there any pieces that you find yourself wishing that you had on hand when styling outfits? Take note of your answers to all of these questions. This will be incredibly helpful throughout the shopping step. Knowing your favorites—fabrics, silhouettes, patterns, colors—will make it so much easier to find pieces that you will want to wear all the time!
4. Think about your daily routines & how this style could adapt to your lifestyle.
One issue that commonly comes up when jumping on trends is that the pieces that are trendy aren’t always applicable to your daily life, so you never have opportunities to wear them. This could be interpreted as they aren’t comfortable, they aren’t work or school-friendly, or they are just simply difficult to style. Make sure that when you’re interpreting your dream closet you’re filling it with pieces that not only make you happy but also are accessible for your lifestyle. This might look like balancing out all of those gorgeous, sparkly party dresses in your closet with a sweater with a few rhinestones on it. You can have lots of fun pieces, of course, but make sure you also have pieces that reflect your style that you can wear in all settings. This also ensures that you almost never have to wear an outfit that doesn’t bring you joy just because you have to go to a work meeting.
5. Pinterest!
I’ve mentioned Pinterest in several other articles, but it truly is an amazing tool for stuff like this! Make a board for your closet inspo and fill it with anything that makes you happy! It can be taken as literally or as abstractly as you like! From actual ‘fit pics to pictures from that media you remember from step two, anything that inspires you is perfect! Another big piece of advice to keep in mind, though, is to make sure you’re finding pictures of this style on similar body types to your own. This helps alleviate the struggle of finding something you love but then after buying it, you realize that it doesn’t look the way you thought it would. Anyone with any body type can pull off absolutely anything if it makes you feel good, but “aesthetic” outfit inspo can often be deceiving due to the internet’s “beauty standards.” After all, the whole point here is to go beyond the trendy beauty standards of the internet and show your beautiful, authentic self.
Gathering the perfect pieces:
1. Thrifting in person and online are your best friend.
When you’re set on a mission to create a sustainable wardrobe, second-hand will always be an amazing resource! Thrift stores and consignment are wonderful, but an often overlooked option is online thrifting sites. You can find some one-of-a-kind pieces on sites like Depop and thredUP for great prices if you know what you’re searching for… and by now you’ve got that Pinterest board and prior research to help you out!
2. Fast fashion retailers can be sustainable if you do it right.
Sometimes shopping second-hand is hit-or-miss if you’re searching for a specific piece, size, or price range. That being said, don’t be afraid of utilizing fast fashion retailers when need be. Shops like Shein are well known because they carry such a large range in styles and sizes and are super convenient. Many sustainability activists advise to avoid these companies like the plague, but it is important to remind yourself that being able to afford an entirely sustainable, ethical and size-inclusive wardrobe is a privilege. If you purchase a few fast fashion pieces, make sure they’re items you will be wearing often. This is also a sustainable practice because you aren’t getting rid of the pieces after a few months.
3. Re-imagine the pieces that you do have in your closet.
Sometimes it takes a second look to discover new ways to style an old item that you never wear. Go through your closet and sort out what pieces you want to keep and can imagine utilizing in your revamped style, what pieces you like but aren’t sure fit the vibes, and pieces you want to donate. Once you’ve found the pieces you like, but aren’t sure about, look up ways to style them or try putting together with other pieces that you love, because you may discover a wonderful unexpected combination!
4. Accessories can go a long way, invest in them.
When you’re trying to revamp your closet on a budget, accessories hold a lot of power to transform an outfit! They are an amazing way to level-up your look while also not feeling pressured to buy lots of new clothes at once. Additionally, if you already have a lot of the clothes you want for your new wardrobe but don’t quite feel like the look is complete, accessories can be the perfect finishing touch. That being said, make sure that you’re paying attention to the types of accessories that are included in your inspo as well as the clothing inspo!
I hope that these tips help you create the closet of your dreams! Everyone deserves to have a wardrobe that makes them feel happy, confident and excited to get dressed in the morning. Happy curating, beautiful people!