It’s a topic that’s been covered by the likes of Lauren Conrad, Nina Garcia, and Isaac Mizrahi. They all say different things, but the general idea is all the same: your style should best reflect you as opposed to what the magazines, media, and celebrities deem “trendy.” They should be inspiration and guidelines – not a rulebook. Your style should be a display of both who you are and how you want the world to see you (with confidence and self-esteem these two merge to be the same idea). Nina Garcia explained it perfectly when she wrote, “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human’s contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.” Here are some tips on how to get you fluently speaking the language of Style.
Get confident in yourself. Understanding who you are and what you want in life is the background information you need for developing your style. If you let style be the unique and personal thing, dressing well and, most importantly, FOR YOURSELF, you will find it extremely gratifying. Let’s be honest, most potential boyfriends don’t give a crap about what you wear, or they’d want it to be a short, body-con dresses with the midriff showing. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t do that every day.
Get inspired. Viewing the world as a constant form of inspiration can really help when you’re creating and developing your style. Inspiration can come from anything…whether it’s TV shows, celebrities, magazines, or just that one girl that has awesome clothes that you occasionally (and not-at-all-creepily) stalk on Facebook. Figure out who and what draws your eyes, and that leads right to the next step.
Make an inspiration board.This is where you cut out things from magazines, print pictures from the Internet, or use fabric swatches you found and loved. Put them all together on a bulletin board or just make a collage on a poster board. This can help you realize what you love and what you want to look like. It pretty much clears up confusion about what style you are more drawn to. It can also give you an idea about what key pieces you should purchase for your wardrobe.
Experiment. This is the fun part. Just try things…whether it’s something you never thought you could pull off that you see in the store, or just wearing a shirt you’ve owned forever in a whole new way. Consult with your board if you need more inspiration or just try things out. Spend a day mixing and matching your closet in a whole new way. Buy new staples for your wardrobe, then find some statement accessories that go well with your look and can be used to spice up old clothes. You’ll figure out what works best for you eventually, and in the meantime your friends will get a huge kick out of it and embarrassing photos may or may not be taken and stowed away for future laughs.
The payoff will be worth it though, I promise. Once you know your style, shopping becomes a search for what suits you instead of what suits Blake Lively. Then, when people compliment your outfit, you’ll be happy to explain where you bought it, because each outfit becomes more meaningful when it’s your creativity in fruition and not someone else’s.
Finally, just keep in mind what Isaac Mizrahi says about style: “If you really want style, you have to work at it. It’s not easy.” Don’t give up ever give up on your style, future fashionistas and fashionistos, because as my favorite quote goes: “Naked people have little or no influence on society” (Mark Twain knew what’s up).