Finding Your Own Style/Aesthetic

As someone who is obsessed with fashion, the main question I’ve been repeatedly asked over the years is how I’ve found my personal style. To be completely honest there was never a specific time that was profound, eye-opening, or even an aha moment that brought me to where I am now. My personal style isn’t something I had to find, in fact, I think I’ve always known it, however the more I’ve grown, I’ve explored my creativity and really tapped into my passion for fashion.

As early as elementary school I had a really strong opinion of what I wanted to wear, and was determined to dress myself and experiment with different aesthetics. I think the most important thing to finding your personal style is not caring about what other people think. Your style is specially for you, and that’s the mentality I developed at a very young age. I never cared about others opinions on what I wear, but rather it’s always been about the way the clothes make me feel. Knowing at a young age how I wanted to look when I got older has been my guide to defining my style now. Where you live, who you’re around, and what you’re exposed to has an impact on your style just as it does your identity.

My mom is the main reason for my love of fashion and clothing. She’s always been very stylish, if I could describe her style in three words I would say: timeless, classy, and sexy. As a little girl she always dressed me in the cutest little outfits, and of course making sure I was well accessorized. Everyday I was dressed to impress, even on the weekends when we had absolutely nowhere to go. Once I was old enough to read, my mom bought me tons of fashion magazines which kept me up to date on all the latest trends. She always gave me the freedom to express myself with my clothes, even as a toddler. Even though she would lay my clothes out for me every morning, she let me choose what I wanted to wear, as long as I was matching.

Another question that seems to come up often is how I would describe my personal style. As I said before, it’s an accumulation of where I grew up, who I was around, and what I was exposed to. Other than my mom, I loved Fran’s style from “The Nanny,” and the Bratz were also a huge fashion influence for me as a child. Most of my childhood I remember being very girly, as my favorite colors were pink and purple, and of course wore skirts and dresses everyday for the first seven years of my life which easily became a statement for me at that age. As you evolve as a person, so does your style. This can go from a drastic difference in such little time, or years on end to see a drastic change. I still do consider myself girly, however, I have added different aesthetics to the mix. Aesthetic fashion is a type of fashion that is pleasing to look at. It’s unique, artistic, bold, and makes a statement.

I could go in depth about my personal style, along with the many influences I’ve had over the years. A very important thing to realize as you go on your journey to finding your own personal style is that you are bound to experience some hits and misses. Although we try to avoid it, these hits and misses are a part of the process. I would be lying if I said I’ve never made a fashion faux pas, which is just a fancy word for a fashion mistake. Hopefully the tips I share with you guys can help avoid these scenarios, and get you well on your way to looking and feeling more like yourself.

1. Dress For Yourself– As I said earlier, your style is YOUR style. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is wearing, if it makes you look and feel good, wear it! As Gianni Versace once said, “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live.” Just because you see your favorite celebrity or influencer wearing it, doesn’t mean you have to. If you follow me on Instagram you know I post a lot of my favorite influencers, and my favorite looks on my story. It’s kind of like a virtual mood board. If I really like the outfit, or certain concepts of it, I know I can come back to it later. I then say to myself, “I really like this concept, how can I incorporate this to where it fits my style?” You can like and admire someone else’s style without having to copy it to a T. It’s always nice to have inspiration, but make it your own. Also know that it’s ok to have more than one aesthetic, I have at least five. Don’t confine yourself to just one style. You can be a “girly girl” one day, and then be a “tomboy” the next. As long as you feel comfortable, and feel like yourself, that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

2. Finding Your Wardrobe Essentials– I’m not going to go super in depth about this topic, because I plan on making a separate blog post specially about all the must-have items you need in your closet. These items that are considered essentials are more on the basic side, but can be accessorized to fit into any style. They give you plenty of options to mix and match, and of course add substance to your wardrobe.

3. Document What You Wear– Something that I found very beneficial was documenting what I wore. The only problem that I ran into while trying to collect my data was that I barely left my house. For those of you who actually go out, this will work better for you. The idea is to take a picture of your outfit for that day for at least a few months consistently. Whether you’re going to school, out with friends, on a date, or just running some errands, don’t forget to snap a picture. Once you think you’ve collected enough data, go through all the pictures. I found it easier to make a photo album, just because all the pictures are in the same place, and you won’t have to go looking through thousands of pictures. Look to see what’s reoccurring, do you wear a lot of tight clothes? Baggy clothes? Crop tops? Sweatpants? Whatever it is that’s reoccurring ask yourself three questions: 1. Do I like the way I look in this? 2. Do I feel good wearing it? 3. How can I switch it up to elevate this look?

After you’ve asked yourself these questions and have come up with answers, take a look at what you don’t wear. What pieces in your closet never worked? Which items still have the tags on them, and why haven’t you worn it? What did you buy thinking you would wear it at the time, but never did? Ask yourself why these items didn’t work, and then keep that in mind when you go shopping in the future. You should also probably get rid of those clothes that aren’t working, as there is no point in keeping them around.

Once you’ve figured out what your style is, you can start looking at inspiration from others with the same, or similar styles. Instagram and Pinterest are a good source to find fashion inspiration, sometimes I even turn to YouTube. On nights where I can’t sleep, I’m scrolling through Pinterest, pinning new inspirations, or looking at styling videos on YouTube. For those of you who don’t shop often, or just don’t have the budget, inspiration is key. You can see an outfit you like, go to look for similar items in your closet, and aim to pair how someone else did. Style inspiration will have you visualizing how to put together clothes in a new and creative way. For me, it’s really fun finding inspiration, and then turning it around to make it your own. If you don’t already follow fashion bloggers then going to your explore page to find one with the same style as you is your best bet. When you find outfits that you like, you can save it on Instagram, or even screenshot it. On Pinterest you can just type in the style you want, and get to scrolling. For example, if you search street style, that’s what will come up and you can pin, or screenshot anything that catches your eye. When finding bloggers to follow, look at the ones that relate most to you whether it be because of similar styles, budgets, or even similar body types. From pairing my skirts with tops of my choice as a kid, to now being able to represent my style as well as using my resources and creativity to allow me to dig into my passion for fashion more than ever.

The journey to finding your personal style is well worth it, so just be sure to invest in yourself and be the best dressed that you can be! Xoxo, CC