5 Tips on Shopping for Your Personal Style
Someday in 2023, I woke up with an intense desire to get back into finding my personal style. I wanted to distance myself from following trends and get back into the mind of my Claire’s fake glasses, matching set, poncho, and Capri-wearing childhood self. What would she want me wearing right now?? I’d still consider myself new to this, but I can’t help but notice some tips and tricks that have already helped along the way.
1. Pick 2-5 staple pops of colors & stick to them.
For example, my “pops of colors” are green, red, yellow, and an occasional blue or orange. When I go shopping, I try to stick to buying these colors, especially in accessories (we’ll get to that later), and neutrals that always go with these colors. You know, black, white, brown, grey, etc. This way, when I’m picking out an outfit, I have color to play with in big ways (like a sweater or pants) and small ways (like a purse or shoe). On top of that, a lot of my colors go together, so I can play with mixing and matching. AND, one last thing about this, I promise, I am always buying pieces that already match items in my closet, which helps me make sure I am actually wearing the clothes in my closet. This helps keep me accountable so I don’t overconsume, especially in thrift stores.
2. Accessories Accessories Accessories
In this house, we are big on wearing accessories. This could be, jewelry, bags, headbands, hats, socks, truly whatever you want that you think you can actually commit to wearing on a semi-regular basis. Add in sticking to buying accessories in your set colors, you could add in a gold vs silver thing here too but this girl mixes metals, and I promise you, you will have so much more fun playing around with your outfits in the morning.
3. Layering Pieces
Think of layering pieces more as an accessory to your outfit. Kind of like that trend of wearing your clothes vs wearing your clothes. For example, if I’ve got on jeans, a white baby tee, and sneakers, I could add a sheer top or cardigan over the baby tee and put a leather jacket over it all. I’m a huge fan of just trying it out, throwing on the layering piece, and if you don’t like it you can just take it off, girl.
4. Pinterest is your best friend
Friend, if you don’t get to pinning… You are seriously missing out. I’ve been putting in the work on these Pinterest boards for eight years, so if anyone knows what I like, it’s Pinterest. It might take a second for your feed to get to the level of curated mine is, but I truly believe that no app algorithms the way Pinterest algorithms. If you search “Winter Outfits” and only save outfits you truly like, I promise you Pinterest will show you more. And I don’t mean simply in quantity, but quality too. This will also help stray away from just following trends. Pinterest shows me pictures from so many different periods and trend eras, so I’m saving things that I know will always stand the test of time for me. Except don’t look at my really old boards; my Tumblr into vsco girl era should not be held against me. Side tip for this one- look up your hall-of-fame fashion icons on Pinterest and pin pictures of their best outfits too. Is Fran Fine all over my outfits board? Wouldn't you like to know!
5. Keep a running list of pieces you want
Now this is where Pinterest really comes in. When you’re pinning to your “outfits” board you will quickly begin to see patterns in the outfits you’re pinning. Look at the outfits you gravitate towards and take note of the repetitive pieces you find in them. For me, this looks like cardigans, denim, and long skirts. So, when I go shopping, I think about the current season, the one coming up, and the pieces for these seasons that I see often in my pins. This helps me make sure I’m buying pieces I will actually want to wear and style
Well, there you have it, five tips to help you shop for your personal style! I’d still consider myself new to this, so I’ll keep you updated on any more tricks I come across.
Write you soon!
Beth
P.S.
Here's a pic of those incredible Claire's fake glasses for reference.
