How to Define Your Personal Style

One important thing to keep in mind before the start of each season is your personal style.  You don’t want to buy items that might not fit into the mold that you have created for yourself.  Often times I see something cute and I purchase it right away.  But after wearing it once or twice I realize that it’s not really my style and it doesn’t go with a lot of items in my closet.  Lately I have been on a kick of spending a little more money on items, but knowing that I will wear them for multiple seasons and multiple times within that season.  You don’t want ‘odd’ pieces because you won’t wear them as often or feel like yourself when you wear them.  I seem to always go back to what I am most comfortable with, which I would describe as classic with a twist.  80% of my wardrobe falls under the ‘classic’ section meaning these are pieces I know I can wear for years and that won’t be going out of style anytime soon.  Think button up collared shirts, basic denim, a simple nude heel, etc.  The remaining 20% falls under the ‘twist’ category which represents the trendy items for that season like off the shoulder tops, cold shoulder tops, etc. that may only be around for only a few seasons.

How I would describe my personal style

1. I am a lover of denim jeans. If I could, I would wear jeans every day, all day.  Denim goes with everything.  And I love that you can dress denim up or down depending on your top, shoes or accessories.  My favs right now are this pair and this pair.
2.  Colors I like to wear include whites, pinks, blues and lately reds. I look best in white and light pinks because of my pale skin and blonde hair.  For the last few years, I have had a deep obsession with navy (especially navy and white together-perfection!), but right now I don’t own a lot of the color.  Maybe it’s because of the season, but I am drawn more to lighter blues.  Lately, I have also been buying a lot of red.  Maybe because it’s part of the pink family?  I love the added pop of color it gives me.
3. I wear very minimal jewelry and I like to keep it simple in this department. The items I own are pieces that I wear every day and that I have had for years.  I blame this on being a jewelry buyer for years- I think I became immune to costume jewelry because I saw so much of it every day.
4. My style is casual yet dressed up. I like to be comfortable in what I am wearing and don’t like to wear anything that is too fussy.  You need to be yourself in your clothes or else people will notice.  Dress for yourself and not for anyone else, including your husband or boyfriend!  One of my favorite outfits is a simple white tee, jeans, a bold lip and sky high heels (casual, yet dressed up!).
5. In terms of beauty, I also am drawn to pinks in lipsticks and blushes. I like being a blonde, despite being a natural brunette and I like a little volume in the crown of my hair.  My latest obsession is a bold brow.  I actually get mine darkened every time I get waxed despite being a blonde.

How to find yours

So now you may be asking yourself, how can I come up with my personal style?  Well here are a few tips to ask yourself to help define yours:

1. Examine your closet. Do you see a trend in silhouettes, colors, patterns, material? Do you see specific items that are on repeat?  These are the items you are drawn most to.
2. Pay close attention to your shape. Is there a specific body part you like to show off like your chest, your legs, etc.?
3. Is there a certain color you are like more than another or one that you think looks really good on you? When you wear this color, do you tend to get a lot of compliments from people?
4. Pick out your favorite outfit and one that you think you look your best in. Why do you like it so much?  It is the color, the fit, the material?  How do you feel when you wear that outfit?  Do you feel happy, confident, excited, etc.?
5. What type of lifestyle do you have? Do you work in a casual work environment or is it more conservative?  Are you an active person?  Are you really social and go out all of the time?  This will help to determine what types of items you need in your closet in order to fit your lifestyle.
6. Find an image of a celebrity in an outfit that you love.  What do you like most about the outfit?  This is a great way to get a visual image of what you like/dislike.

Next steps

Now that you have a better understanding of your personal style, it’s time to clean out the closet and get rid of anything that doesn’t fit this mold.  Less is always more and now you have room to do some shopping!  Growing up my dad would always say to me, ‘You have so many clothes, you don’t need anything’.  So then I would purge and get rid of anything that didn’t fit, I didn’t like, etc. and then miraculously I would have room for new clothes! Get rid of stuff that may be too worn, too old, has holes or that you haven’t worn in over a year.  I have some great ways on how to make money on these old items, but I will save that for another post!

My favorite outfit

This outfit is one of my favorites right now! I am obsessed with the color of this sweater and I love that it is very feminine.  Even during the summer months, I am always a little chilly so I like light weight sweaters.  You can easily pair this with a pair of white shorts once it starts to get a little hotter.  I am also obsessed with these jeans!  You can see them in this post and this post.  They fit so well and I love white denim.  My jewelry is simple and these are items you will see me wear a ton of.  Add some pink lipstick, a bold brow and little poof on my hair and you have my signature style!

As we move into the warmer months and you are shopping for new pieces in your wardrobe, keep your personal style in the back of your mind.  Make sure these items fit your newly defined style and they are items that fit seamlessly into your wardrobe.  Happy summer shopping!

Shop the look

Top: Club Monaco | Jeans: Citizens of Humanity | Shoes: Stuart Weitzman (old), similar here | Earrings: Nordstrom | Watch: Michele | Lipstick: YSL

How would you describe your personal style?

xoxox Amanda