Developing Your Personal Style, Part 2

Part two of a three part series. Here's part one if you missed it.

2. Know Your Routine

Regular readers of this blog must be getting sick of me banging on about crazy black boots with killer 4.5" heels as I've been musing over what kind of boots to buy for fall over the past couple months. I've fantasized about these, considered these, and tried these on.


And, while I love all of them, I finally settled on these:



1.5 inch heels? What? Well the truth is, I walk a lot. Everywhere, actually. And the first couple chilly days in soon-to-be-rainy Vancouver reminded me that open toe bootie stilettos, while hot, are not going to cut it for the next seven months while I'm a broke student with an uninsured vehicle. But I ain't going to settle for any old boring pair of boots. And apparently I'd rather have new boots than car insurance...

Another thing I don't do is bracelets. I'm a writer, and am pretty much constantly in front of a keyboard. Anything that jangles up and down my arms or bangs on the edge of a desk is not going to cut it.

What do you do for a living? What do you do for fun? How does this affect what you wear? You should always have your daily routine in mind when shopping for clothes as well as the weather where you live. These things determine what you are going to wear and how often you are going to wear it and there is no getting around either of them.

That said, I wholeheartedly discourage you from purchasing anything simply because it's practical and meets the needs of your lifestyle. For fashion to be truly fun, there has to be more to it than that. Don't buy something just because it is appropriate for the office. Don't buy something just because you are going out that night and need a pair of heels, any pair of heels. You've gotta love it and you've gotta feel good in it.

To figure out how your routine affects your style, track your wardrobe for a week, the same way conscientious people track their budgets. Take a photo of yourself each day from Monday to Sunday, more if you change outfits within the day and write down what you did on those days. No cheating, photograph what you actually wore to work or school or wherever. Have a look through these photos on Sunday. What do they tell you? Maybe the huge old bag you have to pack your books or laptop around in just doesn't really go with your jacket and needs to be replaced. Maybe you've worn the same thing three days in a row because you slept in. Maybe you wore runners every day because the other shoes you own won't survive the weather. Maybe you have to stick to a dress code or wear a uniform.

I've had three jobs where I had to wear a uniform and each time I've subverted it somehow. You'd be surprised what you can get away with. At one job I refused to wear the mandatory polo shirt and instead wore only a nametag with a dress when I worked. They let me do it because I looked far less rumpled than the other staff! At another job, we were supposed to wear a white shirt, black pants and a narrow scarf tied in an elaborate granny bow at the front of the shirt. I often wore shiny satin pants, a mandarin collared shirt and tied the scarf in a knot at one side of my neck. If you have to wear a school uniform, see what accessories you can get away with.

for those who get up late and rush out of the house in the morning, if you want to work on improving your day to day style, I recommend making an effort to figure out what you are going to wear the night before. You don't have to spend much time on this and you don't have to be totally committed to it in the morning, but at least you can make a start when your brain is working and spend a couple minutes ironing that shirt you keep meaning to wear but don't have time to iron when you are late for work. While you're at it, get in the habit of reading or watching the weather report in the evening too!

Now that you've figured out the necessities of your daily routine, try to think of ways to inject beauty, style, yourself into those necessary garments. The items you need to wear and use the most should be the ones you spend the most time selecting and taking care of. Pay particular attention to coats, bags, and shoes. These are the items that form the core of your personal style, these are the things you use all the time.