Developing Your Personal Style, Part 3

It's taken me awhile to get to this with all the school work I've been doing, but here is part three of a three part series I've written on personal style. Find part one here and part two here.

So my first two forays into this topic were about being true to yourself and considering your routine. This one is about shaking it up.

3. Try Something Different


(image by something.from.nancy)

I find that we can all fall into routines with our clothing choices, buying similar essentials year after year when older versions of the same thing wear out. White collared shirt - check. Dark blue jeans - check. Something to put on your feet in bad weather - check. This is fine, we all need these wardrobe building blocks, but like everything else in life, we need to move out of our comfort zones in order to challenge ourselves to change and develop. Here are a few ideas to help you shake up your style inexpensively.

Think of one item of clothing you always wear - are you a skirts every day person? Or a jeans every day person? Well, make a conscious choice to do the opposite for a week. See how that goes.

I'm sure that there are at least five items of clothing you could think of that are too "out there" or weird or ugly or just generally problematic for you. Maybe high heels? Acid wash denim? An unusual silhouette? A particular colour? You probably tell your friends "oh, I hate that. X always looks terrible on me." Well, I challenge you to tackle these things - pick one and try this item on in a variety of stores (don't just try one and give up) until you find a way to work it. You will surprise yourself and learn that the problem isn't the item itself, it is both how it fits or looks and your attitude, or society's attitude, towards it - what it does, what it implies about you and the kind of person you are. Just ignore all this and have fun. A tip: Try thrift shopping for this item so you have no regrets for spending money on it. $5 = who cares.

Ok, I admit the last challenge was a bit extreme but I'm sure you can see how even a toned down version of this can really make you see yourself and fashion in a different way. Perhaps think about making a pact with a friend to raid each others closets and borrow a couple items for a week (return clean!). You are way more likely to be drawn to some crazy item they have than their boring basics. Or ask this friend to permanently trade one crazy, unworkable, but interesting item from their wardrobe with one from yours.

Put things together that really really don't match (this has been a hard one for me). If you are really OCD about matching, buy a colour wheel from an art shop and spin it to create unusual combinations that work on artistic principles.

Remember the dress up trunk full of your mom's old clothes you probably had as a child? When you are trying to shake up your style, go at the world like it's that costume trunk. Fling it all over the room. Resist making the obvious choices or going for whatever everyone else seems to be wearing. Resist playing it safe.



(image from Wild Knitting)