6 Tips to Finding Your Personal Style

Growing up, I loved fashion. In fact, when I was younger, I thought I would work in either the fashion or beauty industry. I just enjoyed all of it so much and felt it was such a fun and creative space to be in.

Over time though, my priorities and interests shifted and while I still love fashion & beauty, they aren’t as important to me as they once were. Now, my style is less about being adventurous and more about being me – I want pieces that are going to reflect what I feel my personal style is and fit my life well.

If you’re here then you’re likely wanting to figure out what your ideal style is, and I hope that these tips can help you. They certainly have helped me hone in on what pieces represent my style goals and fit my day-to-day lifestyle. Let’s dive into them.

6 Tips to Finding Your Personal Style

1. Write Out Your Clothing Must Haves.

Since becoming a mom, I’ve been re-discovering my style. Things I used to love and wear all the time just no longer feel like me. It’s not because my body has changed, it’s because I’ve changed and my style needs to change with me to fit my lifestyle.

I’ve always been someone who likes her clothes to be practical, comfortable, and on the modest side. While my style previously was always practical & comfortable, it also had pieces set for times & places. Now, I also need my clothes to be pieces that can easily transition through all the activities in my day. I’ve held onto a few occasion-specific pieces, but in general, nearly everything in my wardrobe now can be worn for both day and night events and most occasions.

While I am not yet chasing my son around for playtime since he is still quite small, my style still requires me to be able to run around, get up and down, and be able to get on his level for playtime and developmental play.

Basically what I am saying is that I now have different requirements for my clothing. While it may sound limiting to have criteria for your clothing, I’ve actually found it helpful to identify and re-discover my style these last few months.

Discovering my list of “must-haves” in my clothes was the first step to feeling like myself again style-wise after having my son. Consider where you spend most of your time (EX: the office, with family, etc.), the pieces already you have that you feel your best in, and also think of what doesn’t fit your lifestyle or feel comfortable.

2. Be Open To Style Inspiration!

If you read Tip #1 and thought: “Boring. This is all about practicality & list building” then this tip should be more fun for you!

Tip #1 will help you create a wearable and practical wardrobe for you, but finding pieces that excite you will help steer your style in a specific direction. Discovering your personal style is really all about paying attention to what inspires you.

When you see something online, hanging in a store window, or worn by someone walking by and feel inspired – that’s your style zone. One of the ways I’ve begun curating my wardrobe was simply by asking people (whose style I found inspiring) where they found their pieces. They often would name a brand or store that I hadn’t thought to shop at and it would help me break out of my typical shopping cycle.

3. So, You’re Inspired… Now, Document It.

When you begin seeing pieces around you that inspire you, try taking note of what the style genre is that you’re drawn to. Maybe you love retro styles or pieces that have a business-casual vibe – whatever it is, take note of it and then use it to create a Pinterest board. I have found that I tend to gravitate towards styles that are clean, feminine, and classic and so those are the types of styles and outfit looks that I search for on Pinterest.

Pinterest is one of my favourite places to both find style inspiration and document it. I have a specific Pinterest board where I re-pin all the outfits that I feel reflect the type of style and wardrobe that I am trying to create for myself. I’ve found it really helpful to look at whenever I am trying to create an outfit.

4. Identify What’s Missing From Your Wardrobe.

I have also found that creating a Pinterest board that outlines my ideal style helps me identify what is missing from my wardrobe. For example, I tend to love outfits with light beige slacks but up until just recently, I didn’t own a pair. Seeing that I gravitated towards outfits with beige slacks made me realize that I would probably wear them a lot if I had a pair myself. So, I ordered a pair, and guess what? I wear them constantly.

5. Choose Trends Wisely.

I used to be someone who would get caught up in the trend cycle. It was an expensive habit and it meant that my style was always rotating rather than incorporating pieces that reflected my ideal style. I often found these pieces weren’t really practical for my life and that after a few wears, they wouldn’t really feel like “me”.

The thing about trends is that they come and go, but often they are just reimagined versions of trends we’ve already seen. I’m not saying to ignore all trends but pick and choose what you invest in wisely. Maybe you spend a lot of your time at the office and love the look of oversized blazers – sure it may be a trend, but it works for your lifestyle so go for it. Just keep your style goals and lifestyle practicality in mind.

I do recommend shopping with quality over quantity in mind. When you’re a trend shopper rather than a style shopper, it’s easy to over-consume and end up with a closet bursting with clothes. It’s these sorts of closets that seem like they have so much in them and yet you never feel like you have anything to wear.

I like to think of trends as though they are going by on a conveyor belt. Most I’ll just let go by, but every so often I’ll pick one up if I feel it’ll work with my style goals.

6. Embrace Your Style Journey.

If looking back on my style over the last decade and a half has taught me anything it’s that fashion and personal style is always a bit of a journey. You choose certain pieces, embrace certain styles, and sometimes you look back on photos and think “What was I thinking?”. I mean, once upon a time I wore platforms, had Freaky Friday Lindsay Lohan blonde and red striped hair, and wore low-rise jeans – and I thought it was all fabulous.

There are always going to be hits and misses when it comes to your style. But, as you narrow in on what makes you feel best, you’ll end up finding that you have a wardrobe that truly reflects your style and lifestyle needs.