Defining Your Personal Style And Organizing Your Wardrobe In The Process
This week I listened to a great podcast episode on Life with Marianna. She had on guest, Allison Bornstein. The topic of discussion was all about how to find your personal style. In this episode they talked a bit about how choosing 3 words that help you define your personal style. This is her page where the post is if you want to see more. And I definitely recommend listening to that episode too, here.
While I was listening to this, I got inspired to edit my wardrobe. This is something I like to do every 6 months to a year. I know some people dread organizing their clothes but, I freaking love it! I notice I always feel so great after purging. It’s good to remove stuff in your space that no longer brings you value or aligns with your personal style. It’s okay to no longer like something you bought a year ago. The fact is, if you don't like it now, you probably won’t in another year. Now, there are exceptions… throughout my closet, I have a few pieces that I do not wear regularly but, I want to keep for specific purposes. I love thrifting and have found so many second hand gems over the years. So I enjoy donating my clothes, knowing some one else might find their next gem too.
Like art, style is incredibly subjective. I’ve always found interest in seeing how other woman form their personal style and taking inspiration from that. Over the years, my style has evolved, like other aspects of my life, of course. Now that I am in my 30s, I understand why they say it’s a goddess decade. Your 20s are a lot of exploring and figuring out your adult self and who you are. You have a lot of trial and error. And as you move into your 30s, you definitely have a different mindset/confidence for what you like and what suits you best. You simply know yourself better. For example, jeans, I love, love, love jeans. High waisted skinny jeans to be exact. I know that’s what I like. I have tried other jean styles and they are just not for me. I appreciate various styles on other people, but for me skinny jeans is what I feel most comfortable and confident in, so that’s what I purchase when I need jeans.
The key to finding your personal style is to not be swayed into following trends or getting something because some one else looks great in it or you feel influenced by all the ads you see everywhere. Ask yourself, do you actually like it? Are you comfortable in it? Does it flatter your body type? Your personal style should embody YOU and what YOU love. You should be drawn to the pieces you own. Getting ready should be effortless and enjoyable.
When I am auditing my wardrobe I like to take notes and create a wardrobe inventory guide. I write down the types of clothing I own into categories (pants, dresses, sweaters, etc) accessories and the primary colors I see throughout my closet space (black, white, blue, green). Within those categories, I write down (roughly) how many items I have. For example, pants, I would note 10 jeans, 6 leggings, 3 slacks, 4 joggers, etc. I would also go micro with it and write down types of styles and fits that I have within those categories. I find doing this, you discover trends within your closet; what you gravitate towards the most and also, what you have seldom of.
I find this cleaning project a great way to really see what you own. Something I that I used to in my 20s, is buy clothes for the sake of buying clothes. I would randomly go to stores and shop around. Inevitably I would get lured into buying something I didn’t need. It was fun of course, but impulsive and certainly not necessary. I’m much more particular about what I purchase now and this project helps me out. If I see I have 10 pairs of jeans, I probably do not need to purchase another pair of jeans as tempting as it might be.
This little quadrant down here is your guide to defining your personal style AND cleaning up your closet along the way. It’s fun and effective!
This is just a template I created that helps me keep everything organized while I work on this project. The general consensus for my personal style is comfy, casual, classic pieces, with mostly neutral colors and pops of forest green, deep purple and blues. A good variety of sneakers, oversized sweaters, tee shirts, leggings and skinny jeans. A wardrobe inventory is a great way to establish your personal style, organize your items and clean things out!
Oh, my top 3 words to describe my style are: Simple, Classic, Casual.
Comment below if you want to try this the next time you do a purge of your closet. Let me know what you find out about your personal style.
XO,
Charlene
