3 things I did to find my new style
Towards the end of last year, I wrote about how I was fed up of living in loungewear. At the time I was still breastfeeding, so nights were quite disrupted with multiple night wakings.
Exhausted and annoyed, it was all too tempting to stay in pyjamas all day. A temptation which I succumbed to and, I’m ashamed to admit, embraced whole heartedly.
But there came a point, around the time when I wrote about it here, that I felt enough is enough. I don’t want to do this anymore. I need me some proper clothes. It was affecting my confidence and my mood and I was ready to snap out of it.
The urge to splurge on a new wardrobe was creeping in but the problem was, I had no idea what I liked any more. My old wardrobe was mostly formal work attire and tops and jeans that didn’t fit me anymore.
I didn’t want to waste money on one off purchases that didn’t work well together as I was had done many times before.
So, as with every problem I have, I took to Google to find a solution. After waaaay too many hours of scrolling, pinning and screenshotting, I feel like I have a better idea of what my style is.
I wanted to share about some of the resources I found online to help me get a better understanding, because I think this might be a problem that a lot of women have, not just new mums.
Lots of women in my life have told me they have gotten stuck in a rut, want a refresh but don’t know where to start.
WHY IS IT GOOD TO KNOW YOUR STYLE?
It saves time
I can only speak for myself, but I felt like without knowing what I liked I could literally spend hours looking through unfiltered results to ‘all women’s clothing’. It was also difficult to visualise a complete outfit because I didn’t really know what went well together.
It saves money
Leading on from this I think I can shop more mindfully as I can more confidently ignore garments that don’t work for me, protecting me from impulse purchases and saving me money.
Gives you more confidence
In my opinion comfort equals confidence and for me wearing things that feel like me makes me feel confident. I don’t feel like I’m trying to be something I’m not.
SO...HOW DID I FIND MY NEW STYLE??
1. I took some style quizzes
I know, I probably sound like a teenager reading a magazine right now, but these two I found were really helpful.
The Visual Therapy (VT) have a basic one on their website, which you don’t have to give your email for. They ask you a few questions about what looks you like, your personality and interior preferences.
Based on your result you get a dominant and combination type. You can click through to a guide for that type which describes the look and colours associated with the type as well as celebrities associated with that style. It also gives you some pictures of typical outfits associated with that type. If you sign up they can send you a more detailed test
I also found a quiz on the Kettlewell Colours website. This one you have to give your email address for. The quiz itself is short and once you have given your email they send you the results. Similarly, to VT, they link through to a profile but this one is a lot more detailed than VT.
The main benefit for me was that I came away with some keywords and visual reference points to take away and do more detailed research on Google and Pinterest.
2. Discovered my body type
This has been important because there are certain cuts and styles of clothing that are more flattering on particular body types. It's important to know because it increases your chances of finding clothes that not only look good on you but you feel comfortable in.
Discovering that I am a pear shape has been useful for me as when I'm online shopping, it gives me a better idea as to what will suit me or not by just looking at the cut of the cloth.
I'm also hoping it will stop me from falling into the trap of seeing something in an email and assuming it will look good on me too.
There are quizzes for finding your body type on the Kettlewell site.
These YouTube videos by French designer, Justine
LeConte are really helpful as she talks about what you should wear and avoid depending on you body type. I have included some below, but you can find 'How to style an apple shaped body' and 'How to style a rectangle shaped body' by following the links.
3.
3. Discovered my colours
We are all individuals and based on the undertone to our skin (cool or warm), our hair colour and our eye colour, there are certain colours that suit us better than others.
It is tricky to figure out these on your own as it can often be unclear which 'season' you fall into.
Again, I did a quiz on the Kettlewell website and I also read some articles on the Concept Wardrobe website. According to both of these I am probably a 'Summer'.
I found this really fascinating, especially when it comes to choosing neutral colours, which most of my new look is based on. I always thought black and white are neutrals that look good on everyone, but for a soft summer like me they can look too harsh as they are considered saturated colours. I would be advised to go for softer more washed out shades such as cream, ivory or grey and charcoal.
WHAT DID I FIND OUT?
After doing this research, I feel like I have a better vision of what I want my wardrobe to look like and feel more confident going forward and making some purchases.
I see my wardrobe being:
- Minimal and chic
- Full of basics with a twist (interesting textures or detailing) and tailoring with an edge.
- Absent of patterns and print apart from checks and stripes
- Heavy on grey and beige neutrals with colour provided by blues and mauves.
- Straight leg or wide leg bottoms, longline tops and A-line maxi dresses/abayas,
I actually bought a few things recently and am going to upload a post later this week, going through the things I bought. If you are interested in taking a look, please subscribe to my blog or check back again in a couple of days.
I hope this information gives you a few pointers on how you can take some steps to figuring out your style.
H
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