By Julie Roth, Style by JR
Finding your personal style can seem daunting, especially with all the influence and recommendations that come through social media now. It can be hard to truly know what your own signature, flare, vibe and panache is. But fear not fashion folks, it’s much less scary than walking into a store to try on bathing suits.
Here are a couple of my best pieces of advice for enhancing, streamlining, or building your own personal style.
1. Comfort and Confidence
While this sounds straight forward, I know that it is not always that easy. With that being said, I have been so fortunate to be able to witness transformations when it comes to wardrobes and the way individuals carry themselves once they have truly found a piece or an outfit they feel comfortable in. Comfort doesn’t necessarily mean your matching sweat suit (which I am totally cool with), but it does mean a proper fit – something that won’t ride up, fall down, have a button pop or stick to you like a staticky balloon. When we have a well-fitting suit, dress, or even pair of leggings for that matter, we are able to present ourselves in a more direct manner because we don’t have to tug at our pants or worry that our jumpsuit is see-through (speaking from personal experience of a VERY public television segment I did once…whoops!). Don’t be afraid to take the pile of clothing you’ve had sitting on the floor for a long time to a tailor. I promise the result will be that you actually wear your clothing, and, in order to build our personal style, we need to wear what we have.
2. Look for Inspiration
One word, Pinterest. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. This is my go-to social platform for finding quick inspiration for fashion shows, marketing campaigns, one-on-one client closet edits, and even outfits for myself. Finding inspiration can be effortless as it should be, and it should spark some sort of excitement in you that makes you want to try on new pieces or have a little fun with your wardrobe and possibly, dare I say, experiment with mixing prints and textures? The next time you are about to embark on a mall adventure or click “purchase” on an online order, create a list of what you need or are looking for and then seek out some unique ways to wear what is on your shopping list. Don’t get too caught up in the descriptions too; take them right from the website or simply look up “casual blazer outfit” or “cool ways to wear socks with sandals.”
If you have found an outfit you like or something that inspires you to get creative with your look, take a picture! It can be of an outfit you love on yourself or start a collection on Instagram or a secret one in your photo album on your phone. Having points of reference is a super easy and quick way to feel enthusiastic about your wardrobe while you are building your style.
3. If You Don’t Try, You’ll Never Know
I always hear, “I could never wear that,” or “I never would have thought to put that together.” Well, as a friendly reminder, I’d like you to T-R-Y things on or pair things together that maybe you wouldn’t have at first glance. This stems a lot from when I tried on wedding dresses and, I know a lot of bridal associates would agree with me in saying, if you don’t try something on, you will never know what it’s actually going to look like. I had a picture in my mind of a strapless, mermaid style gown for my wedding, and I ended up with an embellished lacey number that I added sleeves to. I was fortunate enough to be able to reconstruct the base of my dress but that’s just it, I was able to reconstruct it, AKA tailor it to exactly my liking! (Refer back to tip number 1.) So, maybe you step out of that fashion comfort zone for a hot minute, try something on and end up falling in love, but it’s not fitting quite right. Well, don’t forget that tailors and seamstresses are there for a reason.
It might not always work but if you didn’t try wine or coffee, how would you know if you liked it or not?! See what I’m getting at?
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our How to Build Your Personal Style blog by Julie Roth, coming soon!
