If you don’t feel confident in your approach to fashion, it might be time to start thinking about what your fashion identity is. We all deserve to look great and feel confident in the clothes we’re wearing. But that’s not something that just happens automatically. You need to give it a little thought and planning.
Finding your identity and feeling as if the clothes you wear really speak for you and say something about your personality can be tough. But there are steps you can take to find what works for you and what makes you feel most at ease and most relaxed in what you’re wearing.
That’s precisely what we’re going to talk about in more depth today. There are so many approaches that can be taken when it comes to finding your fashion identity, and we’re going to discuss some of the steps you can take today, so read on to find out more.
Borrow and Experiment
If you want to find your fashion identity, you’re first going to need to try a few different things and experiment. That’s the only real way of finding out what works for you and what doesn’t; what you like and what you don’t. But you don’t have to spend a fortune buying outfits and seeing which ones work for you. Borrow clothes from friends when there’s a new style that you want to give a try. When you borrow, you can experiment freely and you don’t have to pay a huge price to do so.
Consider the Silhouettes Your Outfits Create
One of the things you should think about is the silhouette that your outfit creates. Do you want to create something very simple and elegant, or are you leaning towards outfits that are more flamboyant? These are the questions that only you can answer, but it’s worth thinking about your preferences and your fashion identity in terms of silhouettes before you start worrying about patterns, fabrics and colors; all of that stuff can come later. It might not be something you’ve thought much about before, but you certainly should.
Shop for Signature Pieces
When you’re constructing a new wardrobe and a new approach to fashion, you should look for the clothes and accessories that can act as signature pieces in your collection. When you have a few signature pieces, you can hand your entire style around those items and make them the items that you build your style around. It gives your approach to fashion some consistency and direction, and that helps a lot when you’re trying to find a new identity for your approach to what you wear. So make these your next shopping priority.
Make Long-Term Purchases
When you do eventually make purchases, try to only buy things that you’re confident you’ll wear for a long time to come. That’s how you know that you really love an item and see it as fitting in with your fashion identity. If you can see yourself wearing it for many years to come, that’s definitely a good sign and one that you shouldn’t overlook. So rather than being seduced by fast fashion, you should try to make more long-term purchases that’ll serve you well for a lot longer.
Create a Mood Board of Looks
One nice way to get a better idea of what you want your approach to fashion to be about is to create mood boards. These allow you to put together different looks and styles, creating a general aesthetic for how you want to dress and the kinds of fashion choices you want to make going forward. It should help you to better visualize the ideas you have and explore different styling options. If you’ve been struggling to do that up to now, creating a mood board of looks that you like and want to embody is a great idea.
Identify the Colors That Work Best for You
Next, you should take the time to think about which colors are going to work best for you and help you achieve the overall aesthetic that you want to achieve. Colors are important because they’re one of the first things we notice when we look at what a person is wearing. And if the colors are wrong or they don’t complement one another, the outfit stands out for all the wrong reasons, which is obviously what you want to avoid. Try things out and see which colors you think work best for you.
Create and Customize Your Own Clothes
If you really want to create a unique fashion identity that says something about you and who you are, you should think about creating your own clothes, or maybe customizing the ones you have. That way, you’ll know for sure that no one is going to be wearing the same outfit as you because you’re the one who made/customized it, and those pieces will be one of a kind items. It could be custom t-shirts or perhaps turning your old jeans into a new pair of shorts. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try out new ideas.
Find Your Own Style Icons and Inspirations
It’s often easier to find your own fashion identity when you’re clear about your inspirations. Just because you want your identity to be unique to you, that doesn’t mean you can’t take the lead from other people. It could be your friends or models or celebrities you like. They don’t need to be major trend-setters that everyone is taking fashion inspiration from. They just need to be people who embody a certain type of style that’s appealing to you and that you’d like to emulate in your own way, while putting your own spin on it.
Focus on Classic and Timeless Options
If you want to avoid falling into the trap of following the latest trends too closely or changing your mind about your fashion decisions every few minutes, you should try to focus on creating an approach to fashion that’s classic and timeless in some way. When you have fashion pieces that can stand the test of time and don’t look out of fashion after a few months, it means that you don’t have to spend so much and it makes your style seem more timeless. And both of those things are worth celebrating.
Don’t Get Hung Up on What’s Popular Right Now
It’s important not to get too focused on what’s popular right now. What’s popular now might not be what’s popular with you or what you like. Don’t be afraid to look back to years and decades gone by to find inspiration for your unique fashion identity. By lifting inspiration from different time periods and finding ways to put your own modern twists on old ideas, you can often create outcomes that are very interesting and visually appealing. You just need to be willing to explore.
Seek Out the Brands That Offer You What You Need
The brands you choose to buy your clothes from will matter a lot too. If there are brands that make you feel comfortable and that go about their business in a way that appeals to you, stick with them. A little consistency in terms of the brands you buy from can go a long way and make a big difference for you. Do your research and seek out the brands that you feel you can rely on to offer everything you’re looking for, in terms of style and practicality.
Clear Out and Keep Your Wardrobe Streamlined
Keeping your wardrobe streamlined is definitely a good idea if you want to create an identity that’s clear and consistent. An overflowing wardrobe with too much going on is never going to be as concise or able to offer what you’re looking for. So it can be wise to have a big clearout of your wardrobe every so often. It’s certainly a good idea to do this now if it’s been a long time since you last did. That way, you can keep it limited to the things you really want and need.
Stay True to You
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you should try to simply be true to yourself when choosing clothes and putting together outfits. All that really matters is your commitment to your own needs and priorities. And that means trying not to worry too much about what other people might think and what their opinions of your approach to fashion might be. If it makes you happy and you feel what you’re wearing reflects part of your personality, then go with it and enjoy it.
If you make the most of the tips and ideas discussed above, you shouldn’t have any trouble at all crafting a fashion identity that works for you and offers everything you need it to. It’s all about experimentation and trying new things until you’ve found the approach that gives you what you’re looking for, so that’s the best place to start.
