How to find your clothing style

Have you ever thought about what your clothing style is? Do you know what it is? If not, do you know how to find your clothing style?

I never even thought about it until after having my second baby. After my first was born I had to get rid of 3/4 of my clothes due to all the postpartum changes. I got pregnant with my second 9 months later and I had only bought a couple things to replace all the pieces I got rid of. After my second was born, I started to get serious about refilling my wardrobe. That’s when I realized I never really had a style before. I bought whatever looked nice or was comfortable without caring what style it was. But I wasn’t going to do that this time around. Especially since I decided to learn to sew my own clothes. I wasn’t about to spend hours making something that wouldn’t work with the rest of my wardrobe or wasn’t something I really wanted to wear.

If you can relate to this struggle then I hope you’ll stick around! I’ll walk you through the steps I took to find my own style so that you can start building a wardrobe that is full of pieces you actually want to wear. Cause honestly, isn’t it so frustrating to have a wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear?

Steps to finding your clothing style

Step 1. Analyze Your Clothes

You want to start by getting an idea of what you do and don’t like from what you already have. Pull out each item and ask yourself some questions:

• Do you enjoy wearing it? Why or why not?
• When was the last time you wore it?
• Is there any way you could adjust it to make it work?

Be very honest with yourself. You don’t have to make a decision yet about whether or not you want to keep each item. You’re just getting a feel for what you’re really looking for in your clothing.

Using a sticky note or your phone, write down the things you love and don’t love about certain pieces and why. You can refer back to this later when we start looking for inspiration to help get clarity on your style.

Step 2. Create a Clothing Mood Board

The easiest way to do this is on Pinterest. Create a new board and then search up different clothing items like tops, pants, dresses, jackets, ect. When you see something that you like pin it to that board. You don’t need to have an extensive amount, just enough for you to get a good idea of what kind of style you’re drawn to.

You could also make a physical mood board if you prefer. Grab some photos from Pinterest or screenshots from different brands, print them off, and pin them to a corkboard or tape them to a big piece of cardboard. The point is to have a collection of photos of different clothing items that catch your eye, but you can definitely have fun with this step if you want to.

Step 3. Clean Up Your Clothing Board

Once you’ve got a decent collection take a break and don’t look at it for a day or two. Then you’re going to come back and clean it up a bit. Check that note of things you do and don’t like about the clothing you already have. If anything you pinned has some of the same characteristics of something you wrote that you didn’t like, delete that pin. Maybe you pinned something before but now that you’re looking at it you find you don’t actually like it as much as you thought you did.

Step 4. Look For Similarities to Find an Emerging Style

Take a good look at your mood board as a whole. Are there any noticeable similarities? Are the colors very bright? Neutral? Are there certain patterns you seem to be drawn to? Are the pieces more retro or modern? Did you pin a lot of dresses and skirts or mostly pants and shorts?

As you look over the pieces in your board you should notice similarities. For me, I discovered that I pinned a lot of dresses that had a cottage core look. I liked pants and tops that were feminine and had a sort of countryside feel to them.

You’re going to want to keep this board handy till you’ve gotten really familiar with your style. If you did a physical mood board, take a picture so you have it on hand when you’re out shopping. This is going to be your reference for building your wardrobe.

HOw to build a wardrobe in your style

Now that you’ve got a clearer picture of what your style is, going forward you want to build your wardrobe to reflect it. You’re going to want to be very intentional with what comes into your wardrobe and take out pieces that don’t fit well. Here are some things you’re going to want to avoid as you build your wardrobe to match your style.

Avoid Impulse Purchasing

asK yOURSELF SOME qUESTIONS

This is an easy way to start filling your wardrobe with pieces that don’t actually match the style you’re drawn to. You see something that looks cute, it fits well, and you buy it. Don’t do this. You will end up spending way more money and these pieces will likely be in a donations bag in a couple months to a year. Building a wardrobe in your style is all about being intentional. Before you purchase something ask yourself these questions:

• Does it fit with the pieces on your clothing board?
• Do you like it on you or on the model?
• Is it comfortable?
• Is it easy to throw on?
• Does it fit your lifestyle?

These are all really important questions. Building a wardrobe is about more than just building a wardrobe in a certain style. You also want to make sure you will reach for each piece your bringing in. That’s why you want to make sure it’s comfortable and easy to wear. For me personally, I don’t make or buy pieces that go above the knee or are loose or low-cut at the neckline. I’m a mom of littles and am constantly bending over and leaning down. I don’t want to be flashing people or constantly trying to keep things covered while trying to live my life. So if a piece doesn’t fit those requirements, I don’t get it. I know I won’t reach for it because of the extra work it will be trying to be appropriate while mothering my littles.

tAKE tIME TO THINK ABOUT IT

If you find something you like but aren’t immediately sure it will fit your style and needs, if possible, I recommend not purchasing right away but thinking it over for a few days. If you’re shopping online, add it to your cart but don’t check out. Just leave it there for a while. If you can’t stop thinking about it and can come up with multiple outfits with it, then it’s probably safe to get it. If after a few days you still aren’t sure if it will work for you, let it go. You want to fill your wardrobe with pieces you actually want to wear, not pieces you think you want to wear.

Avoid Compromising On Your Style

When you’re out shopping or getting ready to start another sewing project, have your clothing mood board handy. If you see a piece you like but it doesn’t match with what you have on your board, leave it behind. You may like it now but if it doesn’t match the style you’ve discovered you’re drawn to you might end up only wearing it a couple of times. You’ll also have more trouble mixing and matching it with other pieces in your wardrobe if it is a different style than the rest of your clothes. Don’t compromise. Stick with the style in your board to build a wardrobe you’ll enjoy long-term that is also cohesive and serves you well.

Does this mean you can never buy or make anything in another style? That you’re forever stuck with the one you have on your board right now? Absolutely not! Your style may change and that’s okay. If you’re finding the style you once were drawn to isn’t what you like now or no longer fits your lifestyle, then change it. Your wardrobe is meant to serve you. That’s the whole point of finding your style. It’s about finding what you really enjoy so you can have a wardrobe full of pieces you reach for over and over. If that isn’t happening then something needs to change. Once you find your style you should be very selective of what comes in, but if something needs to change down the road, change it.

Avoid Rushing to Build Your Wardrobe

Now that you have a much better idea of what your style is, you may feel an urge to go out on a big shopping spree and fill your wardrobe with pieces in your new style. Or maybe you’ve now got all these plans of all the sewing projects you want to do to fill your wardrobe with pieces in your style. But building a wardrobe you truly enjoy and that serves you well takes time. It’s something that takes intentionality, slowly collecting pieces that fit your style, body, and season of life. It’s not something you want to rush. Like I said before about impulse purchasing, rushing will likely bring regrets. Don’t rush this! Enjoy the process of slowly building your wardrobe.

I hope you found this helpful and if you have any other tips on how to find your style, leave them in the comments below!