Finding Out Your Own Style

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I think I'm a little overdue on this post, but I have been thinking a lot about the future of Occupy the Wardrobe this week. I feel like this is more than a style blog, and I shouldn't turn it into one now that I'm done with my year of no shopping. But nonetheless, the learning and thinking I did for the year I didn't shop it's worth sharing and working it through from now on. For example, one of the best things about not shopping for a year was figuring out my own style, and what I love to wear. So today, I wanted to share some tips for anyone that still struggles with it.

I'm not the most organized person in town, but I'm a firm believer that if you're one of those people that have SO MANY clothes in your wardrobe you don't even know what you own, then you're doing it wrong. If you can't see what you own, you won't wear it. Clean up that wardrobe, toss anything you haven't worn in a year, or doesn't fit, or doesn't flatter you. Toss it all out without pity, it is for the best.

I actually did the heaviest cleanings ever in my wardrobe in this year of not shopping. The clarity it gives you is amazing. If you feel it's too hard to part from something, maybe offer it to a friend who'll wear it more than you do. If not, TOSS IT.

Me, in one of my classical outfits I wore 100 times before I started this blog.

This sounds kind of drastic, but I promise it's a good idea. Mixing and matching your pieces more often will help you get a sense of what works for you, and find out about combinations that are even better than the ones you make all the time. It's basically, shopping your own closet, and looking even better than when you shop out!

Simply put: do not wear the same pieces the same way twice. You can repeat separate pieces, but not outfits. I used to do that a lot, I had my 10 favorite dresses, and basically just cycled through them every week. There was one day that I looked back and realized that I had worn the same exact outfits on the same days of the week as the week before.

So next time you reach for that cardigan you ALWAYS wear with the same pair of pants, don't. Try something new. Then try to not repeat outfits for an entire month, rotate everything you own and wear them differently every time. Now, after a year of doing that, it's almost second nature to me, and most mornings I put stuff together that I never did before. Think of the possibilities!

I encourage you to try both things and seeing how they will help you find out your own style. And please share in the comments your own ideas about style! I'd love to hear them.