Finding your personal style
It's taken me a long time but I think finding your own individual style is so important as it's one of the main ways we are able to express ourselves on a daily basis. Since I was little I've always been obsessed with clothes but until recently I was never able to find a look or style that I felt really comfortable in.
I went to an all girls school and spent the majority of my teenage years trying to dress like everyone else, fit in and wear clothes that really didn't suit me (we're talking full on juicy couture tracksuits...) just because that's what everyone else was doing. Outfits that didn't show who I was as a person. I admired certain peoples styles and liked particular clothes, clothes that I wear today, but always just ended up following what everyone else was wearing. Honestly, I look back at pictures of the way I used to dress and just cringe because not only do I look awful but I can tell I didn't feel comfortable in what I was wearing.
I think the summer when I finished school and was waiting to start uni was when I really sort of began to find my own personal style. As I'd moved away and was starting a new chapter of my life with new people who didn't know anything about me, it was the perfect chance to sort of 'reinvent' my style and the way I looked. I remember the august before I started uni I finally got my haircut with a fringe, something I'd been too scared to do in school and instantly I felt more myself. I'd spent years admiring alexa chung, audrey hepburn, jane birkin and pattie boyd but it took me a while to pluck the courage and finally get my hair chopped. That was probably the start of how I found my own individual style.
I can actually pin point the the exact day I started to find my own style. It was when I tried on a particular dress I found in, believe it or not, the clothing section of Tesco! I actually still absolutely adore the dress and I remember seeing it and absolutely loving it despite it being not what I'd usually wear. It was a little black shift dress with a white collar and 3/4 length sleeves with white detailing. It was so 60's and fit like a dream, so I bought it and literally never took it off for months! My parents used to joke about how I basically slept in it I was so in love. It was the only piece in my wardrobe that I felt so comfortable and confident in and as soon as I put it on it just clicked that this was how I wanted to dress.
As I started uni I started to buy more clothes that I felt more myself in. During my first year at uni I gained so much more confidence, meeting new friends, falling in love (sorry to be cheesey...) and just experiencing so many new things. I started to become my own person and did more things that I'd always wanted to do, travel with my boyfriend, go to loads of gigs I'd not been able to before and just be more independent. I started to lose quite a bit a weight and felt so much happier in myself and it was this time when I started to dress in a way that really expressed myself as a person because I was confident enough to dress the way I wanted to.
I would say if your looking to try and find your own personal style look at what you really love and what inspires you no matter how small it is. Also try on literally everything- every colour, style, fit, shape you can find and you'll soon start to see what suits you and what you feel confident in. I also love instagram and pinterest for helping me with outfit and style inspiration. Look at icons, bloggers and celebrities who's style you love and save pictures on pinterest for whenever you're in a bit of a rut with your clothes. The likes of alexa chung, suki waterhouse, anna karina, francoise hardy, jean shrimpton, briget bardot and audrey hepburn are all style icons I adore and take so much inspiration from in the way they dress. I also don't agree with websites and magazines that show woman how they should dress for their size and shape. There is no one size fits all look for women based on their shape. If I was to dress for my shape I would wear low cut tops and tight pencil skirt as I've got more of a curvy hourglass figure but I just don't feel comfortable wearing clothes like that. I love A line skirts, high neck lines and flats all which shouldn't suit my shape according to fashion magazines. It's all about what you feel confident in and if you wear something you aren't 100% comfortable in you won't feel yourself which is what finding your personal style is all about.
If you're struggling to find a signature style or look, take inspiration from others but don't just dress a certain way because every one else is. I love following fashion but I hate trends and following what's 'in' and 'out'. Recently the 70's has been a massive trend and suddenly everyone was wearing things that I had been wearing anyway because vintage and retro dressing is something I love. I could see loads of girls wearing 70's band t shirts and A line skirts who were just wearing it because that was 'in' rather than because they loved that era. Currently strappy cami's, pleated midi's and bomber jackets are all over the high street but I don't suit any of these so I won't be snapping them up. That doesn't mean I don't admire other people wearing them and acknowledge some people look incredible wearing them but that doesn't mean I'm going to copy their outfits to fit in.
Finding your personal style is all about experimenting, feeling comfortable in what you wear and being able to express your personality through clothing. I think there's a lot of stigma about fashion being fickle and silly when it's really not. When you are able to express yourself and feel comfortable in what you wear you feel so much happier and confident as a person. It really is like wearable art and that's why I'm so much happier now that I've found a style i'm comfortable in.
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