If you have been on social media recently, you surely have noticed a surge in the trend of styling vs. wearing your clothes. But you might be asking yourself, “What’s the difference?”
Wearing your clothes is putting the pieces onto your body and leaving them as is. Styling your clothes involves adding various pieces to make your ensemble more visually pleasing and unique. The appeal to this trend is that multiple people can wear the same outfit but make it their own by styling it in their preferred aesthetic. Many people have found it difficult to style their outfits but oftentimes it’s because they’re trying too hard. This leads us to the real question: how should you style your outfits? The answer? However you, please. There’s no one right way or one equation to make the perfect outfit. Although, certain pieces seem to be recurring in this craze. Prime examples would be chunky gold hoops, a statement jacket, a belt, and lots of layering. Most people have been attacking this trend by harkening back to the early 2000s style and layering multiple shirts, outerwear, and pieces of jewelry, but really, the style of the outfit is dictated by who’s wearing it.
But despite all of this, style is not simply something you can buy at a store. While there are pieces that are in vogue and certainly add to one’s outfit, style is about how it makes you feel. It is not simply slicking back your hair and layering your pieces but it is the creativity that flows from you as you do it. What you view as stylish may not be what someone else does, but that is the beauty of fashion. It is important to style your outfit because it expresses who youare. Fashion is as crucial a form of self expression as is the voice you use to speak for yourself. So now you might be asking yourself, “well how do I find my own style?”, try our three step process.
via @thevisuelofgrace on Instagram
Step 1: Find your colors. Nothing is more important than knowing what brings out the best of you. The color of your outfit can either make it or break it, even if it is made up of fabulous pieces. A good way of finding out which colors make you pop, instead of trying on every piece you see at the store, is taking a color analysis test. A color analysis test is simply “the process of determining which colors are the most flattering, based on natural features like your eye color, skin tone, and hair color”, as seen on the Cut.com.
Step 2: Find the shapes that fit your body. Since the beginning of fashion, the ideal body type has shifted monumentally. There is no point in trying to make your specific proportions fit the ideal body type for the time. This will just lead to you feeling insecure, frustrated, and discouraged. Most bodies will fall roughly into one of four categories: apple shaped, pear shaped, hourglass, and straight. Once you determine what shape you feel best represents you, research outfits and try on pieces that you think will look best. Although, it is important to note that just because your body type falls into one of these categories, it does not mean you have to dress the way it recommends. Everything ultimately circles back to the fact that style is what you feel most authentically you in. If a certain piece or shape does not make you comfortable but one for another body type does, by all means, wear it and embrace it.
Step 3: Research your aesthetic. In today’s day and age it is easier than ever to be inspired. If you do not know where to look to start or to revamp your style, go to social media. Look to your favorite influencers, designers, and apps. Everyone starts somewhere and the beauty of fashion is that it builds upon shared ideas. One designer is inspired by another and then another, and sooner than later collections, trends, and core styles are created. Find people who inspire you and emulate their style until you have made it your own.
The beauty of fashion is that there are no rules. If you feel that something looks good on you, wear it. It does not matter if not everyone likes it because, frankly, the best pieces of art have come from the seemingly strange or abnormal. Style is uniquely you and it should never be something you feel ashamed of.
By Abigail Moynihan
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