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Love Your Look: A Guide to Finding Your Personal Style

Love Your Look: A Guide to Finding Your Personal Style
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Stand out from the crowd with our guide to finding your own personal style

Words Joy Montgomery

In a world of awash with sartorial choice you’d think that, by now, we’d be able to navigate our personal style with ease. Yet with social platforms becoming more and more saturated with cookie-cutter ensembles, we feel more lost than ever.

It is possible, however, to forge your own path through the fashion clickbait. To help you on your way we’ve created six simple and practical ways to create a personal style which is unique as you are.

SEEK INSPIRATION

Looking to others for inspiration is a great way to get started. This can come from anywhere – from magazines, films, history, Instagram and even the people around you. Avoid ripping off someone else’s style by identifying specific aspects or details you like. This could be the way someone styles scarves, an innovative approach to layering or a knack for incorporating vintage pieces.

KNOW YOUR BODY SHAPE

Acknowledging your body shape is the bedrock of forming great personal style. There’s no use falling in love with a look if it doesn’t work with your figure – this is a particularly easy trap to fall into when shopping for trends. After all, there’s nothing chic about ill-fitting clothes. It’s better to forgo a hot-off-the-press trend and instead opt for a classic style which shows off your silhouette – you can always add fashion factor with accessories. Need some help? Try using a body shape calculator.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR LIFESTYLE

Another important aspect to consider when building your look is acknowledging your lifestyle. Do you spend lots of time outdoors? Are you constantly running after an energetic toddler? Do you spend your week in office-wear? All these things will impact how you shape your wardrobe. Aim to pick pieces that harmonise with your life, even if that means buying the same piece in multiple hues! When you wear clothing you feel comfortable in it really shows.

CREATE A MOODBOARD

Although not an essential part of the process, creating a mood board can be a helpful way to compile all your favourite looks. Whether its physically cutting and pasting images into a scrap book or using platforms such as Pinterest to build an online page, it’s a great way to get an idea of looks you like and dislike. It should become clear after you’ve built up enough images what aesthetic most appeals to you. This will in turn help guide your shopping decisions.

CHOOSE PIECES YOU’LL WEAR AGAIN

Remember: there’s nothing wrong with embracing a ‘uniform’ approach when shaping your personal style. This doesn’t mean we should all do a Sarah Harris, who is never seen out without her signature jeans-with-shirt combo. We can, however, learn something from the Vogue editor; she clearly knows what suits her and what style feels most true to her. Whether it’s a classic breton, pair of failsafe jeans or biker jacket – choose pieces that you know you will wear again. If you do this with everything you buy it will result in reduced outfit planning time and a greater cohesiveness within your wardrobe.

SHOP SMART ACCESSORIES

Accessories are the cherry on the cake. Capable of transforming basics into a fashion-forward ensemble or carrying a look from day to night, they are essential to your style arsenal. There’s no need to go mad and splurge on a hundred different pairs of shoes (unless you’re so inclined), instead select a tight edit to suit your needs. We love this season’s mini bag, which may be small, but can pack plenty of personality. Perfect for elevating a white shirt. Alternatively, a good pair of ankle boots are incredibly versatile and will lift everything from a floral midi to a pair of jeans.

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