After years of serious confusion, I feel like I finally found my ideal style. I used to have no idea how to combine pieces of clothing to look good based on my own body shape and personal taste, and within my budget.
As a teenager, I went through a phase of matching the “dark” style of music I enjoyed to what I wore. I wore black all day every day and tons of makeup that made me look “otherworldly”.
Then suddenly, something clicked in my head. I realised that style didn’t really suit my personality. I simply couldn’t pull off that very particular look – I needed a compromise.
With tips from friends and family, I started changing things up and today I know what kind of clothes to choose to look my personal best.
I’d say it’s possible for everyone to find their ideal style as well, with five simple tricks I’ve gathered along the way, and which I’ll share with you right here.
1. Don’t hesitate to look for inspiration. Getting inspired is important, especially when you are trying to figure out what your style is. Not only can you find out how to put outfits together, but it also shows you how to combine pieces that you never thought would look good. Sometimes when I am scrolling through Instagram, I stop and say to myself, “I have a T-shirt very similar to that and I would never have thought to pair it with a skirt like that”. So I think you can get loads of inspiration from social media or fashion bloggers, and also by just keeping your eyes open around you, especially if you live in a big city like Leipzig. If you just open your eyes and take a look around, you will see the number of different styles and types of fashion. It’s insane!
2. Add a bit of trendiness to your basic pieces. Trends are great – in small doses. I love browsing the trends online, but that does not mean that I have to go out and buy all the clothes to try to look like all those models in the pictures. I think following trends as soon as they come out is exhausting and expensive, and it does not really show your style. I am a very basic girl, and I am totally fine with that – I love the basics, I love classic shapes and things that I feel look good on me. So I go and add a little something to keep my existing wardrobe fresh. You can keep the same pair of jeans and T-shirt but then add on that trendy jacket that told you “buy me” yesterday in the shopping centre. In other words, you can simply grab something eye-catching to add some spice to what you already have, and to try something different and daring.
3. Invest in pieces that you know you will wear. Investing in key pieces is something that I have definitely been doing over the past years. I became so sick of buying clothes that would just fall apart or turn to mush after washing and totally lose their shape. So I started to realise what pieces in my wardrobe I wore the most: T-shirts, jeans and a leather jacket. For instance, keeping a simple, plain T-shirt can come in very handy because you can combine it with denim jeans for school or tuck it into a pencil skirt for work; you don’t have to think about what to wear, since it goes well with everything. When it comes to leather jackets, I cannot even begin to stress how much they can improve your outfit. Get rid of those jackets that are just “not doing it for you” and invest in one that looks bomb diggity and fits you in all the right places. Last but not least, a good pair of jeans is an essential wardrobe staple for most of us. It is enough to have black ones for those days when you feel like there is no other suitable colour for you, and also one pair of classic denim ones just in case. If you find out what your favourite (basic) wardrobe pieces are, I promise you will never ever have to think of what to wear the next day.
4. Comfort means confidence. Loving things that make us feel comfortable is the first step to feeling confident in what you wear. So what if my sweater looks like I put it together from an old rug? I feel comfortable in it and that makes me feel a lot more confident. In the end, it all boils down to what you like. What you like might not be what someone else likes, but if it makes you happy and confident, why give it up? You rock it, girl!
5. Don’t leave the shop without trying things on. My last and potentially most important advice on finding your personal style is to try things on. Trust me; I am the laziest person ever when it comes to trying on clothes in a shop. I step into the store, take a look at everything and when I pick something up, I just hold it up and I see if it might fit me or not. Then I buy it and go home, and when I want to wear it, it looks horrible on me and I have to exchange it. So I really recommend overcoming your laziness and seeing if a particular piece fits you and thinking if you have anything to pair it with. What is the worst thing that could happen? Okay, you don’t like it, move on with life. Trust me, you will save lots of money and stress.
At the end of the day, it is all about trial and error and seeing what works for you and what you feel fierce and confident in – basically, just rocking it and not caring about what other people think. If you feel good in it, you look good in it, okay? It should be your life mantra, don’t ever forget that.
Wrapping it up for today, see you next time.
By Lenka Seresova
Lenka is a 24-year-old student of Anglistik at Universität Leipzig. Originally from Slovakia, she first got in touch with Leipzig during her Erasmus studies in 2014 and instantly fell in love. Her passion for British fantasy literature and writing resulted in a dream that one day she could work in publishing. Lenka is a serious Harry Potter lover, and because of her lavender hair she got the nickname “Nymphadora Tonks” after one of the characters in the series. Apart from her love of literature, she also enjoys cooking and dabbling in fashion and beauty.
