I rarely (if ever) do fashion posts, but lately I’ve been putting more thought into the outfits I’m wearing so I thought I might try peppering in some style content here and there.
If I had to pick three words to describe my personal style they’d be basic, comfortable, and casual. I pretty much live in sweaters, jeans, and sneakers on the weekend (and old jeans, sweatshirts, and steel-toed clogs that I don’t mind ruining at work during the week). I often feel like my clothes are a bit boring, and I’m finding that my itch for creative outlets is starting to spread to my wardrobe.
Wear pants other than jeans. I literally own one pair of pants that aren’t jeans. They’re a fitted straight leg cut that I purposely bought in the short length so they’d fit like a cigarette pant on me - I ordered them after bingeing the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I’d really like to branch out and find some flattering trousers that don’t make me feel too dressed up. I just want something a little more elevated and sophisticated than jeans. Maybe it’s because I’m now closer to 30 than to 20, but I feel like I need some more fancy lady clothes in my wardrobe.
Wear more color. I have more gray sweaters than one person could ever need. Every time I go shopping or am shopping online, I’m just instantly drawn to everything black, white, and gray. I’ve been trying to branch out a little and have added some burgundy and olive green pieces to my closet, but I want to go even further. I don’t think brights will ever really be my style, but I could definitely work with a nice red or some muted pastels.
Pare down my collection. I not only have more gray sweaters than I need, but I just have more clothes in general than I really need. I pretty much reach for the same pieces on a weekly basis, and the rest of my closet goes untouched. I’ve tried to organize my closet and get rid of things I don’t wear before, but I have such a hard time thinking “well what if I want to wear this someday?” and holding onto things - I find I have this issue with clothes much more than makeup. I think what adds to this issue is that the clothes I wear to work run the risk of getting ruined/stained on any given day, so I need to keep a selection of “clothes I don’t care about” that I can wear to work. When I’m going through my closet and trying to declutter, this makes it very hard to define what I want to keep. I want to sit down and really think about each piece and determine whether or not it’s something I actually see myself wearing, and maybe having separate “work clothes” and “regular clothes” piles will help.
Replace with more sustainable brands. Right now I’m trying to slow down on my spending, and as I’ve said I don’t need any more clothes for a long time. But when I do start buying pieces again, I want to try to shop from sustainable brands and stay away from fast fashion. The brand I shop from the most is American Eagle, but I’d love to find a brand that fits me just as well that uses more ethical and sustainable practices. After American Eagle the most-present brand in my closet is Everlane, so at least that’s a step in the right direction. I’ve been scouring Instagram looking for new brands to check out, but let me know if you have any favorites!
Do you have any style goals for this year?