Never before has there been such an open window for so many people, into the world of fashion. The majority of women are no longer in the position their peers were just a few short decades ago. Women are independent, have their own income and thus are freer than previous generations were. We can all afford to go our own way if we choose, and allow our personalities to fly high and shine brightly among the sea of people.
However, fashion isn’t just for the upper class anymore, every single person, has the ability to set the trend, be photographed for a magazine and be interviewed by news networks about their fashion business. Everyone also has the ability to write about their fashion and give helpful tips in video form.
Anyone anywhere can be a beacon of hope for young women who feel self-conscious and are looking for help regarding what’s in and what’s out of fashion. But should one really follow the crowd? Finding your own style is a subject that’s almost never talked about because most people assume it’s an easy thing to do. However, it’s more than just wearing what you feel like, it’s an in-depth study of who you are as a person.
Below are a few tips for not only shaping your style, but your happiness as well:
Don’t follow celebrities
The power of the media is immeasurable and can have a profound effect on your mind. Celebrities are pictured in newspapers, magazines, and interviewed at award shows about their fashion and what they’re wearing, etc. It’s inevitable then that most young impressionable girls will try to emulate what they see and follow their example. However, fashion is an art form, which means there are no masters, only students. What you see on somebody else shouldn’t be replicated purely for the sake of following the herd.
Celebrities have wealth and can buy expensive clothes. They also have designers who specifically work for them or who volunteer to dress them for special events. Normal people don’t have access to any of this, and trying to copy what you see in the media can put unwarranted stress on your mind.
Take care of what you have
Following the latest trend is fantastic for stores, brands, and businesses because they get to increase prices and restock their warehouses and shelves with new products. But the cycle of fashion is that retro clothes come back into fashion, and the current trends become old news very quicly. So care for what you have because you never know what may come back into fashion.
You should also save money by avoiding aggressive wash cycles, that fade the coloring of your clothes away. Aggressive washing machine settings can shrink and crumple clothes, as well as rip the threads out of the seams.
Remove stains with knowledge rather than drastic measures. Sometimes a gentle handwash is better than a washing machine for some clothes, especially bespoke and designer pieces; so learn how to handwash.
The pursuit of looking good
Most women want to be fashionable and voguish, with a need to feel good about their body and how they look to the opposite sex. Some people use cosmetics treatments to contour their assets and curves using different liposuction types. However, many women just want clothes that will support them. But not all fashion trends fit or look well on all body types, and thus the endless yet fruitless pursuit of trying to look sexy is stressful and saps self-esteem.
To boost your confidence and fit into that dress you walk by every morning and want so badly is a story of personal sacrifice and hard work. Never scrimp on a good healthy diet, and working out. Finding your style is much about finding yourself, being comfortable in your own skin, and making positive choices in your lifestyle.
Finding who you are
Age
How you dress is determined by a lot of factors in your life. The biggest deciding factor for finding your style is your personality. Examining this is kind of like running down of rabbit hole. Are you open and outgoing? Are you shy and reclusive? How does your worldview shape who you are, regarding religion and politics?
Your age plays a large role as well. It may be society foisting standards onto women, but most wouldn’t want to dress like a twenty-year-old if they’re in their forties. Therefore what also determines your style is age-appropriate clothing. It’s perfectly reasonable to want to look youthful, but configuring the stage of life you’re in is also fair-minded.
Lifestyle
If you’re a sporty kind of a tomboy, then a tank top with some skinny jeans and trainers won’t feel awkward. However, if you’ve got kids and live a more relaxed lifestyle but still want to adorn a style that compliments your curves, then a woven cardigan, sky blue blouse, and flared baggy trousers wouldn’t look amiss. The point is to find your attitude and lifestyle, and to find what type of clothing you like.
Practical clothes which allow more freedom of movement will take precedence for someone who is a little more adventurous and in the prime of life. However, a woman who may not be sporty, but wishes to remain active, may opt for something a little subtle, flexible yet dignified and flattering.
Coloring the mood
By determining your color scheme, you also protrude your personality. Bright colors are great to show your enthusiastic and carefree side. Vibrant colors are scientifically proven to be mood enhancers, which elevate endorphin levels and have a subtle calming background effect. If you grew up in the 60s and 70s, you’d know all too well how powerful bright colors can be on changing one’s mood.
However, you cannot dismiss the impact of Punk Rock and how it had and is still having an effect on the way darker colors are perceived. If you’re shy, you’re more likely to wear clothes which you think may blend you into society and not stir so much attention. Darker clothes also have a positive effect on making you appear slimmer, and your outline isn’t as discernible to onlookers as colors on the opposite side of the spectrum. Darker colors are the original body-con tactic that many models used in the early 90s in the Paris fashion shows.
Go into your wardrobe and ask yourself whether you should go with an added touch of color, or perhaps something a little darker in tone to balance out your clothes. Sticking to one side of the color palette is boring, and you should take the opportunity to realize where you’ve been staying stale, and be adventurous to remedy this rigid behavior.
International styles
Perhaps what you see on the high street isn’t cutting it for your sensibilities. International styles are mostly found in capital cities and online. If you love Italian dresses, there are ruffled, belted, with lateral and vertical patterns. If you love the French style, then the most common fashionable item you might want to try is the flat shoe. Made with leather and shiny plastics, along with the embellishment of jewels and elegant shapes. Brazil is known for its flair and show-off nature. Bright colors for tank tops such as lime green and candy orange are the perfect type of free and open clothing that the summer weather demands. Japan has a lot of knitted wool tights with funky anime and urban patterns and graphics. These go brilliantly well with skaters shoes if you’re an urban chick with an attitude for thrills and spills. Japan also favors a very minimalist style.
Many international styles won’t match your personality because you haven’t grown up in their culture, but you can find something that your friends or family don’t have if you snoop around to find the best style and deal.
How did you find your personal style? Let us know in the comments below!
*This article was contributed.
