Your Fashion Phrase

As you may know from things I've posted, I think it's really important to feel like yourself in your clothing.  Fashion and style mean different things to every single person.  What someone feels fabulously chic wearing may be excruciatingly uncomfortable and strange to another person.  And that's totally ok.  What makes fashion so interesting is that it's an expression of who you are.  Even if you don't feel like you have a "style," you have an identity.  You ARE somebody.  You do things, have interests, like stuff; you're your own person.  That is something that you should take into consideration while dressing yourself.  If you truly feel that you're comfortable in the way you present yourself, you will notice your confidence skyrocket!

You may notice that I never wear bandage dresses with six inch heels.  I don't wear tons of leather, either.  I'm not really big into the billowy hippie styles, and I don't look very fabulous in short shorts.  I don't wear these things because I wouldn't feel like myself if I did.

If you're wondering Who am I? it might be time to think about it!  The goal of this post is to help you come up with a fashion phrase.  A fashion phrase is a few key descriptive words that define you and your style.  It's kind of like the title to your fashion book.  It's the thesis statement to your style essay.  It's the bumper sticker on your fashion bus.  (Ok, I'm having too much fun.)

Begin by looking at your own clothing.  What do you wear most?  In which outfits do you feel the most comfortable?  Look at your wardrobe.  Do you notice a lot of one style?  Perhaps you have an impressive collection of linen buttondowns, or your closet takes on a hazy shade of grey.  Maybe you have lots of peasant tops, or mainly cotton.  If your clothes are spread out amongst your closet, drawers, maybe even some in a different room, spend some time getting everything into a single space and evaluate.  You might want to jot down three or four words that tend to encompass all of your clothes.  For me, it's cotton, solid colors (some bright), and kind of classic/basic.  If you scroll back through my outfit posts, you'll see what I mean.

Now, think about your style icons.  Who are they?  A celebrity?  A woman on your street?  Your cousin?  What specifically about their style do you like?  Here are some of my examples:

             

What I like about Audrey Hepburn and Jennifer Aniston is that they both have a clean, classic look that ages very well. Neither wears anything hugely elaborate, but they manage to look pulled together all the time. I love these basic looks because it's so easy to personalize with accessories. Once you figure out what it is about the people whose style you admire, think of another few words to describe them. I'd call these ladies polished, classic, and maybe even tomboyish! (In a very chic sense, that is.)

After evaluating your own and your icons' fashion, you can think about how they connect. Between my wardrobe and my fashion icons' wardrobes, I find simplicity. I also basic, light pieces that can be layered, like Audrey's striped top and both of Jen's looks. Just like Audrey and Jen, I tend to lean toward classic pieces that don't really follow trends. (I think that comes from my cheap nature-- if I buy it, I better darn well be wearing it as long as it lasts!)

Putting it all together, here is my fashion phrase:

 "Classic, polished, and simple with a touch of fun." 

The "touch of fun" part comes in handy especially when choosing accessories. I have a lot of colorful pieces that bring life to my simple wardrobe. And that's the way I like it!

After you find your fashion phrase (or it finds you), try writing it out on a little card that you can take with you when you go clothes shopping.  You might also find it helpful to place it somewhere you can see while getting dressed in the morning.

Happy fashion phrasing!