Want Great Personal Style? 5 Steps to Defining Your Style

For the longest time I didn’t really know what my personal style was. It seemed like I was just riding the waves of whatever was popular and honestly I hated half the clothes I owned.

I blame fast fashion. We all just run into Target or T.J. Maxx or a million other little trend-based stores and grab up whatever is on sale! It’s cute, it’s popular, and it gives us the hit of dopamine we so crave.

But is that really satisfying?

After finding my personal style I can honestly say that I done with that type of shopping and I have learned to stop buying clothes based on the fickle waves of fashion.

I feel so much happier with the clothes I own and that in turn gives me more confidence and helps me maintain good self worth.

Are you interested in defining your style? Do you have any ideas about what your personal style is? Are you wondering: “How do I find my style?”

Let’s find out how to find your own style and love the way you dress!

Why Should You Start Defining Your Style?

Before we take the deep dive into your personal style let’s think about why defining your style might be important.

As I said before, knowing my personal style has helped me enjoy what I wear and how I feel about myself. But there are many other benefits to defining your style.

Here are a few benefits of finding your personal style:

• You will save money because buying stuff solely because it’s a great deal is actually a waste of money.
• Buying less clothing is more responsible towards the environment. Heaps of unused or barely used clothing is piling up in dunes in places like South America.
• Our constant contribution to fast fashion means that we support companies that underpay their workers and subject them to dangerous working conditions. More than 75 million people in the world work in the garment industry.
• Your closet will be much tidier without a constant influx of random items.
• Defining your style helps you communicate a clear message of who you are and what you value to the world and gives a good impression.
• Knowing what styles and fabrics you like to wear means you will be more comfortable and confident in your clothing.
• Having a personal style that you carefully curate is much more fun that randomly buying trends you don’t really like that much.

I bet you never thought defining your style could be so important. Who knew that how you dress could not only affect how you feel about yourself but it can also affect the whole world!

If you would like to know more about the impact of fast fashion on the environment and the garment workers I highly recommend you watch The True Cost so you can make more informed decisions when buying your clothes.

Search Your Closet For Your Personal Style

Now that you know all the reasons your should find your personal style let’s start defining your style.

The first step is easier than you would expect. Simply shop your closet and look at the clothing you already have. Think about what you like to wear. Surely there are styles you are already drawn to and these styles will be hiding in your closet.

Select 2-3 styles from the list below (or add a style type if I missed yours) that are part of your personal style:

• Classic
• Preppy
• Boho/Hippy
• Rocker
• Vintage
• Western
• Ethnic
• Athletic
• Professional
• Glam
• Basic
• Minimalist

Okay great! Simply by choosing 2-3 styles above you are well on your way to defining your style!

Now that you have those 2 or 3 styles in mind take a minute to ask yourself if these are styles you really love. Do they feel like styles you want to move forward with or are some of them getting old?

It’s totally fine to drop any style you don’t really feel reflects your life going forward. We all grow and change over time.

Do You Want to Add Anything To Your Personal Style?

Now that you have defined some of the styles you already own and enjoy wearing it’s time to look outward.

Are there any styles you would like to try? Maybe you haven’t actually bought anything in a certain style but it’s always catching your eye in magazines, movies, on Pinterest or Instagram or when others wear it.

Look at the list again and find styles you would like to add to your personal style. And if you don’t want to add any new styles that is just fine too!

• Classic
• Preppy
• Boho/Hippy
• Rocker
• Vintage
• Western
• Ethnic
• Athletic
• Professional
• Glam
• Basic
• Minimalist

Did you pick any new styles you want to try?

While my style is pretty decided I think it’s always important to consider something new because maybe our lifestyle has changed. For example, maybe you are transitioning from a professional woman to a soccor mom. Perhaps you have always dressed pretty basic but you are dying to be a little more creative. Or perhaps you have always loved retro looks but never had the courage to pull them off!

Stop and really think about it. Are there any styles you really want to try out? Even if you just get one pair of cowgirl boots would it make you happy? Have you always wanted to be more classy, more artistic, or more minimalistic?

Think on that and then select one or two extra styles if you want to add anything to the styles you already chose when you looked at your closet.

Identify Your Personal Style

Now that you have a few styles you enjoy wearing in mind it’s time to own it! What is your personal style?

When I started really thinking about my personal style I realized that I love classic styles, vintage styles, and boho styles. So I named it and started to embrace it! I am a classic, vintage, bohemian and I love it!

What about you? Are you an preppy, professional, athletic? Or maybe you are a glam western rocker? Maybe you like to keep it simple and you are a classic minimalist who loves basics. Whatever your personal style is, once you name it, you can start to own it and that is the key to defining your style!

But what if yours styles don’t seem to go together?

For example my classic style (think Audrey Hepburn) feels pretty at odds with my Boho style. What do I do? It’s simple! I embrace those styles separately. I find that in the Summer I love the loose and breezy boho look and it’s pretty much all I wear, with touches of vintage inspiration. But in the Winter I love clean classic looks with vintage inspiration.

It could be the same for you. Maybe you dress really professional during the week but you wear your more ethnic styles for family events and worship. Perhaps you have a preppy style most of the time but you enjoy wearing athletic wear all weekend. Or it could be that you save your glam western rocker for concerts and parties but you need to dress in more basic attire for your job.

Simply remember your personal style, dress appropriately for all occasions, and enjoy knowing what you love to wear!

Clean Out Your Closet

Now that you know what your personal style is it’s time to do a major closet cleanout! With your style profile in mind it will be very easy for you to see why certain items in your wardrobe get the pass every time.

For example once I dialed in on my classic vintage boho style I realized I was NEVER going to wear sequins. Glam is just not my thing. I also realized that some of my more professional or preppy pieces were not getting much wear and could easily be swapped out with those classic lines I love in a way that felt more authentic to me.

Look at your clothing and let go of anything that you consistently pull out to wear but put back because they just don’t feel right for you. Those items are not doing anything for you and someone else might love them.

Here are some other questions you might ask during your closet clean out:

• Does it really fit?
• Will it need tailored?
• Are you waiting to fit into it?
• Do you have duplicates?
• Is it in good condition?
• Was it expensive?
• Is it sentimental?
• Does it make you feel amazing?

Buy Slowly and Thoughtfully

Great! You know your style and you have cleaned out your closet. You are now in a very special place. From now on you will be able to lean into your personal style as you slowly and thoughtfully acquire new clothing.

All that time you took defining your style was worth it because now, when you go shopping, you will know what styles you can totally ignore and what styles are worth investing in.

When you were cleaning out your closet you may have created gaps in your closet that you need to fill. For example maybe you realized that you are low on nice blouses for work.

As you shop try to replace 2 or 3 items you got rid of with just one item. Think about your personal style but also think about quality and versatility. Try to make sure every item you buy will match other things you own to create at 2 or 3 outfits.

When you follow these tips you will find that your wardrobe slowly improves and matches your personal style more and more. You may even continue defining your personal style as you hone in on what you really love to wear!

Find Closet Simplicity!

Having a simple wardrobe simplifies your life so much I would argue it’s one of the most important parts of the minimalist lifestyle! If you loved this article and want more tips to help you find simplicity in your wardrobe than you will love the special treat I made just for you!

In the Closet Simplicity e-book I share all my best tips for finding your personal style, cleaning out your closet, finding great organizing solutions, shopping better and feeling great about yourself and what you wear every day!