Easily Find Your Personal Style With 20 Trusted Fashion Tips

a photo of a woman with shopping bags — Authorized use of photo by Free Stocks via Unsplash

In the age of TikTok and fast-fashion trends that change by the hour, it’s easy to feel lost when it comes to finding your personal style. At every corner you turn, there’s a flash sale happening or a new fashion item the Gen-Z generation considers a “must-have” piece for an aesthetic wardrobe.

It’s sensory overload trying to decipher which clothing pieces to invest in or leave on the rack now, and it’s even more difficult to factor these items into a personal style. If you’re feeling lost while trying to narrow down your fashion sense like I did last year, then fear not, this post is for you. Easily find your personal style with 20 trusted fashion tips!

What is Personal Style?

Personal style is the way you choose to present yourself to the world via fashion. It’s the clothing pieces you love and wear the most, and it’s the way you choose to style them to convey a particular message about yourself. For example, I love to wear clothing with feminine silhouettes, pastel colors, and light neutrals to appear elegant and sophisticated. Some of my go-to clothing items are matching blazer sets, bow-neck blouses, puff sleeve dresses, and sweater vests.

How To Find Your Personal Style

~ Do ~

1. Find Style Icons

Identify a few key fashion icons you can look to for inspiration. These people may be family members, friends, influencers, celebrities, or all of the above. If you’ve noticed yourself complimenting their fashion sense, scrolling through their Instagram accounts, or purchasing items you recall them wearing, then it’s safe to assume these people have a hold on you and your style. I love to look to popular fashion YouTubers Freddy Cousin-Brown and Josie Fear for feminine style inspiration.

2. Create Pinterest Boards

Pinterest offers free style inspiration at your fingertips. Anytime I’m looking for outfit inspiration, I comb through Pinterest to see what I can find. You can search for specific aesthetics, clothing pieces, colors, and more. If you’re interested in narrowing down your personal style, then I highly recommend spending time on Pinterest to see which styles appeal to you. This way, you can conveniently save all of the images to boards of your making to refer back to.

3. Look To Media

Turn to your favorite books, movies, magazines, and TV shows for style inspiration. If there’s a movie or show you watch repeatedly, then why not take inspiration from the characters? I love the style on Gossip Girl and Clueless. It’s a simple and easy way to identify clothing you love!

4. Spend Time Analyzing Fashion

Look at fashion with a more constructive viewpoint while establishing your personal style. Look at what content creators are posting, deep dive into popular aesthetics and trends, read about current fashion trends and pieces in fashion media, and analyze what people around you are wearing. Then, identify which pieces, if any, speak to you. Some of my favorite fashion media outlets are WWD, The Business of Fashion, and Fashionista.

5. Use Your Closet

Before you make any changes to your style, look at the clothing items you already have for inspiration first. Maybe it’s a simple matter of learning how to style your clothing in more creative ways. Narrow down which pieces in your closet are frequently worn and loved by you. Do you have a go-to style of jeans? Maybe a beloved trench coat? Keep these pieces in mind while developing your personal style.

6. Invest in Quality Basics

If you’re not sure about which pieces to start buying, then begin with the basics. Basics match with everything, and they’re easy to style. If you buy high-quality ones, they can last you for a long time too. Basics can go well with your personal style too. They don’t necessarily have to be plain t-shirts if they don’t appeal to you. For me, the basics are collared shirts, pleated skirts, blouses, etc.

7. Find Go-To Items

What do you want to be known for? Which pieces will pull your outfits together with the most? This is the part where you pull out those beloved pieces that already exist in your closet, and you utilize them. These pieces will be important for your personal style and help you put together outfits all the time. I always wear my pleated skirts, sweater vests, collared tops, blazers, and pinafore dresses, to name a few.

8. Accessorize

Accessories are an easy way to personalize an outfit and make it stand out. If you love elegant and glamorous outfits, then try headbands, berets, and sparkly jewelry. If you’re into casual style, then wear a claw clip or a baseball hat. Style your outfits with whichever pieces stand out to you and make you feel the most comfortable.

9. Experiment

Sometimes, the easiest way to identify your personal style is by trying out a bunch of different looks. I did this a bit in the past, and it definitely helped me decide what looked and felt the best on me. Look at photos and videos of different styles to see what appeals to you and give some of them a try if that will help. But try to do it as sustainably as you possibly can. Borrow pieces from friends, check out thrift stores, and put together looks with pieces you already have.

10. Identify What Makes You Feel Confident

Determine which clothing pieces or styles call out to you and make you feel like your best self. After trying out a few styles, I realized that elegant, classic styles make me feel the most confident and inspired. Try to make this realization after deep-diving into different styles and pieces. You can also reflect on what you’ve worn throughout your life and which of those items resonated the most with you.

~ Don’t~

1. Throw Out Your Current Wardrobe

Now that you’re in the process of finding your personal style, you may not like some of the clothing in your current wardrobe anymore. Before you’re quick to toss this clothing out, though, give it a second chance, or try selling it so it can find a new home. You may find new ways to style your clothing after seeking inspiration from Pinterest, and if not, then maybe your family or friends may like some of the pieces.

2. Try Out All Fast-Fashion Trends

It can be so easy to get caught up in the trends fast-fashion retailers are constantly promoting to consumers. Before you buy something, consider how likely you are to wear this item long-term, if it’s something you truly love, and if you can find it at a thrift store first. Chances are, you can find that trendy sweater vest or pleated skirt at a GoodWill or on ThredUp with a little digging.

3. Listen To All “Fashion Advice”

Social media can give anyone a platform to share their opinions. Some influencers promote fast-fashion company after fast-fashion company and claim you “need” certain trendy pieces to have a complete wardrobe. If you don’t love the pieces they’re sharing and can’t picture yourself wearing them, then don’t buy them or listen to their advice. You don’t have to dress like everyone else to have style.

4. Follow People Who Only Post Trends or Hauls

If you follow people that only post trendy content and share fashion hauls, then you’re going to feel stressed and overwhelmed when deciding what to buy. It’s almost impossible to “keep up” with the trends that change by the hour now or the established influencers who have thousands of dollars to spend on clothes. Do your own thing and wear what makes YOU feel good, regardless of what people tell you to do.

5. Compare Your Style

If you compare what you wear to what other people wear, then you’re never going to feel satisfied. Someone is going to have more money than you, more clothes, etc., but that doesn’t diminish the pieces you do have or the creative way you style them. You don’t have to wear the same things your peers are wearing, and you certainly don’t have to take fashion advice from influencers, celebrities, or fashion stylists if you don’t agree with it.

6. Copy Others

It’s fine to take style inspiration from fashion icons, media, and your peers, but don’t copy other people. Add a spin to popular trends and styles you see. Otherwise, it’s not your style if you’re copying what you see on other people. Find what looks and feels the best on you, and run with it!

7. Overshop

Once you find the styles that speak to you, you’re going to want to buy a closet full of new clothes. I encourage you not to do this and only pick up a few things at a time. Start with the basics, and then go from there to see what you like over time. It’s more sustainable to buy less clothing, and you may not need a lot to get the style you need.

8. Change Your Wardrobe All At Once

Changing your entire wardrobe at once is time-consuming, costly, and unsustainable. Chances are, you have plenty of nice clothing and need to find new ways to style it. Your style is still evolving, and you may not like everything you initially pick up when you’re first transitioning your fashion, so give it time.

9. Buy Things You Won’t Wear

If you know you’re not going to wear zebra print pants or cut-out dresses, then don’t buy them. Just because something is trending or promoted by fashion influencers doesn’t mean you need to buy it. Try to avoid impulse shopping and giving in to flash or seasonal online sales too. These items will only add to your unhappiness with your wardrobe if you don’t find yourself truly loving and wearing them.

10. Buy Things That Don’t Effortlessly Fit Into Your Wardrobe

If your wardrobe is casual and neutral, then it makes no sense to impulse buy fancy dresses or bright colors. It’s okay to experiment and try out new things to an extent, but ultimately, the goal is to create a cohesive wardrobe that goes together effortlessly. Once you have enough pieces to mix and match together, there’s less chance you’ll find yourself struggling to find something to wear.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope these tips help you! 🙂