It’s easy to slip into a stale dressing routine, filled with your favorite pieces. Adding some personality to your style can open up a new world of possibilities, though, and it’s not as uncomfortable or hard to understand as you may be afraid of. From finding your favorite colors to just trusting your gut and getting the crazy cute and comfortable sandals that are calling your name, a lot of it is even fun!
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Purge
Along with clothes that don’t fit right or are in no condition to be worn, it’s important to purge anything in your closet that doesn’t feel like you. After all, you’re looking to incorporate your personality into your wardrobe, and that will be hard to do if it feels like someone else’s personality already occupies the space.
Find Your Palette
The colors you wear can make a huge impact when it comes to how people perceive you and what personality traits they pick up. So from the colors themselves to the specific shades, make sure you’re staying true to your personality and mood.
Find Your Favorite Textures
The textures and materials that you’re drawn to may seem like a subtle thing, but they can add a significant amount of personality to your outfit. Certain materials have strong associations and emotions that can showcase your personality all on their own, and when mixed and matched, can speak to a different feeling entirely — along with screaming “fashionable” and “stylish”.
- Soft materials like velvet, cashmere, corduroy, and even suede sometimes can be used to easily create a softer, more romantic feel.
- Rugged materials like certain leathers, denim, and canvas can be used to easily create a more ready-for-anything, practical feel.
- Delicate materials like silk, chiffon, and lace can be used to easily create a more graceful and feminine feel.
- Crisp materials like cotton in particular can be used to easily create a more clean and put-together feel.
Find Your Silhouette/Shape
The fit of your clothing is a quick way for people to formulate an impression. And while we know there’s a big difference in silhouette between the woman going to the office in her fitted peacoat, dress, and heels and the woman going grocery shopping in her sneakers, sweatpants, and hoodie, there’s more to it than just utilizing better fits for fancier spaces.
For instance: there’s a big difference in silhouette between the young lady who’s at the skatepark in her baggy cargo pants, high-top kicks, and tight crop/sports bralette and the young lady who’s at the skatepark in her tights, low-cut kicks, and baggy long sleeve shirt. They’re both at the skatepark rocking a skater aesthetic, but there’s a big difference in personality that’s expressed through shape alone, so make sure you’re going for shapes and creating silhouettes that feel like you or express what you’re looking to express.
Find Your Signature Accessory
Finding a signature accessory will not only help your accessory to make an even greater impact on those around you as they see it resonates with you enough to wear often but will help you to add interest to your shape/silhouette if worn often enough. When it comes to your signature accessory, consider pieces that are uncommon but can be worn often — and possibly even found in different colors or designs.
Opt for Unique Pieces
Let’s face it — if everybody is wearing it, it’s probably not showing off YOUR personality very efficiently. This means that instead of the dress you keep seeing everyone in on Instagram or the trendy bracelet that you’ve seen for sale in every store, you should aim for something more authentic to your personality, suiting to your aesthetic, and harder to replicate. Luckily, second-hand and vintage clothing stores, boutiques, markets, and handmade/artisan stores will serve you well when it comes to finding one-of-a-kind pieces and are extra fun to shop.
Don’t Overthink the Awesome Piece That’s Speaking to You
We tend to be wary of more distinctive pieces that make a statement because we wonder if they’re making the right statement, and worry about just how versatile they’ll be. While this is some smart thinking and can help you avoid adding to the pile of unworn clothes in your closet, trust your gut. If you love something and it suits you, you’ll make the time and embrace the places to wear it and explore unthought-of ways to style it.
Shoes Showcase a Lot Whether They’re Your Statement Piece or Not
Your shoes say a lot about you, so no matter if you’re looking to make a statement with them or not, you’ll want to consider what impact they’re having on your outfit. This is especially true when it comes to the shoes that shape your professional image. If there’s one pair of shoes to pay attention to and invest in, it’s likely a quality pair of professional shoes for women. Not only are they essential, but they are one of the ultimate ways to unleash your personality in professional outfits and atmospheres.
Color, Texture, Pattern, Shine
The golden rule, whether you’ve learned it in fashion and design programs at school or in fashion programs on TV at home (we’re talking to you, What Not To Wear fans), is that you should always be incorporating at least one of these elements into an outfit to add some visual interest and personality. Without any one of these elements, your outfit is bound to look bland.
Be Aware of Your Bad Habits
The best way to start adding some personality to your style is to strip yourself of the clothes that you’ve gotten too comfy in. So along with purging your closet as we mentioned previously, try to become aware of your bad fashion and accessory habits and ban yourself from them for a while. There are other sweaters and we promise they’re just as comfy, there are other easy dresses that may even be more effective for you and there are other comfortable shoes for women with bunions and foot issues that are actually cute.
