True Style Habits

We can all recognise style when we see it on other people, in pictures in a magazine, online or in real life. Perhaps at work, at an event or even just someone we pass in the street. When we see someone well-dressed we are attracted to their image because they emit positive energy. They appear to stand taller, to have more confidence and look effortlessly put together.

If only I could wear that, or how do they do it? We all have that friend or know someone who just seems to nail it every time. Was she just born with natural style? No, she wasn't. She learned it somewhere along the way.

Style is subjective, personal and unique to each and every one of us. What makes you feel fantastic when you wear it today may not make you feel the same tomorrow. I don’t mean get rid of it! I mean a truly stylish person knows what to wear to suit the demands and events of her day and no two days are ever the same! I’m sharing with you my observations and habits of stylish people. 

• She has taken the time to learn and experiment with what makes her soul sing when she wears it. She is aware of her feelings and the emotions that clothes give her.
• She takes pride in her appearance and her clothes. Not the overly vain or 'trying too hard' type of pride, but just enough to be cool and natural rather than overt and attention seeking. There are no half-undone hemlines, pulled threads, bobbled shabby knitwear, or scruffy, dirty shoes.
• She’s not afraid to shop anywhere. From charity shops, market stalls, discount stores, high street to designer labels. She knows what she’s looking for and can hunt out or hone in on a quality piece that fits with her style, regardless of the price point.
• She combines old purchases with new purchases, big brand expensive labels with cheap and cheerful unknown brands.
• She can reinvent garments from many a year gone by, combining them in new ways, or has them altered to look like a new item.
• She pays attention to detail. A swift little adjustment of a neckline, a tuck or a not to tuck on a shirt, the right colour of tights or socks to peek out from below her trousers when she sits down, a necklace that sits just at the right length, a scarf knotted or loose.
• She doesn’t copy a look straight from her source of inspiration or buy every item in an outfit she sees. She knows how to put her own twist on it and make it truly her own. Fashion trends are not limited to only one season and she is happy to embrace a trend, but only if it actually works for her. She won’t wear something because its ‘on trend’ she’ll wear it because it is her style.
• She is not a slave to designer labels nor a fashion snob. She won’t make you feel inferior if you rock up in your Grandma’s cardigan. Instead, she’ll appreciate the story of why you feel great wearing it.

For decades we have become conditioned by marketing that when we see clothes or accessories in images, it is all about making that purchase. We can even feel inferior and unfashionable by not shopping, such is the persuasion of the messaging, “Must Buy” and “This season’s hottest look” etc.

Great style doesn’t just happen. Style is about creating your own look. In contrast, fashion is about wearing what a brand or someone, possibly an Instagram influencer, is dictating to you. Your style will evolve as you become more confident. To become more sustainable, look at the images or people you are drawn to and ask yourself ‘do I already have something similar so I create this look from what I already have?’

It’s how you feel about what you are wearing that truly matters most. With a little planning, commitment, along with some very important ‘me’ time and self-value, it’s amazing how much we can all 'up' our style factor.

Stylish Wishes