Some of the luckier ones amongst us seem divinely blessed with good style – as if the clothes shop rails call out to them, and everything that lands in their wardrobe is destined to suit them better than anything before. But style doesn’t come easily to all of us. In fact, it can feel quite difficult to be a stylish person, both against the fast-moving currents of online fashion trends and more generally, within ourselves.
So, how do we build a wardrobe in which we can feel confident? How do we make it so that every outfit’s a winner, whenever we leave the house? Here, we’ll explore what it means to have style, and what it means to be fashionable today.
Prioritizing Quality Over Fast-Changing Trends
First, though, a welcome bit of good news for both you and for your wallet: being stylish is not about following fashion trends. Fast fashion has long been recognized as a problem, for sustainability and style writ large. Trends expire, but timeless style very much remains.
This is precisely why investing in a smattering of well-made pieces can do much more for your wardrobe than buying a swathe of new, cheap and trendy clothing each season. These quality items can form part of a capsule wardrobe – a modular wardrobe that makes it much easier for you to chop and change outfits without having to pre-plan.
Building a Signature Style Instead of Chasing Every Fashion Movement
It is here that something of a signature style can start to emerge. We’re all individual, and we’re all unique, and style is a wonderful place to recognize, reaffirm, and ultimately reference that individuality. By listening to your personal preferences while looking at key, quality items, you can ensure your capsule wardrobe is built around items that represent you.
Choosing Meaningful Accessories That Stand the Test of Time
When thinking about style, the temptation is to reject the decisions you were making before starting the journey – out of an assumption that you had poor style to begin with. This isn’t strictly true, though. What was missing from your previous outfits was context, which means certain items could come back in a new light.
This is worth considering when it comes to meaningful accessories, like second-hand diamond rings that carry sentimental value. These classic items can be uplifted by good ongoing style, and do not need to be rejected in the name of the ‘new’.
Embracing Conscious Shopping Habits for a More Sustainable Wardrobe
The other side of rejecting the ‘new’ is, of course, sustainability – and it’s a prevailing reason for which fast fashion has such a negative reputation. By buying fewer items of higher quality, and by recycling older items in new style contexts, you contribute to a more conscious form of style and fashion, to the betterment of yourself and everyone else.
