By Sreejita Das
Why is it important to have your own sense of style?
To begin, fashion isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay! You could force someone to care about fashion, but if you’re already interested in it, this is a good place to start. Most people who like fashion are into the way it makes you feel, the vibes it gives and they use it as a method of self-expressing their values and identity. Ask yourself why you like fashion; what about it appeals to you? Is it the bright colors, is it the uniqueness or is it the trends you see on social media? For me, my own sense of style allows me to express who I am as a person, and frankly, I love clothes and seeing how creative people can be at modifying a certain look in their own way.
Having your own sense of style refers to not following every new trend you see online (called micro-trends), as they last for short periods of time before moving on to the next new craze. An example of these are the short tennis skirts from last year, or scrunchies from a few years ago. If you’re constantly accommodating and spending to fit in with a new trend, you end up spending a lot of money and feeling anxious that you’ll metaphorically “fall behind”. If you’re spending money at cheaper fast fashion stores (Shein and etc.), this will have greater environmental impact, especially if many people are buying at these stores. This isn’t meant to make anyone feel guilty for shopping at these places, especially if these stores are your only hope (eg. low income or any other situation), but spending $300 at Shein or Fashion Nova doesn’t give us a lot of hope for our future, thus why finding your own style is a good way to minimize spending and be more environmentally friendly.
How does one become ‘good’ at fashion?
Fashion is subjective, and as we say; ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Fashion is what you make of it and what you want to do with it.
Here are a few tips to help curate your fashion:
Observe!
This seems like a simple and easy tip, but it’s a lot harder than it seems. Whenever you’re outside, do a quick scan of what people (who catch your eye, even if it’s in a bad way) are wearing (including jewelry!), even if their style is completely out of your interests. After this, find at least one thing about the clothes or way they wore the clothes (eg. tucked, untucked, layered etc.) you like. The more you do this, the greater your horizons and interest in clothes will grow. It will also give you a mental idea of what aesthetic you like and what you don't. I do this and it lets me appreciate other styles and aesthetics, even if they’re not my cup of tea. Similarly, if you have a certain look you’re going for, look it up on Pinterest. For example, if you’re into dark academia, search up dark academia outfits or dark academia basics, to get a general idea of what you’re missing or how they’re styled. You can also look into fashion shows and see what you like from there!
Experiment:
This is the part most people are afraid of; looking silly in front of others. If its any consolation, you are your own worst critic. In fact, during this phase for me, a lot of people actually complimented my outfits, which further told me that I was on the right track to finding my own sense of style. In general, some outfits are a hit or a miss, even after you're curated your style, and that’s okay! We’re constantly evolving our style and growing from who we once were, so allowing yourself to wear an outfit you loved, but turned into a flop, is human and expected. This process of experimenting with new styles is continuous and what makes fashion fun!
If you’re too scared to go out in your creations, try them at home in the mirror! No shame or judgment there and you can still see how you look and see what you need to modify (eg. are you missing a belt, green hoop earrings).
Thrift/Clothing Swaps:
Shopping for new clothes is expensive and unsustainable. As a result, I turn to thrifting and clothing swaps. While it can take a long time to find something you like, it ensures you’re getting unique pieces that were essentially made for you. I like to see it as a big treasure chest and see what I like. Another good part is that a lot of the clothes you find won't look nice on you, which ends up limiting how much you’re spending. You can also donate your old clothes and get discounts at these thrift stores, making it even more budget friendly! Thrifting is more sustainable because the clothes aren’t going to the landfill, nor is there any extra production cost in making them and importing them!
I recently saw this tip in a TikTok; after you put on a possible purchase, give it a maximum price that you would buy it for. You’ll find that some stuff is overpriced and by setting an inner metric you can weed out what you love love vs what you “love’”. Similarly, see if you can come up with at least two outfits with the possible buy, that way you can get a general idea of what you would wear. This helps separate daily wear pieces from pieces you would wear once and put back into your closet for eternity.
A good general tip I use: If you see something that is from a fast fashion brand (unless it’s a good quality basic item), don’t buy it. Chances are that its from a micro-trend and isn’t quality made, limiting the amount of wear you can get out of them.
These are general tips that I personally used to curate my own style in a sustainable and eco-friendly way and I hope my tips are able to help you out as well. Happy thrifting!