Finding your personal style is not an easy feat. Everyone’s been through the frustrating circus of getting ready in the morning, going through outfit after outfit, and feeling like nothing looks good (I had too many of those mornings.).
I’m a girl who can appreciate a lot of different styles. Boho, minimalistic, preppy, tomboy styles—you name it, I love it. You would think that getting ready would be easy with this mindset, but, ironically, it wasn’t. It came to the point that I was so sick of everything in my closet that I needed to do something about it.
PHOTO: Kayley Meden
My closet purge took me a little over two years. (I know that sounds overwhelming, but I promise it’s worth it. Bear with me.) I began how any good closet clean-out starts. I started with four simple piles: the “keeps”, the “donates”, the “throw-aways” and the “I-don’t-knows,” and I made sure to go through every bit of clothing I own.
About every month I would re-evaluate my closet, go through it all again, and separate everything into the necessary piles. (Pro tip: Some things are hard to get rid of though you don’t use them. Put those items into a box that’s sealed away. If you don’t think about what’s in it after a month, toss everything.)
PHOTO: Kayley Meden
This process was practically rinsing and repeating for the first year, and then I finally got down to the pieces that I loved. It sounds silly, but I asked myself what I loved about each of the things I kept. What it came down to was that they made me feel confident. Taking it a step further, I started to realize what about the pieces made me feel confident, and that was that they fit me well, were in good condition, and had specific qualities unique to my evolving personal style.
The process of consistently evaluating my clothes actually made me a smarter shopper, and in turn, a better self-stylist. I no longer bought clothes that were on too good of a sale price to pass up or things that filled my desire to buy something. Getting my wardrobe down to the pieces I loved forced me to try on everything I bought, invest in high-quality materials, and stick to what made me feel most confident. I hardly ever have trouble getting dressed now; imagine that!
What’s your experience with finding your personal style? Leave a comment below!
Featured photo by Kayley Meden
I think fast-fashion really plays into the “I have nothing to wear even though my closet is full” dilemma. I’m trying to purge my closet too and I will take your advice! I agree that investing in better quality materials instead of buying something because it’s cheap is much wiser!
I usually go through my closet to get rid of things every 3ish months. My rule is if I haven’t worn it since the last time I cleaned my closet out (according to season of course, I’m not going to get rid of sandals just because it’s winter obviously) then I get rid of it/donate it. I always feel so much better after I clean things out of my closet and narrow it down to things I really love!
I love this article! I have been struggling with this same issue for years. I have pieces I love but I have so much that doesn’t feel like me. So I constantly shop and still feel like I have nothing to wear. This is a really great approach, especially since it sounds like we have similar tastes in clothes (I like a bit of everything too). So thank you for writing this! Very helpful
I totally agree with you! Cleaning out my closet always makes me feel so much better and selling clothes I never wear on Poshmark makes it so much easier to get rid of stuff for me.