Don’t Copy And Paste Your Style
Shopping has a culture of its own. As teens, one of our first acts of independence was going to the mall with our friends to do nothing but waste time and hang out, and those of us with closer relationships with our moms bonded over Saturday trips to our favorite stores. Now as adults, we scroll through our phones double tapping the things we like only for them to show up later as an ad, tempting us to “Shop Now.” Youtube videos of our favorite influencers and TikToks of OOTDs tell us what’s in, what we need in our closets, and what we should wear. Our fashion identities are morphing not from our own individual essence, but rather from what we are being sold to as consumers. Then, when it’s time to put on our big kid pants and face the mall, there’s a friend, loved one, or sales associate present to voice their opinions, drowning out the one chance we had to hear our own finally.
So, we trudge through the mall and scroll online, thinking our full shopping carts will make us look and feel like the influencesr on our feed. We’ll become THAT girl, the one who wakes up at 6:00 A.M. and manages to have everything done and look good while doing it. If you have her exact pair of slacks and a white button-down shirt, your life will fall into place. But the secret to making clothes work for you is not to mimic someone else, but to find the items that make you feel and look yor absolute best.
The hard truth is most of us don’t look like the people on our screens. Many of us don’t go to the gym as we should, meal prep every weekend, drink a lot of water, and are born with the majority of body types we see on our feed. The woman rocking the viral Zara slip dress with the Bridgteron-style bust does not have a DD bra cup and broad shoulders. The focus in her wardrobe is not to add volume to the bottom half of her body and avoid creating a focus on the top. But yours might be. So why would a copy and paste of her outfit work for you?
The body you have is yours and no one else’s. You may have body goals set for yourself in 2023 and that’s fantastic because health is wealth. But you have to love and be okay with the body you have today in order to work towards the body of your dreams tomorrow. Learn to dress what you have now the best way you can because you deserve it. And if you’re stuck or not sure how to do that, then hiring an expert is the next step to take. Having someone teach you exactly why a certain color makes you look younger or why it’s important to tuck in a shirt, can make the journey of learning to dress for your body easier.
But beyond just teaching you how to dress for your body, a personal stylist can guide you in developing your personal style. Each person has their own combination of traits that make them who they are, and that unique perspective should reflect in your closet. Every woman is not meant to participate in the clean girl aesthetic and every man is not meant to adhere to streetwear trends. It’s okay to prefer a more classic and timeless silhouette, not dress modern, or be maximalist in your style. The most important factor to one’s personal style is that it feels like you.
Our goal is not only to make sure you look amazing, but to make sure when you see yourself in the mirror, the only person staring back at you is yourself.