Can you believe it’s September already? I love the first week of September. Kids are back in school, and I’m ready for routine after a lazy summer. It’s like the ultimate Monday and Mondays are my favorite day of the week.
Also, the beginning of September is when we really start to switch our minds toward all things fall.
Fall is fashion’s new year.
It’s the time when a lot of women think about reinventing their look. As a matter of fact, I was shopping with my little one, who is 9, a couple of weeks ago and she was talking about what she wanted her look to be for this year. Now, this isn’t a thing we talk about, there’s just something innate about fall and style reinvention. Maybe you feel that way too.
Today, I’m going to share with you how to reinvent yourself in a way that’s authentic, and likely to stick, because the reality is, most of the time, big style changes don’t last. So if you want a style change-up, but you don’t want to just throw away a ton of money and have nothing to show for it, keep reading.
You don’t need a drastic change
A lot of clients came to me with the goal of total reinvention, and I understand why. Not often do we take the time, and spend the money to do this major, one shot wardrobe overhaul. And even less often do we invest in a professional to help us. So when you are doing this major reset, it feels like it should have major results.
I know a lot of them came to me because they didn’t feel great about themselves, they didn’t like how they looked, and they figured, “this isn’t working so I have to totally change it up and be totally different.”
But just because something lives in your closet, even if you spent money on it, it doesn’t mean you’re going to reach for it, ever. Think about your closet right now, the types of clothes you think you need to be wearing are probably living in there right now, but you’re not reaching for them. If you’re a person who lives in sneakers, you could go out and buy 10 pairs of the most fabulous heels out there, and you know what? You’re never going to reach for them. You’ll reach for the one pair of sneakers you kept.
Most women don’t need a completely different style. They just need a defined and refined style that isn’t terribly different from where they are now.
I guarantee you that it will feel like a style makeover and it will stick.
Embrace your natural uniform
The other thing to consider when refining or reinventing your style is that everyone has innate style preferences. I call it the natural uniform. This isn’t a bad thing, and you can use your natural uniform to guide your style evolution while staying true to yourself. Some people prefer dresses, while others prefer bottoms and a top. If you’re someone who likes bottoms and a top, don’t stock your closet with dresses, thinking that’s what you need to do to get the style boost you want.
Giving yourself permission to like what you like is so powerful when it comes to your style.
If you’e a person who is uncomfortable with lots of layers, don’t make layering a central feature in your new style. If you like necklaces and not earrings, change up the necklaces, don’t start buying earrings. Expanding and changing the things you already like is a lot more doable than learning to like things that are completely different.
To find your natural uniform, go to your closet and see what you have a lot of. We buy what we like to wear. Then, broaden the definition of those things to see how you can expand or change your style while still remaining true to yourself. Don’t just say, “I like t-shirts.” Maybe you buy t-shirts because you like easy care clothes. Maybe you like knits or organic fibers. Maybe you like graphic elements or unfussy things. You can take all of those elements into a new style, and have much more success.
Find your Signature Style
Once you’ve discovered your natural uniform your next step is to put together a style that feels authentic and a wardrobe that makes it easy to bring that style to life. We offer classes to help with these, and we often get emails asking “where to start?” or “if I have to choose one, which should I do?” So I want to walk you though the path to creating lasting style, using those courses as a guide. Even if you don’t take the courses, this is the path. Having the classes just helps you get there faster, with more clarity.
This class takes you through some of your mindset when it comes to style, but the biggest takeaway is creating those three big Style Guideposts. These are three words that describe how you want to look, so that you can create a wardrobe that brings the style you want to life and match it to your lifestyle.
If the way you want to look doesn’t work for the way you really live, any changes you make won’t last.
Once you’ve discovered your Signature Style, you’ve got the map to get your style destination. Clearly understanding your style makes it easier to shop and you can identify the things you’re likely to wear. Even if they’re a little outside of your comfort zone, you’ll know what to pass on, even if it’s a really good deal. Signature style makes it easy to create outfits that boost your style, too.
Finally, it helps you edit your wardrobe, because there’s none of this “Well, maybe I’ll wear it someday” thing happening. All of a sudden you know why you haven’t been wearing that preppy polo dress, even though it’s a great color for you, and you got a good deal on it.
That’s why, regardless of how you get there, every style journey should start with defining your Signature Style.
Learn how to dress your best
Once you’ve nailed your Signature Style, it’s time to move on to your personal characteristics. This includes understanding what works best for your body shape and your coloring.
When it comes to finding your best colors, I haven’t seen many women be successful using DIY methods. I recommend reaching out to The Color Guru. Her services are an amazing investment, and you can take 10% off of your purchase by using code everydaystyle at checkout.
Learning how to dress your body best is next.
Our Dress Your Body Shape like a Pro course teaches you how to dress your body like I would if we were working one on one. It goes so far beyond “What’s your shape?” and helps you understand how to identify parts of your body you want to highlight, balance, or cleverly conceal.
Then, you learn the principles of how to do just that. You need to know what lines do for your body, what colors, patterns, proportions and volumes do also. What are your best necklines, sleeve shapes, and dress silhouettes? Once you know those things and why they’re best, shopping, even online shopping gets much, much easier.
I shared in a Lessons from Linda: Getting Good Advice about a Linda I worked with who was really committed to understanding how to dress her body best. Even though she’d been led down the wrong path, she knew something was off, and she valued this enough to keep trying.
I’m so impressed by that, mainly because I know from personal experience that when you truly understand your body, you can let go of insecurities. You can learn why this doesn’t work for me and you can really step into loving your style and embracing what works for you.
If you haven’t invested the time to learn how to dress your body, make it a priority. You’ll be really glad you did.
Edit your closet
When you don’t know what your style is, like I mentioned earlier, you’re going to think “Maybe I’ll wear it someday.” Same thing with your body shape. You might think, “If I just lost 10 pounds, maybe I’d like it.”. However, it might be that the shape of the garment is totally wrong for your shape and it’s never going to work.
When you get clear on how you want to look and know what pieces make you look and feel your best, it’s a lot easier to do the major closet overhaul most women need. While I don’t think editing your closet should be the first step on your style journey, I do think NOT editing your closet well is one of the biggest style mistakes women make.
When your closet is just a storage facility and you don’t know what you have, or what you need, you end up defaulting to five uninspired outfits and feeling really defeated about your style.
The clutter in your closet stresses you out, keeps you in a rut, and prevents you from having the style you want.
We’ve also got the Ultimate Closet Makeover class, which will walk you step by step through the three-step plan I’ve used with hundreds of clients. It’s great if you need this super daunting task broken down into manageable chunks.
I don’t believe in opening your closet and putting everything on the bed and doing it all at once. That is so tiring, so hard, and leads to bad decisions. Take your time and do this project well. People always ask me how often they need to edit their closet. If you do it right, you need to do the big edit ONE time. That’s it.
Those are our big three classes and the order you should do them in for the best results. Once you follow those three steps, you’ll have a defined style, a wardrobe that makes you look and feel your best, and a closet that makes it easier to get dressed and stick to your commitment to love your style.
Get a seasonal capsule wardrobe guide
You may be wondering, “If I’m supposed to know my best colors and best necklines, and what my signature style is, how does a Guide that tells me exactly what to buy work?”. It’s a good question, and there are a couple of answers.
First, some people want it to be super simple instead of super personal, and that’s okay. There’s nothing that says you can’t wear a neckline or color that isn’t your personal best. If you just want a done-for-you plan, here you go. You do what works for you. But, when you know how to tweak the season’s Capsule Wardrobe to suit your style and personal characteristics best, you get the best of both worlds
We plan how to put everything together, but you can switch colors and we show you how to do it. You can switch a sweater to be a better neckline or length for you or swap a black pencil skirt for a pair of leather pants if that makes the wardrobe fit your style better. But since you’re not starting from scratch, the process is easier and a whole lot more likely to be successful.
This week, start thinking about your fall style. Do you want to refine or reinvent? Do you know how you want to look? Do you know the pieces you need to help get there? Just start thinking about it.
Additional Links & Resources from the Episode:
Follow everyday Style on Facebook Instagram and Pinterest
Read our latest blog post, Five Easy Ways to Transition Your Summer Wardrobe to Fall
Listen to The Five Elements of Personal Style
Listen to Edit Your Closet Like a Pro
Listen to All About Capsule Wardrobes. Learn more about our Capsule Wardrobe Guides
Interested in joining the Everyday Style Network as a Certified Stylist? Sign up to get on the list!
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