"For years, I felt like I never had anything to wear. Every time I went shopping, I came home convinced, thinking to myself, “This is it. This is the piece of clothing that will make my wardrobe complete, cohesive, and show I’ve mastered my personal style.”
Plus, you can pick them up at your local CVS right now!
The truth? No single shirt, pair of shorts, or skirt could magically solve my problems—and that’s because I didn’t know how to find my personal style. Sure, I loved variety—but from my lime green sweater to my flowy lace maxi skirt to my bedazzled denim shorts, there was too much variety. Finding my true personal style took a lot of trial and error (mostly errors) and years to figure out what I actually liked. Now that I’m on the other side though, I can confidently say that I have a closet full of clothes that match my personal style and that I actually love.
Wondering how to find your personal style, once and for all? It doesn’t need to be intimidating—with these 10 tips, you can find yours, too.
Understanding Your Personal Style
The idea of developing your personal style doesn’t need to be complicated. Think of your personal style as a way to express your personality, show your individually, and gain a bit of confidence in the meantime.
What is personal style?
Personal style is how you express yourself through your clothes and accessories, and how you interpret fashion and incorporate it into your daily life. Trendy, maximalist, minimalist—what your style actually consists of doesn’t matter, as long as it’s a representation of you.
Wondering how to find your personal style? We’ve got you covered. These 10 tips will help you discover your personal style, so getting dressed every day is something you look forward to—not something you dread.
1. Spend a day looking at clothes—but don’t buy anything yet
Hear me out: While a day shopping is always fun, it isn’t always productive to finding your style. There are crowds and long lines for dressing rooms, and sometimes the chaos can make you pick up things you don’t actually love.
Instead, spend a day looking at clothes, not buying clothes. Set a day aside and commit yourself to not swiping your credit card, but instead spending a no-pressure day getting a better grasp of what you like. Make a list of what you felt best in (regardless of what might be trending in the fashion industry at that exact moment), then go home, think on it, and strategize what pieces you want to actually add to your closet.
You can also test drive new pieces by utilizing a clothing rental service. That way, you can bring some of your style inspiration to life without needing to completely commit to new pieces that might not actually resonate your personal style in the long run.
2. Use Pinterest as a mood board
A tool that shouldn’t go underutilized in finding your personal style? Pinterest boards. When I started using the app for style inspiration, I thought to myself: I’m only going to pin looks I really love. And at first, the looks I pinned were all over the place. But after taking a deeper look, I was able to take a step back and say, “OK, I like this look because it’s all neutral tones” or “OK, maybe I actually don’t like this look, I only like the fact that Gigi Hadid is it.” Having different images of outfits that spoke to me in one place really allowed me to take a look at the bigger picture and analyze their similarities. Another tip? Ignore everything you were taught about “dressing for your body shape” and focus on things you really love instead.
Think of who you would consider your personal style icons to be, pinpoint the things you really like about their choices, and save your favorite outfits of theirs on a Pinterest board. Then, the next time you need some outfit inspiration, you can use the images you saved as a starting point. Using Pinterest as inspiration will help you build a wardrobe that reflects you.
3. Clean out your closet regularly
The easiest way to feel like you have nothing to wear? Your closet being stuffed to the brim with pieces that are ill-fitting, out of season, or that you just don’t like. If you pull a piece out that you end up not wearing because you don’t like it or it’s stained, there’s no use putting it back in your closet. Rather than letting your closet get out of control and waiting to purge it a couple of times a year, clean it out regularly.
Clothes can be expensive, and sometimes, adding investment pieces to your wardrobe simply isn’t in the budget. But high-quality pieces don’t necessarily need to send you into financial ruin. Rather than turning to fast-fashion pieces that have a life span of six months, you can find higher quality pieces that are in-budget by thrifting and shopping on resale apps.
4. Step outside of your comfort zone
When finding your personal style, it’s important to remind yourself that clothes and fashion are both supposed to be fun. You have the ability to play around and try new things. If you try something you don’t love, no sweat; you’re just one step closer to finding what you do like. Remember that personal style is a form of self-expression—it doesn’t need to be taken too seriously, and can continue to evolve over time.
With this, you can start small. For example, if you tend to stick to neutral colors, try adding in a pair of printed pants; if you normally like oversized and baggy lounge sets, try a slimmer fit instead. You never know what you might end up loving.
5. Evaluate the clothes you wear on a daily basis
When I finally started to nail the aesthetic I wanted to strive for, I felt the urge to fill multiple boxes and donate everything that didn’t fit that aesthetic immediately. But remember: Slow and steady wins the race.
Over the course of a few months, buy pieces strategically. Identify the key pieces you genuinely can see yourself wearing for years, regardless of the trends that come and go. As your style is evolving, it’s also important to reevaluate the pieces you currently have in your arsenal. For example, do you no longer wear those hot pink pants because they don’t fit, or because you don’t like hot pink anymore? Were you once buying pieces you thought were timeless that now don’t fit your style? In either case, you’ve gained valuable information.
6. Mimic the looks of people whose fashion you love
Wondering how to find your personal style? Start by turning to people whose fashion you know you love. Take time to sit and scroll through their Instagrams and think of outfits of theirs you can replicate with pieces you already own. Despite what TikTok is telling you, don’t feel the need to define your aesthetic—in reality, personal style is much more nuanced than “coastal grandma” or “mob wife.” Instead, find outfits and pieces that you’ve seen and made you think “that’s so me!”
You can also gain outfit inspiration that you might not have thought of on your own, and might even discover you already have pieces you love—you just haven’t been styling them in ways that fit your style. Evaluate your accessories and how you’ve been incorporating them into your outfits, too. After all—sometimes they can pack the hardest punch on the road to personal style.
7. Keep a clothing rack of pieces you want to style
If you have the space, a clothing rack can be your best friend when curating your personal style. Keep it full of new pieces, or ones that you already own that you want to remember to wear soon. Then, not only will they be top of mind, but you can plan how you’ll style each piece by hanging the rest of the outfit around it to be ready to wear when the opportunity arises.
8. Use a tailor when needed
In a dream world, everything we buy would automatically fit our bodies like a glove, but unfortunately, that usually isn’t the case. If you have a piece that you love but the fit is preventing you from wearing it, take it to a tailor to get what you don’t like about it altered. Chances are, you’ll like it even more once it fits right. This also matters for new pieces. I recently found a skirt I absolutely loved, but the small was a little too tight and the medium a little too big. Rather than trying to make a round peg fit into a square hole, I took the larger size to get taken in a smidgen, and now it’s a made-for-me piece I’ve been wearing multiple times a week—totally worth it.
9. Utilize the three-word method
Created by New York-based fashion stylist Allison Bornstein, the three-word method took social media by storm last year. The three-word method is as simple as it sounds: identifying your personal style with three adjectives. Maybe your style is cool, elevated, and comfortable, or maybe it’s colorful, classic, and bold. The three-word method can help you figure out:
- The style you currently have
- The style you want to have
Once you have your three words down, ask yourself if the new pieces you buy fit into them. Of course, they don’t always have to fit to a T (if one of your words is colorful, that doesn’t mean you can never by a neutral again), but it’ll help guide you toward pieces you like wearing most. If you’re struggling to idenfity your three words, start by taking note of your favorite celebrities’ style. Figure out the key pieces they wear that resonate most with you, and keep them in mind the next time you’re looking for something to add to your wardrobe.
10. Curate a wishlist to curb impulse purchases
Trust me, I get it: When a crazy-good sale pops up or you see a piece that just speaks to you, it can be hard to wait on clicking add to cart. But to curate the wardrobe of your dreams, working off a wishlist of things you want is more beneficial than impulse spending or purchasing items you don’t really need.
Think about your closet and the gaps you have within it, and when you see an item that you think would really work for you, add it to a list you keep in your phone. Sit on it a bit and think about how you’ll be able to style it with pieces you already own. Then, the next time you make a purchase, choose something off your wishlist that you’ve been pining over rather than something impulsive.
Embracing your personal style
Finding your personal style isn’t a one-and-done experience. As you evolve and grow, your style will (and should!) too. As you grow, don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles and aesthetics. You might find that in some seasons of life, you lean more toward trends; in others, you might gravitate more toward classic pieces. Regardless, continuing to check in with your personal style—and sometimes, will help ensure you feel totally confident. Don’t forget to check in on your collection of accessories, too—sometimes, all you need to spice up your wardrobe is the addition of a great bag or new pair of earrings.
Alyssa Grabinski, Contributing Fashion Writer
Alyssa Grabinski has been a contributing fashion writer at The Everygirl since 2021. Aside from The Everygirl, Alyssa’s work has also been featured in POPSUGAR and The Young Folks.