My Personal Style Journey

Learning about someone else's personal style journey is something that I find absolutely fascinating. Or even just hearing why they wear the clothes that they do. Today I wanted to share my own journey to find my style with you. 

CHILDHOOD & EARLY TEENS

I'm not sure if these years even count considering my mum dressed me and I didn't have that much say. What I do remember is always enjoying wearing pretty summer dresses and that's something that is definitely still true today. My early teens are pretty nondescript either. I'm sure I only wore what was considered cool at the time. I had no idea about personal style and clothes really didn't mean the world to me. Even though I liked putting outfits together it wasn't the most important thing in life. 

15-18

I remember these years incredibly well when it comes to my style. I was fully immersed in my 'scene' stage at 15 and would only wear jeans that looked like they'd been sprayed on, chunky belts and far too many beaded necklaces. Whilst I can only look back now and laugh at what I looked like. I thought it was awesome at the time and I think that is what is so fun about personal style. It's the only time in my life that there has been a direct coloration from the music I was listening to and the clothes I wore. In the later end of my teens, I went through a slightly preppy stage when Jack Wills started to become more widely available. Then, of course, there was my everything I own comes from Topshop stage. In my defence, I did work there so I needed to dress accordingly. I was a lot more adventurous with my style and colour choices in those years and very rarely wore basic pieces. 

Key wardrobe pieces included; 

1. Skinny jeans.
2. H&M hoodies. 
3. Ballet flats.
4. Drop dead merch. 

UNIVERSITY

Like most people I think when you go to university your style really starts to evolve and develop. I definitely started to dress in more basic pieces. I think it's because I started to get tattooed so patterns clashed. I still didn't have much idea when it came to personal style. And got far too caught up in what was considered cool at the time. These were the years that I became really experimental with my hair and had it coloured pretty much every shade. Even though this isn't directly linked to style it made a big difference in the tones that I wore. 

Key wardrobe pieces included;

1. Denim jacket.
2. Leather jacket.
3. Vest tops. 
4. Slight oversized t-shirts.
5. Leggings. 

Just to point this picture is a joke - my housemates had a photoshoot and shoved all their props on me. 

POST GRADUATION

This is probably the 'smartest' stage that I've had in my style journey. I was working in a school at the time. So I obviously had to dress appropriately which led to smarter outfit choices. I started to wear a lot more dresses which were never really a part of my wardrobe at university. I pretty much stopped wearing jeans altogether and even now I still prefer dresses and skirts over jeans and restrictive bottoms. 

Key wardrobe pieces included;

1. Skater skirts.
2. Skater dresses. 
3. Fine knit jumpers. 
4. Oxford shirts.
5. Blouses & cami's. 

Mid 20's & NOW

During the past 3 years, I feel like I've definitely found my personal style. It wasn't one pinnacle moment. It's a long journey to find it and not something that can be forced. Due to not having a lot of money it put a stop to my mindless shopping habits. I stopped buying clothes that I didn't really need or that didn't suit me. So the spare money that I did have I made sure that I picked up things I either really needed or that I knew I was going to get a lot of use out of. Being that little bit older has also really helped because I've stopped dressing for the approval of other people. And only dressed for me. Whilst it's nice if someone else thinks I look nice it's not what I base my outfits on. My main concern is if I'm comfortable and feel confident. My poor physical health has had a large impact on the way I dress. I'll only wear jeans on my really good days as anything that presses down on my stomach for too long isn't a good option. So when I can I will always go for dresses, skirts or leggings. I go for a lot more basic and plain items now. Stripes are pretty much the only pattern I wear because I don't find large brash and colourful prints are something that works well for me. As of right now I own the smallest amount of clothes that I ever have. But each piece has a story behind it which makes it mean so much more to me. 

Key wardrobe pieces include;

1. A-line skirts. 
2. Striped Bretons.
3. T-shirt dresses. 
4. Leather jacket. 
5. Oversized knitwear. 
6. Tote bags. 

I'd love to know about your personal style journey

R x

Check out: Miranda's Notebook, Alexi London, The Sunday Mode, KaylaJane, Maepolzine and Loved By Laura, you can advertise with me here