How I Found The Confidence To Follow My Style

Top by Forever 21 // Skirt by Ebay (alternative here) // Boots by Romwe // Ring by Swarovski

To say that I don’t dress like most people my age would be an understatement, how many eighteen year olds do you see dressed head to toe in neutrals and pinks and constantly wearing an outfit fit to meet the Queen? Yeah, probably about 1%. To some that sounds like the most terrifying thing. It’s impossible to blend in if you physically look different to most of the people around you and I completely understand why that sounds scary, but in this post I’m going to try and convince you why it’s definitely worth it to be courageous and dress for you.

Not so long ago I didn’t dress like this, in fact I dressed practically the polar opposite. I wore dark colours, tight clothes and I’ve been known to leave the house in just a bralette and a tiny skirt (can you believe I’m the same person?). I was insecure and dressed the same way as the other girls around me, despite the fact that it made me feel absolutely awful. Don’t get me wrong, a tiny part of me did enjoy the looks and male attention I got when leaving the house in these outfits; who wouldn’t at fifteen? I thought that dressing like that was the best way to get attention from boys and that it was a sure fire way to find myself a man. Looking back, I see that the attention I was receiving wasn’t good, it wasn’t looks of respect that I was being thrown, they were looks of lust. No fifteen year old should be looked at like that, especially because of what they’re wearing, but it’s the harsh truth of this world and it’s something I learnt very early on.

It wasn’t until I really sat down and had a talk with myself that I really accepted that I didn’t actually want to dress like this. Deep down I’ve always been a rather fancy person; I have an obsession with mansions on the south of France, I love the ideology behind Chanel and aspire to live a life similar to that portrayed on Made In Chelsea. My style icons had always been classy, elegant women and I wondered how I’d let myself become this girl who dressed to please others instead of staying true to myself.

It was around this time that I really got into watching fashion bloggers and YouTubers and began to use them as inspiration to find my own new personal style. It wasn’t an instant process, partly because I had to find the courage to start dressing differently to all of my friends and the people at school, but also because who has enough money to completely rejuvenate their wardrobe over night? I started slowly by following a few simple steps.

Clear out your current wardrobe

If you’re completely sure that you don’t want to dress that way anymore then it seems obvious to clear out all those clothes you don’t need anymore. Not only will it clear out a lot of space, which can then be used to store your lovely new clothes, but it will also deter you from relapsing back into your old style. It’s easy to dress the way you always have if the clothes are still there so to really overhaul your style it’s better to just get rid. Before you get rid of everything however look at it all carefully; are there any staples that you can interpret into your new style? Aim to keep anything like jeans, plain t-shirts and vest tops, leggings and any other staple, go-to pieces of clothing. These can often be changed and styled up in different ways to completely change what they look like so it’s worth not throwing them away.

Decide on a colour theme

One of the first things I did was decide on a general colour scheme that I wanted to follow whilst curating my new wardrobe. For me the choice was obvious, I’ve always loved pink and neutral colours; they look girly and classy which was exactly the look I was going for, and lucky for me they were everywhere in the shops! Deciding on a colour scheme doesn’t work for everyone’s style, if this is the case, try and decide on a general vibe that you’re going for when wearing this style.

Dare to dress differently

When I first changed my style one of the main things that scared me was clothes that actually covered me (crazy, I know). I’d become so accustomed to wearing what can only be described as strips of material that I just didn’t feel comfortable wearing anything that came remotely close to my knee. I slowly but surely battled past the ‘oh my God I look like a nun’ feeling until I realised that no, I didn’t look boring, or holy, or old, or any of those things; I looked classy. It took a whole lot of posing and putting millions of different of outfits together for me to realise that I needed to follow my true style and look sophisticated.

The biggest advice I can give you to following your own style is to dress how you want. There isn’t one set style for everyone, we all interpret fashion differently and effectively everyone has their own individual style. Go out shopping and pick out new, different pieces that you feel would fit into your wardrobe, if they scare you a little at the time buy them anyway until you’ve built up the courage to wear them. If you keep putting it off your style will never change. Immerse yourself in your style by surrounding yourself with influencers, bloggers and YouTubers who inspire you; this way you are constantly seeing new outfits and pieces that match your style.

I hope this post has inspired you to follow your heart and dress for you.

Love Chloe x