Since the discovery and invention of cloth, humanity has been preoccupied with making clothing and garbs that make us look better. And in this rather appearance-centric 21st century, being able to dress well helps a lot. Not just with your sense of confidence, but how you present yourself to people. Sadly, being able to dress well is a skill not everyone has.
Below are some general tips on improving your wardrobe and general fashion sense.
Avoid Buying New Clothing for a Specific Event
Buying a piece of clothing and intending to wear it for a specific occasion is something that everyone has felt at some point in their life. Whenever we go somewhere exciting or important, we often need to match it by buying new clothing for that event. This isn’t very cost-effective nor wise. It normally doesn’t get much use past that event, and it only becomes added stuff inside your drawer (and if it’s expensive, it just makes it even more of a bad financial decision).
Instead of buying a new piece of clothing every time you go to events, have good-looking items that you can wear to important occasions. If you choose something timeless and classic, you can keep wearing it over and over, even mix it and match it with different trends for a fresh look.
Get Good-fitting Clothes
Here’s the secret to looking good in any item of clothing: make sure it fits well. Believe it or not, a large reason why you don’t look good in the latest and trendiest clothing isn’t that it doesn’t fit your looks, it’s most probably because it doesn’t fit your shape. Pants that hit the floor or have a bad fit on your thighs are all a bad look, and so is a dress that bunches up or crumbles easily when you move around.
Look over your wardrobe and see whether your clothes are actually a good fit or it seemed like a good fit at first but then proved to be difficult. If you can afford it, a tailor can go a long way. You don’t have to custom-fit everything from scratch too, you can purchase a size that’s generally around your size and then have a tailor trim it for you.
This is the secret to why brides and grooms look amazing the moment they step into the church or wedding reception venue rental; they’re decked out in custom-fitted clothing. Who’s to say that you can’t do it in your everyday life?
Look for Your Personal Style… Or Make One!
Instead of simply following fashion trends that come and go relatively quickly, it’s better to just find the style you’re most comfortable and confident with and stick to it. Of course, doing this can potentially take a long time, years even. But a good way to start is by creating a mood board. Google pictures of the things you like, be it a specific concept or something tangible, like a place or a thing. Or even themes, like a gothic theme or a 90s theme.
Collect as much as you can, place them side by side, and find what it is about them that you truly enjoy. Then take what you like the most and base your style off of that. This is why some people have a rather impressive wardrobe: they take what they enjoy, and curtail the things they don’t like while getting more of the things that fit them. That’s how personal style can be consciously created.
Bargain Doesn’t Mean You Have to Buy It
Bargains, sales, and discounts are all there to finish the stock of a vendor, as well as encourage people to buy their products. This doesn’t mean you should buy them, though. It’s best to always factor in whether the piece of clothing would look good on you, or whether you’ll actually wear it.
Regardless of whether it’s designer or not, functionality and fit should always be among your top priorities for choosing what to buy and wear. And here’s an interesting idea: if it goes on sale once, it means it’ll go on sale again. If you truly find yourself liking a specific item of clothing, you don’t have to worry about missing it on sale, because it’ll most likely go on sale again.
There are more fashion tips that aren’t included here, but this is a good standard to go by. Just remember that fashion should make you feel confident and comfortable. It’s not about obsessing over your appearance, it’s mostly about finding what works for you and running with it.
