We all experience style ruts every now and then. I felt like I was in one right after I had Josie. It was this transition period of feeling like I was in this new season of motherhood, and my style just felt a little off. I’ve now since got my groove back. If you’re feeling like you’re stuck in a style rut, I’m sharing some practical and creative tips to help you find inspiration and feel great about dressing up again too!
How to Get Out of a Style Rut
When we think about our style, it feels a bit arbitrary compared to some of the other things in our life. However, when you’re in a style rut, it can affect your confidence and overall mood. And those two things can affect the more important things. So really when you think about style, it’s important to keep it in check. Because when we feel confident and comfortable that trickles into other parts of our life.
Below are a few tips to help get you out of a style rut. These also helped me when I was feeling a little uninspired.
Clean Out Your Closet
The first tip in how to get out of a style rut is to clean out your closet. One of the best methods to use when doing this is the Marie Kondo method. This involves taking every piece of clothing you have in your house from your bedroom closet to your hall closets and storage bins.
Next, you want to go through each piece one at a time. With each piece, you should ask yourself if that item sparks joy. If it does, then keep it. If it doesn’t, it’s time to part ways with it. I talk more about organizing your closet to build a wardrobe you love in this post HERE.
Shop Organization Essentials
Find Style Inspiration
Seek style inspiration from a variety of places. It doesn’t just have to be on a retailer’s website. Style inspo is all around us. We just have to find the spaces that spark our excitement about style. I share each place I find style inspiration below.
Build A Go-To Outfit Formula
Do you have a certain type of clothing that always gives you that feeling of confidence when you wear it? It feels comfortable on and a joy to wear? If so, then create outfit formulas around that certain piece. Whether it’s denim jeans, leggings, dresses or something else, you should have a few outfits that you know will make you feel confident no matter what.
Experiment with New Styles
Your style rut could be stemming from you growing out of your current personal style. For example, if your typical style is more edgy and includes leather pieces, combat boots etc., try a piece that’s more on the feminine side. Now you don’t have to get all decked out in pink. However, even trying a new pair of shoes, like a mule, that you wouldn’t typically wear, could spark something fun and new for you.
Accessorize with New-To-You Pieces
Accessories can elevate any look. Your style rut may not even be really a rut at all. It just might be missing something from your styled looks. Try adding a hat to some of your looks like a straw hat in the summer or a felt hat in the winter. Statement jewelry might even be a great addition to your outfits like a bracelet stack or a nice watch. Jewelry makes an outfit feel a little more grown up and elevated.
A simple change up of your makeup may be just the trick you need too. Try wearing a more bold lip like a red in the winter. You can also try a winged eyeliner look that’s trending across the internet right now too. Finding ways to reinvent your typical style helps you determine what you’re needing to change to get you out of your rut.
Shop Accessories
Talk to Friends About Their Style
The next tip to help you get out of your style rut is to talk to your friends that enjoy style. Ask them questions like what are their favorite pieces to wear? Where do they go to shop? Where do they find style inspiration?
Asking those that we know and trust about their fashion choices helps us work through what we’re looking for in our own personal style.
Try a Subscription Program
There are a variety of amazing subscription services that have professional stylists choose clothing pieces for you. Stitch Fix is an example of that. You simply tell them your budget and sizing information. Then, they curate outfits based on your responses. With this type of service, you can try clothes that you may have never tried before. You might just discover a new type of style.
Where to Find Style Inspiration
Pinterest is an encyclopedia of inspiration for fashion. Not matter what your personal style is, there’s something for everyone on this platform. Scroll through your home feed or explore the trends tab to see what everyone else is pinning. When thinking about how to style things multiple ways or trying a new trend, this is where I go.
Start a new board with different looks you like. This can act as your mood board for your style inspiration. Then when you’re ready to shop, you can refer back to the outfits you pinned to recreate them.
Instagram is another great place to seek outfit inspiration. Use the search bar to type in something like fall or winter outfits, and you’ll have thousands of posts to scroll through.
Fashion influencers usually have their own style. Whether it’s feminine and classic (hi, it’s me!), edgy-cool or somewhere in between, following content creators that have a similar style to you is another easy way to find fashion inspiration.
The Everygirl
Have you ever visited theeverygirl.com? It’s an online platform for the modern woman that has everything from fashion ideas, beauty tips, wellness information and so much more! It’s full of blog posts that help inspire women to live their fullest lives in every aspect. Highly recommend it!
Magazines
Though we’re living in a world where everything feels digital, there’s something nostalgic about flipping through magazines. Fashion magazines like Elle and Vogue typically cover high-end fashion. Though most of us don’t have the budget for what’s trending in a fashion show, we can certainly take inspiration from it.
Even gossip magazines like People feature a variety of celebrity pictures of them out in the wild. You know, like going to get coffee or coming from the gym. Those pictures are also great to pull fashion inspiration from and see what the trending street styles look like.
Window Displays
As the holidays draw near, you might find yourself in a mall or shopping district. Window displays are underrated when it comes to fashion inspiration. Plus theses window displays are even more inspirational around the holidays.
Retailer Websites
My favorite retailers like Express, Nordstrom and Abercrombie have an amazing feature that typically shows you how to style a certain piece that you’re looking at. For example, if you’re looking at blazer on Nordstrom’s website, they’ll have pieces from Nordstrom that can complete the outfit towards the bottom of that page. It’s convenient for you as the customer and a smart business move on their part.
Travel
Travel is another fantastic way to find style inspiration. Though you may not travel often, it’s always a good idea to look around at the fashion trends locals are wearing. Even if it’s just visiting a nearby city, this always helps strike inspiration.
Where do you typically find your style inspiration from? Let me know below!
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