Shopping help!

Do you try and decide to look for specific things to go with stuff you already have? It’s less overwhelming when you’re like, “I want a 3/4 sleeve blazer to go with these jeans + this striped shirt, the jeans with a flowy white top, and this dress” than it is to walk into the store not knowing what you’re even shopping for.

If you’re not even that far, then guess it just takes practice. It can be work to figure out what you like and also what looks good on your body. Sometimes I browse chictopia and personal style blogs for inspiration (on different styles, cuts of clothing, colors, and shoe/outfit combos) or look at what other people are wearing and decide what exactly I like about it and if I can use it. If you love something, try to build an outfit around it.

I used to dress pretty bland (usually jeans, a sweater, cute flats) and not know where to start. I saw a friend wearing knee-high riding boots over her skinny jeans a few years ago and I thought “hey that looks really good!” I had never worn boots before. Several months later I picked out a pair online. My jeans bunched up around the tops of the boots, because I didn’t have any skinny jeans. I tried wearing them anyway with some vaguely boho white shirt and military jacket. I felt weird. One day I wore them with black tights and a short, full skirt (I don’t remember if I saw someone wearing something similar or what), and I felt great. I got a lot of compliments on my outfit, and after that I knew I could shop for short, full skirts. But there was a lot of trial and error.

Anyway, sorry about the verbal diarrhea there. Hopefully you got something useful out of it.

^ agreed. if you’re like, “ohh, that’s such a cute jacket.. don’t have anything to wear with it, but it’s cute!” you won’t wear it—it’ll rot in the closet with tags on (I definitely have a few of those). also, don’t buy clothes for occasions you’ll never need.

get inspiration for a particular look, before you shop—look for the different ways people wear something (e.g. chictopia, lookbook, pinterest). pay attention to certain key pieces that tie a look together but usually go unnoticed (e.g. a skinny belt)

but most importantly.. if you don’t know what looks good, just play around with your closet! try a shirt you like with anything that might remotely look good, even if it’s kind of out-there. you’ll discover what you like, what flatters your figure, certain ways to wear certain clothes, etc, just by actually trying them. when you like something in-store, try on a whole outfit to go with it!