During part one, if you took the challenge and you totally should, you should have selected a few fashion rules to give up then and there. Items that were holding you back from styles you loved for no good reason other than someone once said it was a bad idea. So if you did that, if you took some time to think about what the heck it is that was holding you back then you are ready to roll.
You are ready to start to talk about style, creating it and where to go when you have no idea what you like or if it will work for you. Great! Because that is today’s topic. Today we take a look at some ways that you can relearn the good stuff. It’s fashion and style without the shoulds. Nothing is off-limits to you. Now what?
For most people they are freaking out right now and making some sort of attempt to run for the hills! Well steady on there folks. Nothing to fear here. It’s really about taking a long, hard look at your body, at your life and working out what you like. HA. No biggie.
Know your body
So let’s start with your body. I’m not going to go to town saying that this style works for this body type but not for that one just like every women’s magazine in the history of womankind. Nope. It’s not for that purpose it’s just a case of knowing what you work with, your actual size and your plans in terms of showing off the goodies.
Take a moment to look at that body of yours. Don’t judge it in the way that is so common by immediately focusing on the flaws and imperfections. Start by admiring what a freaking amazing thing it is. Admire those characteristics you have that are markers of your family’s history. Admire your body.
Know what your love about it
Then decide what it is that you love most about it. What are the things you want to draw attention to if that’s something you’re keen to do. For me it was always the strong line of my shoulders and my boobs. Isn’t it always boobs? Haha. But over time I’ve embraced the mini skirt and my legs. That wasn’t always the case.
I can still remember when I first started buying skirts that sat above my knees. Or shorter, eeeeek! I worried that I would be judged for my choices, worried my legs are magazine perfectly tanned or smooth. Worried that perhaps someone out there would look at me and say what the heck was she thinking!?
But it hasn’t happened yet. I don’t actually expect it ever to happen. Do you want to be let in on a secret? Most people will only ever consider your outfit as a passing pop of thought. Most people won’t consider it at all. The only ones who really notice and comment are those who admire your style or an item you are wearing. So trust in that and choose a part of your body you hadn’t considered before.
Get your measurements
If you’re going to be internet shopping {let’s face it, it’ll probably happen} you’ll need your measurements. Grab that tape measure and take your hips, bust and waist measurements. Write them down and keep them somewhere close by. I never buy anything online without checking the specific sites measurements and I recommend you do the same. Online reviews and bloggers are another great resource for sizing information.
Know your lifestyle
The final step of working out where you are is to get serious about the sort of life you lead. There’s no point aspiring to a personal style fit for an on-duty a-list actress when you are working from home in your own business looking after kids. You just won’t have that many opportunities to wear that gown. Consider how much time you have for things like hair, make-up and ironing {man I hate ironing} and factor that into the look you are creating.
Lifestyle is such an important factor because you can spend a lot of time and money chasing down ideas and items that never get worn if you’ve forgotten that you just don’t get out that much. If the school run and running around doing errands is you thing start to formulate a casual style that you love. Work in an office with loads of after hours meetings, you’re going to need a completely different base of clothes.
The way you live your life matters. You want fun and creativity, for sure, but you have to be able to wear your new look in your everyday life. So what does life look like for you. If you have any level of confusion about that, maybe life is a blur, just track it in a diary or on a whiteboard for a week. That will let you know in a minute. It’ll be glaring obvious. You probably won’t have any gala balls to attend. Probably. Bummer.
You’re ready? Now what?
Now, my friend, you are ready. Armed with the information about your body and its size you can now start to either look for inspiration in your everyday life or online from women with the same bodies as you have. But don’t get caught up in the size of your body, it can certainly be a shape thing as well. What you like about an hourglass shaped woman wearing a size 6 and a woman with the same shape in a size 22 will translate.
I will often use models off duty or red carpet styles as inspiration because I have a pretty straight up and down shape, larger across the shoulders, and that is similar to my smaller model counterparts. So when they wear a longline t-shirt, leggings and ankle boots, I can buy those items in my size and see it work on me. Give it a try, head to Pinterest or Google search for images and be descriptive.
A word from the wise, and me too, don’t get too bogged down in only looking at people who have a similar shape as you. Start to consider everything as inspiration and build a set of personal guidelines based on what you like. I watch 90’s cult movies and find ways I want to style my jeans. I was reading an old issue of Vogue and remembered how much I love a simple yet timeless outfit so I grabbed a photo with my phone and saved it in my inspiration folder. It’s like the modern tear out page.
Give it a go and don’t let your thinking be limited. Know where you are starting from. Know your base point by knowing your body, the parts you want to show off and your lifestyle and keep an open mind about what could work for you. It’s not Fashion Anarchy if you swap one set of rules for another, so consider them guidelines and treat them as always flexible, changing and made to be broken often.
What’s your life, body and style look like now?
Is it different to yesterday and will it be a little more flexible now?
If not, repeat step one and come back. HA.
CHALLENGE
Tell me in the comments below where YOU find fashion inspiration {there are no bonus points for saying here, but thank you, you’re so kind. Ha}. If you haven’t been inspired for a while, I challenge you to FIND SOMETHING that inspires you today and share that with the hashtag #sugersfashionanarchy or in the comments below.
Win a copy of the eBook of your choice by super personal stylist Natalie Tucker of Defined Image and my Budget Fashionista Workbook just by completing the challenge. For your entry to count you MUST comment on this post with the details of the social media share if not leaving a comment on the post only.
Hi! I’m Melissa Walker Horn. Around here, they call me Suger. I’m the Chief Blogger and doer of all the things here at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; I love a casual ootd, taking photos, and writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet over at Chalkboard Digital. You know, living the sweet life.
These are a great set of guidelines, loved every one and I think I basically follow the same thinking when it comes to dressing for me.
I get a lot of inspiration from Nat & the other ladies over at Defined Image but also from the hashtag everyday style on Instagram. It’s nice to see what other every day ladies are wearing. =)
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the post! That’s one of my favourite things to do too Mel, sift through hashtags related to outfits on Instagram. So much diversity, it’s wonderful.
Living in Asia for five+ years really taught me to be a good shopper – i.e. adopt everything you say in this post! It made me realise sizes mean NOTHING, if I wanted to buy clothes that fit in Asia I had to let go of any notion that a number on a label was important because all the sizing is tiny (I also got laughed out of shops – ‘we’ve got nothing for you here!’ – good way to build a thick skin 😉 )
Switching to on-line shopping also meant I had to pay attention to my measurements, what suits my body shape and my lifestyle. All lessons that were learnt the hard way with many online purchases that didn’t fit, were horribly unflattering or that I never had a chance to wear.
End result is that now that I’m back in Sydney I think I’m much better at picking pieces that work for me. My style is still all over the shop – I go from pretty vintage to modern minimalism to 80s throw back – but I finally have a wardrobe that I genuinely love!
ps. I love this series of posts! x
Ha! YES. We spent a week stopover in Japan once and I would have been a large AU26 and I wear a size 11 shoe. Forget shopping man, buy all the cute stationary instead.
They really are hard fought lessons, right? You slog your way through these things and build up your wardrobe over time. Especially when it comes to internet shopping. That CAN be a minefield.
Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying them.
My style is dressy casual – I don’t know if that’s a proper thing or if I made it up. I don’t like the way I look in really casual clothes (a bit frumpy) but add a bit of structure and a bit of glam and that’s me. I always have great earrings! It helps that I make them myself.
“Know your lifestyle” though, that’s my downfall. I have heaps of dressy casual outfits but they’re mostly just a bit casual for the workplace, and they’re certainly too casual for an interview. I know the look I want to achieve, I just get distracted before I can achieve it!
(I have a couple of Good Dresses that I’m only allowed to wear if I have an interview, or if I need a corporate confidence booster and I’m completely sure I’ll do a load of washing before any likely interviews.)
I find inspiration by people-watching. I’ll look at someone whose outfit I like and figure out how I could adapt it to my own style, or what I could use from my wardrobe to create a similar look. And sometimes I try on random things in shops just to see how they look.
I love it Shelby, great comment about knowing your lifestyle, sometimes you can end up with a wardrobe full of clothes you love but never wear.
I was the same for a while when I was working more, I had too many casual outfits that I could never wear to work so they got relegated to weekends… But there’s only so many outfits you can wear on a single weekend so it never balanced out.
And you’re going to love tomorrow’s post, I have a tip very similar to yours about trying on in shops that I think you’ll get a chuckle about.
I’m a stickler for my measurements as I have been shopping online or over 4 years. I know my shape and what sits and suits my shape. I buy pieces that I like, and then look for how to wear or style them. I usually turn to Pinterest . I type in the piece I own and select the styles I wish to emulate.
This has been a fabulous source of inspiration. I also believe in looking ahead to what’s new in Milan, LA , France and England, be ahead of the pack. Look for interesting fabrics and textures.
Try things, if you make a mistake, sell it immediately, and invest in a piece that works for you.
Play with colour and prints.
Have fun.
Love this! All great advice and perfect steps to take to really build a style of your own. Thanks for such a fab comment Gia!
Have to say, I’ve generally avoided my measurements thus far in my life. I had a melt down pre wedding about ordering a back up dress (which ended up being my actually wedding dress!) online. There was a lot going on and I had avoided thinking about my weight and my size to stay sane. But I really REALLY wanted this dress. So my hubby to be put the measurements for each size on a piece of string for me and ordered the right size. Which was amazing. And so I think I need to tackle this measurements avoidance I have going on…
My personal style is…. Hmmmm I like black, I like stripes, I like leather and buckles, I like unexpected loud prints, I like mid length skirts and dresses and I like TIGHT FITTING! I love my bum and my boobs and I am all about cleavage. I am a bundle of contradictions with my style and I like it that way. Learning how to be contradictory more in the way I dress at this size would definitely be a huge boost for me.
I hear you. Sometimes you just don’t have the brain space to deal with these things. And planning a wedding would for sure be one of those times. BUT {you knew that was coming, right?} it’s time. It also doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a bunch of numbers, it doesn’t say any more than what size clothes to order from which site and nothing about you.
Love this! Contradictions are awesome. Tomorrow we are talking about different styling ideas to incorporate prints and colours, textures and things like that. I’m sure you’ll find a new way to express your style through all that. See you there. 😉
Today I am wearing a ridiculously fabulous all over leopard fur coat to work…I don’t think this series is meant for me 😛
Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re all anarchy. 😉
I have decided that I have 2 styles – for work, I love the sexy secretary look, with a bit of a Mad Men influence thrown in, and outside the office I love a great jeans and top combo with loads of accessories. Accessories are a recent rule breaker for me, as I was always told I couldn’t wear dangly earrings and necklaces and bangles all at once. Now I think I might take myself out to try on some different colours and shapes today – without anyone ‘helping’ me with their preconceived ideas!!
I’m the same. I have a more conservation version of my personal style for work with slightly longer hem lines, more formal hair and make-up and less ankle boots. Sometimes. Haha. It’s been a challenge to find items that will work for both but I’m getting there.
You will too. Especially if your work style get amped up on the weekend by all the jewels you love! And if not, it’s always fun to experiment.
My two style inspirations are FAIIINT and Come Over To The Dark Side We Have Candy (haha, long name for a minimalist’s blog!). It speaks to that consistent dark, sleek, feminine signature look that I really love. It’s a style that I’ve yet to see in plus — so I hope I’m doing a good job translating that look!
Ooooo love this! Perfect example of taking a style shown on a smaller and/or differently shaped person and making it work for you. From the quick peek I took, I think you’re nailing it.
I’ve been wanting to cultivate a casual style, very jeans based. I love jeans on me. Shame I just can’t wear them in summer though!
There’s always light weight denim, denim shorts or skirts… Or even chambray dresses for summer. Don’t give up on your jean dreams just yet. 😉
I live in denim dresses, the chambray ones are great for summer!
I totally agree. So good.