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In this episode of HER Style Podcast, I’m revealing The Top 7 Fashion Mistakes You’re Making (Without Even Realizing It). Maybe that conjures up an image of Kim Kardashian wearing pantyhose as actual pants or the time you tucked your skinny jeans into your ankle boots before you discovered that was a no-no.. You get the idea.
But I actually want to dive a lot deeper with you. I think you’re going to feel very surprised and maybe even a bit seen by at least a few of these. PLUS, I’m going to share the ONLY thing you need to get out of your style rut. The good news is it’s FREE and you already have it at your fingertips. Feeling intrigued? Good! Let’s dive in…
Buying Trendy Rather Than Transitional Pieces
We do this all the time, don’t we? We adopt trends blindly in an effort to stay current. We prioritize the season’s must have “it” pieces over what we really need to have a well-rounded wardrobe.
Now, I want to be crystal clear. My issue isn’t with the trends or even fads themselves. I love staying on top of what’s happening in fashion. Adding a few seasonal trends into your wardrobe can be a great way to freshen up your closet!
But here’s where it becomes an issue: when you start cramming trendy pieces into your wardrobe before you have your essentials covered.
Instead, I encourage you to sit down at the start of each season and create a list of the items you need most in order to feel like your closet is complete. Think about the pieces you wish you had whenever you’re standing in front of your closet with nothing to wear.
Secondly, make sure the trends you’re investing in are right for YOU. Before you rush out to swipe the latest look trending on social media, consider whether it suits your personal taste. There’s never a good reason to sell out on your style. You also want to make sure trendy items (and all items, for that matter) flatter your figure or the natural shape, scale, and proportions of your body, as well as your lifestyle.
Believe me, I’m often tempted by trends that simply will not work with my toddler-chasing lifestyle. And that’s okay! Not everything is meant for all of us. Pick and choose, carefully.
And finally, embrace timeless trends. That might sound like an oxymoron. But there are usually a couple of hot-ticket items that can withstand the test of time. This past spring and fall, loafers, trench coats, and maxi skirts were some of the most popular pieces on the runways. So adopting something super of-the-moment, but also totally classic in style is a great bang for your buck. I’d recommend investing more heavily in this type of trend over a split-second fad (like catsuits or low rise jeans).
The ultimate sweet spot is landing on a trend that also fills a gap you have in your wardrobe.
Feeling Limited By Your Budget
You might think you need (or wish you had) an unlimited shopping budget to keep up with your favorite influencers and most stylish friends. Don’t we all! But shopping with intention, is all you actually need.
Once you have your shopping list ready to go, map out a general budget and allocate your funds according to priority. Which must have item completes the most outfits in your current closet? What do you find yourself wishing for the most when you’re trying to get dressed? Start there first.
I know you want to maximize your budget, but be careful not to get suckered by sales. A good “deal” isn’t that if the item you picked up at a slashed rate doesn’t have a functional place in your wardrobe. I know we’ve ALL bought something just because it was on sale, but that’s NOT reason enough to deviate from your needs.
Shopping At The Same Old Stores Out Of Habit
This is a tricky one, because it’s really not a problem to have a handful of go-to stores where you know the styles, fits, and price points are right in your wheelhouse.
What I’m talking about instead is shopping at the same old stores out of habit when you’re in the midst of a WARDROBE RUT. If you’re feeling like your style no longer fits your tastes, your lifestyle, your career, or the image you want to project to others, it’s time to shake things up.
Did you know there are over 2.1 MILLION online retail stores in the United States alone? And again, that’s just online! If you’re in a highly populated area, there might be some hidden gem boutiques you haven’t explored yet. So start doing some research or asking your friends for suggestions, and having fun exploring new stores that might open up a whole new world of possibilities for your wardrobe.
Not Dressing For the Body You Have
This fashion mistake isn’t limited to squeezing yourself into clothing that’s too small.
Maybe you’re avoiding shopping altogether because your weight isn’t where you want it to be. This is a really valid feeling and, believe me, I’ve been there myself. When you aren’t exactly where you want to be with your weight it can feel so daunting to try on more clothes or invest in pieces you hope you won’t fit into by the end of the year.
But I want to lovingly challenge you on this. Because here’s the thing: you deserve to look and feel your very best right now. Not 10, 20, or 50 pounds later.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m not feeling my most confident, nothing in my closet seems to be working, all that negative self-talk starts creeping into my head, I find it that much harder to stay on track and motivated with my goals.
What if, instead, you give yourself permission to show up fully, to put your best effort in TODAY, and to dress for the body you have. How inspired would you be to keep reaching toward your dreams? If you embrace, rather than resist, where you are right now, it’ll be so much easier to reach your end destination.
Now, I understand you may not want to go out and invest in a brand new wardrobe while you’re still in the process of achieving your goals. That’s where the beauty of a small, capsule wardrobe comes in. You can think of this as just a well-curated micro-collection of clothing that’s designed to mix and match effortlessly. And it’s the perfect solution when you need a few pieces to get by, but you don’t want to go crazy or break the bank!
Following Blanket Advice That Doesn’t Work For You
There are literally thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of style gurus, influencers, and fashion authorities out there all telling you different things. I know they mean well. And so do you. But the problem is that 9 out of 10 (or maybe more) of them are giving you advice based on what works for them, not you.
Often, this is monetarily motivated. Fashion magazines promote their advertisers. Influencers convince you to buy from their affiliate partners. Now, hopefully they have some integrity and aren’t peddling poorly made products or scam artists. But the point is they likely don’t have YOUR best interests in mind.
If not for their own financial reward, they’re likely making suggestions based on their personal preferences, lifestyle, budget, body type, personal coloring, and wardrobe goals. To be fair, they probably don’t know you personally. They’re not sitting at their computer screen thinking, hmm… I wonder what [insert your name here] needs for her wardrobe this season?
Now, I know outfit formulas and wardrobe essentials checklists make things seem very EASY. But they don’t get to the root issue of empowering you with information about what you actually need for your specific lifestyle and tastes OR what’s going to look the most flattering for you based on your unique features like your natural silhouette, and your personal coloring, and your bone structure. There are lots of different factors at play when it comes to dressing yourself well and with complete confidence. So while resources like this can inspire you for a short time, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll end up falling right back into the same style struggles you had before.
Copying The Wrong Influencers
So here’s what I recommend when it comes to taking fashion advice. Look beyond style alone. Consider whether you align with this person’s body type, personal colors, budget, values, and lifestyle.
To clarify, I’m all for diversity in your social media feed! It’s critical to see and hear an assortment of people, perspectives, and preferences. However, when it comes to where you’re taking your style cues, you do want to seek out those who represent you well.
To avoid headaches and the frustrating feeling that you can’t pull off the trends of the season, opt for the styles you love on women with a similar body type and personal coloring as your own. The more similar in size, proportion, and scale, the less guesswork about whether that silhouette will work for you. The closer the skin tone, hair color, and contrast levels, the better guarantee those colors and prints will bring out your best as well!
Set yourself up for success and focus your attention on sources of inspiration that promote a similar lifestyle and comparable budget to your own.
Waiting For Your Style Challenges To Solve Themselves
I told you I was going to reveal the ONLY thing you need to get out of your style rut. The good news is it’s FREE and you already have it at your fingertips. Ready to find out what it is?
I’m serious, friend. All the knowledge you need is one good Google search away. I’d bet any amount of money that you have a better sense of what works for you than you like to admit. And I’ve given you dozens of powerful tips tonight that you can start applying immediately.
So what you need to do now is get motivated to do your homework, uncover your style foundations, which include dialing-in your signature style, figuring out what flatters your figure, and discovering your best colors, then locating the gaps in your current wardrobe, and being strategic about filling them in with pieces you need and LOVE.
There you go! I’ve given you my exact blueprint to building a wardrobe that makes you feel excited to get dressed every morning AND how to avoid the top 7 fashion mistakes you’ve been making without even realizing it. It’s time to get into action!
FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE
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