Stargirl's Personal Style
I don't think I've ever written a post quite like this, so if it's complete shit, forgive me.
The cornerstone of curating my personal style has been to take inspiration from absolutely everywhere and experiment experiment experiment. I read dozens of fashion blogs and, while I don't pattern mix like Kasmira or preppy like Audrey (see links below), I take bits and pieces of inspiration from their style. I did a lot of thrifting to find unusual pieces and bought a lot of shit that just never worked. I feel pretty settled in my style... for now! You never know when a wave will come along and wash me to a different shore.
So, this is about how I developed my personal style. This isn't really a guide as much as a narration on my method. I would never presume to tell anyone else what to do because style is such a personal thing.
Your best feature
I love legs legs legs. I'm such a leg girl. The first thing I do when checking out an outfit is to examine the legs - the pants/tights/stockings/skirt/etc. Natch, I gravitate towards leggy pieces: skinny trousers, tall boots, patterned tights, over the knee stockings. Find out what you like and what works for you. Maybe you've got a beautifully nipped waist or sculpted arms. Maybe you haven't figured out what your favorite part is. Love your body and think about it. See Angie's post on Figure Flattering. Very helpful.
I worked with a woman once who was not at her ideal size. She was very critical of herself, always said that she'd never wear skinny jeans because she was "too fat." Pah. You don't need to pick up the pants with a spandex injection, my friend. I know many women who wear skinny or slim fit denim that do not have the typical VS Model 16" thigh or 24" waist. In fact, I know women who wear slim fit denim who's figures are more than double the above. And wouldn't you know they still look damned good? (See Angie's post on Skinnies for Curvies and the reddit post Diversity: DEAL WITH IT. See the blog Girl with Curves gorgeous girl with kick-ass style.)
Work with what you've got, but don't let it limit you. Mind your proportions. (For me this means avoiding skirts and pants of a certain length, for example).
Number One Resources:
Blogs:
I drew a lot of inspiration from daily outfit blogs. It can help to get an idea of what other people wear on a day to day basis.
I love street style blogs. Most of these people are hip in ways I could never hope to be, and I love to see what types of things the fashion forward are wearing.
I also use street style blogs when assisting K-Swiss in his fashion endeavors. We've made amazing strides since college. I'd include photos, but I'm not sure he'd be pleased. We went from baggy, worn, ripped, generally awful jeans to lovely slimfit dark wash denim (not super-skinnies, just slimfit). We've moved from horrendous tees that are three sizes too large to dark fitted tees, thin knit hoodies, and zipped cardigans. We've got lovely leather boots instead of ratty trainers (although, Converse are acceptable for casual wear. Hell, I've got four pairs myself!). We're still working on finding button up shirts that fit him nicely.
One of K-Swiss's nicest casual outfits then. The jeans were new (bittersweet. Sweet because they weren't torn, bitter because he bought another fucking pair).
A typical casual K-Swiss outfit now.... jk here it is without the stupid grin. Same outfit, but more casual shoes. And sadly bereft of a Pete. Both the tee and jeans are probably two sizes smaller. Using my sister's photos because, well, she's the photographer damnit.
The most important thing is to have fun, as cliche as that sounds. I love getting dressed in the morning and doing something you love is a great way to start the day.
. . . .
Ummm, well, I'm going to go now before I burst into a singing rainbow or something.
The cornerstone of curating my personal style has been to take inspiration from absolutely everywhere and experiment experiment experiment. I read dozens of fashion blogs and, while I don't pattern mix like Kasmira or preppy like Audrey (see links below), I take bits and pieces of inspiration from their style. I did a lot of thrifting to find unusual pieces and bought a lot of shit that just never worked. I feel pretty settled in my style... for now! You never know when a wave will come along and wash me to a different shore.
So, this is about how I developed my personal style. This isn't really a guide as much as a narration on my method. I would never presume to tell anyone else what to do because style is such a personal thing.
Your best feature
I love legs legs legs. I'm such a leg girl. The first thing I do when checking out an outfit is to examine the legs - the pants/tights/stockings/skirt/etc. Natch, I gravitate towards leggy pieces: skinny trousers, tall boots, patterned tights, over the knee stockings. Find out what you like and what works for you. Maybe you've got a beautifully nipped waist or sculpted arms. Maybe you haven't figured out what your favorite part is. Love your body and think about it. See Angie's post on Figure Flattering. Very helpful.
I worked with a woman once who was not at her ideal size. She was very critical of herself, always said that she'd never wear skinny jeans because she was "too fat." Pah. You don't need to pick up the pants with a spandex injection, my friend. I know many women who wear skinny or slim fit denim that do not have the typical VS Model 16" thigh or 24" waist. In fact, I know women who wear slim fit denim who's figures are more than double the above. And wouldn't you know they still look damned good? (See Angie's post on Skinnies for Curvies and the reddit post Diversity: DEAL WITH IT. See the blog Girl with Curves gorgeous girl with kick-ass style.)
Work with what you've got, but don't let it limit you. Mind your proportions. (For me this means avoiding skirts and pants of a certain length, for example).
Number One Resources:
- Angie at YouLookFab is one of the greatest fashion resources I recommend. She has so many amazing posts about finding your own style, shopping your wardrobe, etc, etc, etc. I cannot recommend her advice enough.
- FemaleFashionAdvice is a subreddit. This is a great community of other ladies giving and receiving advice and criticism on their outfits and style. The community is largely twenty-somethings. Quite often, inspiration albums are posted, such as "From Burberry to Yohji - A Collection of Streetstyle and Editorial Images" and "Inspiration Album: One Helping of Cool, hold the prep"
- Your camera - take photos of yourself frequently, even if you don't share. This will help you to identify what you like, what you hate, and what you just need to change a little. It can be easy to forget exactly what made an outfit unattractive unless you've got the outfit right in front of you.
Blogs:
I drew a lot of inspiration from daily outfit blogs. It can help to get an idea of what other people wear on a day to day basis.
- Kasmira at WhatIWore2day taught me everything I know about pattern mixing and then some! I will never mix as much as she does, but I learned that paisley+pinstripe can actually look good. (I don't have a good photo of this, many apologies, but trust me when I say that this outfit is a good one!)
- Audrey at PuttingMeTogether has a much more preppy style than mine, but she has an accessible style, unlike some of the more editorial blogs I browse.
- Rumi at FashionToast is a model, and was one of the first fashion blogs I followed. I took much inspiration from her. That drapey, leggy, effortlessly cool style.
- TokyoFashion.com is enjoyable to peruse. The combinations are outrageously fun. I will likely never wear anything like the featured outfits, but I do feel that bits and pieces of what is popular in, say Harajuku, will trickle down into mainstream trends.
- Some street style blogs, however, are far more accessible when attempting to glean inspiration:
- STREET FASHION STYLE focuses on San Francisco and New York
- Urban Weeds is Portland Oregon and fills all of my hipster needs
- Citizen Couture and Mr. Newton are primarily based in NYC but will have photos from other places from time to time.
- Lookbook.nu is where it all started.
I also use street style blogs when assisting K-Swiss in his fashion endeavors. We've made amazing strides since college. I'd include photos, but I'm not sure he'd be pleased. We went from baggy, worn, ripped, generally awful jeans to lovely slimfit dark wash denim (not super-skinnies, just slimfit). We've moved from horrendous tees that are three sizes too large to dark fitted tees, thin knit hoodies, and zipped cardigans. We've got lovely leather boots instead of ratty trainers (although, Converse are acceptable for casual wear. Hell, I've got four pairs myself!). We're still working on finding button up shirts that fit him nicely.
One of K-Swiss's nicest casual outfits then. The jeans were new (bittersweet. Sweet because they weren't torn, bitter because he bought another fucking pair).
A typical casual K-Swiss outfit now.... jk here it is without the stupid grin. Same outfit, but more casual shoes. And sadly bereft of a Pete. Both the tee and jeans are probably two sizes smaller. Using my sister's photos because, well, she's the photographer damnit.
The most important thing is to have fun, as cliche as that sounds. I love getting dressed in the morning and doing something you love is a great way to start the day.
. . . .
Ummm, well, I'm going to go now before I burst into a singing rainbow or something.
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