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stuck in a style rut

HOW TO ESCAPE A STYLE RUT: part 2

By | How To..., Personal Style, Psychology | One Comment

OK, so you seriously suspect you have gotten yourself into a style rut.  In order to move forward the first step is to identify exactly what areas of your dress and grooming need updating.

FIRST

Take a long, hard look at your wardrobe, make-up, hairstyle, and accessories to determine what areas need adjusting. This process is made much easier when you have a My Private Stylist program and have invested in a personal color consultation. 

Some questions to ask yourself:

Is the problem with your clothes?

  • Does your wardrobe contain many items in the same style and/or color?
  • What percentage of your clothes are over 5 years old?  And are these the items you wear most? 
  • Do your clothes work with your apparent age, lifestyle, responsibilities, and goals? 
  • Next time you’re out looking around you as well as in weekly women’s magazines; how many other women are wearing similar styles to you?
  • How do you feel about your style/appearance?  Do you feel it is doing your justice by accurately representing who you are, your abilities and your outlook on life?   

Is the problem with your grooming (make-up and/or hairstyle)?

  • When was the last time you changed your hairstyle or hair color?
  • Is the style and color you presently have complimentary to your face shape or coloring?
  • Have you been wearing the same shade of lipstick for more than 3 years?
  • Have you changed the way you apply make-up within the last several years?
  • Do you see similar styles to what you’re wearing in weekly women’s magazines?

Only by identifying the problems can you begin to know how to start resolving your style rut.  

How to Escape a Style Rut

The truth will set your free but first, it will really tick you of!

SECOND

Find a Mentor.  Enlisting the help of a stylist, image consultant or friend can really help. Please don’t ask friends who are not up to scratch themselves – this just leads to the blind, leading the blind. Asking for honest feedback can hurt at first but it will open your eyes and help you change. Accept the constructive and possibly negative feedback with grace – remember you did ask for it.

Dream a little, Think about the wonderful consequences of a new image and the doors and possibilities a brand new closet may open up for you. This will help you get ready to expand your thinking, launch into your new look, and it’ll make you open to exploring different fashion options.  

Decide how you want to look, and what impression you want others to formulate about you.

  • Write down words you would like people to use when describing the new you to others e.g., happy, youthful, relaxed, elegant, sexy, energetic, professional, fashionable, etc. These words will help you know what type of looks to experiment with.
  • I also recommend you make a list of words to describe how you do not want to look.  Each word will conjure up a look, type of behavior and mindset to build on.
  • Lastly, list words that describe how you want to feel after your new look i.e. more youthful, fashionable, energetic, etc – these words will keep you both motivated and on track.

Consider your personality to ensure you’ll feel comfortable with your new look. If you change your style to please someone else and not yourself, you may very likely find the look difficult to live out and in a short period of time you’ll revert back to your rut. To find a style that appeals to you, it will help to browse through current magazines to discover what appeals to you and what doesn’t. Cut out these images and paste them onto a large sheet of paper. Make a mood-board that will solidify your personal style vision. You can also take our free Personal Style Expression quiz.and it will be important to you to take the test twice as explained when you get your results.

Be prepared to stretch and change.  After all, if nothing changes, nothing changes.

Find a Muse. Look for someone famous whose style you admire and would feel comfortable in.  You can copy their look with clothes and accessories in your price range.  Google images are a good way to start.  Type in ‘street style + the words of your choice’ i.e street style women, street style mature women or street style women work then go to the image area. The images there will give you inspiration and they often link to great blogs.

Start looking for new current clothes, and remember, looking current does not mean blindly following fashion. Stylish women create fashionable ensembles that are in sync with their needs, personality, and lifestyle. When trying things on, keep in mind that ‘fit’ is a very important thing, and alterations are definitely worth the investment as they’ll make a world of a difference to your appearance.

 ‘looking current does not mean blindly following fashion’

Imagesin Google

Search – Street Style Women Mature

To jump-start your wardrobe revival, here are some tips:

Get a new hairstyle, It will do wonders for your morale. It doesn’t even have to be an extreme one – even something as simple as growing out a fringe, losing or growing some length, or adding a few highlights can work wonders. If you’ve been going to the same stylist for years go somewhere new to get a fresh and unbiased set of eyes and opinion.

Get a Make-up Revamp, But not at a department store. Find a make-up artist to properly and honestly assess your makeup and teach you how to apply an everyday look. If you attend a make-up clinic you can often bring your make-up bag and they’ll can help you figure out what products to toss and to keep. 

Purchase on-trend accessories that say, ‘I’m in touch with what’s going on in fashion.’ Accessories are by far the quickest way to update your wardrobe and incorporate timely trends into it. Do not underestimate the impact a pair of shoes, a statement purse, and updated jewelry can add to all your looks. No need to spend a lot on these as they pass from fashion to fad quickly. By purchasing affordable items you can update your wardrobe again next season. 

Purchase one complete outfit comprising of pieces that can be mixed with other items in your wardrobeMixing and matching, and getting creative with your separates is the surest way out of a rut. Use your imagination and play with blending different colors, textures, and silhouettes together.

THIRD

To ensure you do not fall back into a rut:

  • Add at least two new fashion elements to your wardrobe every season. Accessories and color can be added most easily.
  • Remember; less is actually more. Buy quality over quantity especially when it comes to major pieces of clothing (suits, jackets, pants and skirts).
  • Experiment with various wardrobe combinations and fashion looks. Don’t be afraid to add color and new shapes to your wardrobe.
  • Reassess your hairstyle and make-up reassessed at least every three years.
  • For every new fashion item, you add, retire an old one.
  • Base your wardrobe on at least two basic colors.
  • Try a new style at least once a year.
  • Enlist the help of a stylish looking friend and give them permission to tell you if something about you is starting to look a little ‘off.’ Hearing constructive criticism about your style, and adjusting accordingly is important in making sure that you don’t fall into a rut again.

FINALLY

Don’t try to radically alter your look overnight.

Think evolution not revolution.

It’s better and easier to make subtle changes over a period of time to help ease yourself and others into your new look. I know change takes courage. If you embrace change, you may really surprise yourself; and I know you’ll certainly surprise those around you.

Change is a natural part of life, and as you change over time, let your personal style follow suit.

Style is a representation of who you are at any given moment,
let it be an accurate and flattering image every single time.

Evolution