Personal Style
What’s personal style? Junior Maya Trempe defines it as “any item of clothing that you like.” Maya explains that “everything intersects, which is why you can’t just choose one aesthetic” in day-to-day clothing.
Style will be completely different given our different preferences for fabric types, silhouettes, and trends floating around the internet.
For example, my go-to look in colder months might be a simple sweater over a shirt paired with casual jeans or a long-sleeve button-down. For Maya, layering is key.
Two of the three outfits I interviewed Maya about included a sharp blazer layered over a cotton T-shirt and jeans, her go-to fall look. The third outfit featured a fun, patterned cardigan from the thrift store Flower Child.
Even when we both layer, the way we put pieces together to make up an outfit is unique based on our individual style preferences.
Inspiration and Shopping
People tend to incorporate inspiration from many sources into their outfits. Whether it’s a TV show character, a musical artist, or a Pinterest mood board, we draw clothing inspiration from just about everywhere.
When asked where Maya purchases most of her clothing, she mentioned the many thrift stores around Lakewood and Cleveland (such as Value World and Child Christ Society) as well as her mom’s closet. Her reasoning is, “When you can go thrifting, you can curate stuff that goes with your personal style.” Ultimately, you decide what comes home with you, as opposed to online shopping, where you gamble the clothing looking completely different than it did on the website.
Thrifting is a great budget-friendly alternative to buying clothes in department stores or turning to sketchy fast-fashion websites such as Shein or ROMWE. As someone who thrifts a ton, much of what I get from thrift stores ends up in my constant rotation of clothing.
Simple Styling
Since people aren’t bound to any one way of wearing clothes, it’s easy to style clothes to fit your image. A shirt and jeans can look completely different depending on how someone accessorizes. Take, for instance, a button-down and jeans combo—there are countless ways to style the button-down to reflect your personal style.
If you want to make your clothing unique, learning how to embroider might be right up your alley. A popular trend that has blown up on TikTok in recent years is embroidering high-rise Converse shoes. I’ve even done it to previous pairs I’ve owned.
Ironing or sewing patches on a jacket can be an easy alternative way to personalize your clothing if you aren’t into embroidery.
Importance
Developing your personal style is essential because it allows you to express yourself through your clothing choices. Your style doesn’t need to be something you think too hard about. Here’s a secret: You develop your style even when deciding what to wear to school.
Your style does not have to be all over the place, dramatic, or super colorful. It just has to make you feel good about what you’re wearing.
In future posts, I’ll discuss how to create simple outfits using basic pieces to which you can add your unique touches. Choosing clothes to wear doesn’t need to be stressful. You can wear anything you want—it all comes down to how you wear each piece.
