Style Boards: A Journey to Personal Style

Explaining how your style came about might be for some like explaining your whole life story. There are so many things that factor into the decisions we make about what clothing, hairstyles and makeup are right for us. From your mother telling you that you look great in peach (which is why you NEVER wear peach- not you, Mom, just an example) to your boyfriend telling you he thinks your butt looks cute in those jeans (which is why you run to the store and buy three more pairs just in case they ever quit making them), the people in our lives and their opinions can have a profound effect on our tastes. However, I have found that the people in my life with the most exciting style, and the most individual style know exactly what they like and go for it.

I've been thinking about my own style alot lately and about how it has developed over the past few years. I realized that there was a little project I did a few years ago that helped me really nail down my likes and dislikes and focus on what look I was going for visually. So here is what I did to create my style boards (a vision board for your closet if you will):

1. Went through all of my old fashion magazines and cut out things I liked (you could also do this entire activity on your computer if you are techno-savvy by surfing fashion sites and saving the pictures to a file)

2. Go through once you have a good sized stack and make sure you really LOVE everything you picked, try to sort them into related categories (ie. work, weekend, special occasion, hair, accessories)

3. Put them all somewhere you can see them when you are going shopping, having trouble making an outfit or just want a little inspiration. (I went elementary school style and used a glue stick and poster board!)

4. Now take a look at the final product and look for things you picked out that you already have in your closet (Pencil skirt? Check! Black strappy heal? Check!) and that you don't (Great white button-down shirt, structured day bag, a great jean for heals) and make yourself a little list of pieces you could integrate into your wardrobe to get you closer to your own personal style.

Now I realize that not everyone will take the time to do this, and I'm not really suggesting that you do! But in my conversations with my friends (and many strangers) about this blog and about personal style I have seen a pattern of people wanting to nail their aesthetic down a little more. Even the girls that seem to have it all figured out can feel unsure at times and this activity has made me feel more confident in my style choices.

Here are some pictures of my style boards:

Work Style Board

Weekend Style Board

Weekend Style Board Shot #2

Hair & Accessories Board

After looking at these, it is crazy to me how little my taste/style has changed in over two years! That being said I am inspired to do this little activity again! Please share your thoughts on this if you have done this before or think you will try it!!