As a fashion blogger and stylist, I am often asked: “How do you know what to wear? There are so many new trends every year, how do you know which ones suit you best? How do you manage to look good in every outfit?”
Or some of my readers complain that they don’t know what to wear every morning, despite closets full of clothing.
I totally understand their troubles, as I have been there myself – following the new trends in magazines or on style icons, and then buying a lot of popular items only to find out that they don’t necessarily look good on me, resulting in a closet full of never worn items…
After many years of trial and error, and lots of poorly-dressed moments, I have come up with a set of styling tips, which I would like to share with all of you here.
Step 1. Always maintain a healthy body and be happy about it – it is all about having confidence in yourself.
Step 2. Know yourself – i.e. your body shape, type, best and worst parts.
Step 3. Remember the basic rules – colour combinations that can never go wrong, best skirt length for different heights and leg types, etc.
Step 4. Pick the right items – always stock up your wardrobe with the classic must-have items and add a few trendy “it” items every season.
Step 5. Elevate your tastes – this step is the most difficult as good taste comes through your education, background, life experience, etc.
Although “maintaining a healthy body” and “elevating your taste” are not exactly within the scope of fashion and styling, and they are not something that can be taught and learned easily, like steps 2 to 4, I still want to list them here as one can’t achieve good personal style without these crucial steps.
Now let’s get down to details. First of all, having confidence in your own body plays a key role in dressing well. We have all seen photos comparing two celebrities in same outfit, and the winner is usually the one who has a better figure and carries the outfit with more confidence. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect like a Victoria’s Secret model to look stylish. Most of us don’t have the perfect body shape even if we work out very hard, and that’s where Step 2 becomes important – Know Yourself!
It doesn’t just mean knowing your basic body measurements like height, weight, waist size, etc. You have to identify your best parts and flaws. What is your face shape and skin tone? Do you have a leaner and longer or a shorter and wider neckline? What is your “horizontal body type” and “vertical body type”? Not sure how to measure and identify your types? I will explain these terms in detail in the next issue. Stay tuned!
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