‘You have to accommodate your pasts within your persona… it helps you reflect on WHAT you are now’ – Bowie.
Clothes are a great way to express your personality. Whether you wear head to toe black, or if you throw on all the colours under the sun (the latter tending to be my port of call when getting dressed these days!) You could say I’m somewhat of an extrovert and I most certainly like to make an effort with what I wear, but for some reason I have never been able to stick to any one particular style for a long period of time.
About 3 years ago I found myself stuck in a rut; I was really into ‘vintage’ – and don’t get me wrong I still am – but I just wasn’t having fun getting dressed in the morning. At the time I was working in a vintage reproduction clothing shop full time, and I had to wear the brand’s clothing and look a certain way everyday. I felt my creativity was being stunted, and as I’m not really a fan of wearing an outfit more than a handful of times, my bank balance was suffering too. I had done the usual and fully immersed myself into the fashion trends of this wonderful subculture, but somewhere along the way I had completely lost myself, and I just wasn’t experimenting with clothes as much as I used to.
I realised that I had been so focused on how everything ‘should’ look that my personal style just flopped. I wouldn’t wear skirts shorter than my knees, or pieces from my wardrobe that I loved because they only went with one particular outfit. I had become fed up with wearing the same outfit every day, and I finally decided that something had to give. So I went through my wardrobe, picked out anything that didn’t bring me joy, and sold it on eBay. I quit my job, landed myself an amazing role at a company that embraced who I was, and decided it was time to start having fun with my clothes again.
I think the key to personal style is to really decide what it is that makes you “you”, and not to worry about what everyone else thinks. I use Pinterest and Instagram as my main tools for gathering inspiration for outfits, but my tip is to not copy the way that someone else wore it – style it up in your own way and make it work! If you love a piece of clothing just trust your gut and go with it. Don’t be so concerned with making things match to any set of rules, make your own rules and have fun with it. I have worn so many outfits in the past that looked good on someone else, but when I put them on me something just wasn’t right.
I am a firm believer that clothes can help transform your mood, and if I am feeing down, there is nothing that cheers me up more than dressing up and putting on some lipstick. I no longer look into my wardrobe and feel like I have nothing to wear.
Getting dressed is the best part of my day!
Pip Jolley
