I usually make a firm point of not holding myself to any resolutions, but this year I wanted to do things a little bit differently. I’ve been seriously trying to shift away from consuming far more than I need, so I’ve set myself some goals or ‘style resolutions’ that I hope to keep in 2019.
So I’m hoping that my putting this out there into the universe, will help me to keep my style resolutions in check and change my attitudes towards shopping and my wardrobe for the better.
Wearing Uniqlo U tee, Dr Denim shorts (similar here), Yoli & Otis blazer (also love this one), Everlane editor flats (similar here), Fendi bag (vintage and available here)
Shop with intention
A big focus for me this year to to buy less but buy better. I’d like to think that I’ve been putting this into practice for some time now, but my notebook where I log all my fashion purchases says otherwise, which is why this is a key style resolution of mine for 2019. Ideally, I’d like to complement this goal by supporting more ethical and sustainable brands where it makes sense. Ultimately, the test of a real wardrobe staple is how often you’re going to wear it, and I’m fairly conscious that even some of my high-street finds have become serious wardrobe workhorses over the years, so I definitely don’t discount shopping from the high street – especially if the quality matches up with your expectations. The key here is that each item is carefully considered, well thought out, and will be a long-standing favourite in my closet for years to come. Essentially, I see this as being the foundation for all my future purchases to come, and it’s already made me think twice about what I actually want to add to my wardrobe.
Shop for my style
Just like in 2017, I feel like I “lost” my style a little bit in 2018. I wanted to experiment a bit more with different silhouettes and also colour, and while it was fun, it wasn’t really me. I find that occasionally I will get a little ‘tired’ of my uniform, but generally it’s a passing phase and instead I want to combat this by peppering my closet with little dashes of colour that complements the neutral colour palette I favour. I tend to let stress get the better of me and 2018 was a year where I really let shopping become a crutch for how I was feeling – I used it to try and deal with my stress and honestly, it didn’t work. I ended up buying more than I needed, and when I look back, there were quite a few items that didn’t properly mesh with my personal style.
Good quality basics
While I’ve given up on the theory that you can stumble upon the “perfect” anything when it comes to wardrobe staples, I do want to put quality over quantity back into practice. For me this effectively means investing a bit more in basic wardrobe pieces, where it makes sense. Past experience has made me very happy to spend a bit more if it means I’ll have a high quality piece that will hold up for years, as it’s often worth it for those wardrobe workhorses you wear over and over again.
Five piece French wardrobe challenge
When I first embarked on the capsule wardrobe journey many years ago, I decided to couple this with the five piece French wardrobe challenge. Essentially, it’s a method of shopping that limits new wardrobe additions to just five per season, though basics under a certain denomination (such as $100 or $150) don’t count. To help me regain focus on where I really want to spend, I’ve decided to pick this up again for the year ahead. It’s strange thinking that over the year I’ll only be adding 20 key items to my closet (a far cry from the actual number of pieces I bought in 2018), I am excited to put an emphasis on buying quality items that complement what I already have. To keep myself on track, I’ve started a running list of items that I’d like to add to my closet and plan on trying to hunt those down over the course of the year.
Stop shopping just for the sake of shopping
Perhaps it’s a hangover from my teenage years, but I realised that even now, I found myself shopping for fun. No purchases in mind and no set list, I’d often spend a couple hours browsing my favourite online retailers just to see what was out there. Inevitably, this usually resulted in a few cheeky purchases – things I could do without and again, just didn’t quite gel with how I wanted to reflect my personal style. I’ve long since acknowledged that it’s a stress release for me, but often it’s come at the detriment of my savings, and given I have a number of financial goals I’d like to achieve in 2019, I’m trying to curtail any unnecessary purchases where I can.
Experiment with what I own
If you spend enough time on Instagram, you’ll probably feel like you need an entirely new wardrobe every season; the constant stream of new (which is unrealistic, I might add), has been completely normalised, and I’ve found that it’s even caused me to experiment less with what I have. So for 2019, one of my style resolutions is to create new looks with what I have, rather than feel like I need a new wardrobe purchase to build a completely “new” outfit. Underlying this is that I still want my outfits to be a clear reflection of my personal style.
Say ‘no’ more
I’m in such an incredibly fortunate position to get to work with brands, though I’m very careful not to let that colour my opinion on an item. One thing that it’s really afforded me the ability to do, is experiment more with styles and colours palettes than I possibly could have done on my own, something I feel really grateful for as I love being able to showcase different options, especially when it comes to styling on my YouTube channel. This year, I want to put the focus back onto what I own and say ‘no’ more. The reality is, I have more than I need as it is, and while I enjoyed experimenting a lot in 2018, I want to try and stay true to my honest personal style for 2019. Instead of accepting items from brands which aren’t really “me”, I’d rather work with them on a loaning basis, where I loan a product sample to be able to incorporate a different style into my content, and return it after shooting. To me, this is much more sustainable way to create ‘new’ content and share a different style view point to my own, while staying true to my personal style goals.
Those are my style resolutions for 2019. I’d love to know yours xx
