How to find your personal style sustainably and authentically

10 years ago, the average person could have told you exactly how a goth, emo, hipster and more dressed without having to think about it. These subcultures had clearly defined aesthetics that varied slightly from person to person, but on the whole you knew a goth loved her black eyeliner and Victorian motifs, while a hipster loved his suspenders and preening his facial hair.

Now, thanks to social media, these styles have been distilled down to even more specific aesthetics than ever before, becoming micro-trends and passing on faster than most of us can engage with them.

It begs the question, how does anyone find their own style anymore?

As a teenager, I was pretty fierce about preserving my sense of individuality, to the point where my outfits and interests were a point of jest for my peers. Honing my personal style through vintage clothes and being inspired by fashion magazines and blogging culture was a huge part of my formative years.

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Today, however, you can see someone wearing a dress in a TikTok video, and five clicks later have it on the way to your door by express delivery.

I started longing for the excitement that fashion used to bring me, and after learning more about the numerous issues the fast fashion industry triggers environmentally and for garment workers, I wanted to make a change and move away from the dependance on trends to express my style.

Here are my tips for not only cultivating your own personal style, but doing it in an enriching, sustainable way that reminds you how much you love your clothes.

It can be tough to know how to get started, and not always leaning on the crutch of buying something new to feel cool or put together a difficult habit to break, but there’s a methodology you can try to follow that can help you capture the essence of your personal style and supplement it sustainably.

Do an audit of your wardrobe

Try to find the bits in there that, to borrow a phrase from Marie Kondo, bring you joy. Once you have figured out which clothing pieces stand out to you, you can look at the other staple pieces that help you build outfits around your joyful pieces.

Anything that is in there just for the sake of it, or that doesn’t fit well or that you don’t enjoy wearing can be donated, giving them a longer life cycle and a place in the wardrobe of someone who will cherish them.

Pass items on
Aside from donating, selling your pieces on second hand apps like Vinted and Depop can help you to recoup some of your initial spend on the clothes, and help you get to grips with using the apps if you’re not familiar. The golden rules are to take photos of your clothes in natural mid-day daylight and show them from lots of angles, close up photos of any nice details, and photos of them being worn if possible.

Looking to see what gems are on these apps can help you get a sense of the great pieces that exist out there, waiting to go to their second or third home.

Read more: A guide to selling clothing online

Chase down second hand gems
The next step of the journey is committing to minimising your clothes shopping habits, and opting for second hand avenues to get your clothing. Not only is it more friendly to the environment, but helps with your budget too.

Charity shops are a great source, but you have to have a little more patience than you would on the high street. The best methods to find gems in the charity shop are to have an open mind, a good seamstress locally and to have time while you are in there to think about the different ways you can wear something.

Try not to buy something unless you can think of four or five different ways you can wear it, to avoid cluttering up your wardrobe with pieces you don’t need and to remind you of what you already have. If you adore online shopping, eBay and sites like Thriftify nm and Vestiaire Collective can serve that online shopping urge without turning to fast fashion.

Spend time thinking up outfits to replicate

Having to think more deeply about expressing yourself with second hand clothing is a key component to really figuring out what your personal style is, finding that perfect junction of feeling comfortable, feeling that your clothes express who you are to the world, and having the freedom to change up elements at your leisure just for the craic, rather than feeling pressure to do so thanks to changing trends and aesthetics.

Trends can of course have a place and fit into your personal style, but a fervent devotion to them can distract you from really settling into a sense of purpose with your wardrobe. I love a touch of maximalism, so the recent trend of decorating your handbag with ribbons and bundles of bag charms really hit home for me that there is so much joy in being yourself.

However, seeing that you can just buy a pre-made bundle of keyrings from fast fashion companies to get in on the trend, rather than collecting them slowly over time, travels and life experiences, made me realise how hollow trends can feel compared to paying attention to your personal style.