6 Steps to Develop Your Personal Style

Looking for a new style, or just trying to figure out what you look good in? Almost every fashion magazine out there would give you a set of rules to follow that will make you blend into the crowd. But at Qwear Fashion we believe that fashion is about breaking the rules. Why else would socks with sandals become so popular? 

Here are our general tips to strategically build your wardrobe. Don’t be afraid to shop in every section because clothes have no gender and you may find pants that fit really great on the other side!

1. Find Inspiration

   Look around Qwear Fashion (in particular our outfits section) or the internet to find your favorite styles. I recommend finding people like a celebrity or public figure to follow whose style you love, and making notes of the outfits and why you love them. 

2. Think about what you’d look good in

   Think about what of these styles you’d be really happy wearing, that reflects your hobbies and personality. You may think some styles look cool, but don’t actually express who you are. For example, if you are a golfer, try to identify some stars in the sport who look the part. Try to draw inspiration from golf stars and you’ll really look at the business on the green. The likes of Bryson DeChambeau tend to give good style inspiration on the course. 

3. Pick a color palette

   What colors express who you are? What colors do you look good in? I love bright cadmium yellow, but it doesn’t tend to look great on me. Green, however, looks fantastic. Put together a color palette to follow. This will make it much easier to develop a wardrobe that looks good together. You can even play around with my favorite color website, coolers, to develop your palette. Also think about what kinds of shoes, belts, and accessories go with it. Gold or silver? Black belts, dark brown belts, or light brown belts? If you plan this ahead of time it will really help bring your outfits together and it will also save you money because you’ll get more outfits out of fewer clothes.

4. Start shopping around for basics

Now it’s time to start shopping! Start with the basics. Every wardrobe needs basics. Some examples of basics are: 

• Regular fitting T-shirts

• Blue and black jeans 

• Dress shirts

• Well-fitting suit 

• Leather shoes 

• White trainers   

Find colors that go with everything like greys, khaki, army green, black, white, and navy blue. The home of the basics are brands like Universal Standard, Everlane, and Los Angeles Apparel. So look at your color palette and pick a bunch of basics that would go with it. You can refer to your list of favorite outfits for ideas. Shop around by either ordering and returning or trying things on in stores. It’s important for you to get the feel of the garments to make sure you love how it feels as much as how it looks. I divide my clothing into 3 categories: clothes to lounge in or workout in, clothes to go out in, and clothes for work. Make sure you get clothes for at least 3 categories. I often mix my work clothes with my evening clothes.

5. Get more basics from the brands you like best

Once you find basics you like, make note of the stores you got them from, and get more from the same store. You might have one pair of pants in burgundy and then you also get pairs in dark khaki and golden yellow. My favorite places for basics are Ralph Lauren and Adidas. Most of Ralph Lauren's clothing is super high quality. It feels good on my body and it lasts long! I get a good amount of my shoes, tees, and tanks from Adidas. I really like the style and quality there as well and it’s great loungewear as well as sportswear.

6. Add Statement Pieces

Once you have a good amount of basics, you can start shopping for more statement pieces to complete your wardrobe. These might be clothes with bright colors or patterns. Or maybe big jewelry. This is where you can really let your personality show! Go wild and express yourself. That’s what life is all about! This is also an opportunity to add things from your personal culture. If you experience gender dysphoria, these pieces can also help emphasize certain parts of your body over others.

The statement pieces are where you can really start to break rules. The reason the cover photo model’s outfit is so juicy is that it’s bright, has a bold pattern, and has two arm bracelets that appear to be from different designers. Some may say the design of these bracelets clash, but that’s what makes the outfits so brilliant. So go ahead and put things together that others say don’t go, because that’s where your fashion will start to become uniquely your own!

Cover image: @thevoncomplex