8 (More!) Habits That Will Improve Your Style

I could go on and on about style habits, and clearly, I did. I had so much more to say on this subject that I just clicked record again and did a whole second part to last week’s style habits video. There are so many daily habits, seasonal updates, and fresh perspectives that can really help elevate your style in small but significant ways.

Style, like everything else worth doing well, is in the details, and it’s often the small changes that add up to major results. Here, 8 more habits and ideas to help you improve your style.

You know that thing they say about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery? Well, here’s my update. Imitation is often unflattering. In other words, you can’t copy someone’s outfit and expect it to look the same on you. It just doesn’t work. Unless we take our own physical design into account, we can’t recreate our inspiration outfits in truly stylish ways. Inspiration is important, but taking that outfit idea and tweaking, translating, and otherwise altering it to suit your body, coloring, and lifestyle is what’s going to help your everyday outfits look like your dream outfits.

Nothing has more potential for awkwardness than an entirely new outfit. Sure, it’s fun to splash out on a fab new head to toe look now and then, and sometimes, life circumstances (weight or lifestyle change, for example) make a whole new wardrobe a necessity, but for most of us, most of the time, buying new clothes and mixing them in with old favorites will keep our style personal and authentic, and keep us from looking like a fashion victim.

I am not talking about double-spanxing it on a casual Saturday afternoon. But I am talking about seeking support from your undergarments, and choosing bras and underwear that provide light hold and lift to create a flattering line under clothes. This can be as simple as everyday underwear that gently smoothes the tummy, a shaping cami with built-in support, or a supportive yet comfortable bra, shapewear can be a practical and flattering part of your everyday life.

Most of us don’t have the opportunity to truly dress up very often, especially not in these current times. But that doesn’t mean that our favorite pieces need to hang in the closet, unloved and unworn, until a special occasion comes along. By saving our best clothes for those rare occasions, we often find that they are no longer wearable when we finally have an opportunity to reach for them. Either we outgrow them, stop loving them, or they simply go out of style.

Wear your best clothes, day in and day out, provided they are comfortable and fairly easy to care for, and get some use out of them, or risk giving them away eventually, unworn.

Personal style is a balancing act. It involves being open to new ideas, trends, and influences while still staying true to what makes you, you. One of the ways to do this effectively with your style is to introduce a new item or two every season, filtering it through the lens of your physical design (your body type and coloring) and your personal style. When you survey the trends and be selective, choosing pieces that truly feel like you, you’ll find that your style stays fresh and contemporary but still very personal to you.

I have mentioned this over and over again, but it wears repeating. Before you buy anything new, ask yourself if it can be worn 3 different ways to 3 different places. For example, a silky cami can be worn under a blazer for work, with jeans for a casual date night, or with a skirt for church, for example. A cocktail dress, on the other hand, can only be worn to a cocktail party. It’s worth it to spend a bit more on the versatile items, but to pick up single-use pieces (cocktail dresses, vacation-specific items) on sale in the off-season.

Style is where you find it, and many of the most stylish women in the world curate their wardrobes from a variety of unexpected sources, from fast fashion stores to consignment/thrift stores to higher-end department stores and boutiques. If you know what you like, and what flatters you, you can find favorite pieces in some of the most unlikely stores, so keep your eyes open for your next find.

I know this is a controversial one, but the slightest heel can do so much to elevate (pun intended) your style and to create a flattering look overall. If you have physical reasons and foot issues that prevent you from wearing heels, then skip this tip, but if you’ve just stopped wearing heels because you haven’t found a comfortable pair, check out my truly comfortable, supportive, and stylish options in this catalog.

Which of these tips is your favorite, and which will you start implementing right away? Let me know in the comments!