Unfamiliar can be anything you don’t wear frequently. Elijah Manley Harris Sanders T-shirt It can be patterns, colours, styles of clothing, outfit combinations, accessories, jewellery, shoes … really anything that’s not in your usual outfit rotation. But if you enjoy wearing florals (familiar) and then decide to wear paisley (a stylised floral) this is likely to be unfamiliar, whilst still authentic as they are related prints, versus if you’d decided to wear a large check pattern this may be inauthentic as it’s a very different style of print and may not be a good expression of your personality. Anything unfamiliar can become familiar with time and frequent wearing. One of the reasons you get into a style rut is because you’ve gone all for things that are too similar and too familiar and you become bored with your style (which is why I developed my Evolve Your Style 31 day style challenge, as it helps you to try out unfamiliar items (garments and accessories) and see if they are something you want to try including in your regular wardrobe and style – making them feel more familiar as you work through the month. You will also discover as you do this challenge that some items will be authentic, and others inauthentic. The more you try things outside your current style the larger your comfort zone becomes and so what was unfamiliar can become familiar quite quickly. When I first learned about the power of a large scale necklace to make my large bust look smaller, I was keen to try it out, and what was once unfamiliar, has become something completely familiar and an integral part of my authentic style.

Elijah Manley Harris Sanders T-shirt ,hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Everything you own comes from a choice you’ve made when shopping (or if someone gave you something, a choice to keep the item). Elijah Manley Harris Sanders T-shirt It is from these items that you’ll be making your decisions each morning on what to put on. If you hate shopping and buy “it’ll do” clothes then you’re unlikely to be feeling good when you’re putting any outfit together. If you buy wardrobe orphans that don’t go with anything else you own, you’ll find it tricky to put stylish outfits together. If you have a wardrobe full of clones, basically the same item over and over, you may be super bored with your style and its lack of variety. What do you keep and what do you cull? Do you have clothes in your wardrobe that are a decade or more old that you haven’t worn for a long time as you don’t like to let things go?. Or do you cull regularly and sometimes let go of things that you later regret?. Can you see what you have because your wardrobe is not overstuffed?. Can you find what you own easily? Wardrobe organisation also impacts how easy it is to put outfits together, to find items quickly, and to see the different outfit options in front of you. For example, if you have multiple clothes on one hanger, you won’t remember what’s at the bottom, so will likely never wear the item, as if you can’t see it, you won’t wear it!. Having accessories easily visible and available also means you are more likely to wear them, than if they are tangled together in a box out of sight. If you can’t find something, you can’t use it in an outfit. When wardrobes are disorganised you’ll find it so much more difficult to put a stylish outfit together. Like cooking a meal, you need to know at least something, like what’s your main ingredient. My process varies much more, sometimes I will dress from a specific garment, such as a jacket. Sometimes, it’s a colour that I feel like wearing, and other times it may be an accessory that I want to wear that I’ll base my outfit around. Sometimes it’s a feeling (such as comfort). It varies but usually there is something that is a motivator for the whole outfit.