Have you ever kicked yourself for buying the latest trend, only to have it hang in your closet collecting dust, with the tags in tact? One of the easiest ways to figure out what clothes fit your lifestyle  – is to develop your own signature style.

What is signature style? To me, it is a person who is well versed in the language of fashion, but throws in some slang – they embody a look that is uniquely theirs and they wear it with complete confidence so regardless of what that is, it just works.

Here are a few helpful tips to help discover a signature style of your own!

Do Your Homework: Start a Pintrest board and just go buck-wild – you can clean it up later! Pin anything and everything that you like, and then start to look for similarities! Those are keys to what you are stylistically drawn to.

Life+Style: Once you start getting a clear idea of what looks you like, you may begin to notice a pattern forming. Do you prefer shorts or skirts in the summer? Are you a wedge girl or a jeweled sandal girl? When considering what pieces you wear most often, pinpoint what you are doing when you are wearing them. Do you workout? Are you outside a lot? Do you sit or stand at work? Answering these types of questions about yourself help you determine what kind of clothes you should be filling your closet with i.e. cute workout clothes vs. oodles and oodles of pencil skirts.

Back to Basics: My mom always used to tell me to cover the basics before I added the fun. In the summer basics for me are cutoff shorts, thin knits, loose tanks, maxi dresses, sneakers and jeweled sandals. In the winter basics are skinny jeans, closed toed pumps, layering long sleeves and cozy textured sweaters. For the most part I stick to basic color tones like black, white and denim but have been known to have a few pops of fringe, sequin, leopard and camo from time to time.

Mix and Match: No one says you have to stick to one style. What is style after all if not ever-evolving?! In the winter, I will wear really tailored skinny jeans with combat boots, and a fur vest. Once again the genres are different…combat boots say grunge while the fur vest says glam, but when pulled together with a crisp white button-down rolled at the sleeve and paired with a gold men’s watch it just looks right. Keeping a consistent color palette is also another way to make getting dressed easier on you because the pieces will be inter-changeable for the most part.

Sidestep Trends: Every trend does not work for everyone. Don’t feel bad if crop tops or high-waisted Mom jeans aren’t your thing because lets face it — there are plenty of trends (every. single. season.) to choose from! For starters, if you don’t love a trend, leave it! Plain and simple. This will save you from all of those ‘on the fence’ purchases where it may not cost a whole lot of money, but you’re honestly never going to wear it. If you like a trend, but aren’t sure how to rock it… go to Forever 21 and limit yourself to 1 item, or you can also look for smaller nods to the trend (such as accessories) as a ways to dip your toes in without breaking the bank before you fully commit.

The key to signature style is to stay in tune with what you like, and not what you are influenced to like by ad campaigns and models. Signature style can also go beyond what you wear, so have fun with it…think signature scent, lipstick, even coffee or cocktail. There is something chic about a woman who knows what suits her rather than her counterpart that runs to department stores every time a new trend arrives.

/// SHOP the LOOK ///