5 Easy Habits to Improve Your Style and Closet

1. Use measurements instead of numbers or sizes

Get into the habit of using measurements instead of numbers or pre-prescribed sizes from brands to figure out what clothes actually fit you. These days brands and companies use completely different fit models that change season over season. Some brands don’t even use fit models anymore, so it’s really easy to get confused and frustrated when you’re trying to find garments that fit you. Figuring out your measurements and the measurements of the actual garment is crucial and can lead to a much easier shopping experience. When we’re trying on clothing with different sizes that don’t fit us, it can lead to us thinking our body is the problem when it’s not. Your body is perfect. 

The measurements that I always use are quite simple. It’s bust, waist, and hip. I actually bring a measuring tape with me into stores, so that it’s a lot easier and quicker when I’m grabbing sizes. If you're shopping in a store, I would always grab a size up and down from the one you think you’re going to be, so it’s a smoother experience in the change room. 

Shopping secondhand online is good for this because you’re often conversing directly with the vendor who can simply take measurements and post them. This way you’re not focusing on arbitrary numbers; instead, you’re focusing on how things fit and how you want them to fit.

2. Understand the difference between fit and size

When a pattern is graded, it’s graded for size but not necessarily for fit, so you can have different fits of a garment for the same size. Fit isn’t about the size of the garment; it’s more about how it hangs on your body and the silhouette that it gives you. Is it tight, more structured and fitted, and tailored to the body, or is it something looser and oversized? As you’re determining size, it’s important to know what fit you want the garment to have and that will help you narrow down your choices. You can also play around with the sizing. I don’t always recommend sizing up or buying sizes bigger than you because the plus-size community already has very limited access to clothing, so look at the inventory and see how much there is on offer before doing this.

3. Take a photo of your outfit every day 

Whenever you’re wearing a proper outfit that you put together, quickly snap a photo of yourself and create a folder on your phone so you can refer back to it when you’re seeking inspiration. This way, you’ve got a catalog of outfits that you know you feel good in that you can bank on if you’re in a pinch. This will decrease wardrobe frustration and the more we can reduce the friction between us and getting dressed, the more we’ll love what we already have in our closet. I didn’t come to understand my style and become confident in it until I had to start taking photos of myself for social media and understood what I felt really good in. I would also create a folder of outfits that you didn’t like so much and then figure out what it was you didn’t like about them so you don’t make those mistakes again.

4. Know your three words

Know your three adjectives or style descriptors. This is important to gain more style confidence and build outfits you actually love to wear and feel good in. These three words are crucial to getting a better sense of style and building outfits that also feel fresh, while you can stay true to your own personal style and essence, even as you evolve and change lifestyles or as your body changes. It’s a really important part of having style confidence. Try and get into the habit of figuring out how you would describe yourself and your three words. Self-awareness and style confidence go hand in hand.

5. Calculate cost per wear

Even if you’re not actually making a purchase and you’re just deliberating on whether you buy something. With prices so ridiculously low thanks to the overwhelming and exploitative business model of fast fashion, calculating cost per wear helps us get back into the mindset of what is the true value of clothing and reminds us that our clothes are not disposable. Cost per wear is simply the total cost of the garment divided by how many times you think you’re going to wear it.

A general rule that Livia Firth likes to use is the 30 wears rule. Just try dividing the cost per wear by 30, and see if that makes sense for you. She encourages people to wear their items at least 30 times since the average person only wears their clothing seven times before discarding it.

5 easy habits to improve your style and closet tutorial

That’s all I have for today. Let me know if you learned something new for improving your sense of style and I’ll see you in the next slow fashion segment!