Getting dressed feels… easier. A lot easier.
About a month ago I followed the advice of celebrity stylist Allison Bornstein and I shoveled my way through my closet and camera roll until I narrowed in on my 3 Style Words. Classic, interesting, refined. And magically, getting dressed has felt way more effortless since then. And it’s been quicker too. Less time spent worrying or wondering about what to wear. And more time feeling confidently like myself in my clothes.
Interestingly, I learned a little bit more about the 3 Style Words process when I watched one of my favorite YouTubers get styled by Allison. I knew the first word is meant to refer to your commonly-worn closet items, but I learned that word two is supposed to be your aspirational word, and word three is meant to refer to how you want to feel. This lead me to quickly rearrange my words to classic, refined, interesting. Distinguishing between what you aspire to and how you feel is great way to further qualify your words. For me, ‘refined’ is what I aspire to (I have to work harder at this one), and ‘interesting’ is how I want to feel. I always want to make sure I stand out a little bit and that my outfit isn’t too much ‘like everyone else.’
So what has getting dressed looked like in the past week(ish)?
Top | Jeans | Sandals (older by Freda Salvador)
Shirt (sized up) | Pants | Sandals (older)
Top (similar) | Pants (old) | Sandals
Shirt | Shorts (old) | Sneakers
Top | Pants (old) | Ballet Flats | Belt
Sweatshirt (local) | Jeans | Sandals | Hat (similar)
It feels like such a relief to not struggle through my daily outfits. These words have been a simple touchstone, even if I don’t think about them every day. On days I find myself thinking harder about what to wear, I mentally run through my 3 Words and see which element might be missing from my outfit.
I have paired down my wardrobe a little bit by pulling a stack of items into my closet purgatory that I don’t feel like my best self in. I am trying not to be impulsive about getting rid of items, so I figure I’ll keep most of them until next summer. If you want to see the majority of what’s in my closet right now, you can look at my ShopMy site. It is feeling pretty monochromatic. I am hoping to incorporate some warm, chocolate shades this fall. Not sure what that looks like yet though as styling with brown elements always feels trickier than black to me. Perhaps my next style study will be around color!
I’m so impressed with how well you’ve tapped into the 3 words. You make it look so easy!